Kubota Letter/Cracked fenders/battery cover

[Musclford]

I'm sorry if you took offense to what I wrote, it was simply an observation, and probably the same observation that some of the folks at Kubota will make. It was not intended to be an insult, but I suppose you could take it as criticism.

The problem with tractor problems is that they are mechanical things made by man. Anything made by man is bound to be broken by man. A general letter from someone who has not had a problem will very likely be treated totally differently than a specific letter from someone with a specific problem or defect.

Bob,

Perhaps I took it a bit more offensive then I should have. Sorry back at ya...

I understand your points, truly I do, but I would like to have answers to the questions that many of us have concerning potential issues / design flaws, if you will).

I realize that like most major manufacturers, requests like these are not taken very seriously, however, in all honestly, I sent a similar letter to Ranger boats on some very general issues and not only did I receive brochures that I didn't ask for on their entire product line, Randy Hopkins sent me a full page letter addressing each one of my questions...

Granted I was 17 at the time, I had some very general questions, but I really didn't like Ranger boats at the time as I was purely a Champion man....

That one letter changed my perception of that company till this day. I didn't even realize that I remembered his name until just now... Hmm, he left quite an impression 20 years ago....

I also agree, that if man/woman built it, a man/woman (politically correctness for all you ladies) can/will break it, but enough of my muttering,, If I get a response of any kind, I'll forward it along....

Have a good Monday all, 4 more days till the weekend... (I consider Monday pretty much over since the worst part is going to work )

 

[MessickFarmEqu]

I can add some explination to this. By my estimate, I'd say probably 1 in 10 BX's that we've sold have cracked. Its very possible that another dealer could have not seen this happen yet and therefore would never look into the service center to see if there are any issues. This details on all of this was posted online months ago.

The new fenders should be shipping by now, they are thicker and are reinforced on the underside. There is also a change to the battery cover. They are making the tabs that hold it in place longer so its easier to secure.

 

[Musclford]

I can add some explination to this. By my estimate, I'd say probably 1 in 10 BX's that we've sold have cracked. Its very possible that another dealer could have not seen this happen yet and therefore would never look into the service center to see if there are any issues. This details on all of this was posted online months ago.

The new fenders should be shipping by now, they are thicker and are reinforced on the underside. There is also a change to the battery cover. They are making the tabs that hold it in place longer so its easier to secure.

Thanks for the update... Could you possibly post the updated part #'s or reference material that I can forward to my dealer?

When they send me a replacement cover, I would very much like to ensure I get the newest revision.

Likewise, do you know if the fenders are a recall, or will be replaced only if they crack?

Thanks!

 

[Buster57]

My New Holland is just as unstable on slopes as my Kubota, and the only reason my Cub Cadet marginally worked on my slopes is because it was so small, and because I kept chains and wheel weights on it, but even operating that was fairly scaring. My Ventrac is designed for slopes, it will spin circles around any fixed frame tractor with its articulated and oscillating frame design, and it will spin those circles and cut 'figure 8' patters on the steepest slopes I have. I'd be willing to suggest that if you have slopes that are unsafe to operate on then the tractor manufacturer will suggest you purchased the wrong machine.
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Bob have you driven a BX1850? If so when you took your foot off reverse at full RPM what happened? Did it lift the front end off the ground? Pretty close don't you think? I do not think that should be normal...

 

[FrogLick]

I do think that a reply of some type will be received from Kubota but it may be a form letter that says to contact your dealer if you have any problems. I contacted them via email to see if they had any opinion/suggestions about the issue of the low sulfur diesel fuel now available since I thought this would be a question of general interest and not unique to me. I did receive a reply within a couple of days but it simply said they did not recomment the use of biodiesel and to use what was recommended in the users manual. Guess that response was a sort of legal disclaimer that they didn't think could back them into a corner on an issue apparently not yet fully understood.

From everything I've read on this forum it appears to me that Kubota does work closely with and through their dealers to address their customer service issues and is one of the reasons I purchased Kubota. However I suspect that some dealers have a better working relationship with Kubota due to their sales volume, the manner in which they deal with both Kubota reps & customers, etc.

 

[Musclford]

I can add some explination to this. By my estimate, I'd say probably 1 in 10 BX's that we've sold have cracked. Its very possible that another dealer could have not seen this happen yet and therefore would never look into the service center to see if there are any issues. This details on all of this was posted online months ago.

The new fenders should be shipping by now, they are thicker and are reinforced on the underside. There is also a change to the battery cover. They are making the tabs that hold it in place longer so its easier to secure.

MessickFarmEqu,

From this post on 8-10-2006

(http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/kubota-owning-operating/85514-what-kubota-doing-about-broken.html)

you stated,

"Out of the 30-35 we've sold there has not been one back in with this issue, so we've not had to tackle it yet. I've not seen the fix for it."


So you have been seeing this rather regularly now, that kinda scares me, :O, that they are just now starting to come into the dealers..

Normal wear and tear?

Rather large individuals using these tractors perhaps?

About how many hours are you seeing on the units before they are cracking?


thanks!

 

[Bob_Skurka]

Bob have you driven a BX1850? If so when you took your foot off reverse at full RPM what happened? Did it lift the front end off the ground? Pretty close don't you think? I do not think that should be normal...

My neighbor across the road has one, it seems very stable to me. Then again he lives on the flat side of the road where the ridge is mostly level land. I can tell you that I can lift the front of the NH TC24D, the Kubota B2910 and the Cub Cadet 1862 off the ground without any real effort!

 

[Buster57]

My neighbor across the road has one, it seems very stable to me. Then again he lives on the flat side of the road where the ridge is mostly level land. I can tell you that I can lift the front of the NH TC24D, the Kubota B2910 and the Cub Cadet 1862 off the ground without any real effort!

We need to race!

Seriously the reverse gearing needs to be looked at on this tractor.

 

[KeithInSpace]

Not to get off the subject...they didn't change the HST in the re-design, did they? Seen negatives about jerky motion in the new tractors that don't seem to be an issue with the older ones. I will say that mine 'stops on a dime' when you let go of the treadle, but it is one of those things. Like stopping at the end of a roller coaster...especially in 4WD. I'd rather that than 2000 lbs (plus load) of tractor slowly easing to a halt at its own pace when I release the go-pedal.

Just curious.

 

[Musclford]

Not to get off the subject...they didn't change the HST in the re-design, did they? Seen negatives about jerky motion in the new tractors that don't seem to be an issue with the older ones. I will say that mine 'stops on a dime' when you let go of the treadle, but it is one of those things. Like stopping at the end of a roller coaster...especially in 4WD. I'd rather that than 2000 lbs (plus load) of tractor slowly easing to a halt at its own pace when I release the go-pedal.

Just curious.

I was wondering if it was the fact that they changed the tread pedals....

I notice it stops quick in reverse, but in less that a few minutes of operation, I've conditioned myself to let off easy... I didn't own a 2230, but maybe that's why I don't see it as that bad of an issue.

I wouldn't like to have a full bucket raised in the air, going down a slope backwards and let my foot fall off the pedal... I think that could be ugly ...