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[shep874]

As I watched my Billie unable to, again today, stay out for more than 1 and 3/4 hours (with new Batteries) I had to wonder how I got the idea that The mower would mow for 4 + hours.  I then wondered how I got the idea that the batteries would last 5 to 6 seasons. and how did I ever think that the mower would last 8-10 years??  So I did some Googleing. I will copy and paste some of what i found. Of cores this is what I also saw before purchasing my  Lawnbott , so why oh why would I expect so much.  

Lawnbott  Robotic Lawn Mower - LawnBott Official Dealer
 - 4 visits - 3:50pm
LawnBott robotic lawn mower 30 Day Money Back award winning dealer, ... It's predicted life span of 8-10 years is a lot longer than gas mowers and the Robomow. It will also cost less to maintain - just replace blades and batteries. ...
www.lawnbotts.com/

Lawnbott  Professional LB2110 Robot Lawn Mower
Lawnbott Professional LB2100 - entry level, low cost robot lawn mower that's fully ... batteries and blades) are rated to last 8 - 10 years before repairs are needed. Since it's user serviceable and easy to repair, it will last forever! ...
www.robomower.biz/lawnbott-professional.html -

LawnBott  LB1200 Review
The 8 1/2 inch blade spins at 4000 rpm with enough torque to handle St. Augustine ... The lithium ion battery will last 4-5 years. The mower itself will ...
www.bamabots.com/lawnbott-lb1200-review.htm

What is the warranty and how long will the LawnBott lawn mower ...
The manufacture suggests the LawnBott will last about 8 - 10 years before the motors need replacing. However, since all parts are user replaceable, the lawn ...
www.experts123.com/.../what-is-the-warranty-and-how-long-will-the-lawnbott-lawn-mower-last-how-do-i-make-a-warranty-claim.html

Robomower compared against LawnBott Robotic Lawn Mower
Both LawnBott and Robomower will cost less than a riding lawn mower and a lawn service in the long term; Both LawnBott and ... LawnBott.info. All rights reserved. Last updated on May 1, 2009. ... 3 - 4 years, 8 - 10 years, 8 - 10 years ...
www.lawnbott.info/...lawnbott/Compare_LawnBott_Robomower.html -

Zucchetti - Lawnbott
 - 3:58pm
Average Price: $2500. Our rating: 4 4 8 out of 10 owners liked it! ... LawnBott will leave the docking station at its programmed time and return either when ... Eco-friendly lithium-ion batteries that are estimated to last five years. ...
www.robotadvice.com/zucchetti-lawnbott-evolution_robot.html -

The Lawnbott Review - Evolution and Professional Play Well ...
 - 4:03pm
You're butt will be out there on your hands and knees installing the boarder wire. Does that part suck? .... I expect the mowers to last 8 years or more. ...
www.probotics.com/lawnbott-review-ds.htm -

LawnBott  LB3500 Robotic Lawn Mower « gigi-hawaii
May 12, 2008 ... The LawnBott LB3500 lasts 8-10 years before needing repairs. ... So the LawnBott LB3500 really interests me, because it will give David more ...
gigihawaii.wordpress.com/.../lawnbott-robotic-lawn-mower-lb3500/

Lawnbott  Professional / LawnBott LB2100 Robotic Lawn Mower review ...
Think long-term - the LawnBott Professional LB2100's internal parts (except batteries and blades) are rated to last 8 - 10 years before repairs are needed. ...
www.kaboodle.com/.../lawnbott-professional-lawnbott-lb2100-robotic-lawn-mower

There are many many more

Silly Me how and why did I think the Lawnbott would last 8 to 10 years with out repairs.  and silly me why would any one get the idea that batteries would last 4 to 5 years..

If in fact there are only a few of us that got a lemon of a mower, then I wonder why Lawnbott does not man up and replace these few machines that got through quality control.  

When I am told that there are many sold that are not having any trouble.  I have to wonder what their definition of many is. I am guessing maybe 2500 to 4000.  

[Bill S]

Are these new Li ion batteries ?  How many seasons did your old ones last ?

My mower can only run for 40 minutes with my third season lead acid batteries.  I may upgrade to the Li ion ones.

I have posted previously about the 8-10 years life statement.

I would like to know what are the annual sales for these robots, followed by statistical data of motors replaced under warranty.

I believe the pre-2007 robot had the German wheel motors, the 2007-09 had the IMS units.  Now the 2010 are larger, but not sure what manufacturer.  Hope they get it right someday.

[shep874]

Are these new Li ion batteries ?  How many seasons did your old ones last ?

Yes new Li ion's.  The old set lasted 1 and 1/2 seasons.  I have to wonder how long they can get away with this shoddy product.

I hope that they can put things right as when my Billie is working it does a very good job.

I think it is clear that they leave the impression that battries will last 4 to 5 seasons and that the unit will last 8 to 10 years. In fact the impression they leave is that the cost per season will be only $10 for electricity.

 I can't find anyone that states otherwise.  I believe that it is wrong for any dealer to sell a unit and not tell the buyer that they will/may not get through the 2 year warranty, without having to do major repairs. 

I know that someone will write that they have a lot of costumes that they never hear from and are happy with their Lawnbott. 

If this is so, give us some facts and numbers, and if there are only a few of us that got a lemon. give us a unit that will run with out all of these failures. I will be happy to holler louder than I do now, that these little billies goats are a great machine.

May I suggest that if your mower is not holding up as advertised. Be sure that you complain to  Kyodo. let them know how unhappy you are.  Be polite. but do not listen to there excuses.

[evblazer]

Yes well I have 200 customers with all types of grass and lawns ranging from 1/4 acre to 2 acres and only 1 has had their bott fixed under warrantee the rest have never  reported problems. 
Yes I made that up but I'm not sure that a statement like that would help from a dealer, no matter how trusted, perhaps something from kyodo about US sales, returns and replacement part numbers would be something. If there are only say 8 bad botts in the US out hundreds or thousands it would make sense to replace them or buy them back and get them out of our hands.

[jzawacki]

Heh.. I doubt you will ever see any hard evidence.  Honestly, at this point, I doubt I would even trust KA.  Where do you think the resellers are getting these "8-10 years", "wet grass sensor", etc. statements from?  Has any of them been in business for 10 years to even know?  Heck, the Lawnbott.com domain was registered in 2005!

So, you can't blame the resellers for "false statements" and going back now and having them all edit their sites doesn't help anything but cover up the lies that KA has been spreading.

The best anyone can complain about a reseller is that they sold them an old model when a new model was out, or coming out soon.  And even that is going to be hard because the new model may or may not have come out when KA said it would be available.  And you have to remember, they have been jacking up the prices with each new release, so if you bought an LB3200 and which you would have bought a 3210, when I bought my LB3200, it was ~$2,800.. The 3210 is $3,400.  That's a $600 difference for what?  The "promise" that the 3210 will make it longer than 3 years without falling apart?  Only time will answer that question.

[Bill S]

The best I hope for is a dealer such as RobotLady to provide individual replacement parts instead of modules (complete wheel motor/planetary gearbox) to help us maintain / operate  our robots economically for years to come.
Fact is us current owners are captive.  The future of these products depends are improve reliability in order to attract new customers.  If they do not "nail it" someday soon, no new customers means no more Lawnbotts.  Then we are orphans left to fend for ourselves for replacement parts.

I hoping for a positive outcome on both accounts, better future products AND service parts for legacy customers.

[shep874]

The best I hope for is a dealer such as RobotLady to provide individual replacement parts instead of modules (complete wheel motor/planetary gearbox) to help us maintain / operate  our robots economically for years to come.

What Kyodo, Zuchettti, and their dealers, are doing is just plan wrong. Before I bought my mower I tried to do a search on what to buy.  every place I looked then and yet even today said that the mowers would last 8 to 10 years. Batteries would last 4 to 5 years. The cost per year would be $10 for electricity and $65 for a new blade once a year.  I sure wish that I had found someone, some dealer, anyone that would have gave me the truth.

I will tell you that, the dealers I have contacted have not sold that many units.  So when they now tell me they have a lot of customers that just don't have any problems  I am asking what they mean by a lot. Give me some numbers, give me some names. 

Am I bitter? Yes.  I bought  my unit Sept. 2008. paid full price for it,  did not use it except for two trial runs, until spring of 2009. About that time I found out that the 3210 was out and had been on the market at the time that I purchased my mower.

  That at the time really did not bother me until I started to have problems and found out that they had been having problems long before my purchase. In fact the reason they came out with the 3250 was because of the failures in the 3200.  I was told than, that for $800 I could upgrade to the 3250.

So my friends, I have the honer  of paying $800 more than you did for a 3250, and I have no guarantee that the thing will be any better. 

The real crime here is that had my mower (the 3200) been as advertised, I would have been one happy camper. I would have no reason to do an upgrade.

We could all be happy campers if Kyodo would do the right thing and recall these poor quality units.

[RobotLady]

I want to go on record to say that you will not find the statements you see on other dealers' sites on our site.  Those statements are misinterpretations of what was actually said by KA.  I will continue to work with KA to have those sites corrected (got one fixed so far...).  I will also work with KA to make sure their specifications are as clear as possible.

I will also continue to work on making motor replacement parts available and to launch our motor rebuilding service.  I do apologize for the time this has been taking.  Spring/Summer is a super busy time and it is incredibly difficult to start new things...  Thank you very much for your continued patience with us.

[shep874]

I want to go on record to say that you will not find the statements you see on other dealers' sites on our site.  Those statements are misinterpretations of what was actually said by KA. 

I agree. Expected time that the Lawnbott and batteries will last, are indeed, not on your site. Nor is the estimated cost per year, on your site. But based on what I did find on many sites, induced me to buy a Lawnbott.

There are just so many sites that claim the same thing that I must assume that this information had to come from the manufacture, as no dealers have been in business prior to 2006.  If the information on the net is correct.

I have now talked to a number of dealers and have found that all know that there is a problem with Quality of the Lawnbotts.   One experience of no quality control is that, when I ordered a replacement remote control, after the 3rd shipment, I got one that worked and the last one only worked after I had to do some reattaching of the working parts to the case.

Correct me if I am wrong. I believe that I have seen something put out by someone that what they meant to say is, that replacement parts would be available for 8 to 10 years, not that the would last for 8 to 10 years. Just to be sure of their expectations, please ask them to make a statement as to the life expectation of their products.

The most troubling thing to me is that, I now know that, all know, that the Quality in Lawnbotts is lacking and there is indeed real problems with motors and boards. No dealer would revel this, until one would pin them down. This is indeed troubling. [/color]

I had ideas of perhaps selling Lawnbotts, in fact why I chose the dealer I bought from.  I can no longer entertain this idea until they improve their products.  I still show my Billie to a number of people every day,  but I advise them to wait until Lawnbott improves their products.

I want to wish the very best to all and hope that you can do a lot of business.  But let's be fair to the consumer and give them the correct information.

[jzawacki]

Correct me if I am wrong. I believe that I have seen something put out by someone that what they meant to say is, that replacement parts would be available for 8 to 10 years, not that the would last for 8 to 10 years.  Just to be sure of their expectations, please ask them to make a statement as to the life expectation of their products.

Well, this can't even be true.  It's been over 3 months and I still can't get replacement brushes for my blade motor.

I still talk about my bot as well, but I tell them not to buy lawnbott and explain why, and then refer them to the other two bots that are available.

[RobotLady]

All motors for older Lawnbotts are available.  All motor parts are not necessarily available.  Some are, some aren't.  As your the delay in your motor part delivery, you have to take that up with the dealer you ordered from. 

Your statement is not a fair characterization since motor parts will probably not be made widely available since it takes significant skill to repair a motor.  We won't even attempt it.  We are depending on a partner who has acquired the skill and knowledge. 

Replacement parts have typically shipped same day or next day unless 1) KA is closed or 2) they happen to be out of stock.  Whenever they have been out of stock, the wait has been a matter of weeks, not months.

[RobotLady]

Also, I can really understand and empathize with everyone's frustrations and will do my best to get the problems rectified.  There is so much focus on negatives, the positives are being overlooked.  Here is what I like about the Lawnbott:

1) Software.  It has the most versatile software for autonomous mowing.  Zone control is a key feature I personally would not give up.

2) Hills.  We have hills in our yard that are almost 30 degrees.  There's no other robotic mower I can use.

3) Styling.  I'm sorry, it looks the coolest of all of them, hands down.

4) Covered garage/cover available for garage.  The other guys leave the robot out in the sun when charging.

5) Environmentally friendly Lithium Ion batteries.  Not sure about Husqvarna, but since Robomow uses lead acid batteries, I prefer Lawnbott.

We might get a Robomow some day for a flat part of our lawn just for educational purposes, but for now, we are sticking with Lawnbott.

[RoyMercer]

I agree... I realize there is a video of someone changing their brushes out on a LB3200 motor. The same reason every KA replacement warranty motor I have received last half as long or less than the original did, is the same reason other folks blade motors are not going to last long if they just change the brushes not to mention the extra wear on the armature that at some point will not be repairable.  Until they come out with brush-less motors, the blade motors ARE going to fail. Period.  If the motors are maintained properly, they will last quit some time.  I know this because I studied motor control circuits and DC motors. Motors with brushes in a variable load environment equals accelerated brush wear. They must be properly maintained and the average robot owner does not have the resources to do this. If the motor repair service Paradise is getting ready to provide is what they say, it will be a wonderful service for robot owners. Especially when the new larger motors go out of warranty. The better / more powerful the motor is, the longer it should last and the more times it can be serviced in most cases.

On the other hand people don't have a choice. I would simply change the brushes out before I paid for a new motor. I hope a professional rebuild service is available when my unit goes out of warranty if the fees do not resemble the cost of a new motor as they do on large industrial motors. A large industrial motor rebuild is usually around 75-80% the cost of a new motor.

I love the LB3510. My grass no longer looks brown!!  I have been working so much lately that I would never have been able to keep up with my lawn. My lawn has to be cut at least twice a week. And to pay for good service was costing me $300 to $400 a month (depending on what lawn service I used) By then end of next mowing season it will had paid for the itself.

I agree with some of the complaints but some of them are like beating a dead horse. Even with the problems I have had, I still would have done it all over the same. Curtis (my LB3510) goes out and cuts the grass every day. I have had maybe two small problems with it. Sometimes I have to restart it because of an error but that happens once or twice a month at most.

[jzawacki]

Roy, if you don't mind, could you please post here: http://paradiserobotics.com/forum/index.php?topic=54.0

Just to give us information on your bot.

...the blade motors ARE going to fail. Period.

But, a reasonable time frame for them to fail is acceptable.  After 3 years, I'd call that either A) premature or B)something that should be disclosed prior to purchase.  And the video I posted is definitely NOT user serviceable!  But, better than spending $400 for a new motor.

Even with the problems I have had, I still would have done it all over the same.

I agree, I will never manually mow a lawn again.  But, would I buy a lawnbott brand product again?  I don't think so.  Even now, I have to tell people that I love the bot, but wouldn't recommend they buy this brand, but I also have to say I don't know if the other brands are any better.

[RoyMercer]

"After 3 years, I'd call that either A) premature or B)something that should be disclosed prior to purchase" 

I sure will. I have to get out of here but I will post again in a day or so...If you get more than 3,000 hours on a new small DC brushed motor in a variable load environment consider yourself lucky. It is not uncommon to see less than 2,000 hours. Since everyone’s lawn is different the life of these motor are likely to vary a lot from one person to another.