Generac Power Systems
Reviews and Complaints
No support whatsoever!
Preferred solution: Full refund
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Verified ReviewerBeware of Generac Warranty
- Parts and warranty
Generac Power Systems - Generator Review from Mitchell, Indiana
Things you should know before buying a Generac product. Or What I learned from my own mistakes
Generac once had a good product , good service, local dealers and warranty.
SINCE generac chose quanity over quality and started selling to retail stores the product quality,service and installation has become worthless. They have cut their dealer throats by selling to Lowes Home depot and others. The retail stores recommends a limited experienced company to install the unit most of which are not electricians. Those companies are not allowed to service the generators or even buy parts from generac and the retail store will not give any support after the sale of any product that is not installed by a licensed electrican. Even though they recommended the company.
Real generator dealers and qualified electricians will not install or perform warranty repairs on generac products purchased by the customer at a retail store.
When you have a problem within the warranty period and call for an authorized warranty dealer. The service company will show up and tell you that the problem is not due to workmanship , but due to an improper installation, resulting in a huge bill to you because the servicing dealer had to drive hundreds of miles to get there at $100+ /hr . Just to tell you what is wrong is not a warranty repair and they will have to get parts that you will be charged for at a 200%+ markup plus another labor and trip charge for a non- warranty repair.
Generac has alienated their former dealers and service network in exchange for a greed driven, third world service and sales policy.
the product itself is now made primarily made from cheap chinese and mexican made components with one of the highest failure rate in the industry.
ANY ONE EVEN CONSIDERING BUYING A GENERAC PRODUCT WILL BE THROWING THEIR MONEY AWAY.
Buying a generac product is a mistake I will never make again.
Waste of money and time
I purchased a Generac Centurian 10Kw standby generator from Lowes Home Improvement in January, 2011. Lowes delivered it and it was installed by a licensed electrician who followed the installation guidelines provided upon delivery. It has been maintained by the owners manual for oil changes, filter changes, etc. In addition, a Generac authorized service dealer has done ALL repairs to date.
1) The first problem began within weeks of installation when the generator battery charge was not being maintained. I was told by the authorized service dealer that this was a common problem and that I should purchase a smaller trickle charger to maintain the battery. Replacing the controller did not guarantee the problem would be fixed.
2) The second problem occurred about 9 months after installation when it was noticed that it was leaking oil. When running, it would "spray oil" all over the inside of the housing and out of the ventilation panel. Inspection revealed a crack in the casing near the cooling fan. The engine was replaced.
3) The third problem was a short in the control board which caused the whole system to shut down. The board was replaced and this also fixed the battery charging problem (#1).
4) The fourth problem was the assembly controller motor which caused the engine to rev and shut down with an error message "Over RPM". Replacement of the assembly controller corrected the problem.
5) The fifth problem was when the engine would not start. It would crank but never fire up. It was discovered there was no compression in the values, so the engine was replaced again.
6) The most recent problem (occurred in May, 2014) was when the engine would not start and the error message was "under voltage". I am told this is the rotor/stator side of the genset. The warranty ran out in January 2014.
I contacted Generac to request a warranty extension to correct the problem since this unit had had so many issues from the time of installation. After MANY calls and emails over 5 months and visits from several other service dealers attempting to diagnose the problems, Generac decided the warranty could not be extended because it had never been properly installed and maintained. Their reason…it was too close to the house. Then they asked about our usage since the system had over 1000 hrs when it finally died, 3 engines later. Remember, several Generac Authorized Service Dealers had been to the site and none of them told us we were out of spec or were using it incorrectly. We used the unit as a backup to our off-grid system. When the unit ran, it was usually on rainy days or in the middle of the night when our battery bank was depleted. “Standby” generators are not supposed to be used as a “primary power source” which is defined as any situation where there is no utility company supplying power. This was not clear to us until after we purchased the unit and spent 3 years trying to keep it running.
The bottom line: Generac is not interested in customer service. They are only interested in sales. If a unit is purchased from a Generac dealer and installed by a Generac dealer it does not guarantee that Generac will uphold its warranties. More importantly, the Generac standby units are not designed to take any heavy use such as continuous run time or high run hours. I was told by one dealer that most Generac units will have a major problem before 500 hrs. In addition, the engines are very inefficient. Our unit burned 2 gallons of LP per hr of use. A home owner would be better off to purchase a smaller portable gas powered generator with an electric key start. These will cost only a fraction of one standby unit and will last for years under regular use. Don’t waste your money on a Generac standby. The peace of mind you will feel from owning one will quickly disappear when the unit fails right when you need it most.
- Product
- Customer service
Preferred solution: Let the company propose a solution
FAULTY EQUIPMENT
Generator 4 years out of warranty- 160.7 total hours of run time--Generac will not help with the repair- $1,245.00
Generator quit charging. Generator has only run less than 7 days total.
Generac says they go by warranty dates rather than run time. Rotor coming apart- small pieces of copper wire scattered about. See it is a problem with some of the others. Listen to their advertisements while waiting for them to answer your calls.
Says the generators run day after day and week after week in emergency situations. I bought it for my wife for emergency situations while I was working out of state. Good thing she didn't have many that lasted that long.
My confidence has deteriorated immensely in this company and their products. I have a model # 0055040, serial # 514****
Generac Service and Generator Useless Piece
I install many Generac generator being an Electrical contractor. I guess I have been lucky until now.
Purchased 16 KW unit from AP Electric which advertises free technical support for any problems. I bought this generator 9/7/11. First time customer needs generator it does not work comes up LOW Voltage on control screen. Call AP Electric they tell me we had problems with units running on quite test mode weekly take it out of quit test mode should be fine.
Did as I was told. Technical support to me is when the manufacturer will walk you through problem. customer calls 1 month later no generator. Customer installed generator because he has medical needs.
Called AP who told me technical support is we can sell you the repair manual for $19.00. They give me a list of 15 authorized service providers in customers area who will come out to repair unit. I called all of them most told me they only service what they install or would have to wait 8 to 12 weeks others said they were service technicians in past but it was a real problem dealing with Generac. Here I am back to square 0ne.
Unit is now out of warranty owner threaten to take a law suit against me. It is one of my best customers. Generac customer service
on 9/22/14 tells me they have 350 service people in country it impossible no one will service the unit. The women could not have been nastier if she tried.
I have a piece of junk generator sitting and had to install new unit for customer. AP Electric partner called me but was exactly useless. Told me he just bought company 1 year ago and does'nt think its his problem. I have bought 5 other Generators from him in the last year.
If he does not help I will be buying my Kohler Generators from someone else.
GENERAC IS JUNK DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY ON GENERAC. I am having a banners made to put on my box trucks that drive all over Philadelphia with GENERAC IS JUNK DO NOT BUY.
- Customer service
Preferred solution: Full refund
Generac Ix Series 2000 Review
Generac 2700 psi power washer problem
Power washer continues to lose pressure because it destroys the check valves. When i take the pump apart the lower check valves have the little stopper plug pushed completely thru the plastic bushing.
I have replace all 3 of these check valves twice already and yesterday they all went bad again. At about $30 each time for a set of these it's getting rather ridiculous and expensive.
This is a poor design and I wish Generac would go good for the repairs each time. The power washer works good when I works right but it is more times than not in the repair shop..I read the reviews on this unit but I think I got a lemon!
Preferred solution: Let the company propose a solution
Good generator, lousy customer service
- Product
- Customer service
- Company policy
Preferred solution: provide service manuals to consumers
File FTC.gov complaint about Generac Warranty
The FTC says the company is obligated to fix its product during a warranty period. If the company cannot repair it, then they MUST replace it.
Why are you all stressing and not taking the least bit of action?
https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/business-center/guidance/businesspersons-guide-federal-warranty-law
HOW TO FILE A COMPLAINT: http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/media/video-0054-how-file-complaint
Otherwise, it is a great place to gent here and share how bad these experiences are. In particular, it's absurd this company is treating consumers like this considering it is a product you literally buy for a really bad, God-awful rainy day. Right?
Good luck and hope you all find solace.
Honeywell 12Kw Brush Failure
Activated unit in October 2012. Annual maintenance done with Synthetic oil even though manual says every two years following first oil change. Early this Spring, generator would not start and onboard and wireless monitor showing low voltage. Phoned Generac and was told, without qualification, it was under warranty and gave me number for nearby authorised service agent. Tech came and suspected control board... Wasn't that, then diode so Generac said replace harness...apparently wasn't that so finally replaced brushes which were worn done after less than 38 hours logged..almost all for exercise mode or test runs. Prior to coming out, they also confirmed warranty coverage!
Received call from servicing company that generac refused the labor portion of their claim. I phoned Generac Customer Service and was effectively stonewalled saying parts only covered in 3rd year regardless of logged time on unit.
Two relatives are commercial electricians... One a Master electrician.. Both are aghast brushes would need replacement with so few hours...basically 3 days of continuous run.
General/Honeywell has proved to me that it is totally unreliable and a waste of money. My 3500 KW unit bought in 1998 saw, in one incident of grid outage, 12 days 24/7 running and has needed no service in all these years.
- Product quality
Preferred solution: Full refund
This review is from a real person who provided valid contact information and hasn't been caught misusing, spamming or abusing our website. Check our FAQ
Verified Reviewer | Alliance, OhioGenerac Power Systems - Generator Gp6500 Review from Alliance, Ohio
Generac Power Systems - Generator Review from Brooklyn, New York
Why I would never ever do business with Generac again. I tried to purchase a generator Oct.2014.
They gave my information to one of there contractors, because you can't buy directly from them. Laurelton electric (this is the most unprofessional ,disrespectful group of thugs,I felt like I was in bad episode of the sopranos) is the name of the contractors. Just simply horrible people. Michael *** is the owner of laurelton electric.
This guy takes my money and did no work. We spent 3700.00 dollars to have our generator installed.(just as down payment ) Its March 2015 he has not even ordered the generator yet from Generac . He has lied to us on numerous occasions about the city filings. Which is not hectic process if you know what your doing.
When we questions them on what it's taking so long, you get a over the top fake rendition of Tony Soprano. (A fat fake thug who relies on the old stigma of the mafia,) I have proof they have lied via emails. I presented this to Genarac hoping they would see the proof and reign in there contractor. Was I wrong.
Genarac's Chad Olson. Amanda.Olivares@***.com pacified me as long as they could just to get their legal jargon together. Now won't even accept my calls. When I originally spoke to Chad Olson he said he was working on getting my money back, I even offered another solution, they keep the money just send another contractor to do the job that laurelton electric would not or could not do for the remaining balance, he acted like it was a good idea then stopped communicating with me.
I have no generator and am out of my 3700.00 dollars laurelton electric said they spent 2500.00 dollars on on filling fees and other miscellaneous things, and would only refund 1200.00. I am preparing to take laurelton electric to court to try and get a full refund. In closing, Don't Do It.
It's not wort the time an money you are going to loose. I will be posting my progress stay tuned!!!!!!!
Kevin Hart Cedar Electric now Choice Generators
Preferred solution: Full refund
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Just to update - I had my credit card company dispute the charge for the unit and they reimbursed me. It is now 3/16/2015 and no one from Generac has contacted me and the unit is still under a tarp in my garage. I also still have no generator, but don't want to go out and buy another one because I don't know what the final determination of the charge dispute will be.
My grandfather and I was considering getting this, now I'm not.
Wow that does sound frustrating, nationwide network of service centers however does not imply in everyone's "backyard" 30 miles is not extreme in my mind.
At least Generac has 24/7 customer service. It seems as though some dealers just don't try hard enough to use their resources. cootos to your representative.
From my experience you either get a representative that wants to help and cares or you don't. At least you had calls returned and your representative showed an effort.