Fire on John Deere mower

[lennyzx11]

Update.
I received a voucher from John Deere today for the full purchase price.
To be presented at a dealer of my choosing.
All in all, it was pretty painless so far. We will see when I get to the dealer if that remains the case.

They said that the cause couldn’t be determined but suspected debris around the muffler.

I had told them that I had just had the hood up and knew there wasn’t anything but it’s over and done with I guess.

 

[Diggin It]

I received a voucher from John Deere today for the full purchase price.

They said that the cause couldn’t be determined but suspected debris around the muffler.

Very strange for them to do that when they suspect owner negligence.

 

[Industrial Toys]

Good for you to get compensated. Did you ask if it was also valid at a Kubota Dealer? Kidding! lol

It does make my point about how useless having a fire extinguisher (or two) can be. Even on a lawn tractor. You can spray all you want on the exterior plastic of a machine and have no effect on the fire. Of course, a gasoline fire is that much more stubborn to put out.

 

[larrym996]

Well it happened to me too.

Still don’t know the reason why. It started in the front near the exhaust. But it didn’t have any electrical issues or gas leaks. It was the first time we mowed my daughters backyard. It wasn’t that big a yard 60x45 feet. The grass wasn’t that long. It only took about 1/2 hour to complete the lawn. Put the mower in the shed, then 10 minutes later smoke coming out of the shed. I ran to find 7 inches of flame coming out of both sides of the front hood. I pulled it out of the shed. Was too far from the water hose. Couldn’t find the fire extinguisher. So buckets of water finally put it out

More pictures here: John Deere E110 on Fire

 

[Diggin It]

I pulled it out of the shed.

Well, at least that part's good.

 

[MoKelly]

Fortunately, I’ve never had an issue other than once in the Fall while mowing, some leaves caught on fire on the back of the ZTR. I guess they got wedged in and the hot muffler caught the leaves on fire.

It wasn’t a big deal and the leaves just burned out. I was in the back 40 so to speak and did not have an extinguisher. It was scary for a few seconds.

Now I have an extinguisher attached to the toll bar.

MoKelly

 

[grsthegreat]

whenever the wife mows the yards, i have her leave the mower outside my shop to cool down and so i can hose it off, blow it off with air compressor. main reason i do this is its so hot im afraid it could catch on fire. never has, but still leary.

 

[fried1765]

Contact the Consumer Product Safety Commission. I bet they'll want to hear about your tractor. A major recall may be in order if JD doesn't replace it outright. There's no way a lawn tractor should go up in flames.

Do NOT tamper with it. A CPSC rep will want to inspect it. I called years ago when my Murray fuel tank started leaking and they (Sears) didn't want to do anything about it. CPSC came out and looked it over. It wasn't long after that, the series was recalled and I got a new tank. The leak was caused by a manufacturing fault and was covered by the warranty. (The tank split at a molding seam.)

Give JD a chance to remedy your loss. If they hem-haw around, let them know it's a safety issue and you're prepared to report it to CPSC. CPSC has a lot of attorneys. They like cases like this. CPSC can force a recall of the entire product series.

Many years ago I had a safety issue with a 200HP OMC outboard.
They kept giving me the run around, and I threatened to contact the CPSC.
They called their local dealer to tell him to fix it now!
Fixed... it was!

 

[Richard001]

Interesting, how come we don't hear about other lawn mower tractors going up in flames ? Just JD !

 

[guyina4x4]

I've seen plenty. Husqvarna, cub cadet, deere it happens to them all. every single one I've seen started at the muffler.
like most issues with outdoor power equipment in general, the operator can prevent problems just by cleaning/maintaining the equipment.

I'm surprised JD payed up for the OP.