Why I will not buy another Kioti tractor in the future.

[Agentiron]

I have owned a CK20 for the past year and a half. It has been a good unit, with some features that make it special in it's class. I have had some minor problems with mine such as the crappy hydro pedal, loader bucket that wants to drop rapidly, but erratically, cheesy loader joystick that failed, and cracking loader. The tractor has been pretty good other then that.

The final straw was a couple months ago I noticed excessive smoke, hard starts, and the smell of fuel. It turns out the intake gasket was installed improperly from the factory, which caused it to eat dirt until there was major engine damage. The way Kioti handled the engine replacement was very slow, and hard on the local dealer. Eventually they decided to send a motor, but took nearly a week to send it. All and all my tractor was down well over two weeks...I had a great deal of work to do, but had not tractor. Now I bought the tractor under my business name, so the warranty only covered parts but no labor.

Now maybe I am being fussy, but Kioti recognized the improper installation of the intake gasket that caused my failure at less then 600 hours, but feel that all they need to do is stand by the letter of the failure. I also realize that warranties are to cover manufacturers defects, but in this case it is easy to see what the cause of the failure was, and it was clearly from the factory. I do not understand why they would not cover the ....$1000 labor on the engine replacement.

I bought this diesel powered tractor because I expect it to be desigend properly with quality products so that if I do my part, the motor should last several thousand hours. I use Shaeffer oil.....the best I know of, a meticulous with my maintenance on all my machines, because I want my machines to last and last. I am so angry that I never had a chance with this unit, no matter how hard I worked at careing for it. Perhaps if I had used inferior oil, the motor would have failed under the two year full warranty and been completely covered. Maybe I am being punished for good maintenance.

I really think this is a crappy way to deal with customers. I also called multiple people from the factory, including the head of customer service and never got a call. Eventually I heard from a representative who gave me the company line.

Hey they saved $1000 on my labor, but they lost thousands on any future purchases I might make.

I am really disapointed.
AI

[Legdoc]

Agentiron, I agree with you 100%. That is why I will never buy another Chevrolet. Similar story on a lemon Silverado. Consider a Kubota as I am very pleased with the quality and dependability!
Legdoc

[TBDonnelly]

From Kioti's website:

"We are committed to our customers and strongly believe in the reliability of our tractors," says Michael McChargue, Product Support Manager for KIOTI. "All major components of each tractor are manufactured by KIOTI, which allows us to maintain the quality control standards that make it possible for us to continue to provide industry leading warranties to our customers.

Have you contacted Michael McChargue?

Don

[Agentiron]

Don

No, I have not tried that gentleman. I called the three other fellas, but not the one you listed. I will go to the website and see about contacting him as well. I appreciate your help.
AI

[MichiganIron]

If we could help you get in touch with the right people at KIOTI, let us know. We are all committed to a fine product and customer support.

With any piece of machinery, it's often not what happens that is important, it is how it is dealt with in a professional manner.

[RedRocker]

I'd call an attorney.

[Sandlot]

Call an attorney? Why? Are they good at wrenching on tractors? Who knew?

[sandman2234]

They must be good mechanics, cause they are always chasing ambulances around here, in case one breaks down.
David from jax

[Dodgeram]

They must be good mechanics, cause they are always chasing ambulances around here, in case one breaks down.
David from jax

And when they catch them, the original diagnosis/consultation is free
The problem is when they start "working", all bets are off
Tom

[mark.r]

Sounds like you had a tough go at it, sorry to hear it. Although I will say a week to get a brand new engine doesn't seem out of the question. At any rate, I had an issue with my local dealership. They screwed up a tire change, (minor, I know) but then went out of business. I contacted Kioti in North Carolina and spoke to Terry in Kioti customer service. He was EXTREMELY helpful. It was not Kioti's problem but they had another dealer at my house on a SUNDAY with a brand rim/tire and changed it out. I could have asked for more.