To my knowledge, there was only one actual recall on the 50 series tractors. It was for a seat mounting bolt that could loosen on the
BX24. It required replacing the bolt with another bolt with a small retainer. 10 minutes max. Letters were mailed to owners of record I believe. Note that recalls are usually only issued for safety related items.
The other items were factory issued service bulletins and were corrected if the particular situation was a problem or annoyed the customer. Your car or truck probably has a dozen or more of those that you've never even heard of.
The plastic cracking was a faulty molded fender assembly produced by a Kubota supplier. The fender could crack at the junction of the fender and the floor. A new molded part with strengthening ribs was tried with some, but not 100% success. A steel support known as the "step stay kit" was installed on units with broken fenders. This totally solved the problem. Fenders that cracked were replaced on even out of warranty machines. I have no idea as to Kubota's current reaction to a cracked unit.
Some instrument clusters were not well sealed and allowed water to damage the read out. These were replaced as needed under warranty.
The seat replacement program was simply a good will effort on Kubota's part. The original seat was the same as had been used on previous models (like LB's
BX23) as well as some other larger models of Kubotas. It had a forward slope and caused the operator to tend to slide forward. The program called for an exchange for a new and much improved seat for a nominal recomended fee of $25. Dealers had options as to what to charge, installation labor, etc. Most just made a straight exchange for no charge. The program had a defined life, now well past. The seat runs about $250 now.
The Screen Stiffeners again, were an install on request item. If the owner didn't have a problem or didn't ask... No functional issues with the screen. It just didn't fit well.
The "sudden reverse stop" issue was uncomfortable for some owners. Others found it to be insignificant. I talk to very many BX owners and if they aren't TBN members, they've never thought much about it. It does stop quickly in reverse. Drive it yourself. The stop was "gentled" in the 60 series. The revised linkage and damper are probably retro-fittable. As far as I can tell, there are no internal changes in the transmission.
Some had loose soft plastic knobs on the control levers on the fenders and the throttle control. These were replaced on request under warranty. I know of some that simply wrapped the lever with tape and shoved the cover back on. Apparently, that worked fine.
The 50 and 60 series are identical in most respects. The differences (I can remember at least) are that the hood and fenders on the 50 series are plastic composite. The 60 series have metal there. The engine side cowls are plastic on both. Also, the forward / reverse linkages are different as noted above.
The 50 series was the result of a major redesign after the 00 and 30 series. Very many differences there.
All are great tractors. Enjoy the shopping! Even more the owning! You won't go wrong with any of them.
