Second owner of a 5264D. What are my chances of CC paying for my shift kit?

[Sub-Cadet68]

I bought my rig,as the second owner, in Feb 08.
It's a 2006 Cub Cadet 5264D. It had a FEL & 60" deck. 126 hours on the ticker.
I paid 7 grand plus tax. Divorce sale.
Since day 1 it has had the scary habit of popping out of gear in high range, when under a load. As in mowing up a moderate hill. It will mow in low range no problem, but has tons of power to mow in the high range.
It also would pop out of gear pushing snow.
I recently found out that there was a service bulletin (not a safety recall according to the guy at CC customer service) released that offered an upgraded "shift kit" to owners to fix the issue.
I faxed the original sales slip that I got at the time of purchase to the authorized service center I use for repairs & THEY are going to see if the kit upgrade was ever performed (I highly doubt it) & if CC will pay for the parts if I, as the second owner, will pay for the labor since it's wayyy out of warranty. 210 hours now, I think.

Do you guys think I have a shot at getting this covered? The parts are around 225 dollars, so they tell me.

 

[VinceSMTA]

Since warranties are not transferable I am going to say I doubt it. However, I certainly don't blame you for trying. Good Luck

 

[Sub-Cadet68]

I didn't think the warranty would transfer, it's expired now either way.
I'm just hoping that because the problem is an obvious safety issue, CC will step up and provide the parts needed to make their machine safe to run in both low & high range.
We'll see what happens.

 

[jnelson]

I don't know how Cub will view their obligation but I do think you at least are being reasonable by asking if they cover the parts and you will pay the labor. That helps put some income in a servicing dealers pocket and apparently would satisfy you - both things Cub would view as a plus.

Good luck!

JN

 

[OhioGuy]

Because it is safety related, it should be covered. There was a recall on this, I believe.
It's certainly worth a shot.

Good Luck,
Curt

 

[LBrown59]

Because it is safety related, it should be covered. There was a recall on this, I believe.
It's certainly worth a shot.
Good Luck,
Curt

Unlike a warranty a safety recall does not have an expiration date .:thumbsup:

 

[Sub-Cadet68]

Insomnia sucks.
But I got great news today!
A Cub Cadet customer service rep gave authorization for my local service center to GIVE me the shift kit if I pay the labor!
On top of this, the rep agreed to do it even though every single serial number is missing from my machine.
Apparantly the numbers are just STICKERS prone to being pressure washed right off the machine. So I was told.
The reps name is Gary MacPhail. He is my new favorite person. Hahaha
The parts would have been close to 250.00 including sales tax.
I'm beginningto ramble on now. Getting sleepy , finally.
Yay for CC customer service!
That is all, goodnight.

 

[scoutcub]

Great news....! Nice to see Cub doing the right thing......

 

[Sub-Cadet68]

Great news....! Nice to see Cub doing the right thing......

I know! I was 100% expecting to hear "Sorry... Without a serial number we just can't help you." instead, I just have to pay the labor. About 30 minutes to install.
I know the 5000 series has a REALLY bad rep, but I couldn't be happier with mine.

 

[jnelson]

That's great news! I'm really glad that Cub is standing up behind their older models - even those that had issues. That will not only benefit owners of the older models but will do wonders for the Cub new model sales as well! Cub has had a bumpy ride with their CUT's in recent years but it looks like they are serious about straightening that out.

JN

 

[Sub-Cadet68]

****** ****** ******

The parts are free....
I agreed to cover the labor....
The labor is around $1,000.00.

Time to call the CC rep back......

 

[jnelson]

About 30 minutes to install.

The labor is around $1,000.00.

Whoa! Am I missing something here? If my math is correct they are getting $2,000.00 per hour on that job. Kinda makes the Wall Street gang look cheap, don't it? Where can I get a job like that? :licking:

JN

 

[Sub-Cadet68]

Whoa! Am I missing something here? If my math is correct they are getting $2,000.00 per hour on that job. Kinda makes the Wall Street gang look cheap, don't it? Where can I get a job like that? :licking:

JN

The install time is suddenly 2 days labor.
I'm thinking he jusT doesn't want to do it.
The trans has to come out & gears are apparantly being replaced.
I'm going to see if I can find the install instructions online to see for myself.

 

[VinceSMTA]

I hate to say it but it sounds legit. After reading your post I went back and looked through my records from the 5234 I used to have. I found a service slip on warranty work done on my machine. It was at the shop about two weeks and I was told that it was a fairly intensive project. I was not having the same issues you were having but I am fairly good friends with a couple of guys at the dealer and they wanted to put the shift kit in for me since it was in the shop already (I had it in for a leaking axle seal). On my ticket it says "Advisory # CC-558, Hi-Lo Actuator Shaft Update", unfortunately it does not have how long it took to put it in or a price since I did not have to pay for anything as it was warranty. I hope they step up for you and cover at least some of the labor. Good luck.

 

[56FordGuy]

A lot of the time, manufacturers have flat rate time for repairs. I.E. if 'Replace Part ABC' pays .5 hours, then you get paid .5 hours, regardless of whether you get it done in 5 minutes, or it takes two days.

For your transmission problem, the flat rate may well be .5 hours. But, they didn't include removing the loader (add .5 hours), re-installing it when the repair is done (add another .5 hours), removing body parts to access the transmission, removing the transmission, reinstalling said parts, etc...I don't work for Cub and I can't say for sure that's how they work, but I do work on some equipment and have run into that before. It's possible that's how the .5 hour job became a two day, thousand dollar task.

In my opinion, this is where a good dealer will step in and help the customer out. Let us know what you find out!

 

[VinceSMTA]

The only problem is that if the dealer did not sell this machine it will be difficult to get them to cover $1,000 of labor. I also did a search of the advisory number from my records and cannot find any info on it. I am going to guess that it involves a complete transmission tear down and that the dealer did not know this initially...thats just my guess though.

 

[jnelson]

I actually agree with everyone regarding the scale of the job. The big issue here is the original quote of .5 hours and it sure seems someone should have been able to figure that out ahead of time.

Thirty years ago I was a service writer for a Chevy dealership in Pontiac Michigan. At that time there was a Michigan law that required a written estimate on all jobs (over $100.00 I think) and if the job turned out to run more it was necessary to contact the customer before proceeding. If the customer did not agree it was required to reassemble the job to it's as it came in condition at no charge or complete the job at the amount quoted. The result was that they looked to us writers to be very good diagnosticians and estimators to avoid losing on jobs.

Yes, the labor book can be deceiving. That's where experience and common sense become important. Good communication is also important. Is it possible that the dealer quoted the job something like "once the trans is out it's only half an hour to install the kit"?

It's a shame that a misunderstanding of this size happened. Nobody ends up on the winning side here.

JN

 

[VinceSMTA]

Well, its a miserable day here in WI so what did I do? Went to my dealer and asked him about these shifting updates. Apparently there were a couple of different updates that dealt with shifting. One update involved tearing the transmission apart and another involved just replacing some external linkage. His guess is that the dealer got the two confused when quoting the time. On a side note...I never knew Chevy had service managers because according to my friends they never break down!

 

[jnelson]

I never knew Chevy had service managers because according to my friends they never break down!

Oh they break alright! And some of them that were not already broke when they came in got broke before their owners picked them up. I could write a book with stories like the car left on a two post hoist that the mechanic let down wrong and was left standing on its back bumper, the six month old Corvette totaled by one of the porters that decided to borrow it to drive to lunch, and a 4 x 4 Blazer that ended up stuck in the woods 200 miles north of Pontiac after another employee decided to borrow it for a weekend (that cost several thousand dollars in towing fees to retrieve it from the woods and return it to Pontiac with a blown trans). I don't take credit for any of the above since I was a service writer - not the service manager.

The discrepancy regarding the repair quotes makes sense from what you discovered. It's likely that the person that quoted the labor did not do the work. Unless there was a written estimate or job order that the mechanic had to refer to he/she would have no reason to suspect a problem. If there was a written order it is not a guarantee that someone would catch it, but the chances it would be detected would be better.

JN

 

[Sub-Cadet68]

WOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :thumbsup:

I just FINALLY got in touch with Gary MacPhail again.......

Parts AND LABOR............... 100% COVERED!!!!!!!!!!! :laughing:

Cub Cadet customer service FTW!!!!!!!!!

I'm playin' the lottery today fellas!