Husqvarna ProFlex

Does the PF stand for perfectly____? – This is the second Husqvarna i have bought AS originally sold a 155 AWD. The first one couldn't even get up minor hills despite it being an AWD. The new one has a great motor (Kawasaki) and is pretty much the same as the one they sell now in the one now called a P524. But within 6 months silly things broke and now 7 years later i can say that not only do you REGULARLY replace drive belts and pulleys (supposed to last a couple of year in commercial use but i am on a residential property and mow about 28 times a year) but i have replaced steering cables (3 times) steering chain (twice) exhaust, exhaust support bracket, battery cables (they frayed under the vibration from the thing), a multitude of split pins until i stopped using Husqvarna ones, lights (just gave up they never last longer than 3 or 4 months), brake pedal, hoses (hydraulics failed twice and on the way out again now) BUT i have just driven out and the whole cutting deck has fallen off as it rusted from the inside! I clean this thing after every use. I service it annually PLUS the other fixes and i have an old Briggs and Stratton (the reliable back up when this thing has died again) that's 20 years old with no rust - but this Husqvarna....don't touch. And that includes the new one i am sorry to say as it's got a lot of the same parts that failed on mine.

PS - awaiting a response from Husqvarna as they claim this mower has "Increased durability through long-life components." - I haven't seen this once. It's all cheap ie split pins stopped failing when i stopped buying them from Husqvarna.

Husqvarna has got back to me and investigating the number of faults to see if the cause is something non standard as they "do not expect these issues to happen" given age / use etc i have described. I will keep everyone posted on this.

In regards to queries from PRODUCT REVIEW, this mower does a great job when its working, its relatively easy to maintain but due to all front deck designs is not easy to clean under the deck, is very comfortable to ride on (2 hours at a time without a sore bum) but the parts are an issue which i do look forward to the response by Husqvarna.

UPDATED Oct 2011 - Well another part has broken down. I have been in touch direct with Husqvarna and as it failed due to a failure in design (same as current models actually as i checked it) their response was "we can't comment as we aren't engineers". You see unlike basic good construction when you fillet weld an item - you should do both sides otherwise it creates torsion and the weld breaks - kind of like planned redundancy was how i was told by my independent engineer. So realistically the new models have the same design issue with the bumper on the front deck - I don't recommend HUSQVARNA as they build to a price but that price is way above what they build to. This was a 20k mower with a $400 mower fault. NOT what a reputable company should do or build. I will say however as the part has taken 3 months to get and each month gets put back by another month to get the replacement - husqvarna have said they will airfreight it now - if they do and i don't get charged extra (remember been waiting 3 months already) i will let you know here.