John Deere X540

[probolpher]

Hi Guys. I currently own a Kubota 2920 with a 60 inch deck that is great for mowing my fields but cannot mow my lawn. After looking at a number of different solutions, I decided to go look at the X540 to replace my 15 year old wheelhorse that has a blown transmission.

I was about to pull the trigger on a new X540 yesterday but decided to go and read some reviews first. After reading a number of bad reviews I am now nervous about purchasing this mower. I really liked the way it drove and mowed at the dealer but from what I am reading there is apparently an ongoing problem with the blade clutch failing frequently. I am here to ask any of you Deere fans if you have heard of this problem on these mowers and any existing X540 owners if you have had good luck with this mower.

I do realize that many times people only write reviews when they have problems.

Thanks.

 

[ChuckinNH]

I'm looking too, and have the same concerns as you. On the other hand, I read about little, but common problems on the Kubota BX, series, JD 23305's and other tractor / mowers have, and those machines are twice the cost so I guess I'm thinking that it is the luck of the draw if you have any of these issues, and I think you hedge your bets a bit when buying JD, Kubota, etc.

 

[Markcuda]

You get a 4 year warranty or 500 hours, that should cover any factory defects for a while.
I have not heard of the problem you speak of
Over on MTF, you will find a few peeps with start up smoking problems.

 

[probolpher]

The warranty is nice but trying to get tractor dealers to come and pick up your mower or get an appointment to drop it off can be challenging. Just getting someone to sell this thing to me on the lot yesterday was a challenge.

I did call another dealer that my friend recommended and asked the sales guy straight out what the deal was. He said that he has hundreds in service and that very few have had problems. He said that people who typically have a problem are not raising the lever on the tractor to keep the mower engaged when going in reverse, thus the deck automatically shuts off and you have to engage the cluth again. Because some people are mowing for hours at a time and reengaging the clutch every time they back up, it causes premature wear on the clutch.

Sounds possible but not sure if I buy that. I don't think Deere's backup safety system is specific to the X540. So why wouldn't all of the models be having the same problems. Or maybe they do and I just haven't researched those models yet.

 

[Markcuda]

I have a X360, when I mow, and want to back up, I made a piece of wood on my grinder, that goes under the mower blade switch, now it does not shut off for the hour that I mow:thumbsup:
And when I do engage the blades, I do it at idle, no throttle, I don't like putting any more stress on the clutch than I need too.

 

[probolpher]

So I went ahead and bought the John Deere X540 after much research. I didn't really seem like the alternative garden tractors were any better. They all have there own little issues and a zero turn will not work for me. I will let everyone know how its running in 100 hours.

The biggest problem I have is looking at it next to my big orange kubota tractor. I think green and orange clash. I guess I'll get used to it.

 

[gldn]

I have 10 hours on an x534 so far no problems.

 

[Scooby074]

Great choice.

I had a x540. Best mower ive ever used. Comfortable and fast + the diff lock rules. But i had to trade in on a BX25 as i needed more capability. The x54o had 140 troublefree hours on it when traded.

 

[ChuckinNH]

Delivery, and pick up can be a problem with small tractors, and implements. I had a good visit with one dealer, and he asked me why I hadn't bought anything major there. I said that you never know when you are going to have a truck coming my way so I never know when to write the check. Put another way, if I had $36K to spend would you rather I bought Kubota stuff wit

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

The warranty is nice but trying to get tractor dealers to come and pick up your mower or get an appointment to drop it off can be challenging. Just getting someone to sell this thing to me on the lot yesterday was a challenge.

Deere had a program where they'd come do the maintenance at your place if feasible. Most dealers charge to pick up and deliver, even under warranty(but not always). Most manufacturers warranty systems don't cover pick up and delivery. Some might out of good sound business principles.