pharmer-phil
New member
Hello, fellow Kubota owners. I traded my little Kubota garden tractor a few months ago for the L3830 with HST. This is a second tractor for us as my wife is usually out there helping me shred, etc., (I married a winner).
I "test drove" the tractor around the dealership's lot and everything seemed fine. In the pasture, however, things changed.
(This is a little difficult to describe in words, so bear with me.) Before we figured out the problem, when using the HST pedal, the tractor would begin surging forward. The more it surged, the worse it got. It was like riding a bucking bronc or pretty close to it.
I contacted the dealer and he came out and tried it but didn't seem to do it for him, but it did it when I drove it and did it for my wife and my brother.
We figured it out finally. It seems that the roughness of pasture bounces the frame of the tractor and also the foot that sits on the pedal. The bouncing motion is transferred to the HST foot pedal. The motion then creates a surge in the forward progress of the tractor and the more it surges, the more the tractor surges until you can't stand it anymore and you have to take your foot off the pedal and start over. Whew!
Ok, I know the tractor has a cruise control, and this problem does not occur on cruise, or if the HST pedal is "pegged" on the stop-bolt on the floorboard, so this helps prove the 'transfer of motion' that I described, above, as the most likely culprit.
Yes, I can use the cruise control, but there are times it is not practical to do so, such as mowing small or tight areas. Switching back and forth from pedal to cruise is somewhat cumbersome in some situations. Mowing long rows is not a problem, of course, to switch to cruise.
In my opinion, there is a problem with the HST "feather-touch" on the L3830 which makes the HST foot pedal practically unusable.
I drove the L4330 around the dealership's lot, and purposely into some very rough areas off the pavement, last Friday afternoon, and the 4330 didn't seem to have the problem.
I'm a little put out at Kubota because they are not really acknowledging the problem and my requests for help have gone by the wayside. I don't want to be unreasonable, but I would like for Kubota to buy it back from me and I don't think that is unreasonable.
Kubota service says there's very little adjustment that can be done to the stiffness of the pedal and they've adjusted it all that can be and, of course, the problem is still there, so I'm going to be stuck with something that does not operate as described and as I expected.
If you are looking at a tractor in the Grand L series, be sure to drive it in an area that will replicate the conditions of your actual usage. Better yet, do a demo on your on property. I wish I had.
Pharmer Phil
I "test drove" the tractor around the dealership's lot and everything seemed fine. In the pasture, however, things changed.
(This is a little difficult to describe in words, so bear with me.) Before we figured out the problem, when using the HST pedal, the tractor would begin surging forward. The more it surged, the worse it got. It was like riding a bucking bronc or pretty close to it.
I contacted the dealer and he came out and tried it but didn't seem to do it for him, but it did it when I drove it and did it for my wife and my brother.
We figured it out finally. It seems that the roughness of pasture bounces the frame of the tractor and also the foot that sits on the pedal. The bouncing motion is transferred to the HST foot pedal. The motion then creates a surge in the forward progress of the tractor and the more it surges, the more the tractor surges until you can't stand it anymore and you have to take your foot off the pedal and start over. Whew!
Ok, I know the tractor has a cruise control, and this problem does not occur on cruise, or if the HST pedal is "pegged" on the stop-bolt on the floorboard, so this helps prove the 'transfer of motion' that I described, above, as the most likely culprit.
Yes, I can use the cruise control, but there are times it is not practical to do so, such as mowing small or tight areas. Switching back and forth from pedal to cruise is somewhat cumbersome in some situations. Mowing long rows is not a problem, of course, to switch to cruise.
In my opinion, there is a problem with the HST "feather-touch" on the L3830 which makes the HST foot pedal practically unusable.
I drove the L4330 around the dealership's lot, and purposely into some very rough areas off the pavement, last Friday afternoon, and the 4330 didn't seem to have the problem.
I'm a little put out at Kubota because they are not really acknowledging the problem and my requests for help have gone by the wayside. I don't want to be unreasonable, but I would like for Kubota to buy it back from me and I don't think that is unreasonable.
Kubota service says there's very little adjustment that can be done to the stiffness of the pedal and they've adjusted it all that can be and, of course, the problem is still there, so I'm going to be stuck with something that does not operate as described and as I expected.
If you are looking at a tractor in the Grand L series, be sure to drive it in an area that will replicate the conditions of your actual usage. Better yet, do a demo on your on property. I wish I had.
Pharmer Phil
I still prefer two pedals, but the real problem has been solved and there is no more bucking bronco. If your dealer is unfamiliar, show him where I'm talking about under the tractor and have him look up those parts with Kubota. If can[b/] be fixed. Good luck!