MessickFarmEqu
Super Member
Musclford said:
You likley would still be covered. They are really lax about the warrenty dates when it comes to known issues. Now if it where at 5 years, thats probably a different story.
Kubota Letter/Cracked fenders/battery cover
- Thread starter Musclford
- Start date
- Views: 24885
You likley would still be covered. They are really lax about the warrenty dates when it comes to known issues. Now if it where at 5 years, thats probably a different story.
OP
Musclford
Silver Member
Ron/Bob, - ALL
Well, you can be SURPRISED!!!!
Not only did I get a reply, I got a PHONE CALL at 9:15 this morning by their customer rep. The first thing out of my mouth was, Thank you for replying....
I won't discuss in extreme detail everything we talked about, but rest assured they are clearly aware of the fender cracking problem. They have in fact redesigned the fender, which includes an embossed reinforcement. I asked him if he knew if the part number had been changed and he couldn't confirm. He also didn't know what they've
done in the manufacturing side of things (what date they switched to the upgraded fender). I wasn't surprised at that, however it would be nice to know when the change was implemented... Apparently you can look underneath and see the added support.
I asked if he'd looked at the web link that I sent and he confirmed that he had not as he didn't have Internet access. Whether or not that's true, doesn't matter, but I highly encouraged him to take just 5 minutes at home to browse the site / this post. We discussed the fact that forums have a lot of my brother-in-laws, friends, cousins that heard this and that as most of us have witnessed similar posts, but I assured him that this site especially sold me on the Kubota and that the internet is a very valuable asset and should be taken very seriously. Although it wasn't said, I got the very strong feeling that the site is reviewed by people that work a Kubota..
Don't think for a minute that they are going to post here regardless of the topic. I work for a similar company and I wouldn't dream of posting anything Good / Bad about a specific model. Not that I've been told that I can't, but in this sue happy world we live in, when a thief can sue you for getting cut on your window that he just crawled through, I just wouldn't do it.
Anyway,,
They are not issuing a recall, as a matter of fact they may call it a campaign... He assured me that if it cracks under warranty it's covered, but I told him that wasn't my concern.. My concern was if it cracks at 3 yrs 1 month or later. Again, nothing is black and white, but I got the impression that if you have an issue out of warranty, that if it looks like your tractor wasn't rolled down a hill or used in a demolition derby, you would have a good chance of having it repaired, MAYBE not entirely for free, but it appears it could be at the discretion of the dealer / shape of the machine etc.
I'm not happy about that, but it appears I'll have to cross that bridge at another time.
Oh, I almost forgot, he did mention that the supply depot had been purged and that any of the fenders that are ordered should be of the new design.
Battery Cover... I told him of my situation with my cover, the dealer is fixing it so I don't have much to complain about, but they were aware of it and said they have lengthened the tabs on the cover to hold it better. Again, I know it's a tractor but most of us want a quality product and expect it at the very minimum to fit good when it was new. Not much else to say but small talk that we had about fit and finish...
Buster!!!!
I addressed the issue of a full bucket backing down a hill and foot sliding off the pedal. He was aware of the abrupt stop. Called it dynamic braking and said there is adjustments that your dealer can do to address this. I have witnessed the abrupt stop, but I can't necessarily compare with an older model because I've never driven one enough to pay attention. Perhaps, I'll get on the neighbors bx2200 this week. I told him of the safety concern and he said to talk to the dealer about adjusting it.. Sorry, I did voice the concern, but I couldn't pursue it when I haven't done this yet.
So, in a nutshell, I'm so so satisfied. I'm thoroughly impressed that I got the call considering the doubting Thomas's about getting a form letter. (I thought I would too).
Because I don't have a great relationship with my local dealer at this time, I'll probably be hosed if my fender cracks outside my warranty period, I wish they would offer replacements to those that have already purchased, but on cost basis, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure why they don't.
I'll call my dealer to see about the dynamic braking adjustment, and get my replacement battery cover.
In my opinion, especially those that have witnessed problems, don't be afraid to send an e-mail, he said that's why it's there..
Regards,
Well, you can be SURPRISED!!!!
Not only did I get a reply, I got a PHONE CALL at 9:15 this morning by their customer rep. The first thing out of my mouth was, Thank you for replying....
I won't discuss in extreme detail everything we talked about, but rest assured they are clearly aware of the fender cracking problem. They have in fact redesigned the fender, which includes an embossed reinforcement. I asked him if he knew if the part number had been changed and he couldn't confirm. He also didn't know what they've
done in the manufacturing side of things (what date they switched to the upgraded fender). I wasn't surprised at that, however it would be nice to know when the change was implemented... Apparently you can look underneath and see the added support.
I asked if he'd looked at the web link that I sent and he confirmed that he had not as he didn't have Internet access. Whether or not that's true, doesn't matter, but I highly encouraged him to take just 5 minutes at home to browse the site / this post. We discussed the fact that forums have a lot of my brother-in-laws, friends, cousins that heard this and that as most of us have witnessed similar posts, but I assured him that this site especially sold me on the Kubota and that the internet is a very valuable asset and should be taken very seriously. Although it wasn't said, I got the very strong feeling that the site is reviewed by people that work a Kubota..
Don't think for a minute that they are going to post here regardless of the topic. I work for a similar company and I wouldn't dream of posting anything Good / Bad about a specific model. Not that I've been told that I can't, but in this sue happy world we live in, when a thief can sue you for getting cut on your window that he just crawled through, I just wouldn't do it.
Anyway,,
They are not issuing a recall, as a matter of fact they may call it a campaign... He assured me that if it cracks under warranty it's covered, but I told him that wasn't my concern.. My concern was if it cracks at 3 yrs 1 month or later. Again, nothing is black and white, but I got the impression that if you have an issue out of warranty, that if it looks like your tractor wasn't rolled down a hill or used in a demolition derby, you would have a good chance of having it repaired, MAYBE not entirely for free, but it appears it could be at the discretion of the dealer / shape of the machine etc.
I'm not happy about that, but it appears I'll have to cross that bridge at another time.
Oh, I almost forgot, he did mention that the supply depot had been purged and that any of the fenders that are ordered should be of the new design.
Battery Cover... I told him of my situation with my cover, the dealer is fixing it so I don't have much to complain about, but they were aware of it and said they have lengthened the tabs on the cover to hold it better. Again, I know it's a tractor but most of us want a quality product and expect it at the very minimum to fit good when it was new. Not much else to say but small talk that we had about fit and finish...
Buster!!!!
I addressed the issue of a full bucket backing down a hill and foot sliding off the pedal. He was aware of the abrupt stop. Called it dynamic braking and said there is adjustments that your dealer can do to address this. I have witnessed the abrupt stop, but I can't necessarily compare with an older model because I've never driven one enough to pay attention. Perhaps, I'll get on the neighbors bx2200 this week. I told him of the safety concern and he said to talk to the dealer about adjusting it.. Sorry, I did voice the concern, but I couldn't pursue it when I haven't done this yet.
So, in a nutshell, I'm so so satisfied. I'm thoroughly impressed that I got the call considering the doubting Thomas's about getting a form letter. (I thought I would too).
Because I don't have a great relationship with my local dealer at this time, I'll probably be hosed if my fender cracks outside my warranty period, I wish they would offer replacements to those that have already purchased, but on cost basis, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure why they don't.
I'll call my dealer to see about the dynamic braking adjustment, and get my replacement battery cover.
In my opinion, especially those that have witnessed problems, don't be afraid to send an e-mail, he said that's why it's there..
Regards,
Buster57
Platinum Member
Great job Musclford!
KeithInSpace
Veteran Member
pccoder said:
Being an ME, I think Kubota may have been a little short sighted in wanting to decrease production costs by using 1 part where it should have been three or even four (left and right fender, left and right floorboard). As it is, the better part of the tractor must be taken apart to fix anything in the whole backside of the thing. Great when you're putting it together (get a truckload of fenders and build 'em like Lego's), but a real pain for the purchaser who takes a nick out of the right rear fender backing it into a lawn chair in -5 degrees.
The single stress point where the 'static' fender meets the 'dynamic' floorboard is going to continue to be a real nightmare. We can beef the heck out of it, but it is always going to be a point of high stress. Especially for us (I am including myself) 200+ lb folks who jump in and out of the thing like it was...well...a tractor.
Good job pinning them down, anyway.
Mike_V
Bronze Member
Thanks for sharing your contact experience.
In the absense of a preventative solution and a documented warranty extension, some owners may have to depend on pure luck that their fenders break after the redesigned fenders are in stock and before their warranty period runs out. It would also be lucky if the break occured at a time when the tractor was not going to be needed for the time it takes to repair it. I expect that some owners will be luckier than others.
In the absense of a preventative solution and a documented warranty extension, some owners may have to depend on pure luck that their fenders break after the redesigned fenders are in stock and before their warranty period runs out. It would also be lucky if the break occured at a time when the tractor was not going to be needed for the time it takes to repair it. I expect that some owners will be luckier than others.
Bob_Skurka
Super Member
- Joined
- Jul 1, 2003
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- 7,615
DittoRonR said:
kevinj
Veteran Member
- Joined
- Jul 5, 2003
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- Location
- West MI
- Tractor
- BX-1860, L3940HSTC, B7500, Farmall M, Farmall 560D
Musclford said:
I recently got the "new" fender and it has no visual changes, it even mics out the same so back to the dealer.
I also talked with the field rep in my area. He stated that the external adjustment will not fix the problem. Mine has been adjusted several times and I agree with the field rep.
OP
Musclford
Silver Member
kevinj said:
Oh the value of the internet.. Can you imagine what it would be like without it... How did we ever accomplish anything ?
HMMM......
MessickFarmEqu
Super Member
kevinj said:
What you got was just a replacment, its not the real new fender. The new ones are thicker plastic and have struts molded into the bottom of them. It will be a clear difference.