The Recall Desk
Our severity:SevereCPSC·11752·Announced 2011-09-16

John Deere Recalls Lawn Tractors Due to Overheating and Fire Hazards

John Deere is recalling X300, X300R, and X304 series lawn tractors because a cooling fan failure can cause engine overheating, melting, and fire.

What this means for you

Our assessment, not the agency’s: severity 4/5 (Severe).

The hazard poses a serious risk of illness, injury, or structural failure. Stop using the product immediately and contact the manufacturer for a refund or repair.

Our severity reasoning: The recall involves a structural vehicle defect (cooling fan failure) resulting in significant injury and property damage reports, including 83 engine fires and one burn injury, which meets the criteria for a Severe rating.

Plain-English summary

Deere & Company is recalling approximately 36,500 John Deere X300, X300R, and X304 Select Series lawn tractors. These tractors were manufactured between September 20, 2010, and July 21, 2011, and are equipped with Kawasaki FS541V engines. The affected units were sold nationwide at John Deere dealers in the United States from September 2010 to August 2011 for between $3,000 and $4,000.

The recall is due to a defect in the cooling fan installed on top of the front-mounted engine. The fan can break, which may cause the engine to overheat. This overheating can cause surrounding plastic to melt, creating a risk of fire and serious injury. The company has reported 163 failures, including 83 instances of engine melting or engine fires, and one report of a minor burn injury.

Consumers should stop using the affected tractors immediately. They should contact a John Deere dealer to arrange for the replacement of the engine cooling fan. All registered owners will be directly notified by John Deere. For additional information, consumers can contact Deere & Company at (800) 537-8233 or visit www.johndeere.com.

The recalled product

Product
John Deere X300, X300R and X304 series tractors
Manufacturer
Deere & Company, of Moline, Ill. (tractors)
Category
Vehicle — Lawn Tractors
Hazard
Affected units
36,500

Distribution

Distributed nationwide across the United States.

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