John Deere Gator XUV 625i

[Larry625]

I bought a new Gator 625i XUV in January 2011. Did fine at first except the 4 wheel drive would sometimes jam up and I would have to stop, run in reverse, and then again into forward for it to resume normal operation. I found out that this was a problem with all XUVs and would have to live with it.
At 95 hours, the fuse to the fuel pump kept blowing. When it blew to the extent of the whole fuse melting into the fuse box, the dealer came and got it. Dealer said it was a short in the wiring and they fixed it under warranty.
At 125 hours, the engine and exhaust noise seem to get louder (if possible) and I took the insulation off the exhaust manifold/pipe only to find that the entire assembly was burnt extensively (turned red and the metal flaking off) and a 2 inch split had ruptured on the pipe. The regular warranty had expired but I got it replaced under the EPA warranty which is longer. Dealer had no explanation but stated that the replacement was stainless steel and would not corrode like the original. Well, I got mine fixed but what about all those other 625i owners whose exhaust system falls off and the EPA warranty has also expired?
At 250 hours, the fuse to the fuel pump started blowing again leaving me stranded several times. When the fuse again melted into the fuse box, the dealer came and got it. This time they said that the entire rear wiring harness was defective and has to be replaced. The warranty had now expired but I argued that I had brought it in under warranty to get this problem fixed and it has reoccurred. After a week they offered to pay for the harness and I could pay for the labor which I real had no choise but to accept. Cost me $625.00 !
Now with 300 hours, I still have a problem with it running rough and rich and sometimes dying but I have a local mechanic who can make it right for a couple months at a time.
My opinion of this machine....NEVER BUY ONE! John Deere used inferior materials for which they knew there were serious problems but never attempted to make it right with their customers. "Let it fail then we will gouge them to get it fixed". Enough said.

 

[TJC68114]

I bought a new Gator 625i XUV in January 2011. Did fine at first except the 4 wheel drive would sometimes jam up and I would have to stop, run in reverse, and then again into forward for it to resume normal operation. I found out that this was a problem with all XUVs and would have to live with it.
At 95 hours, the fuse to the fuel pump kept blowing. When it blew to the extent of the whole fuse melting into the fuse box, the dealer came and got it. Dealer said it was a short in the wiring and they fixed it under warranty.
At 125 hours, the engine and exhaust noise seem to get louder (if possible) and I took the insulation off the exhaust manifold/pipe only to find that the entire assembly was burnt extensively (turned red and the metal flaking off) and a 2 inch split had ruptured on the pipe. The regular warranty had expired but I got it replaced under the EPA warranty which is longer. Dealer had no explanation but stated that the replacement was stainless steel and would not corrode like the original. Well, I got mine fixed but what about all those other 625i owners whose exhaust system falls off and the EPA warranty has also expired?
At 250 hours, the fuse to the fuel pump started blowing again leaving me stranded several times. When the fuse again melted into the fuse box, the dealer came and got it. This time they said that the entire rear wiring harness was defective and has to be replaced. The warranty had now expired but I argued that I had brought it in under warranty to get this problem fixed and it has reoccurred. After a week they offered to pay for the harness and I could pay for the labor which I real had no choise but to accept. Cost me $625.00 !
Now with 300 hours, I still have a problem with it running rough and rich and sometimes dying but I have a local mechanic who can make it right for a couple months at a time.
My opinion of this machine....NEVER BUY ONE! John Deere used inferior materials for which they knew there were serious problems but never attempted to make it right with their customers. "Let it fail then we will gouge them to get it fixed". Enough said.

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When I first saw this post I was thinking to myself that I can't remember posting here! It's almost identical to our problems. I will tell you what happened with us. SAME year, same model, same problems only worse. You'll find out if you keep it. Luckily I did some research on the exhaust thing before I let them gouge us and something that I found out NOT OUR DEALER was what they call a PIP. A product improvement program. Basically the EPA warranty you talked about. We have had the same wiring harness issue that was replaced at the same time because of the exhaust problem. We've also had a fuel sensor replaced and some adjustments on our rich/lean problem. When we first got our machine our oil was turning milky white and they blamed it on us for not running it hard enough. We just got it back AGAIN from another trip to the dealer/repair because it was completely bogged down. Well turns out the exhaust was plugged up and getting blowback into the engine compartment. They told us over the phone that the muffler was deteriorating and the baffle was coming loose and plugging up the spark arrestor screen. So we said, ok, fix it. We'll eat another couple hundred bucks because it's winter and we use it to plow and we wanted it back. So I had him send the old muffler back with it. I've cut it apart to find where this deterioration took place. NOWHERE. There is no deterioration with any baffling or pipe or anything. But there was a type of insulation in the box with the muffler that had nothing to do with the muffler. So our logical conclusion? The insulation from the first repair problem got stuck in there and finally plugged up the spark arrestor screen. And that's ALL. We didn't need a new muffler. Just needed the screen taken off, cleaned, and replaced. But 450 dollars later we got screwed. I'm still in the process of talking to them about this but we'll see what they come back with. Trust me, if you let them, they will walk all over you. John Deere screwed us on this 625i. It's garbage. And we put the full glass cab, hydraulic plow kit and 72 inch blade on it and when we were done it was over 20,000 dollars of equipment. And NOBODY will buy it! Hope they are happy because John Deere will never get another dime from us and we were looking at a new acreage tractor and implements. I have all of our receipts if you want to contact me and I will help anybody if I can with problems with it.

 

[Larry625]

Thanks for the info on your experience with your 625i. I did send a copy of my statement above to John Deere but have gotten no reply yet other than they received it. Really don't expect them to reply. At the moment, mine is running fine and I plowed about a mile of road to the house this morning( 4 inches of snow). But like you, I wonder "What's Next?"

 

[FatTire]

I've had a 620i for 6+ years, no problems other than a blown fuse which was caused by water freezing in the motor assembly for the snow-plow lift mechanism and a couple of irritating rattles. HOWEVER, when the unit was delivered I discovered that my local Deere dealer doesn't care about a customer buying a Gator. They sell a lot of big (expensive) farm equipment, and if you're buying a Gator, good luck. Not sure if that's the case with other Deere dealers, just my own experience. Luckily I do my maintenance & I haven't needed any service from them (yet).