John Deere X540 Multi Terrain

Great service and the delivery was very quick, would reccomend to anyone. well worth using.

Bought the John Deere X540 tractor from the dealer with a hydraulic tiller and snow blade as an off the floor demonstrator tractor with a few hours on it in 2008; the attachments were brand new. Since then it has had multiple repairs all before 90 hours of use.

*-Tiller hose came loose and pumped a gallon of oil onto soil - 1st day of service.

*-Engine stalls when trying to engage deck - must use choke

*-Engine would stop running in the middle of the yard - Dead Battery

*-Same event happened 1 month later - electical fault in the engine

*-Difficult to start - white smoke at start-up

*-Noticed coolant on the floor - water pump seal is leaking

*-Failed to drive in reverse with any power, gradually lost speed - motion rod nut came loose

*-Blade lift rod came loose and bent - defective pins

*-Noticed rust on frame - battery is leaking

*-Deck Guide Wheel is loose and wobbles - plastic is worn out

*-Blade lift rod is ruined again - same failure as before

*-Engine is now using coolant again.

*-Engine is loosing power and puffs black sooty smoke, dificult to start again.

*-Engine stalls when trying to engage deck - must use choke - ongoing issue

For $10,000 I would have expected so much more; sorely disapointed.

Deck keeps needing repair only about 150 hours of use been repair at least

three times and is going in for its next repair.

Deere X540 mows our 5 acres (rough ground)very well. Also keeps our 300+ foot drive clear without help using 48" blade. It's like a tank when used with tire chains (no weights). Down side, cheap plastic handle for raise/lower control. Dealer got me another under warranty. Be sure and get the rubber squeegee for the snow blade. It works! In 50+ hours only issue was the plastic handle. Finished the winter using Vice-grips. Our dealer is great!!

A truly great machine for the karger lawns. Lots of power, easy to maneuver and low maintenance requirements. The mulching can also be recomended. I use the tractor for a 15000 square meter lawn with lots of trees, hedges and other obstacles. Its takes 2.5 hours to cover. After 70 hours of cutting I've not noticed anything negative about this machine. Strong and reliable John Deere quality with many design features straight from farming equipment. Like the solid frame,the front suspension and the easy positioned buttons and levers.

John Deere X540 Multi Terrain has incredible power-really cuts grass wet or dry.Belt for mower deck failed prematurely-replaced free by dealer-deck wheel bolt vibrated loose and was lost -dealer replaced free of charge.Multi-terrain feature is awesome.Only one small complaint.Plastic covers over deck pulleys are bolt-on-a pain to remove after every use-should be clip-on like Kubota.I took mine off and left them off.All things considered it`s a great tractor-mine is just nearing 100 hours.I`m sure it will last for many years.

This John Deere X540 with 54 inch mulching deck is an upgrade from "garden centre" ride-ons for me. To answer the questions nobody could answer before I bought - yes it can cut rough pasture (in my case a few brambles and tough (really tough) couch grass)but probably not saplings. And yes - with the 54 inch deck it can cut my grass in an acceptable time. About 50 minutes for a 3/4 acre orchard with 80 mature trees, all neatly mowed round, and a long hour for a 1.5 acre paddock - rough pasture as described. It mows the lawn well too.

The power steering makes for great maneuvarability and it will cut rough with the mulcher deck. Only criticism is that the cutter deck is REALLY heavy to re-install, and I am no 7 stone weakling.

Good points: quiet, powerful, fast, comfortable, power steering and hydraulic deck lift, together with cutter deck wider than wheels, make for really good cutting round obstacles.

Less good points : Needed to widen shed doors to get it in, and whilst the cutter deck is simple in concept to refit, it is seriously heavy to hold whilst aligning the holes, and the springs on the clips are for real men only.

Overall - superb machine for large lawns and pasture up to 5 or 6 acres. Seriously better than previous ride-ons with up to 38" cut.

I have the John Deere X540 Multi Terrain 54 inch mower and it works great. I too would the deck to have a higher cutting height for walking path in the field.Great discharge of damp grass. I also have the 42 inch snow blower which worked very well last winter.

My John Deere walks up hills like a tank. It rides smooth. Put the knob on the steering wheel for great onehand steering-no need for power steering. Deck comes off easy but you must be patient to follow directions.

overall I have found the John Deere X540 to be a very good machine so far have had it for 3 months and have really used the day lights out of it ,with the 42 in roator tiller really works well,good out fit.