Kubota does not honor warranty- MX 5000

TBone · Apr 22, 2003

I think most if not all "sending units" measure the temperature of the coolant, not the engine itself.

Would it show a hot engine once the coolant is gone? I don't know for sure. I had a lower hose to burst on my pickup once and the gauge did show hot. However, it seemed to go from normal to hot in a very short time. I shut it off as soon as it hit the red area so I don't know if it would have come back down or not had I kept going.

If fallingrock didn't have fair warning of a problem then it may not be fair to assign the blame to him. If he did get a warning from the idiot light and/or the gauge and just didn't notice it ........

There's only one way to know for sure. We need a volunteer to cut their radiator hose and run their tractor till it fries the engine while closely observing the warning light and gauges. Any volunteers?????????

Seriously, I feel terrible for fallingrock and I hope Kubota will reconsider their decision not to cover the repairs for good public relations if for no other reason. Hopefully we have all learned a lesson from this also. Pay close attention to every warning device at your disposal while operating any kind of machinery, especially your eyes and ears.

Good luck fallingrock!

TBone

JATO_RaT · Apr 22, 2003

Very true, water needs to be in contact with the sensor, but I would also add that if the hose was completely knocked off, a plethora of warm to hot steaming water would have surely been obvious or so one would think. Its happened to many of us with automoblies once in our driving careers. If it was a slow release, enough water might still be available to indicate a heating problem. A unfortunate situation to be sure. Overheating all that cast iron can really be detrimental and result in a lot of replaced componets.

fishman · Apr 22, 2003

Is it possible that if the coolant hose was knocked off before the tractor warmed up, no steam would be present? That coupled with the lack of heat transfered to the sensor would result in zero warning before the engine failed. This doesn't seem too far-fetched of a scenario. Only Fallingrock knows for sure. Hope to hear more on this failure from them.

Darren · Apr 22, 2003

Luck vs. no luck

I expect many of the readers of these posts would have ended up in the same situation given the circumstances. The lucky few that weren't distracted and managed to catch a brief wisp of steam might have reacted quickly and shut the engine down. I suspect they would be a small minority.

Operating anything that requires constant attention amid potential distractions such as constant maneuvering, noise level, tree branches, uneven ground, steep slopes and the like makes it difficult for an operator to be as vigilant as possible. It doesn't take long for something unexpected and unnoticed to cause expensive damages.

For those who think it couldn't happen to them, you haven't been unlucky yet. It just takes the right combination of circumstances to make a very wrong result. That's the reason I cautioned folks about adding mechanical oil pressure gauges to their tractors in the customization forum.

I have to agree with Rat. the problem isn't Kubota's. To be fair about it, if I'd been in your shoes I'd probably be writing a big check too. I had one situation when I happened to look at my trucks temperature gauge and noticed it had pegged. Lucky for me that happened just before I pulled up to a very dangerous intersection that required full attention and because of the traffic and no light could take an extended amount of time to pull out.

I could have been sitting there looking for an opening with my head swiveling back and forth and missed the coolant temp skyrocketing because of a broken belt. I was lucky that day.

cowboydoc · Apr 22, 2003

Kubota has been terrible about warranty from what I've seen. I know alot of guys that have had problems with warranty work from kubota. That is one area I believe JD really shines. They have always fixed about anything that has gone wrong in the warranty time. Heck they even replaced the fenders twice on my Gator when it was my fault. I didn't even ask them to.

I would disagree about it being fallingrock's fault as well. If it's a design flaw then kubota should cover it. If the light never went on they should cover it as well. I've lost all the coolant in a tractor before and it's not like a car. You won't get the big steam that you do in a car. If you get a leak in the lower radiator hose on alot of tractors it will just run out on the ground and never steam. If nothing else I certainly think there are some mitigating circumstances here.

frank_f15 · Apr 22, 2003

very good point! if someone drained the collant out of my tractor, would the temp sensor be reading the ambient air temp? and if so, it would take a long time for the engine heat to reach the sensor? thus causing dammage to engine. not sure now where my tractor gets its signal to the temp gauge? /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif i would make some phone calls and see if something can't be worked out!

Mark_in_NH · Apr 22, 2003

( Now we just check the oil, bring out the various open end wrenches and swivel sockets and check all the frigen bolts when we use the tractor )

RaT,
Is this something that a little spot / tack weld at each bolt head would take care of or would that be a very unwise thing to do?
Just a little something to prevent the bolt from turning but not enough so you couldn't get the bolt out with minimal effort if necessary

popeye · Apr 22, 2003

I too have an MX5000 and do a lot of heavy brush hogging. Please give us more details about how it happene. Send mean an email or private message. If you fill out your bio I will email you. I've had mine about 6 mos.
Mike

Bob999 · Apr 22, 2003

Catastrophic engine failure will occur when the lower radiator hose is knocked off of the smooth plastic outlet. A twig will knock the clamp off (intact) because the clamp screw protrudes at least one half inch.

It is really unclear from Fallingrock's post exactly what happened--Apparantly there was a coolant loss but the exact circumstances are not specified--rather the rather vague suggestion that the lower radiator hose is not well secured.

Most warranties are for defects in "material or workmanship". The law in many states also extends a manufacturers liability to cover suitablity for purposes for which the product was manufactured and sold.

I think we need a better explanation of exactly what happened before making judgments about whether the Kubota warranty should apply in this case.

Soundguy · Apr 22, 2003

On a peice of equipment like our mid size tractors..... I don't know if you would or wouldn't see a burst of fluid from a hose... it is way in the front lower section of the tractor. I can't speak for kubota's.. but my NH has panels / shrouds everywhere on the engine... If I was mowing, and water exhausted down... I might mistake the small amount of steam for dust from mowing.... Hard to say..

Soundguy