Kioti DK 50 Raves and Concerns

[bart2ndson]

I bought my DK 50C two years ago in March and have put almost 200 hrs. on the tractor. It is very powerful and the cab is fairly comfortable. I feel the fit and finish is somewhat crude and I question whether the tractor could take day in and day out hard use. Below are the problem areas that I have experienced.
1. Very weak air conditioner. The first unit broke with about 30 total hours and it took two trips to the dealer to have it fixed. I was charged transportation costs the first trip. On the second trip I was threatened with a charge, but I think Kioti had a conversation with the dealer. By the way, the dealer that sold me the tractor failed to mentioned that the dealership was going to be sold and Kioti was to be dropped. When I say the air is weak, I mean it just won't keep the cab cool on a hot day. The fan does not have enough velocity to push cool air through.
2. The front of the tractor allows far too much in the way of trash and debris to clog the radiator and the air conditioner grill.
3. The battery sits in front of the air conditioner grill and the radiator blocking about 35 percent of the cooling surface. In very dusty conditions the battery must come out and the two radiators must be cleaned out.
4. What is the correct way to engage the front wheel drive? Sometimes it will go into four wheel drive, and other times it just won't go. The owner's manual does not give an explanation on how to do this.
Overall the tractor is ok. I traded a sorry Cub Cadet Series 7000 with 400 hours and an IH 235 with over 600 hours. I am sorry I let the 235 get away. I had balance of about $14,000 on a tractor that the dealer listed for $32,000.

 

[Dargo]

I think you could insert JD, CNH, or Kubota for Kioti on the A/C part. It seems to be the nature of the beast to have the screens clog easily and, then, overheat the compressor. You are basically cooling a greenhouse with all the glass, and that takes a lot of A/C power.

For the pickup and delivery from the dealer, that also depends. In my case, I've spent over 100k with a couple different dealers. They come pickup, deliver and even clean my equipment if warranty work or service is needed. They even do so for my ZTR mowers. I'm just enough of a jerk to change dealers to one who will do that if need be, and have. I realize that the factories do not pay them for that, but I operate a medium sized business and I have to do a lot of things I'm not reimbursed to do but have to do anyway if I want to keep the business.

I don't know anything about your 4X4 question, so I cannot comment there. Maybe it just needs to be broken in still?? My current tractor seemed stiff on shifting in and out of 4X4 for the first 20 hours or so. Now it's easy unless I'm under a load, which is to be expected. Good luck! Also, I wouldn't hesitate to let your dealer know that you would consider going to a different dealer/brand over something as small (to him) as pickup and delivery. Yes, I not only changed dealers, but brands on tractors over that issue.

 

[depratt_equip]

The biggest problem we see with 4wd is the lever gets stiff. Where the lever goes into the side of the transmission case it helps if you spray it down with WD-40. If you don't use the 4wd much then rust will form and cause it to get stiff. Just hose it down with WD-40 and work it back and forth.

As far as engaging it you are suppose to be stopped. Since it is a manual lever you are engaging and disengaging gears when you move that lever. Think of it like the 4wd in older trucks, the better the gears are lined up the easier it is. This is why sometimes it helps to back up and a tad and it will slide right out, or lift the front end of the tractor off the ground and it will easily come out.

Dargo is correct on the A/C part…. I haven’t seen a tractor yet that didn’t suffer from a radiator that easily clogs.