Sears Craftsman 17 hp 42 inch riding lawn mower - 2 months new and starter developed problems - repair appointment cancelled by Sears

# 4 for August 16, 2003

Complaints.com received the following consumer message on August 15, 2003:

From:

RE: Sears Craftsman 17 hp 42 inch riding lawn mower - 2 months new and starter developed problems - repair appointment cancelled by Sears

Enclosed please find my input for Sears' (Craftsman) 17hp/42in cut riding lawn mower. My complain is kinda new one even for myself. I really haven't had any quality issues with other Craftsman lawn mowers previouly. I was willing to pay a little extra for a 2003 42in/17hp Craftsman riding lawn mower (really

a Poulan) to get the service and backing from Sears.

Well, 2 months into service the starter developed starting problems. I called the 1-800 number in the manual and was scheduled for a technician for a certain date.

I actually took the day off from work and patiently waited for my appointment time, which was set for anytime from 11am to 5pm (reminds me of the Cable company). At 10:30am, the day of my appointment I received a call from Sears informing me that the 800 call center had overbooked them and they needed to reschedule to another date.

Obviously, I can't afford to take off from work even half a date often for this. I now manually push the top of the engine to help the starter crank my machine after liberally spraying with lubricant. Every week I am reminded of my experience before mowing. Additionally, this mower now also backfires and the engine hesitates when

you apply the load of the blades for the first 4 minutes or so. A lemon? Can't say yet. Hope not, I don't have too much vacation time.