Horrible Toro repair experience
I own a Toro TimeMaster 30" consumer-grade mower. This mower uses two pulleys--one idler and one tensioner. While mowing my residential lawn (grass only--no rocks, sticks, or debris), the tensioner pulley completely disintegrated. When it failed, the blades slammed together and were destroyed as well.
The mower has been well cared for and shows no signs of abuse. I took it to the Gil-Roy location for warranty service and received a call from the technician stating the repair could not be warrantied because the pulley hardware was "clearly bent," and that a rock or stick must have entered the mechanism. This is simply untrue--I was the one mowing, and when I removed the cover myself it was obvious that the cheap plastic pulley (sandwiched between two metal plates) had fractured and blown apart.
The technician claimed he has been doing this work for 30 years and had never seen anything like it. A quick internet search shows the opposite--this is a well-known failure on the TimeMaster 30" consumer mower, with many documented cases of destroyed pulleys. Despite this, the technician tore the mower down far more than necessary just to tell me it would not be covered. I told him to reassemble it and return it to me, and I was charged a $50 bench fee, which I paid.
When I got the mower back, I discovered one of the tensioner mounting screws had been stripped out during their work. I had to install a Heli-Coil to fix it. The technician argued with me about the damage, and Toro corporate was completely unresponsive. I later contacted another authorized Toro dealer, who confirmed they see this failure regularly but that Toro refuses to warranty belts and pulleys.
I ultimately fixed the mower myself by installing the commercial-grade pulleys, and it now works fine. However, the overall experience was terrible. Toro does not stand behind a clearly flawed design, and Gil-Roy Outdoors in Grand Blanc showed no respect for their customer or their equipment.
To make matters worse, this mower--which has always been stored in a garage--was left outside at their shop. When I picked it up, it had rust and visible environmental damage that was not there when I dropped it off.
I'm giving this experience one star only because zero stars is not an option. I will never buy another Toro product, and I will absolutely never return to Grand Blanc Gil-Roy Outdoors for service. read more