L Series HST Recall

[Gator6x4]

I am becoming more and more concerned about this recall that I am part of. I called my dealer and they are going to get back to me about getting my repairs done. The recall letter states clearly that I must stop using the tractor immediately. I was informed it is a 14 hour job to get to the HST transmission, and then another 2 hours if that has to be replaced because of the "potentially inadvertently loose bolt."

Im no data scientist, but I know that my tractor will have dozens of loose bolts and rattles and strange structural noises as a result of this massive operation. Its a shame they can't have some controlled test to see if they can recognize if the bolt is indeed loose. Stress the tractor on a slope while rocking with 6 rocks in the bucket at 47 degrees temperature with it in low medium??

Mechanics call that the hand grenade test. When it blows, replaced everything that was damaged and the problem is solved.

 

[Hilbilly]

I'm with OrangeMuscle on this one.

My dealer previously replaced a defective rear remote valve on the used Massey (185 hr) I bought from them and within 2 days there was hydraulic fluid gushing out of it. They came out and removed it, to find one of the "O" rings was improperly installed. I traded that in on a new L6060. They installed an air ride seat and a third function kit. They tore the inner fender liner during the seat install and the third function hoses were leaking at the end of the return lines. They came out to fix the leak and now it is leaking again.

So I am supposed to trust this dealer to tear my tractor apart and put it back together again and make it better. I'm sure there are hundreds of nuts, bolts and hydraulic lines that will need to be removed, reinstalled and properly torqued. Out of the 3 minor repairs these guys have done so far, 2 have had to be redone. Those are the ones that involved removing a few bolts and or tightening a loose fitting that they installed. The only work that hasn't needed to be redone is the inner fender liner replacement. One more thing that I almost forgot. When they installed the air ride seat they also scratched the seat pan area paint and used touch up paint to cover their damage. The touch up paint wasn't quite the same color either.

Ya, like I'm going to trust these guys to do a proper job tearing my tractor apart and rebuilding it. Their track record pretty much guarantees there will be mistakes made!! How many of those will they catch before the tractor leaves their yard and how many will I catch before the warranty expires. I am positive that if they do this work I will pay for it now or in the future or both.

I am one VERY UNHAPPY customer!!!!!!

 

[ProjectKing]

I'm with OrangeMuscle on this one.

My dealer previously replaced a defective rear remote valve on the used Massey (185 hr) I bought from them and within 2 days there was hydraulic fluid gushing out of it. They came out and removed it, to find one of the "O" rings was improperly installed. I traded that in on a new L6060. They installed an air ride seat and a third function kit. They tore the inner fender liner during the seat install and the third function hoses were leaking at the end of the return lines. They came out to fix the leak and now it is leaking again.

So I am supposed to trust this dealer to tear my tractor apart and put it back together again and make it better. I'm sure there are hundreds of nuts, bolts and hydraulic lines that will need to be removed, reinstalled and properly torqued. Out of the 3 minor repairs these guys have done so far, 2 have had to be redone. Those are the ones that involved removing a few bolts and or tightening a loose fitting that they installed. The only work that hasn't needed to be redone is the inner fender liner replacement. One more thing that I almost forgot. When they installed the air ride seat they also scratched the seat pan area paint and used touch up paint to cover their damage. The touch up paint wasn't quite the same color either.

Ya, like I'm going to trust these guys to do a proper job tearing my tractor apart and rebuilding it. Their track record pretty much guarantees there will be mistakes made!! How many of those will they catch before the tractor leaves their yard and how many will I catch before the warranty expires. I am positive that if they do this work I will pay for it now or in the future or both.

I am one VERY UNHAPPY customer!!!!!!

I would consider finding a better dealer or trading in your current tractor for a new one. You don’t sound like you will be happy any other way. I completely understand your frustration.

 

[Hilbilly]

The next closest dealer is 3 hrs away and I have no idea if they are any better. Then I would have to deal with them for any issues that arise because the local dealer would put me on the back burner and blame any issues on the work the other dealer did.

There is no way I am going to spend more money to buy a second new tractor because Kubota screwed up on the new tractor I just bought from them.

As an absolute minimum I think they should offer a one year extension to the basic warranty. I have less than one year on this tractor and it comes with a 2 year basic warranty and a 6 year powertrain warranty. I think the 5 years of powertrain warranty I have left should be long enough for any poor workmanship the dealer does to the powertrain to show up. However, my tractor doesn't get a lot of use and it could take longer than the one year, I have left on the basic warranty, for other issues to show themselves. With all the shaking and vibrations the tractor produces when its traveling or being worked, it could take a while for poorly torqued bolts to come loose and eventually cause a problem that would be noticed. I for one do not crawl around under my new tractor looking for loose or missing bolts. I do however look for obvious things when I am under it doing routine maintenance.

So I called my dealer this morning and the service department wasn't aware of this recall. I called back this afternoon and was told they contacted Kubota Canada and are now aware of the issue but until they get the notice they will not know what is involved and can't answer any of my questions until then. They said Kubota is supposed to notify the dealers before the customers get the notices. She also said there are only 300 of these in Canada. Lucky me!

 

[ProjectKing]

The next closest dealer is 3 hrs away and I have no idea if they are any better. Then I would have to deal with them for any issues that arise because the local dealer would put me on the back burner and blame any issues on the work the other dealer did.

There is no way I am going to spend more money to buy a second new tractor because Kubota screwed up on the new tractor I just bought from them.

As an absolute minimum I think they should offer a one year extension to the basic warranty. I have less than one year on this tractor and it comes with a 2 year basic warranty and a 6 year powertrain warranty. I think the 5 years of powertrain warranty I have left should be long enough for any poor workmanship the dealer does to the powertrain to show up. However, my tractor doesn't get a lot of use and it could take longer than the one year, I have left on the basic warranty, for other issues to show themselves. With all the shaking and vibrations the tractor produces when its traveling or being worked, it could take a while for poorly torqued bolts to come loose and eventually cause a problem that would be noticed. I for one do not crawl around under my new tractor looking for loose or missing bolts. I do however look for obvious things when I am under it doing routine maintenance.

So I called my dealer this morning and the service department wasn't aware of this recall. I called back this afternoon and was told they contacted Kubota Canada and are now aware of the issue but until they get the notice they will not know what is involved and can't answer any of my questions until then. They said Kubota is supposed to notify the dealers before the customers get the notices. She also said there are only 300 of these in Canada. Lucky me!

Yeah I would be really mad too! End of the day what will give you peace of mind? You don’t want to be still mad about it 2 years from now. Life is too short.

I completely understand not wanting to have a brand new tractor split in a farm shop. As with everything else not all tractor dealers are created equal. And apparently your dealer maybe lesser.

Kubota makes good equipment but mistakes happen. Kubota should have a factory team of mechanics schedule the repair at various shops around the country... and not stick it on the dealerships techs to deal with. This would improve the relationship with the customer and the dealerships. The ultimate would be a buy back but I doubt they will do that.

 

[Hilbilly]

I'm not actually mad, more like very disappointed or pissed off. I am not going to let this get me all worked up either. I will however not simply agree to have my tractor split open and rebuilt without some assurance that it will be done correctly and that I will be covered if poor workmanship shows itself down the road.

I agree that a tractor buy back would be nice ...... but not likely.

I think a more palatable solution is simply for Kubota to extend the tractor warranties for an additional year. If the work is done correctly and no problems show up under the extended warranty, it won't cost them anything. It also provides me with a level of comfort that I will not incur additional expenses as a result of their mistake or any the dealer's tech may make while completing the tear down and rebuild.

I would also like the dealer to pick up and return the tractor plus a loaner tractor while the work is being done, especially if it will take more than a couple of days. Of course if the dealer says it will take 2 days, it will more than likely take a week or more from the time it leaves until the time it returns.

As of now my dealer hasn't been informed of the recall, except by me and they are unable to provide any details.

Has anyone on this forum had the work done yet?

 

[RickB]

I'm not actually mad, more like very disappointed or pissed off. I am not going to let this get me all worked up either. I will however not simply agree to have my tractor split open and rebuilt without some assurance that it will be done correctly and that I will be covered if poor workmanship shows itself down the road.

I agree that a tractor buy back would be nice ...... but not likely.

I think a more palatable solution is simply for Kubota to extend the tractor warranties for an additional year. If the work is done correctly and no problems show up under the extended warranty, it won't cost them anything. It also provides me with a level of comfort that I will not incur additional expenses as a result of their mistake or any the dealer's tech may make while completing the tear down and rebuild.

I would also like the dealer to pick up and return the tractor plus a loaner tractor while the work is being done, especially if it will take more than a couple of days. Of course if the dealer says it will take 2 days, it will more than likely take a week or more from the time it leaves until the time it returns.

As of now my dealer hasn't been informed of the recall, except by me and they are unable to provide any details.

Has anyone on this forum had the work done yet?

Every bit of information available to me (as a Kubota dealer employee) on my PC is also available to your dealer on his if someone in the service department goes to the service tab on the dealer portal and reads the campaign notifications. Not being informed is on the dealer, not Kubota. If you are asking your sales person about this recall, stop immediately and start talking to the service department. At this point I know exactly how many tractors we have sold that are subject to the recall, have talked to every owner except one, and have inspected the transmission serial numbers of affected L4701 models to determine definitively whether or not they need to be split. We are awaiting the automatic shipment of gaskets, etc from Kubota so we can begin the work.

 

[SDT]

Every bit of information available to me (as a Kubota dealer employee) on my PC is also available to your dealer on his if someone in the service department goes to the service tab on the dealer portal and reads the campaign notifications. Not being informed is on the dealer, not Kubota. If you are asking your sales person about this recall, stop immediately and start talking to the service department. At this point I know exactly how many tractors we have sold that are subject to the recall, have talked to every owner except one, and have inspected the transmission serial numbers of affected L4701 models to determine definitively whether or not they need to be split. We are awaiting the automatic shipment of gaskets, etc from Kubota so we can begin the work.

Kudos to you, Rick.

Not all dealers/service managers are so inclined.

SDT

 

[RickB]

Thank you.
I would like to keep some of the grain separate from the chaff when it comes to this particular misfortune, especially as it relates to some of the information floating around.

 

[Hilbilly]

Every bit of information available to me (as a Kubota dealer employee) on my PC is also available to your dealer on his if someone in the service department goes to the service tab on the dealer portal and reads the campaign notifications. Not being informed is on the dealer, not Kubota. If you are asking your sales person about this recall, stop immediately and start talking to the service department. At this point I know exactly how many tractors we have sold that are subject to the recall, have talked to every owner except one, and have inspected the transmission serial numbers of affected L4701 models to determine definitively whether or not they need to be split. We are awaiting the automatic shipment of gaskets, etc from Kubota so we can begin the work.

I am dealing with the service department, not the sales department and the service department wasn't aware of this until I told them. Obviously they are not up to speed on things, like you or maybe things are different in Canada. In any case I will call them again tomorrow to see if they have any more info. By the way my tractor is an L6060, if that makes any difference.

 

[PSDStu]

We recently had our dealer complete the inspection to our L4060 HSTC tractor. The bolts were loose and glad they were torqued to the correct spec by our dealer. Im not worried about any future problems as a result of this inspection, and if we have any Im confident my dealer will address them to my satisfaction.

 

[OrangeMuscle]

We recently had our dealer complete the inspection to our L4060 HSTC tractor. The bolts were loose and glad they were torqued to the correct spec by our dealer. Im not worried about any future problems as a result of this inspection, and if we have any Im confident my dealer will address them to my satisfaction.

Wow, that's impressive that you got your tractor fixed already while others are waiting for service departments to receive the parts to do the repair. How long did they have your tractor for them to complete the repair? I'm happy to hear you are satisfied with the work performed.

 

[Hilbilly]

We recently had our dealer complete the inspection to our L4060 HSTC tractor. The bolts were loose and glad they were torqued to the correct spec by our dealer. Im not worried about any future problems as a result of this inspection, and if we have any Im confident my dealer will address them to my satisfaction.

Very happy for you. Sounds like you have a great dealer.

I'm also interested to see how long they had your tractor.

 

[PSDStu]

They had the tractor about 3 days to do the split and repair. They had already done 1 L3560 open station, and 1 MX open station. Ours was the first L Cab tractor they did. They initially thought it would be more difficult lifting the cab versus the open station but they discovered that the cab was easier then having to remove all the fender parts. All the wiring harness's were disconnected and laid back and the AC was evacuated. The fuel tank was dropped, hyd fluid drained, and new hyd filters and new hyd oil was added not reused, this was on a tractor with only 132 hours. There were 2 experienced mechanics doing the work both of them I have known for a long time. I was fortunate that they had the only HST mid-case gasket in house and I understand that the lack of gaskets is/was going to be a problem. I certainly wasn't happy about having to do this work..... but in the end it was necessary and the tractor has since worked flawlessly.

 

[The Deerslayer]

They had the tractor about 3 days to do the split and repair. They had already done 1 L3560 open station, and 1 MX open station. Ours was the first L Cab tractor they did. They initially thought it would be more difficult lifting the cab versus the open station but they discovered that the cab was easier then having to remove all the fender parts. All the wiring harness's were disconnected and laid back and the AC was evacuated. The fuel tank was dropped, hyd fluid drained, and new hyd filters and new hyd oil was added not reused, this was on a tractor with only 132 hours. There were 2 experienced mechanics doing the work both of them I have known for a long time. I was fortunate that they had the only HST mid-case gasket in house and I understand that the lack of gaskets is/was going to be a problem. I certainly wasn't happy about having to do this work..... but in the end it was necessary and the tractor has since worked flawlessly.

Its an unfortunate situation for sure, and appreciate you sharing your experience....hopefully it may give some level of hope to others in a similar situation. Looks like you have a trusted and competent dealer right there.

I can only imagine how frustrating this must be after buying a new tractor. Best of luck to all who are going through this.

 

[Hilbilly]

They had the tractor about 3 days to do the split and repair. They had already done 1 L3560 open station, and 1 MX open station. Ours was the first L Cab tractor they did. They initially thought it would be more difficult lifting the cab versus the open station but they discovered that the cab was easier then having to remove all the fender parts. All the wiring harness's were disconnected and laid back and the AC was evacuated. The fuel tank was dropped, hyd fluid drained, and new hyd filters and new hyd oil was added not reused, this was on a tractor with only 132 hours. There were 2 experienced mechanics doing the work both of them I have known for a long time. I was fortunate that they had the only HST mid-case gasket in house and I understand that the lack of gaskets is/was going to be a problem. I certainly wasn't happy about having to do this work..... but in the end it was necessary and the tractor has since worked flawlessly.

Thanks for the update and glad it went well for you. Also good to hear it is easier to work on a cab model. Well for me anyways, maybe not so for others.

I doubt many others, if any, will have 2 experienced mechanics that they know personally, work on their tractor. That would certainly give me a HUGE level of trust and relief that the work will be done properly.

Hope everyone's experience goes as well as yours did.

 

[shooterdon]

I certainly hope this works out for all those impacted.

I feel for our Canadian friend who is stuck with a poor dealer, but it is an important lesson for those who have a choice when buying something like a tractor. The dealer can be crucial. Look at how the Kubota dealer rep here is doing his job!!! Seems like a good place to buy if you ask me.

I have no knowledge of which bolt is at issue...but a bolt is a bolt. And I would suspect each bolt on a transmission has an install spec and torque spec. So was it a bad spec, or was is sabotage? Weird that it affects one bolt that requires the tractor to be split.

An L was on my short list, and even after hearing this story, I would still buy Orange. Kubota has a history of making great machines and I think they will do what is right to maintain their good reputation. The only reason I did not go with Kubota was price and my local Kubota dealer was not as good as the LS dealer.

 

[rodneyn]

Has anyone verified that the dealer is properly trained before splitting the tractor. I have split my share of IH equipment and specialized tools are sometimes needed. I would agree it痴 difficult to understand how new tractor needs split who was absent on the assembly line. My question will kubota extend the warranty period for any dealer mishaps. The cost associated with rework is astounding to Kubotas bottom line. Somebody was asleep on the production line. Kubota has always been the leader in compact tractor segment, times are a changing.

 

[buck12]

Does Kubota have factory trained technicians like Deere? Deere has partnerships with several colleges to produce trained technicians. I know several guys that went through the Deere program but now do other work.

 

[cointoss]

Any update on this recall. Have heard nothing from a couple of dealers here in Michigan.