BX Factory Defect - Has Anyone Seen this?

[MoreCowbell]

I bought a new BX2350 a few months ago. I was just checking the oil and noticed a crack developing on one of the two plastic "ears" that holds the plastic engine compartment cover to the frame. Looking closer, I noticed that the metal boss that it screws onto was apparently not formed to the same angle that the one on the other side was. It looks like the angle of the metal boss bent the plastic ear a bit when the fastening screw was tightened. (see attached pictures)

Has anyone else had this problem? Also, I'm assuming that correcting the angle of the metal boss and replacing the plastic engine cover would be covered under warranty. Does that sound reasonable? I'll be contacting the dealer this week on this. Thanks in advance for any comments!

 

[timswi]

From the looks of it Kubota should take care of it...As long as it wasn't run into anything..

This kind of design flaw seems to creep up when Kubota uses plastic...Maybe they should go old school.

From the looks of things, I'd say you're fine, there's no reason that they shouldn't take care of it.

 

[Leejohn]

why not just bend it down, if that can be done?

 

[MoreCowbell]

If I caught the problem before the plastic started cracking, I would have bent the metal part down to the proper angle and forgot about it. However, the engine cover is cracked now which is the real problem. At this point I don't want to change anything, so that the dealer can see that it was a manufacturing defect that is causing the cracking.

 

[OrangeRidge]

Thanks in advance for any comments!

Many thanks for your essay on setting-up the MMM :thumbsup:
Mine was a total mess , and had been attached by a complete
idiot . EVERY adjustment was wrong throughout ! Perfect now

 

[donn12]

I broke that tab off of my BX. They may hassle you if its commonly broken by owners. I was trying to get behind the panel with out removing it. I just put a washer on top of it and did not worry about it.

 

[jesseb3@att.net]

Mine is broken on one side as well. Still enough "meat" there to catch with the knob, so I haven't worried about it. I forget what I did, but I assumed it was my fault, as I was being a bit rough with it. I should check to see if the angles are correct on mine, so that I don't break the other side.

Looking at your photos, yours looks like a manufacturing issue. That was bound to break, and the way it broke, you won't have anything to grab if the crack continues.

 

[bp fick]

Don't know if this is a manufacturing defect or more likely, a just funky design that can lead to breaking by either the assembler or end user.

Frankly, the real issue is the entire bonnet design. Like to see a new, one piece, lift hood going forward. The whole plastic side bonnet, with it's slides, keeper nuts, etc, is fairly cheesy in the first place. $.02 Kubota can do better.

 

[MoreCowbell]

Many thanks for your essay on setting-up the MMM :thumbsup:
Mine was a total mess , and had been attached by a complete
idiot . EVERY adjustment was wrong throughout ! Perfect now

Hi OrangeRidge. I'm glad it helped! Adjusting those things definitely is a major hassle.

 

[MoreCowbell]

FYI - I emailed my dealer this morning about this problem and had a reply within 2 hours saying that they have ordered a replacement "shell" for me under warranty. I never had a warranty claim before, so I don't know if this is typical or not, but they definitely get high marks for the way they are helping me this time. :thumbsup: They asked me to bend the metal tab down to the proper angle to prevent further damage in the meantime.

By the way, the dealer's email did say that a Kubota rep recently mentioned that this is a problem on some BXs - so they were not totally suprised when I said my unit has this problem.