My unit is BRAND NEW. It has less than 4 hours of run time before the right track locked up. They now want me to send it to Chicago where it will take 10 - 15 days for them to repair and ship it back. Assuming likely a week to get there, 2 weeks to fix, and another week to get back, that is a MONTH before I have my BRAND NEW unit back.
This is unacceptable. They need to immediately send a replacement core to me, and pay return shipping if they want me to ship the old unit back.
I’ve shared your preference with our team, and they’ll follow up with you soon about the replacement. If you’re still within the 45-day warranty window, we should be able to arrange a brand-new unit replacement. We really appreciate your patience while we sort this out for you.
Yes, I’m WELL within the 45 day warranty window. My machine was delivered on June 26. By Saturday, June 27th, it was already broken, after less than 4 hours of total run time.
For a week I’ve been going back and forth with support to get the mower fixed. FInally yesterday they decided they would repair it if I send it to Chicago for them to fix.
That is just not acceptable. They need to ship what I paid for, a brand new Yarbo core unit that works. Yarbo should also arrange for any return of the broken one.
For reference, my ticket is 216077.
You are not alone, Lance1. Including me, many (beta) users here had same experience of yours. They should send the new unit as replacement. However, it’s quite a work to repack and wait the FeDex to pick up the broken unit. I hear you; I’ve done this twice last winter during all winter storm days; one core and one snowblower. Recently, their response rate seems too delayed.
Hi, this is Jörg from Switzerland. Don’t do that – it’s madness! Explain the problem to me; we’ve had very good experiences with Yarbo Support, particularly when it comes to fitting the tracks. You can contact me at yarbo.js@gmail.com! Best wishes from Switzerland
Jörg Schüpbach
Hey Lance, I just completed the process you’re talking about. Let me tell you about my experience, the steps involved, and the outcome. First, I shipped it in due to reliability issues with the left track. I couldn’t run it a full day without it getting stranded in the yard due to an error. Sometimes I could remotely fix it, but other times I had to take a dolly into the yard and haul it back due to a locked up track. I was sent new left tracks modules, which I replaced on my own twice before I opted to go the ‘send it in’ route. As others have mentioned, sending it in is a bit of work.
Schedule the pickup. A day or two after I agreed to send it in (because I didn’t want a refurb core when mine was only about 45 days old), I got an e-mail to schedule the pickup. The pickup was scheduled for about 3 days out (the soonest option) and a shipping label was provided.
Box it up. Use the original box and pack it up. I used nearly a full roll of fiberglass reinforced tape to make sure it stayed closed and secure. They give you instructions which include covering the lenses with painters tape for protection and taking photos of everything to document the condition before packing and the package after packing.
Set it out and wait for pickup and transport. I live in Indiana so ground shipping was only a day or two each way but I had to wait a day and a half for the pickup. Pickup time was scheduled for 10 AM, but it wasn’t picked up until late afternoon.
Yarbo techs fix your core. This part is still a mystery to me and I have an open ticket on it. I want them to tell me what they found, what was fixed, etc. IMO, they should provide some kind of report to tell me what they did so I know if I ever have the same problems, what needs to be done. However, the good part is the repair was REALLY FAST. It was there maybe two business days when I got the notification that a return label was created for return shipping. This was a pleasant surprise.
Await return delivery. This took about two days. It was shipped in a new box with the plastic straps and edge protection, just like it was shipped to me new.
Test it out. I’ve been running now for almost a week without any reliability issues. Whatever was wrong, seems to have been fixed. It’s using less power when it mows resulting in longer mowing cycles.
All in all, it was a good option and (knock on wood) solved my reliability issues. It’s been running all day, every day since it came back. Yes, it was a pain to ship it back and yes, it took time to get it to their techs to fix and ship back to me, but in my opinion, it was worth it. I would do it all over again before I accepted a refurb core. I’ve read stories about what some of the refurbs look like and getting a ‘scratch and dent’ refurb would really make me mad after only having it for 45 days.
I hope this gives you a bit of confidence in the process and hopefully you’ll have the same outcome as I’ve experienced.
One other factor which may have been a contributing factor…I noticed when cleaning the mower that the left side wheel wasn’t turning freely like the right side wheel. I’m wondering if it was locking up and that’s what was contributing to my issues. This wasn’t due to obstructions as I cleaned the underside of the mower module multiple times prior to it being replaced. I don’t think it explains everything, but something for you to check before you send it in. I mention this because I had an issue with the mower module and they shipped me a new replacement mower module at the same time as I was shipping the core in.
Feel free to DM me if you want to discuss this in more detail.
One last thing I just thought of… When my core came back, it had the same left motor/track module as was shipped to them. This is interesting because it was locked up when I sent it to them and I expected to see a new left motor/track. Maybe they just replaced the gearbox?
This only reinforces why we need a diagnostic and repair report from the techs. The support team has promised to get me details, but all they’ve given me so far is “diagnostics were run and all software and hardware issues were resolved” which isn’t helpful at all.
The don’t like to talk about any issues. And yes more diagnostics available to the user would be great and has been asked on here a few hundred times I think.
We understand your need for a more detailed diagnosis and repair report.
I also noticed that you have already submitted a support ticket regarding this. Our support team will continue to follow up on your case and provide more detailed information about the diagnosis and repair process once it is available.
Thanks for your patience and understanding.
Thanks for your reply. Yes, I’ve created a ticket (which I don’t feel I should have had to create because the repair was associated with a different ticket).
I’m going to make a prediction based on previous support experiences (and I really hope I’m wrong). This case is going to sit and get no meaningful updates for a few weeks. Updates like ‘Your case has been assigned to a technician’ and ‘Your case has been escalated and we’ll be getting back with you soon’ or the ‘we’re waiting to hear from the Chicago team about this but our systems don’t allow us to directly communicate with them’. Then I’m going to be told that it’s been too long and all records relating to my repair have been deleted or are unable to be located. I hope I’m wrong… I’ll keep everyone updated on what I get back from them. So far, my ticket has been logged and has yet to be assigned to a tech a day after opening the case. And this is after calling them and talking to the support staff about this and my other open cases. Yarbo support, please surprise me like you did with the quick turnaround on my repairs!
Thank you.
I saw on your other forum post that they’re sending you a new core replacement. Hopefully that ends the issues you’ve been encountering.
For anyone following along, support got back to me and let me know the issue was due to mechanical binding in the gearbox. I may take apart one of the old tracks that I replaced to see if I can access the gearbox and try to see if I can investigate a bit myself. That said, they had no explanation regarding why it failed the same way three times in a relatively short period of time. I wonder if they were not properly packed with lubricant or something.
They did not provide any details about what other diagnostics were run. Also, their account of what work was done was not 100% complete as they did replace the speaker and remove a seized screw, but it was enough to satisfy me.
For anyone doing their own work on their Yarbo core or modules, I would highly recommend an impact driver and a good set of hex bits with extenders to get to the screws in the corners. It’s easy to strip out the head on those smaller screws.
Thanks for the detailed comments, cycodelic — your full breakdown of the shipping, repair, and return process really did help build back some confidence going into this.
Like you, I did NOT want a refurbished unit, which is exactly what I would have received had I sent mine back for them to repair. Mine wasn’t 45 days old — it was literally under 4 hours old.
Yarbo did eventually agree to send me a brand-new core, which I received on Sunday, July 12. So far (knock on wood), it’s been working great, though occasionally it still “sees” an obstacle where none exists and refuses to continue until I take remote control and nudge it forward a few inches.