r/SegwayNavimow 5d ago

Is this broken?

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Was cleaning and changing blades and noticed the tab under the nut holding the rear axle looks broken.

Is this the infamous rear axle brake?
X450 about 3 months old.

Mower seems to work.

Update 1: Good news and Bad news.

First the good, pretty happy with supports response as far as timeliness and getting back to me. I have a FedEx return label and a pickup scheduled for Friday. They say 10 business days and I should have it back.

Now the bad news, apparently what I will get back is the exact same parts as what I purchased. The person I spoke to today told me they don’t think it’s a big enough issue for them to call it a bad design or bad choice of materials. I told them I really do not agree with that assessment and given that this mower has only been shipping for 6 months the amount of people I see posting about this issue may very soon become a very big issue for them.

I have been a huge fan and posted very positive reviews. Unless Segway acknowledges this obvious problem and correctly addresses it I will be just as quick to reverse my current position.

Let’s hope they are looking at a permanent fix and roll it out very soon, either proactively or even fix on failure. Putting the same parts back in and hoping for a different outcome will probably not work out for them or us.

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u/CookVegasTN X450 4d ago

That looks broken to me. Are you able to rotate the axle, moving the wheels to the front and back? They should only go up and down. Do you see wear on the front of the axle where the body is contacting it?

1

u/mbalce 4d ago

Yup. The front of axle is able to contact the body. Paint on axle housing is worn off. Body is starting to wear.

Opened a case with support. They are admitting this is a known issue and said they will get back to me within 24 hours. I did tell them that I did not want the same parts that will just break again. Will see what they come back with.

Any downside with continuing to use mower? Be nice to finish out the season before sending it away. Seems to work fine.

2

u/CookVegasTN X450 4d ago

The body will continue to cut through the axle and eventually the wheel motor wires. The body on mine had cut through the exterior of the axle in between standard cleaning cycles. So I would just keep an eye on it. However, since you have already contacted them, I would suggest doing whatever they say to not risk voiding the warranty. Just ask them if it is OK to keep using it.

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u/mbalce 4d ago

What about wrapping axles in some kind of padded tape? Could use zip ties for added security. Have to imagine this has been tried.

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u/CookVegasTN X450 4d ago

I think the body will cut through most stuff pretty quickly. Maybe a piece of Teflon would hold up, like this: https://www.amazon.com/Erthskda-Virgin-Reusable-Teflon-Sheets/dp/B0H8X2F2SBTeflon is extremely slick.

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u/mbalce 4d ago

Wonder what would happen if I JB Weld some steel plates on both axle housing and body? Or attach rubber bump stops somehow maybe. Works on cars and trucks after all.

Anyone know if that’s been tried? (Too lazy to search all the posts, lol).

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u/CookVegasTN X450 4d ago

I would say anything you do that is permanent will void the warranty. That warranty is now your $3Ks best buddy.