Backhoe Mahindra owners. Little help here please.

[sd455dan]

If it was a fuel issue. Why would the tractor sit there and run fine? Even after the power issue begins and the check engine light comes on. Same with pump or injectors. Once the problem starts, it is only when you try to do something with anything that requires hydraulics, when it bogs down and the RPMs go in the toilet. They come back when you stop what your doing.

That is the question i still have,
especially after reading about the vacuum in the fuel tank beginning to collapse it.
Did the dealer ever pull the fuel cap completely off when it starts the power loss / rpm issue, this still sounds like a fuel starvation issue.

I do not doubt that if you lived near Dave's tractor dealership- and Bought your tractor there , This tractor's problems would have been fixed within the 1st week.

There is a lot to be said for Good service department with 1st class mechanics...

ps. I do not blame you at all for wanting out of that tractor or being discusseded with Your mahindra buying experience.
At a minimum, They should have put you in an equal or larger sized and equipped loaner during the time they have had your new tractor.

 

[Gasifier]

I think without your dealers input being available here on the forum, we can't really see an unbiased picture of the entire scenario. Not saying that you (Gasifier) have said anything untrue or even biased, I simply do not know that, but I am feeling anymore comments of any value regarding your actual tractor problem would first need to be illuminated by dealer input. Until these most recent lawyer comments, I'd say you have been a patient and understanding customer, albeit frustrated.

But in a generic sense if a dealer sees that a customer is unredeemable as a future customer, then I suspect he will want to just fix the tractor under warranty as is his obligation, and not lose a ton of money doing a buyback for a customer that will never be appreciative. And keep in mind, that even if a buy back was offered, you would owe for your usage and any damage on the tractor and so forth. On average, a compact tractor will be used about 100 hours a year. Most folks putting on roughly 500 hours a year on a compact tractor are working the tractor commercially. There are certainly exceptions to those averages, and you may be that exception.

Once fixed, and I am sure they will fix it, there are other ways to get rid of that tractor in contrast to a buy back or refund. You can sell your used tractor and get fair market value and move on to another brand. This is probably the best solution.

So tell me what you think I should do at this point then? Besides getting a lawyer? You say I have been patient and understanding until the most recent lawyer comments.

I can not see how it is acceptable to have a piece of equipment down this amount of time, and then expect the customer to just be okay with it. I would think the dealer and Mahindra would deeply regret the problems I have been through and offer to make it up to me in one way or another. The dealer has refused to buy it back and has made no offers of any kind. Mahindra corporate has told me I have to go through the dealer. Like buying a car.

I have 81 acres of land. I use my tractor for a lot of things. I wouldn’t think trying to put 500 hours on a tractor a year would not be unreasonable for someone when they are trying to get projects done on a piece of property they are trying to improve.

 

[Reb954]

If it was a fuel issue. Why would the tractor sit there and run fine? Even after the power issue begins and the check engine light comes on. Same with pump or injectors. Once the problem starts, it is only when you try to do something with anything that requires hydraulics, when it bogs down and the RPMs go in the toilet. They come back when you stop what your doing.

The fuel was just an example. But, if you did get some bad fuel early on it could have caused some damage that you are still dealing with. Or it could be something else.

Going by your description through this thread I have always been a bit confused as to whether the problem is with the hydraulics or the engine. Sometimes in your description it sounds like a spool valve is stuck which is dragging down the engine rpms. Other times it sounds like the emission system is derating the engine for whatever reason. Where the dealer has witnessed the problem they should be able to tell the difference.

 

[Gasifier]

At first I was really on board with this but now.......

Im really starting to wonder if any of this is true.

2 threads on this and not one pic ,video, or document to support any of the problems.

This has been going on for months now, and the owner still claims they cannot fix his tractor.

Complains on here about all his lost time but then says he tells the dealer he does not blame them.

All this time and multiple failures and not one piece of documentation.

A lot of good advise given but not taken.

I hope my feeling is wrong and Gassifer just does not have the experience and personality to handle it.
Like he is too nice.

I would hate to be correct and have this all be just to make Mahindra look bad.

There are two sides to this story and we are only hearing one.

I have spoke with, and have e-mails to prove it, Brenda B_______, She put me in touch with and I spoke to him on the phone. Mr. Ernest L____. I also have receipt e-mails from the customer service web portal saying thank you and our customer service will respond to you within 3 business days. The first time they did respond. These last two times I have complained they have not responded. I called Mr. Ernest L___, and Mr. Cleo F______ yesterday late afternoon and left a voicemail. They have not responded. These are the two highest up individuals I know of. The Mahindra area representative that came to fix my tractor is Mr. Brian Ho_______. (Sorry, I don’t know if I should use these peoples names in the thread. Although I don’t know how it would hurt anything. But I’ll play it safe.

 

[Reb954]

A question that comes to mind, what, if any, additive do you put in your fuel for summer use and for winter use? Does your fuel supplier add any additives? If yes, what do they add?

 

[Gasifier]

A question that comes to mind, what, if any, additive do you put in your fuel for summer use and for winter use? Does your fuel supplier add any additives? If yes, what do they add?

I add nothing. I buy diesel fuel locally at station. Doubt they add anything but they may use a winter mix this time of year. All these problems have occurred during mild temperatures though. I had no problem last winter using same.

 

[CincyFlyer]

Are the folks at corporate Mahindra really so stupid?
How many of the thousands of us here on TBN are EVER going to consider buying a Mahindra, after following this scenario?
As Dave suggests: When your tractor eventually gets fixed ....sell it...and, "move on to another brand".
Be certain to explain to all your friends, and neighbors just why THEY should NEVER buy a Mahindra.
I am not a friend or neighbor, but ....I am onboard!

I wouldn't do that, with second-hand information! I have 125 recent hours on a Mahindra, with no functional issues (had to tighten a fitting, and the "mud flaps" aren't sturdy.) So are you going to recommend a Mahindra purchase based on what I say?
Having been in the dealership game (boats, motorcycles, powersports, automobiles) I can tell you that dealers often see weird issues that turn out to have been caused by the owner, even if inadvertently. (Three examples I've seen: a bad battery charger frying electronics, bad fuel (don't put gasoline in a diesel engine!), and submersion of the vehicle墨ot mentioned on the work order, of course.) And this IS a "one-sided" conversation, provided by someone who is not a technician. Who will pay if it turns out to be something not covered by warranty?
Regardless, it's obviously not a common issue, even if it's caused by a Mahindra part or labor defect. Dealership technicians are good at the ordinary stuff. The oddball stuff can fool nearly everyone.

 

[jb1390]

Update:

Dealer called me at about 11:30 am and left me a message on my phone. (He won稚 be there, he had told me that already). Representative will be here today at 1pm, not tomorrow. I saw the message at 12:30. Had to quickly get ready and get over to the store. He was getting ready to leave when I got there. I remained calm and told him of all my problems. And all my lost time.

I state in front of all there, including the other folks who work there that I am not unhappy with the mechanic, I知 not unhappy with the dealership. They have been good. This is a Mahindra problem. These folks don稚 have control over how the tractors are built and the quality control. And he said okay. Well we have it fixed. He and the mechanic said they did not have the latest software in the computer and he did now and they reflashed it and can稚 get the problem to happen again.


Well, I致e been through this before. So I first asked him what Mahindra was going to do for me about all my lost time. He said he can稚 do anything for me, his job is to make sure the tractors are fixed. He can稚 do anything else until he talks with Corporate in Texas. Well I need to know what Mahindra is going to do for me. And I said, can you call them right now and explain everything? So he said, I can try. He then goes to his car and attempts to call him. No answer, left message. Mechanic leaves after stating he will get my tractor back to me on Friday. I said that痴 my last day off. I won稚 be able to do anything again for three more days. So then he agreed to try to get it to me Wednesday.

He then leaves. So I go out and talk with representative some more before he leaves. Explain to him how frustrated I am and that I知 going to leave the tractor in the barn until I hear back from him and what Mahindra Corporate is going to do for me. He says I need you to go out and work your tractor so you and I can see that it is working properly now.

So I said how long do you have? Can I pull the tractor out here right now and work it for a while. He said sure you can. We go back in the store and he opens the overhead and I bring it out. He stands there while I work it. After about 7-8 minutes of a combination of driving it back and forth and using loader and backhoe hydraulics I get it to do it again. Loss of power anytime I try to do something with anything hydraulic related.

So I say to him. Now imagine he brought the tractor back to me and I don稚 use it until I need it. We get a big snow storm and after about 7-8 minutes I知 left with no power, limp mode. Okay, but I don稚 think it痴 limp mode. We have some troubleshooting to do.

So I told him that I don稚 want to bash all Mahindra tractors. Just this one. This one has spoiled me on this tractor. I don稚 want it. And I said I really appreciate you coming here and really need you to do something about this. He said understands my frustration and he would fight for my cause by talking with Corporate.

I talked with him about either buying the tractor back or possibly getting me a different tractor. Please see what you can do for me. But I have lost way to much time with this tractor and I can稚 get it back. My projects are now delayed until next summer.

Then I talked with about his Thanksgiving plans and family etc. And I said I will let you go and get on the road. We wished each other a Happy Thanksgiving and said good by.

So now I wait, again, with no tractor for my days off, to see what comes next.

Not sure that I want to continue to be involved in this, but here goes. Gasifier, there are a number of well meaning people on here that are trying to help you out. You would likely do well to listen to them. Dave is a respected member of this forum and a customer advocate. I can personally attest to the assistance that he gave to me when I was going through issues with my 3550.

It seems like you continue to harp on lost time. It's the first thing you said you mentioned when talking to the rep - even though lost time is not covered by warranty. This gives me the impression that this was a hostile interaction at the beginning, and it's possible that your approach and expectations have made both the dealer and the rep less likely to want to work with you. If instead you worried about getting the machine fixed, and concentrated on that - I think you'd be in a better spot. :2cents:

As far as the actual issue goes - are you saying that the use of the transmission does not cause a loss of power when the check engine light is illuminated? Frankly, I don't believe that. You continually harp on the loss of hydraulic power which I think is misleading. I think that the use of hydraulics are one mechanism by which the engine can be loaded, but the transmission is another method. If I'm wrong, and you can load the transmission and maintain full engine power, then please correct me. If not - then the issue is quite likely a drop in rail pressure for one reason or another. It's a bit concerning to me that they are throwing parts at it - instead of a proper diagnosis. Fuel rail issues and the methods of diagnosis have been well understood by diesel truck enthusiasts for a long time - there's a lot of information out there.

Since the issue comes up only after working for a bit, that leads me to believe that it resets itself. Can it be reset to full power by simply shutting the tractor off and restarting? If not, what has been the required fix? Do you have to let it cool off? Does it require a trip to the dealer?

 

[DavesTractor]

So tell me what you think I should do at this point then? Besides getting a lawyer? You say I have been patient and understanding until the most recent lawyer comments.

I can not see how it is acceptable to have a piece of equipment down this amount of time, and then expect the customer to just be okay with it. I would think the dealer and Mahindra would deeply regret the problems I have been through and offer to make it up to me in one way or another. The dealer has refused to buy it back and has made no offers of any kind. Mahindra corporate has told me I have to go through the dealer. Like buying a car.

I have 81 acres of land. I use my tractor for a lot of things. I wouldn稚 think trying to put 500 hours on a tractor a year would not be unreasonable for someone when they are trying to get projects done on a piece of property they are trying to improve.

Since you have been in touch with Cleo and others at a high level, I think I as a dealer ought to just step back from the situation or I might step on your toes or Mahindra's. I sincerely wish you well.

 

[wagne223]

I have spoke with, and have e-mails to prove it, Brenda B_______, She put me in touch with and I spoke to him on the phone. Mr. Ernest L____. I also have receipt e-mails from the customer service web portal saying thank you and our customer service will respond to you within 3 business days. The first time they did respond. These last two times I have complained they have not responded. I called Mr. Ernest L___, and Mr. Cleo F______ yesterday late afternoon and left a voicemail. They have not responded. These are the two highest up individuals I know of. The Mahindra area representative that came to fix my tractor is Mr. Brian Ho_______. (Sorry, I don’t know if I should use these peoples names in the thread. Although I don’t know how it would hurt anything. But I’ll play it safe.

Great, I'm glad you have that info and are keeping it.

I will repeat though, in order for any type of litigation, you need copies of a work order that includes the dealer name, his state license # , your name, tractor serial number, complaints, work done and your signature.

Being old school is no excuse. In the early 90's I worked at a shop that used handwritten work orders. They were carbon copy with the company info pre printed.
I had to fill in the customer info, machine info, complaints and get their signature.
Upon completion the customer got one of the copies.

You will probably never get the anything for repairs done to this point. They don't exist.

Moving forward, I would insist that your friendly dealer use some of his profit to buy work orders and get you copies of those.