Our family has wanted one forum of utility vehicle for some time now and so recently we purchased an Xuv550. The first week of ownership was nothing but pleasing. We only drove around the property "fairly flat mowed land" and used the machine to haul yard tools, mulch and fire wood. Initialy we heard a slight metalic rattle but After 9 hours on the machine a loud grinding ratteling metallic noise developed in the rear of the vehicle. Immediately we contacted the dealer and they agreed to pick it up promptly to address the issue, after their inspection they deemed that the transmition had stripped out the drives for the front wheels! A new transmition has been ordered and they did not charge for the pickup but it is concerning that this occurred under gentle use at low hours. Has anybody else experienced this with their equipment?
xuv550 trans failure!
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No personal experience with the 550, but I have seen a bunch of 550-S4s that have had anywhere from 20-130 hours put on them by volunteers at the National Western Stock Show without any issue. Granted, they also had relatively flat (mostly paved and gravel, but with mud and snow at times) life when I last saw. Based on the low hours of yours, I'd have to chalk that up to what warranties are for - taking care of defective parts and systems. I would not be concerned - just glad it broke early so you get it fixed and back to normal early.
Good luck and keep us posted!
- Steve in gorgeous CO
Good luck and keep us posted!
- Steve in gorgeous CO
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58 Posts
Xuv 550
Hello, sorry to hear of your mechanical woes on your 550, but glad for the response from your JD dealer. I only have a few hours on my unit, and happy to say, so far so good. I have very little flat land on my mountain top. Mostly Very rough dirt roads, trails, and rocks. I never abuse my equipment, but I do run it hard enough to test for problems after first oil change, varying usage in and out of 4x4. I'll post any negative issues should they happen. mountaingoat.
Hello, sorry to hear of your mechanical woes on your 550, but glad for the response from your JD dealer. I only have a few hours on my unit, and happy to say, so far so good. I have very little flat land on my mountain top. Mostly Very rough dirt roads, trails, and rocks. I never abuse my equipment, but I do run it hard enough to test for problems after first oil change, varying usage in and out of 4x4. I'll post any negative issues should they happen. mountaingoat.
Well the fast responce and sincere appoligy of my dealer has made what could have been a frustrating and dissapointing experience only mildly so. I can only say good things about the service I have experienced from Hogan Walker in elburn Il. I will keep you updated on what transpires in the end as the new parts are in the mail but so far they told us we would have it back inside of a week. I'm glad to see nobody else has experienced this same issue.
Xuv 550s4 trans
NOT SURE YET BUT I THINK MY TRANS BIT THE DIRT TONIGHT ! I RIDE ON THE OPEN ROAD MOSTLY . I BOUGHT MY 550S4 TO RIDE MY KIDS AROUND NOT TO WORK WITH. IVE HEARD A NOISE IN THE REAR TWICE THAT DIDNT SOUND GOOD. TODAY WAS THE SECOND TIME, DIDNT FEEL LIKE IT HAD ENOUGH POWER GOING UP THE ROAD SO I TURNED AROUND AND I WENT ABOUT 20 FEET HEARD A BANG POP ! AND IT CUT OFF . HAD TO WALK HALF A MILE HOME BARE FOOT ( MY STUPIDITY NO SHOES ) AND TAKE THE TRUCK AND CHAIN TO RETREAVE IT OFF OF THE ROAD SIDE. IT HAS 9.4 HRS THIS SUXX . CALL JD DEALER IN THE MORNING LET YOU KNOW THE OUT COME WHEN I FIND OUT.
NOT SURE YET BUT I THINK MY TRANS BIT THE DIRT TONIGHT ! I RIDE ON THE OPEN ROAD MOSTLY . I BOUGHT MY 550S4 TO RIDE MY KIDS AROUND NOT TO WORK WITH. IVE HEARD A NOISE IN THE REAR TWICE THAT DIDNT SOUND GOOD. TODAY WAS THE SECOND TIME, DIDNT FEEL LIKE IT HAD ENOUGH POWER GOING UP THE ROAD SO I TURNED AROUND AND I WENT ABOUT 20 FEET HEARD A BANG POP ! AND IT CUT OFF . HAD TO WALK HALF A MILE HOME BARE FOOT ( MY STUPIDITY NO SHOES ) AND TAKE THE TRUCK AND CHAIN TO RETREAVE IT OFF OF THE ROAD SIDE. IT HAS 9.4 HRS THIS SUXX . CALL JD DEALER IN THE MORNING LET YOU KNOW THE OUT COME WHEN I FIND OUT.
Damn sure sounds like these "cheaper" alternative 550's that Deere are putting out are just a bit too cheap...that's a couple tranny failures just on THIS one Forum out of the 2 or 3 550 owners...that is totally NOT acceptable on Deere's part...I know if I were a prospective buyer for a new Gator, I damn sure wouldn't be looking at one of those machines!!!
I've had my 825i now since August of 2011 and it has been totally trouble free since I've had it...there's a few things I want to upgrade, like a better clutch unit, but I really don't even have any bad complaints about the rest of the machine...but then again, it was almost twice the money they are selling the 550's for...
I'm curious to see what Deere does as far as maybe a recall on the 550's to get the trouble fixed before it leaves more people stranded...that would be the honorable thing to do anyway.........
Larry in MD
I've had my 825i now since August of 2011 and it has been totally trouble free since I've had it...there's a few things I want to upgrade, like a better clutch unit, but I really don't even have any bad complaints about the rest of the machine...but then again, it was almost twice the money they are selling the 550's for...
I'm curious to see what Deere does as far as maybe a recall on the 550's to get the trouble fixed before it leaves more people stranded...that would be the honorable thing to do anyway.........
Larry in MD
Nervous
You guys are scaring me. I only have 8 hrs. on my 550 S4 and I have been putting it through its paces; alot of steep hills. I did hear a sound coming from the back but thought it was from muffler vibrating, I better keep my eye on it. I guess beat it up now while its still under warranty. But, I must say these things have great suspensions under them.
Eric from Indiana
You guys are scaring me. I only have 8 hrs. on my 550 S4 and I have been putting it through its paces; alot of steep hills. I did hear a sound coming from the back but thought it was from muffler vibrating, I better keep my eye on it. I guess beat it up now while its still under warranty. But, I must say these things have great suspensions under them.
Eric from Indiana
I had the same transmission problem it started rattling after only about 2 hours on the odometer. It was picked up and repaired, but took nearly three weeks for it's return. It now has 8.5 hours and I, so far, have no idea how to go about changing the break-in oil myself. I can't crawl under it unless I find a ditch to straddle. The operator's manual must have been written by OSHA, not much information other than safety crap. The pictures remind me of those psychological Rorschach images.
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58 Posts
Oil Change
Hi ozlod. Changing oil on this critter is a bit like Gator Wrestling! Approach it from behind! You'll see a fist sized round opening at about center. There in will be a drainage plug, and the filter. You will need a cup type filter wrench. I bought one at NAPPA, part# 77-3862. I believe it is 3", and could be a bit tighter, such as a 74 mm size. It's best to bring your filter for a fit check. You will need a funnel with a long neck to clear the seat belt latches for filling. It will take 1.5 quarts with a filter change. I'm a bulky guy and I didn't find it too tough to reach. Good luck, mountaingoat.
Hi ozlod. Changing oil on this critter is a bit like Gator Wrestling! Approach it from behind! You'll see a fist sized round opening at about center. There in will be a drainage plug, and the filter. You will need a cup type filter wrench. I bought one at NAPPA, part# 77-3862. I believe it is 3", and could be a bit tighter, such as a 74 mm size. It's best to bring your filter for a fit check. You will need a funnel with a long neck to clear the seat belt latches for filling. It will take 1.5 quarts with a filter change. I'm a bulky guy and I didn't find it too tough to reach. Good luck, mountaingoat.
oil change
It is a bit of a pain on the oil change. Makes it alot easier if you remove the bed. Pull 2 pins and lift off. Not heavy but it will take 2 people unless you have Garilla arms.
Mine still in shop Motor definatley gone, cant check trans untill they get the motor fixed. I havent been told yet what went wrong with it. Good luck
It is a bit of a pain on the oil change. Makes it alot easier if you remove the bed. Pull 2 pins and lift off. Not heavy but it will take 2 people unless you have Garilla arms.
Mine still in shop Motor definatley gone, cant check trans untill they get the motor fixed. I havent been told yet what went wrong with it. Good luck
My wife gave me a 550S4 for my birthday last July, Worked fine for about 5 hours then got very hard to shift. I did the cable adjustments several times and it was better. About 4 hours later it locked in forward. had to be dragged out and onto a trailer to go back to dealer. Two weeks and they said it was a cable adjustment. Brought it home backed off trailer shifted to forward went 20 feet shifted to reverse and all locked up again. Skidded it back onto trailer and back to dealer. They skidded it off trailer and another two weeks and cable adjustment. When it came back I drove it for an hour and shifting was very smooth. Stored for the winter and just got it out drove for 15 minutes and all was great. Hooked up trailer to move some brush, went 200 yards and dumped brush. Tried to back up but all locked up. Finally got it loose and shifted to reverse, it went forward up a brush pile. Really a safety hazard.
Calling dealer in AM they can get it off brush pile as no reverse. Then it's fix it or replace it. It really is a crappy shift linkage. I think the problem may be that the clutch gets warm and doesn't disengage properly leaving tension on the tranny but the dealer says that couldn't happed. I'll update in a few weeks when it's hopefully fixed!
Calling dealer in AM they can get it off brush pile as no reverse. Then it's fix it or replace it. It really is a crappy shift linkage. I think the problem may be that the clutch gets warm and doesn't disengage properly leaving tension on the tranny but the dealer says that couldn't happed. I'll update in a few weeks when it's hopefully fixed!
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176 Posts
I talked with my dealer Gulf Coast Tractor Corpus Christi and he said they have had issues with the shifting lever not going into gear and it was fixed by adding a washer. You might call the at 361-289-0818 if this is an issue...They have had no issues with 550 S4s transmissions other than the sifter lever and the factory not tighting bolts. They have not had to replace any transmissions which was a relief.
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