First experience with Kubota Warranties in 25 years, first bad experience with Kubota

[628pm]

I have a 2017 BX2680 with 208 hours on it. It is used to mow grass and minor other stuff around our place. Noticed earlier this year that the brake pedal would not come back to the "top". Contacted dealer they were extremely busy so I said we could do it later in the year, don't use the brake for anything anyway except for starting the tractor.

Well of course to see what happened they had to split the rear case on the tractor. The brake rotor looked like a car that had been run for 100000 miles with no brake pads. Dealer told me if the brakes are glazed it would not be under warranty. They had the service rep come in, he denied the claim saying it was operator error.

I've purchased 8 New Kubotas since the 1980's, I would think I would know not to ride the brake, especially when just mowing grass. I told the dealer that we don't even use the brakes, the ground is level. We have never hauled the tractor on a trailer until I took it in this time. So we don't use the parking brake either.

I told the dealer that it was either operator error or mechanical failure, and I know it was not operator error.

I then appealed to Kubota, took them about 6 hours to tell me that the rep reviewed the issue and the tractor and they stand by that decision. But they do value me as a customer.

Do you think they value me as a customer? I don't think so.

Never had anything bad to say about Kubota, but this has changed my mind, they are no more concerned about a customer than the tree outside my window.

For all of you mechanics out there what do you think?

Thanks

 

[RandyT]

Brake glazing would be due to a dragging brake. In an around about way it is operator error. I suspect that the brake linkage was sticky, and you would push the brake pedal down to start, but due to slight corrosion or other factors, the brake didn't completely release. And over time has become worse, but since you didn't notice the brake dragging it damaged the brakes, which will appear identical to somebody that didn't release the parking brake and used the tractor. Could brakes be considered a wear item, and excluded from warranty coverage. Just thinking.

An unforseen issue, that wasn't noticed but could be caused by what may look like a maintenance failure since it wasn't caught earlier, and the sticky linkage wasn't lubed. Not saying that you did anything wrong or failed to maintain your equipment, just looking at it from a dealer standpoint how they would see it.

 

[ZTMAN]

Did you happen to get the KTAC insurance?

 

[628pm]

Brake pads are a wear item, it states that in the warranty, I did follow their recommendations for maintenance, tractor was garage kept and I blew off grass clippings after each mowing. What you stated seems reasonable, but I would call that mechanical failure not operator failure.

Thanks for your response.

 

[628pm]

Yes I had the insurance but I paid it off real quick then home owners took over. On my f2690 I bought last year I started paying it off then thought better of it. Just paying 20.00 a month now since I’m so far ahead in payments.

 

[ptsg]

Had a more or less similar case with a clutch that started slipping on a 2016 Mitsubishi Outlander with just 30,000 miles... Dealer/shop kept claiming it was driver/operator error even though it wasn't. Found out later, after the new clutch kit was fitted, that the previous clutch probably had air in the slave cylinder causing it to slip till it burned and started slipping a lot more.

We have been costumers for over 25 years but they simply don't care when it is something classified as "wear item".

These "wear items" in warranties just looks to me as an easy way to get their hands of the responsibilities.

 

[Diggin It]

Contacted dealer they were extremely busy so I said we could do it later in the year, don't use the brake for anything anyway except for starting the tractor.

I'd do everything I could to put it back on the dealer.

 

[Clint S]

I just had warranty refused on a 1.5 year old jeep with 15k. Brake warranty is 2yr or 18k per manufacturer. They stated rust was the issue and warranty does not cover that. The slides and pins were sticky. There was no lubricant on either. They wanted 1k to fix it. 2 hours and some Sil glide and I was golden. I took pictures of the pins that had no lubricant on them and contacted the dealer and Jeep. They just gave me the Oh well treatment. They stood behind their environment and salt they use in winter as causing my issues.

 

[diesel85]

Funny you mentions Jeep and brakes. I got a '07 Compass that I replaced all the calipers on 2 years ago (actually 16 months ago). The front drivers side piston froze last week. Fought back and forth with the dealer about the caliper. They said it only has a 12 month warranty, and I'm lucky that it lasted that long. Mind you the factory originals lasted about 10 years...

Mind you I did the work myself -- I was just asking for a replacement caliper so I could swap it out... nooope.

It is what it is... at least with my tractor, I had great experiences with my dealer so far.

 

[RandyT]

Brake pads are a wear item, it states that in the warranty, I did follow their recommendations for maintenance, tractor was garage kept and I blew off grass clippings after each mowing. What you stated seems reasonable, but I would call that mechanical failure not operator failure.

Thanks for your response.

I agree that it was most likely a mechanical failure, but unfortunately a mechanical failure that is not repaired in a timely fashion can be considered operator failure. And that is they way companies perceive a warranty issue that wasn't corrected in a timely factor. The will say it is your fault because you didn't catch the issue before it got to that point of failure.

I am a warranty service center for a lot of different brands One of the companies I work with considers the inner spool, outer spool, bump head, and bump knob as wear items and carry no warranty, Meaning you buy the trimmer one day and wear through the bump knob the next it is your problem. With that said, I have bearing failures on the end of the shaft that actually melted the plastic head, and they still won't pay for a replacement head, even though the bearing caused the head to fail.

 

[dalola]

It's a shame customer history & reputation are not taken into consideration. Based on your explanation, it is clearly a manufacturer issue. I'm surprised your dealer is not stepping up, if he is at all interested in keeping your business. 8 new tractors in 30 years is a good customer.

Let us know how this ends up.

 

[628pm]

I dont fault the dealer. He reported what he had seen, the rep made the decision. The money I’ve spent over the years compared to this warranty issue doesn’t seem like much. But if kubota treats their “valued” customers like they did me their customer base will decline. I’ve had the dealer send customers by to look at my equipment and ask questions about the equipment before a purchase. Guess I will have to add kubota doesn’t care about their “valued” customers when they have an issue.

 

[zoltanthegypsy]

Since we're telling warranty stories... this wasn't a Kubota product, but it was a Kubota dealer.

I understand that their go-to for something that is almost always operator error is operator error. My case it was the classic: bad gas.

Nearly new Honda generator would surge badly after running for a while. Service dept diagnosed - you guessed it - bad gas. They drained things, tanked the carb, ran it for a while, and presented me with the bill. Took it home and sure enough, at the next outage it surged. Crud. Took it back in, it wouldn't fail for them. Big Crud.

Before picking it up (in despair) I remembered that the owner of the dealership had a similar generator at his cabin. Asked him if he'd take mine with him next time he went, and run it for a while. To my surprise he did. And... after running it for an hour at mid-load, it started to surge.

He took it back to the shop, they replaced the carb/governor (which never fails according to the rep...) and before I even had a chance to ask, they refunded the previous service charge.

So, even when they make an assumption based on experience, the right dealer is willing to dig deeper and make things right. That's why I go back there (long drive) for Stihl, Honda, and Kubota stuff. Exceptional dealer.

Z.

 

[SDT]

I have a 2017 BX2680 with 208 hours on it. It is used to mow grass and minor other stuff around our place. Noticed earlier this year that the brake pedal would not come back to the "top". Contacted dealer they were extremely busy so I said we could do it later in the year, don't use the brake for anything anyway except for starting the tractor.

Well of course to see what happened they had to split the rear case on the tractor. The brake rotor looked like a car that had been run for 100000 miles with no brake pads. Dealer told me if the brakes are glazed it would not be under warranty. They had the service rep come in, he denied the claim saying it was operator error.

I've purchased 8 New Kubotas since the 1980's, I would think I would know not to ride the brake, especially when just mowing grass. I told the dealer that we don't even use the brakes, the ground is level. We have never hauled the tractor on a trailer until I took it in this time. So we don't use the parking brake either.

I told the dealer that it was either operator error or mechanical failure, and I know it was not operator error.

I then appealed to Kubota, took them about 6 hours to tell me that the rep reviewed the issue and the tractor and they stand by that decision. But they do value me as a customer.

Do you think they value me as a customer? I don't think so.

Never had anything bad to say about Kubota, but this has changed my mind, they are no more concerned about a customer than the tree outside my window.

For all of you mechanics out there what do you think?

Thanks

Recently, Kubota has become much more likely to deny warranty claims, often claiming operator error, even if such is not reasonably possible.

I recently had a claim denied for incomprehensible reasoning.

My suspicion is things are going to get worse rather than better.

SDT

 

[SDT]

I'd do everything I could to put it back on the dealer.

This one cannot be the dealer's fault.

 

[dragoneggs]

This one cannot be the dealer's fault.

Not dealer's fault but a good dealer would do better to try to work things out for a valued customer. Unfortunately it sounds like this was an unforeseen maintenance issue with no one realizing the damage being done.

If I was the dealer, I would work with the OP on a compromise enough to get him singing the good praises about me. Doing the opposite, the dealer risks losing other business. I know a few around me that are not thrilled with the local Kubota dealer and have taken their business elsewhere swearing never to return. Me, I have had a good relationship with them but haven't gotten into a sticky situation as described. No pun intended.

 

[Diggin It]

The part I quoted said the dealer delayed looking at it because they were too busy. They may have found the problem earlier and it may not have been denied at that point.

 

[dragoneggs]

The part I quoted said the dealer delayed looking at it because they were too busy. They may have found the problem earlier and it may not have been denied at that point.

Possible but I doubt that was the reason. Getting prompt service in the spring time is not as easy as fall/winter at least around here.

 

[628pm]

It was mutually agreed to wait on service since I didn’t use the brake anyway. But I thought it was covered under warranty.

I guess if you see something wrong with your tractor no matter how small while under warranty, get it to the dealer ASAP.

Lesson learned after buying 8 kubotas. Might not be color blind next time already switched to green on a utv. Couldn’t pass up this deal for a cab and hvac.

Oh well, love and learn. Xmas to all.

 

[rScotty]

Originally Posted by Diggin It
I'd do everything I could to put it back on the dealer.

This one cannot be the dealer's fault.

I'd say otherwise. I believe that it is ultimately the dealer's fault for a couple of reasons....

One reason is personal. I've been on both sides of the dealer/customer interaction, and it is my experience the dealer has a lot of influence on the factory rep's decision.

The other reason is simpler. It is that if the dealer doesn't agree with the rep, the dealer still has the power to make it right at very little cost to himself. There is absolutely nothing in the world that stops the the dealer from doing the right thing.

For example, suppose that the dealer does care, and that he believes that the manufacturer has some responsibility. The dealer could agree to do the labor if the customer paid for the parts - and then propose that solution to the factory rep. That is the type of resolution that could work for everyone. All it takes is considering how to resolve the problem unselfishly.

Otherwise we begin to distrust the value of the whole warranty system - a system which is one of the biggest things in favor of buying new rather than used. What happens when customers begin to question the integrity of the warranty? How much value does a warranty have when only the manufacturer has the power to decide if a warranty claim is allowed?
rScotty