Kubota RTV Facts/Fiction...

[mstordahl]

First off, just want to say hi to everyone on here as I am new, seems to be a very friendly forum and I like it. I have noticed since I started looking on this forum a lot of wrong information and a lot of grey area for a lot of people and wanted to try to help and use my knowledge to help some others and better their experiences with the product. I am going to put together a list of things about the rtvs that seem to be common issues that do not need to be. If a dealer or a tech really cares about the problem, you would not have any of these issues. So here they are:

rtv 500:
Power on these units is not nearly as bad as many have been told or experienced. No, they are not a rhino or a razer, but they will work hard and have a lot of torque. All of the power issues that I have ran into so far have been easy to fix with rpm and hst servo adjustments.
Shifting should also not be an issue. When stopped to shift, with the brake pedal firmly pressed and fully stopped, the transmission will shift smooth and easy. Also, the hst should never bog the motor out, and dont ever let ANYONE tell you that ANY rtv you need to back out of the pedal to get up hills and keep from bogging out the motor. This is plain and outright wrong, false and ignorant. The hst on ALL the rtv's is designed to keep the motor in its powerband and act much like a belt drive cvt, not a tractor hst. If it bogs out, get it adjusted, or ask for some help on adjusting it, I will gladly help.

rvt 900, 1100, 1140:
Power on these is the same issue as the 500, sometimes rpm is to low, but mostly it is just the hst servo needs some tweaking. Like I said above, if it doesnt act as designed, have it adjusted. Same servo on all the rtv hst's to adjust how aggressive the trans is.
Shifting is aso not an issue if operated correctly and the hst, cables and dump valve are adjusted properly. If a unit does not shift when completely stopped with the foot firmly on the brake pedal after a 2 second count, something needs adjustment or repair. Most of the time a little patience and some knowledge on how to shift properly makes all the difference.
Holdback being too agressive can also be tailored to individual persons. I always have customers test them when they buy a unit and adjust it according to how much retarding power they want. It is a quick and easy adjustment again, if you know what you are doing, and makes the machine a lot more enjoyable to use for some.


I want more than anything to have everyone know that these machines are much better than the reputation that they have been given, and that some simple and easy fixes (mostly free) can make them everything that they were promised and designed to be. If there is anything that I have missed, let it be added, and others opinions are always welcome to me. I will try my best to help anyone with a problem on these machines, just ask.

Thanks, Matt

 

[jamesm1976]

mstordahl- thanks for the post. We just got an 1140 this past week. So far very happy with the machine. One question- I'm assuming the "holdback" is the braking action of the transmission. How can this be adjusted. Ours is adequate in forward gears but very aggressive in reverse. I would like to soften it up a bit in the forward gears. I am yet to use the breaks in 5 hours of use as the transmission stops the unit before I can even put my foot on the brakes.

 

[mstordahl]

The holdback of the machine, both in forward and reverse is controlled by the same relief valve in the transmission. To adjust this, you have to have some good mechanical knowledge and know what to look for. If you feel confident, I will try to help. What I would suggest is since the unit is so new, you should talk to your dealer and have them adjust it for you.

Matt

 

[timswi]

Matt,

Have a couple of questions to make sure everything that I did is cool.

1) I had to adjust the throttle cable (the part with the 2 12mm jamb nuts) about a qurater inch to the rear of the machine to get the governer stop to hit with RPM at spec. It's more toward the back than the front. Does this sound correct?

2) I adjusted the servo 1.5 turns out. Does this seem excessive?

I did make certain that the max servo arm travel stayed and adjusted the pedal stop to make sure that the servo was not being used as the stop.

On behalf of all RTV owners out there, we thank you for sharing you knowledge of this machine. You have saved one really disgruntled Kubota owner from moving on. I will now continue to be loyal to orange!!.

The following isn't directed at you Matt, you have been a godsend to many of us!!!

My question is this: Many of us have complained to the dealers about this only to be told this is perfectly normal. To anyone with common sense, this just didn't stand up to reality. When this repair became known to them, why didn't they contact those of us who have been asking about this for over a year and offer to perform the adjustments? I had just talked to my dealer a couple of weeks ago and he held the same story with this being normal.

With the reputation for terrible performance on hills, you'd think Kubota would have become concerned about this. Doesn't seem to be the case, which does bother me. These aren't cheap, I've got almost 10 large tied up in this thing with accessories. You'd think they would want people singing their praises, not being dissapointed. I've seen more complaints about RTV's on this board than any other brand. Most of the issues are easily solved if the info was available. They musn't be concerned about bad press. In this economy, I certainly would be.

Again, Matt we really appreciate your information and guidance. You have become one of the most valuable members of TBN.

 

[mstordahl]

The adjustment that you did on the throttle cable sounds right to me.
The servo adjustment at 1.5 turns out is nothing. Some I have done were so bad that I had to take them out a full 5 to 6 turns to get them to drive right. Nothing to worry about, and nothing that you can hurt by doing it.

The number one issue is the dealers dont care, but more importantly, the techs dont care either. My dealership would probably say the same things if it wasnt for my knowledge on the machine, because I care about the customers. I want to see every customer a happy one, and not just mine, but all Kubota customers. There is never too much information, and there is no good reason to not learn and adapt to what you can. I was one of the first ones to figure out how to tune the rtv properly, and have always had good luck with them since. A lot is that they just dont know the answer, and are too afraid to say exactly that. There is nothing wrong with not knowing an answer to a customers question, but find the answer for them. This is the difference in REAL service.

Worst of all, Kubota is concerned about all the complaints. Ever tried calling head office and making a complaint? Things happen right away from what I have witnessed, they do not take it lightly to say the least. Sad to say, Kubota is not the problem here, its the dealers. If more people went to Kubota with a complaint when their dealer did not solve their issue, a lot less issues would be around. This is one large reason that I decided to go to the internet and try to shed some light on the problems and their solutions. It cant hurt. And thank you very much for the welcome attitude. Keeping an open mind is very good, and thanks also for sticking it through with your machine till now. Hopefully I have your issues resolved, and any more that will arise.

Thanks, Matt

 

[timswi]

Thanks Matt,

I still have some room for tuning the servo then. I think I'll wait until I take the plow is off (maybe) to finish it up.

I actually did talk to a Kubota regional rep a year ago ...He didn't seem to really care and was somewhat rude. My snowplow skid shoes didnt extend past the bottom of the blade, in fact then were 1/2" short. He didn't believe me until I sent him pictures. Then he said they could cut/weld to correct this...I told him that wasn't acceptable on a brand new $1600 snow plow. That one took a while to correct. The plow manufacturer sent out shoes with longer shafts...Looks like it could put extra stress on the shoe mounts, but we'll see.
I also brought up the power issue, and got an "is what it is" response.

Brought this up in every survey and also left contact information and never heard anything back...Who knows.

You've recovered this whole debacle all by your self!!!

 

[tawilson]

Matt,
Are there service bulletins on the rpm and servo adjustments?

 

[tawilson]

Ok, one more if you don't mind. On another thread you recommended using Kubota's "Premium" UDT oil. Is that the same as the Super UDT I used?
Thanks for you help and time.

 

[mstordahl]

There is a bulletin on the rpm adjustments for the 500. I do not believe that there is any bulletin on the servo adjustment though. Still, techs have to go to school to maintain a dealerships status and that is one major part of the system that we learn about.

From what my Kubota rep in our area told me, they have modified the oil again to a thinner viscosity, but I would check with your nearest dealer, as things can be a little different with the marketing from the us and canada.

Matt

 

[Wayne_H]

Thanks for the post. We've got a 900, and while it does run fine, if I stop and there is still some load on the trans (like going up a hill) the only way to get it out of gear is to pull the choke like knob which frankly seems like a band aid fix. If you have a suggested cure for this, please advise. The trans pressure release does work, but like I said, everyone who drives it thinks it is a joke.

I also have a question about the transmission power. If I try to pull a log or something that is too heavy, the tires WILL NOT spin. It acts like the pressure relief on the trans needs fixing. I have installed the hand throttle, but of course that does not affect where the trans slips.

I've got hydro trans on JD 4400 and 318, and I can stall the engines with the trans, the RTV does not come close. I know it has 18-20+ HP, it ought to be able to put that torque on the ground and almost pull out stumps.

On the good side, the power steering is the best. We have a lot of woods and the trails are windy, the RTV is so much nicer than the Mule we had.

Wayne

 

[Wayne_H]

PS, on the "hold back". I took the valve out where people install the coast valve and adjusted the spring out a few turns. Now it won't put our heads into the roll cage if my foot slips off the gas, was this the right adjustment to make?

Wayne

 

[mstordahl]

I am not farmiliar with the coast valve, can anyone show me a picture, or describe where it is installed? If it is what I am thinking, it is the revese side relief valve that you adjusted, and that is the right adjustment. That is what I adjust to make them less aggressive for customers, but be careful not to make it too loose, because any lower than about 1200 psi will cause the pump to cavitate and fail. Also, the transmission should put the power to the ground far better than that. In low range, any rtv should spin the tires with ease.

Matt

 

[Dargo]

In low range, any rtv should spin the tires with ease.

Matt

I was one of the first people to buy one of the very first RTV900 units that came out. I ended up really liking the unit, but it gave me fits for a while. If I needed to change gears after I'd stopped on a hill, the only viable option was to shut off the engine and then change gears. Kubota was never able to fix that. It got better over time, but clearly was still a defective design.

The other issue was running out of power in low range in 4X4. Without any doubt, any question, any debate, my RTV900 would NOT spin the tires. Whether I was pulling a heavy trailer or just trying to go up a steep hill, the RTV900 would just flat run out of power. I had my dealer and even the Kubota regional manager come out and was able to cause both problems 100% of the time for them. They kept my RTV900 for about 3 weeks and said it was completely normal and there was absolutely nothing wrong with it. They said that by adding the 25" Maxxis Bighorn tires on my RTV I was able to get so much traction that the RTV would not be able to spin those tires. The changed the hydro fluid and filter about 3 or 4 times but the jamming in gear on hills never was corrected. The only way to get it out of gear was to shut it off.

Perhaps it was dumb on my part, what they did was work out what I considered a fair deal to trade me up to an RTV1100 in camo. To be fair, the power, even with A/C on, is considerably more and it will always spin the tires in 4X4 low rather than just grunt like the RTV900 did. It still had the "launch everyone through the windshield when you let off the go pedal" problem that the RTV900 had. Basically, I was the only person who would drive it. My wife and kids wouldn't touch it due to it's jerky nature. A little over a year ago I bought a coast valve and it made the biggest difference in an RTV than any other single change ever made. Now my wife and kids love to drive it and it truly is a pleasure to drive. The "release lever" on the dash helps when it's stuck in gear. Kinda cheesy, but I can live with it. My biggest disappointment, by far, was the absolutely pathetic quality control in it's manufacture. Fortunately, it only affected the square tubing frame on the doors. The welds on those doors were the worst welds I've ever seen on any "professional" weld job that I've ever seen in my life. To make it worse, the tubing was a full 1/4" out of alignment where it was welded (very poorly) together.

I took pictures, posted pictures on here, called my dealer, called Kubota, talked to Kubota managers in GA, and even had a Kubota regional manager come by my dealer and look at the door frame on my RTV. Much to my dismay, they all said it was "normal". I can teach a toddler how to weld better than that in about an hour. The bottom line was that Kubota did NOTHING about the pathetic workmanship in the form of terrible welds. As expected, at about 15 months of ownership I noticed a terrible rattle by my door. Yup, you guessed it, that pathetic excuse of a weld had broken. Being that I gave up on Kubota doing anything, I took the door skin off the frame, took a grinder and ground all the bird doo doo looking weld off the door frame, lined it up properly, and welded it properly myself. While I was at it, I did the same thing to the passenger side door frame before it broke. It's been fine since I made the corrections to the pathetic excuse of the welds from the factory.

Hopefully I don't run across other examples of plain poor workmanship on my Kubota RTV1100. Since Kubota offered me no help at all (and this was like my 5th Kubota product I'd purchased), when I decided to upgrade from my Kubota L5030HSTC I never considered an M class Kubota. I bought a new John Deere tractor and I really like it. I actually like it so much that I will seriously consider a John Deere Gator if they come with a factory cab on a diesel powered Gator. I strongly feel that Kubota kicked me to the curb as a customer and is not interested in keeping my business. Other manufacturer's seem more than happy to compete for my business. Although I really liked the Kubota mini excavator I demo'd, my bad experience with factory Kubota was the deciding factor when I bought a Takeuchi over the Kubota. I take delivery of it next Tuesday.

The only reason I posted this info about how factory Kubota treated me yet again is in hope that they start paying attention to their customer's rather than just blowing them off like they have in the past. Kubota has a great product, but when there are problems Kubota just flat doesn't stand behind their product. If you want to help Kubota, please pass that suggestion on to them. I understand that my local dealer couldn't afford to personally pay to fix my defective RTV1100 when the factory failed to stand behind their product. Unfortunately, I can't patronize that dealer knowing what I know about Kubota.

 

[mstordahl]

This is just another example of the things that I hate so much. I cannot force Kubota to change how they do things, but I can tell them what I think of certain ones (and believe me, I do whenever I get the chance) because the more feedback that they get, the more likely they are to change. Dont get me wrong, the are a good company, but unfortunately it always seems like you need to talk to the right person to get anywhere. On the other side of your problem, you obviously had a dealer that had no clue what they were doing with the rtv's. If your machine had come into my shop, I would have told them about it in the same way that you did, but that is where the similarities end. First of all, your 900 would have been fixed right to begin with and the calls to kubota and the machine would have been gone a day, maximum. Then, on your 1100, if the weld was that bad (obviously it was, it broke) I would have fixed it for you to keep you happy, and then fight myself with kubota to get repaid for the job. The point is not do downplay your experience, but to let others and you know that it does not have to be like this. The whole Kubota line is a top notch product with some small issues, but no more issues than any other product I have worked on. The difference at the end of the day is the people who stand up and fix your concerns and problems, not usually the issue itself. All products have faults and quality controll problems, but it is the service you recieve that makes the ultimate experience.

Thanks for your post and info.
Matt.

 

[Wayne_H]

Matt:

Thanks for all your advice! Wish you lived in the Maryland area!

So, is there an easy adjustment to get more power to the wheels? It acts to me like there is a pressure relief valve that needs adjusting?

Also, I drove our last night and today. I can wait until the cows come home with my foot on the brake for the trans pressure to bleed down, and from what I can see on my 08 machine, there is not coupling from the brake to the pressure relief. Wonder if I am missing something?

thanks

Wayne

 

[horsinaround]

I am not farmiliar with the coast valve, can anyone show me a picture, or describe where it is installed?
Matt

Do a search on fleabay for RTV coast valve and one or two are sure to show up. I have often wondered about these. Any light you can shed would be appreciated.

 

[Wayne_H]

Here is a pic of the "Coast" Valve. I took the one I bought back out and just adjusted the spring out a few turns. Where and how am I supposed to measure the pressure to make sure it is not below 1200 PSI? More important, how do I get more power to the wheels?
In first gear they should be able to break traction, but can't most of the time.

thanks

Wayne

 

[deanj]

Help. I need more power in the mud.

 

[timswi]

Help. I need more power in the mud.

Dean...Send me a PM and I'll go over it with you...Also...Is this a 500?

 

[deanj]

It is a 500. Transmission slows down when I need it the most. When I am in the mud hole. Is there a way to help this?