John Deere Lawn Tractor Engine Fires Lead to Another Recall

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Another John Deere recall has been issued for about 36,500 lawn tractors, which contain engines that may have a tendency to overheat and potentially catch fire. 

The latest John Deere lawn tractor recall was announced by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) on September 16, affecting models equipped with Kawasaki engines.

There have been at least 163 reports of engine problems with the John Deere lawn tractors, resulting in 83 cases where the engine either melted or burst into flames. So far only one person has reported suffering a minor burn injury from the defective Kawasaki engines.

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The John Deere lawn tractor engine fires and failures appear to be caused by the cooling fan on top of the engine. The fan can break, causing the engine to overheat and the surrounding plastic to melt. The CPSC has determined that the defective engines are a fire hazard that could cause serious injury.

The recall affects the John Deere X300, X300R and X304 Select Series Lawn Tractors. The tractors have Kawasaki FS541V engines. The model number is on both sides of the tractor hood and the serial number is located on the machine frame near the right front tire. The tractors were manufactured between September 20, 2010 and July 21, 2011. A complete list of serial numbers is available on the CPSC recall notice.

The recalled lawn tractors were sold at John Deer dealers nationwide from September 2010 to August 2011 for between $3,000 and $4,000.

This is the third John Deere lawn tractor recall in the last week. On September 14, the CPSC announced two recalls for more than 20,000 John Deere lawn tractors. Some of those were recalled due to bad breaks and others were recalled for defective blades that kept spinning after the engine was turned off.

The CPSC recommends that those who have lawn tractors affected by the latest recall stop using the mowers immediately and contact a John Deere dealer to have the cooling fan replaced. The company says it is notifying all registered owners of recalled lawn tractors directly. Consumers with questions can call the company at (800)537-8233 or visit their website at www.johndeere.com.

Tags: Fire, John Deere, Lawn Mower

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18 Comments

Michael
Purchased new JD S140 Riding lawn mower on 9 July 2024 from Lowes in Greeneville Tn. It was delivered on 11 July 2024 from their warehouse in Asheville, NC. It caught fire within a week and a half and virtually burnt to the ground. There is only a carcass left. Took back to Lowes and they referred to JD. JD says purchaser has to register product by using info on stickers attached to mower. never found any stickers and there are no stamped numbers on the mower; certainly not now. JD and Lowes says we are out of luck. Fire damaged top of engine as well as transmission (melted); part of the deck remains nearly as good as new. Portion of left front tire still has “nubs” seen on a brand new tire. JD says we could of just had a old JD mower and claimed this occurred. Have photos as well as a report from the responding Fire Inspector. Fire burnt a 50 ft diameter circle in the back yard. User ended up with minor burns to clothing; barely got off mower in time.
Redonna
My John deere mower just engulfed into flames. My husband had finished mowing and then park it outside our shed and had just walked into the house and when he passed the window he seen the mover going up in flames and it also caught the tree on fire beside it. I was so thankful that at least he wasn’t on it when it went up in flames. Also thankful for the rain that we had a day before so the ground was still damp or we would have lost our home and surrounding homes. Looks like this has happened to several people. I always heard John deere was the best you could get. God knows the price tag says it was the best. You can definitely tell the Fire starter in the engine area. Not sure where to go from here. That’s an expensive loss!!
Mike
my x380 lawn tractor caught fire from an oil leak in the engine while cutting grass in my upper field. The fire was so bad I had to call the fire department to extinguish the fire .
jessica
My recent purchase of John Deere lawnmower used less than 12 times, went directly up in flames while simply cutting the grass and going over some leaves in the yard. This is absolutely insane and how they’re still selling these hazards. I’ve contacted lowes, John Deere, and other outlets and just get a run around. This isn’t fair. I could have been seriously injured if i hadn’t noticed the flames coming out from under the engine. The minute i noticed it i jumped off and within minutes the thing was completely up in flames. The fire dept had to come to control the fire and my trees in my yard started to go on fire too.
Mike
Our 2020 Deere E180 caught fire while going over some leaves. Burned to a crisp!!
John
Our E120 caught fire about 15 minutes after use. Only 10 hours on the motor. How is there not a class action lawsuit???
John
Our E150 caught fire mowing leaves. John Deere said it was our fault and we would have to claim against home insurance. I was injured (slight burns, smoke and extinguisher inhalation that is affecting me months after and heart issue worsened by all the running. We will likely sue. My wife and I were traumatized…our property and neighbours property would have burned down if we waited for fire department. I put out with fire ex. Only had 20 hours on it.
John
Our E150 caught fire mowing leaves. John Deere said it was our fault and we would have to claim against home insurance. I was injured (slight burns, smoke and extinguisher inhalation that is affecting me months after and heart issue worsened by all the running. We will likely sue. My wife and I were traumatized…our property and neighbours property would have burned down if we waited for fire department. I put out with fire ex. Only had 20 hours on it.
Mary
A dealer acquired and serviced John Deere (JD) D140 riding lawn mower caught fire while in use. The fire resulted in damages and personal injuries. The yard caught fire, along with an oak tree. The mower burned to the ground. The fire department had to use foam to extinguish the blaze because water could not eliminate the flames. The lawn mower had less than 40 hours. The dealer and the JD Manufacturer were notified. I believe they are both responsible. This is a recurring issue. It’s a product liability safety concern.
ben
I had a perfectly good John Deere FX85 that I had given to my daughter. A couple of days after I delivered it to her, she was mowing her yard when the mower burst into flames with her on it. She leaped off, called the local fire dept. but by the time they got there mower had burned to the ground. Local JD dealer had just serviced it, and when called,denied any problems with engine catching fire. Something aint right here folks.BJ
Geoff
My JD X165 had less than 6 hr on the clock when I went out to mow my paddock earlier this week. After about 20 mins, I noticed smoke coming from the front. On stopping and opening the bonnet, a ball of chaff which had collected adjacent to the exhaust burst into flame – whereupon the plastic bonnet (hood to Americans!) just flamed up ferociously. And then set fire to the paddock (and resulted in me being hospitalised later). The unprotected exhaust is very much a fire hazard with this machine in hot,dry conditions which can result in chaff – existing and potential owners beware!
Lisa
I bought a john deere mower spring of 2015. It had less than 100 hours on it. After mowing our lawn it was parked in our carport. About 10 minutes later I heard a loud noise and went to see what it was. There were flames coming in my kitchen window. I ran outside and seen my mower completely in flames. My large brick home burned to the ground. I was unable to save anything. I am now homeless and have no options. My dad always said john deere sold good quality equipment and was a reputable company. I hope he was right and john deere will do the right thing and rectify my situation. I pray someone associated with john deere will read this and take action. June 9th, 2017
Robert
345 John deer tractor burst into flames,,melted the front and plastic,,,i did put out fire
Dave
I bought a D155 in sept of 2015. After 40 hours of use, the front of the tractor started on fire while mowing. I pulled the hood up to put the fire out and the hood melted off. The dealer in Janesville WI did not even have record that I purchased the tractor from them. I provided the serial number to them and they confirmed the tractor was purchased from them. Without even looking at it they said I needed to file a claim with my insurance company as it was not a warranty issue. Never again Midstate Equipment!
John
I owned a D100 riding John Deere and it had about 30 hours of use purchased in 2012. I used the mower on February 8th, 2015 at our home in Raleigh, NC and parked in garage after use about a 1 hour later my garage and home was on fire damaging everything from cars to personal belongings. The fire department investigation said the source of the fire was my John Deere lawn mower. I purchased the riding lawn mower from Lowes in Chattanooga Tn and never received a recall notice on the unit. The damage was so severe we lost everything and the emotional affects are unrealistic.
Kelly
I purchased a John Deere X310 on 2-28-13. On 5-20-14 after using the mower less than 45 minutes, with a total of 20 hours on the mower, I parked it on the driveway to let it cool so I could rinse the mower and deck. Less than five minutes later the entire front of the mower was in 10-12 ft high flames ! I contacted the local dealership asap as they open at 8am but their phone stays busy so it was around 9am before the owner returned my call. He sent a service person to pick up the mower within a few hours. After several days he calls to tell me the 4 year 300 hour warranty would not cover any fire damage and he had never seen that happen before. When I called JD customer service I got the impression I was bothering Beverly. When I questioned the dealer about the fuel filter and inlet hose, his answer confirmed what I suspected. Kawasaki has a recall on 15 other brands of mowers for fuel filter inlets breaking, which is exactly what happened on mine. The dealer told me all that was burned, but it isn’t, the plastic inlet is still white and the hose to the tank is fine…thank goodness as the tank was almost full of fuel. When I called in to let the owner know I’d pick up the mower 1st thing the next morning, one of their employees happened to comment on another burned mower they had just brought in…hmm. About 9am the next morning they delivered the mower to my house. Rather than parking on the most level area they threaded the truck and trailer in reverse through my cars, boat and jeep to unload the mower so it couldn’t be seen on the steep side of my yard, with the bagger only seen from the road. Is this the John Deere “PROMISE-BEST IN CLASS WARRANTY?”
Frank
I purchased a John Deere X300 in November 2012 and ran it for 140 hours with no problems. Last Sunday I ran the mower for about 20 minutes and then parked it under a tree at my fish camp. About 15 minutes we heard a funny noise and noticed the tractor was in flames. When I went to the John Deere store I bought it from and gave them the information. They said they did not know of any recalls on X300 JD Riding lawn mowers? This mower was probably made after all of the problems, but it sure answers some questions. John Deere said this is not a warranty issue. Thank You
Mar Jo
ck.ing to see where comments are?

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