John Deere 4000 series promotional video

[Hillbilly]

Could anyone tell me where or how to obtain the John Deere 4000 series promotional video that John Deere has marketed?
Thank you

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Check out this post for ordering :John Deere Free Video

Also you can order @ John Deere On-line.

 

[JATO_RaT]

I would send you mine, I'm done with it. JD did a nice job pointing out the strengths of the 4000 series. Its up to you to find its weaknesses, Rat...

 

[deere4600]

It is a pretty good video. As you might expect, Deere points out the strengths and conveniently avoids their shortcomings. I found especially interesting the part that showed how gentle the tractors were on turf and it showed a 4400 I believe mowing at a moderate speed engaged in a nice tight turn. If they had shown that same tractor before the new MFWD axle was redesigned it would have shown huge chunks of turf flying in the air. I think Deere is trying to put behind them the poor design of their original axle but being careful not to draw too much attention. Of course they didn't mention that NewHolland has a nicer swivel seat and telescoping steering. The video was also produced prior to the introduction of the telescoping three point hitch draft links (which work great). I saw a video a few years ago that was made for NewHolland dealers to sell Boomers against Kubota and John Deere and they did the same. You point out your good points and let the customer see if he/she can find the bad.

 

[JOR_EL]

Deere4600,

[[[I found especially interesting the part that showed how gentle the tractors were on turf and it showed a 4400 I believe mowing at a moderate speed engaged in a nice tight turn. If they had shown that same tractor before the new MFWD axle was redesigned it would have shown huge chunks of turf flying in the air. I think Deere is trying to put behind them the poor design of their original axle but being careful not to draw too much attention.]]]

I find it interesting that you find it interesting /w3tcompact/icons/tongue.gif !

Maybe I'm missing something. Are you suggesting that it would be more 'proper" in some way, if a manufacturer showed the old, before-improvements-were-made versions of their equipment ( those come in all colors you know) in a video intended (like all of them) to encourage sales?

Seems like a no-brainer to me, .,.. and honesty to the consumer doesn't require putting all your past design failures in a spotlight, centerstage.

For one, I am interested in what a company offers TODAY, and I certainly HOPE they have incorporated what improvements were called for. A listing of past attempts, good OR bad, wouldn't mean much to me.

My question is a simple one, ..."How good are they NOW!!"

Larry /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[deere4600]

JOR EL, The reason I said I found it interesting is that those of us who had the early 4000 series tractors (I had the 4300 before I traded for the 4600) were told initially that there was not a problem with the MFWD axle. I complained to my dealer the next day after my 4300 was delivered. I made one turn in my yard and could see exactly where the front wheels had turned. The issue was discussed in great detail over at the compact tractor message board (www.jplan.com) and most of us were receiving the same answer from Deere. Deere kept saying there was no problem with the axle. 18 months after initial production Deere puts the new axle into production and replaces the old axle only to those who have a complaint on file. No factory recall and no acknowledgment that there was a problem. The turf tearing axle problem was so well known to everyone except John Deere that a NewHolland dealer showed me a sales training manual that pointed out Deere's problem with the turf tearing MFWD axle. Don't get me wrong. I had the new axle installed on my 4600 and it was a huge improvement. It does not surprise me that Deere highlights the good points in their promotional movie and the gentle MFWD axle is a good one. But those of us who had to push Deere for a new axle design and wait 18 months for resolution might find it interesting that the video shows the tractor gliding over the turf without a hint of flying turf. Some of the 4000 owners were initially told that unless they had turf tires and a belly mower no new axle was necessary. Of course, tell that to your dealer when you try to trade one with the old axle. I am willing to bet that trade in value will be reduced if you have the old axle. My post was not intended to overly critical of Deere. It was just intended to get a small "dig" at Deere for the way they handled the axle mess. Deere should have come out within the first few months and said there is a problem and the axles will be replaced for everone.

 

[JOR_EL]

deere4600,

If I'd had your "axle" experience, I'd probably have the same reaction to the new prominately-displayed performance. I was fortunate enough to read some of the reports before I bought my 4700, so I knew which axle to look for.(Initially I had thought the problem axles were "pre" 4700, ... but not so!- I found a 4700 on a dealers lot with the "old" type axle.)

Your "dig" at Deere seems perfectly reasonable to me, in light of their apparent reluctance to face up to the problem in an open manner initially. Can't help wondering who makes these types of "stonewall" policy decisions, ...don't they have a clue what it does to their PR? Does simple, straightforwardness (honesty!) always play second-fiddle to "bean counters" statistics?

I guess what I was saying is that we can't really expect THEM to take digs at THEMSELVES, in a promo-video.

I never had the old axle, but am happy to hear from someone who has had both, that the NEW one is a good one.

Thanks for your comments, /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Larry

 

[JATO_RaT]

Could either of you explain this axle to me. I saw the video yet nothing pointing out this "MFWD" axle was explicitly mentioned. I did see the part about the very good turning radius compared to the NH Super Steer. Even the JD 4700 brochure has no promo on it. Thanks, Rat...

 

[deere4600]

Larry, you are right about the "stonewall" policy. I must not understand corporate America because Deere is not the only one that does it. Over at the Compact Tractor Board (j.plan.com) the problem with the MFWD axle on the 4000 series was discussed everyday for about 8 months. It was probably the most discussed topic for that period. Several posters stated they had looked at the Deere but either went to Newholland or Kubota because of the axle problem. I kept wondering if anyone at Deere was reading these posts because if they were, how could they in light of the lost sales. The disappoinment with Deere centered on the refusal to admit there was a problem. I doubt that 4000 series owners would have been "blasting" Deere if they had just admitted the problem. In fact, I believe would have only strengthened the bond between Deere and the customers. One of the reasons I have been a loyal John Deere customer is because if their past excellent support. I'm on my 7th JD compact utility tractor now. I traded my 4600 for a new 4400 a couple of weeks ago. But I came dangerously close to a TC33D Newholland. I think they are an excellent tractor and I know I would have been happy with it. Two years ago when I went looking at the 4000 series tractors I never really considered anything but a Deere. But the MFWD axle mess pushed me in another direction. I suspect there are many owners of NewHolland Boomers and Kubotas because of John Deere's decision on the axle. My 4400 of course has the axle and it works great. I also have the telescoping draft links for the three point which are fantastic. My love for JD is slowly returning. I just think it is going to take some time for we fanatics to recover.

 

[cowboydoc]

No offense to anyone but this bashing is kind of bad. Every new model that comes out comes out with bugs. It doesn't matter who the mfg. is. The Boomer had massive steering problems, kubota has had problems, they all have. The reason the mfg. don't just rush out and say oh we have a major problem is because they don't know that there is a problem yet. When these tractors go through the design and testing process they are put through every imaginable test that there is. They don't purposely put out a bad product. I mean how ridiculous is that? The JD is the heaviest built, most pump capacities, etc. JD goes above and beyond when they build their tractors. The JD headquarters is right here and I treat many of the engineers and employees and their attitude is quality and perfection. They still uphold the same pride from years ago. I was talking to one of the design engineers the other day and he told me that once a problem is reported they go through the tractor with a fine tooth comb to see if it is a recall issue. The problem with the MFWD is that not all the axles did it, just some. As soon as they figured out what the cause was and how to fix they put out a bulletin on how to fix it. It wasn't a recall because not all the axles were affected. You know if you were the CEO of John Deere and you heard that there was a possible problem would you just issue a recall without doing any testing or seeing exactly what the extent of the problem was? Of cours not you would investigate and find out exaclty what the problem was before you made any hasty decisions. I mean how long do you think it takes to test, redesign, mfg., and get the product out?

I hear the same stuff about the Ford, Dodge, etc. automatics. My family has three 99 and up Ford diesels with the automatics with over a hundred k and not one transmission problem. Yet you go to Ford diesel page and they beat Ford up everyday over the transmission even though they've got a transmission equivalent to a truck. Yet when you do the numbers only about 1% of transmissions have problems, but a few people making alot of noise makes it seem like it's a bad truck and transmission. I guess I sympathize with the corporations because like some of the other guys on here who are docs can tell you people expect absolute perfectionism from you and it's just impossible to do that all the time. When you make a mistake you do your best to fix it. Very few people or corporations do it intentionally. WITH that said that is not to say that corporations don't cover things up they do, but for the most part when there is a problem they figure it out and put out a fix for it. That doesn't mean you have an inferior product or that you should pay for a mistake for the rest of your corporate existence and that you should publicize all your past failures.