Mahindra 4035 caught on fire

[DavesTractor]

After the starter had been messed with by an authorized dealer who probably did nothing that Mahindra would have a problem with. It's a design/durability flaw not a mechanic's error.

The customer had taken the starter off and fixed it himself first, or had it fixed. It sounds like he did the removal/reinstallation. The dealer then replaced a cable when the initial repair did not fix the problem. It is not unusual to have a bad connection or bad battery cable be the sole cause of a poor starting tractor, but folks overlook that and work on the starter. After they spend the big bucks on a starter, they then go back to the basics and find a bad cable. That is probably what happened here.

Unless I missed something in this thread, I do not think we ever found out what caused the fire. Your assumption that the machine is flawed by design or that Mahindra authorized and or directed a poor repair is drawing a lot of conclusions from not much data.

What do you think about Mahindra helping with this repair after it was out of warranty? Bad idea? Good idea?

 

[jcraftenworth]

No we were surmising that the cables are improperly routed and/or shielded at the assembly factory. Which may or may not be true. Too many unknowns here, but a tractor fire leaves a bad taste in my mouth re: Mahindra. Where there's smoke, there's fire!

 

[DavesTractor]

No we were surmising that the cables are improperly routed and/or shielded at the assembly factory. Which may or may not be true. Too many unknowns here, but a tractor fire leaves a bad taste in my mouth re: Mahindra. Where there's smoke, there's fire!

What do you think about Mahindra helping with this repair after it was out of warranty? Bad idea? Good idea?

 

[jcraftenworth]

If they had covered all the expense, I'd have been impressed and would have felt good about Mahindra standing behind their product in an uncertain situation. He ate a huge expense even if it was shared, these cases are not widespread (or they'd be out of business) and I think they're rare enough and have enough uncertainties that the company should take care of it completely and put owners and potential buyers at ease.

 

[dickfoster]

If they had covered all the expense, I'd have been impressed and would have felt good about Mahindra standing behind their product in an uncertain situation. He ate a huge expense even if it was shared, these cases are not widespread (or they'd be out of business) and I think they're rare enough and have enough uncertainties that the company should take care of it completely and put owners and potential buyers at ease.

That's OK, Mahindra probably doesn't want you to buy their tractor anyway. LOL

 

[roadhunter]

The reality is Mahindras sells most of its' tractors overseas where the tractor business is not as competitive and expectations for quality and dependability are different in India than they are here in the USA. No surprise that corners cut on things like wiring routing can have long term implications for owners.

I just hate hearing about owners going through stuff like this over little details that should have been figured out at the factory.

 

[tkevan]

The reality is Mahindras sells most of its' tractors overseas where the tractor business is not as competitive and expectations for quality and dependability are different in India than they are here in the USA. No surprise that corners cut on things like wiring routing can have long term implications for owners.

I just hate hearing about owners going through stuff like this over little details that should have been figured out at the factory.

Deere and New Holland both produce tractors in India, along with several other makers. M&M sells about one of every three units sold in India.

We still don't know that the fire was caused by anything that was a QC or design problem. It's just as possible a grommet was knocked out of place when the work was done on the starter. Someone with a 4035 might let us know about wire routing.

 

[jcraftenworth]

Deere and New Holland both produce tractors in India, along with several other makers. M&M sells about one of every three units sold in India.

We still don't know that the fire was caused by anything that was a QC or design problem. It's just as possible a grommet was knocked out of place when the work was done on the starter. Someone with a 4035 might let us know about wire routing.

Well if I can't get american, I'll take german or japanese made myself. I'm sure Mahindra has taken steps over the years to get their standards up to first world snuff, but India and China are not yet of the quality control standards of places like the USA, Germany or Japan (for heavy duty work equipment, cars, etc)

 

[Sysop]

Mine hasn't let out any magic smoke yet. Nearing 500 hard working hours so far and it's been a very fine machine.

 

[DavesTractor]

Well if I can't get american, I'll take german or japanese made myself. I'm sure Mahindra has taken steps over the years to get their standards up to first world snuff, but India and China are not yet of the quality control standards of places like the USA, Germany or Japan (for heavy duty work equipment, cars, etc)

Then you would be happy with the Max series or the 1526 Mahindra, they are built in Japan by Mitsubishi and use the Mitsubishi engine. The 1533/38 is also built in Japan by Mitsu, but uses a Mahindra made engine.

I do agree that the USA, Germany and Japan set high standards for manufacturing. As for China, most tractor brands have plants in China to at least sell into the Chinese market. Mahindra does, but they do not sell Chinese built Mahindra branded tractors in North America. For North America, you are getting tractors built mostly in Japan or S.Korea, as well as quite a few out of Mahindra's own plants in India.