Kubota LX4020 Already Having Problems

[Paystar]

I am nothing like the "You Tubers" you speak of and I take quite a bit of offense at what you just said.

Oh lighten up, LOL It's nothing more offensive than saying the new Kubota already has problems. I'm only ribbing you.
I got nothing against you. You're a fellow Ford tractor owner!

 

[Cahaba Valley Farm]

You're a fellow Ford tractor owner!

That I am and a proud one.

 

[sigmundkj]

I'm surprised you gentleman are asking me what is wrong with a tractor that is permanently stuck in Auto Throttle. But since you asked with sincerity I will explain.

Auto Throttle was originally designed as a premium feature for transport scenarios such as quickly traveling from one side of a property to another without having to manually adjust your RPMs. It behaves like a car or golf cart but is not a feature that you would want to use all the time or for PTO work. That particular tractor's biggest selling point is it offers above average PTO hp for that frame size machine. So permanently locking Auto Throttle into the tractor's transmission makes no sense.

Furthermore, from the little bit that I drove that tractor, it is jerky as hell. Having that much torque under a frame that light is already enough to contend with but forcing a tractor to behave like a car when it's supposed to be a tractor does not make for a good experience.

I think the question that you should be asking is why Kubota didn't just simply offer it as a feature that could be turned on and off instead of making it a permanent behavior of the machine.

Hi there,

I know this is an older post but figured I would chime in - I just picked up an LX 4020 three days ago. Long story short, the auto throttle IS annoying, but the good news is, it is very easily disabled. Let me expand - I have had a tractor with auto throttle before....then I moved to non auto throttle. The auto throttle on the lx4020 is NOT well done, and you pointed out some of the main reasons why. When I was running a rotary cutter, I was in 540E, and medium range was so painfully slow with the PTO at 540 that I would never use it to get stuff done. High range didn't have enough power for the hills. Normal PTO setting is fine, but then why have 540E? Even when you aren't using the PTO, driving at any comfortable cruising speed in medium range revs the engine up to quite high rpm, which just seems very excessive, and high range leaves you lacking for power in a lot of hilly situations. My b2601 doesn't have auto throttle and I love it. Before I packed the lx4020 up for the night, I found the auto throttle linkage underneath and disconnected it. This improved the tractor immensely for me. Have wondered if auto throttle helped keep rpms high for the health of the DPF, but I like the tractor so much without it that I'm willing to let that be a problem for future me.

 

[Williy]

Yanmar's transmission is beyond what we now have on the YT3
tractors. Our YT235C has the forward & reverse pedals, hand trottle
and I can have the pto running 2500 rpm and still go as slow or fast
with interfering with the pto rpm

willy

 

[Cahaba Valley Farm]

Hi there,

I know this is an older post but figured I would chime in - I just picked up an LX 4020 three days ago. Long story short, the auto throttle IS annoying, but the good news is, it is very easily disabled. Let me expand - I have had a tractor with auto throttle before....then I moved to non auto throttle. The auto throttle on the lx4020 is NOT well done, and you pointed out some of the main reasons why. When I was running a rotary cutter, I was in 540E, and medium range was so painfully slow with the PTO at 540 that I would never use it to get stuff done. High range didn't have enough power for the hills. Normal PTO setting is fine, but then why have 540E? Even when you aren't using the PTO, driving at any comfortable cruising speed in medium range revs the engine up to quite high rpm, which just seems very excessive, and high range leaves you lacking for power in a lot of hilly situations. My b2601 doesn't have auto throttle and I love it. Before I packed the lx4020 up for the night, I found the auto throttle linkage underneath and disconnected it. This improved the tractor immensely for me. Have wondered if auto throttle helped keep rpms high for the health of the DPF, but I like the tractor so much without it that I'm willing to let that be a problem for future me.

Thanks for your feedback. This gives some new hope for this machine. I was confounded when I found out they did that. As for everything else you said, I will let your testimony speak for itself

 

[Paystar]

So now after reading sigmunkj's post I think I now know what Cahaba means??

Unless I still got this wrong, I'm reading into it as.......there is nothing wrong with the idea of a linked pedal (or auto throttle) BUT on this model they just don't have it set up properly....as in it limits speed and raises engine RPM too high???

Is this the problem with it?

I was supposed to go try an LX4020, my dealer has some, but so far I haven't bothered because I already have a bunch of paid for tractors and not sure I really need something new at todays prices just to have extra "fluff"

​

 

[sigmundkj]

So now after reading sigmunkj's post I think I now know what Cahaba means??

Unless I still got this wrong, I'm reading into it as.......there is nothing wrong with the idea of a linked pedal (or auto throttle) BUT on this model they just don't have it set up properly....as in it limits speed and raises engine RPM too high???

Is this the problem with it?

I was supposed to go try an LX4020, my dealer has some, but so far I haven't bothered because I already have a bunch of paid for tractors and not sure I really need something new at todays prices just to have extra "fluff"

​

So....I actually spoke too soon, and have since reconnected the auto throttle. Let me explain why: there is an RPM memory switch with "A" and "B" settings. It was advertised to me as a nice-to-have if you "don't want to hunt for 540 RPM", or you are mowing and want to "slow down for a turn and then bump right back up to 540 RPM". When I heard that, I figured the feature was probably wasted on me. BUT....it turns out that when one of the throttle settings is activated with the switch, the auto throttle turns OFF!! This is true whether the PTO is/isn't engaged. I've used the tractor for about 6 hours since I learned about this, and it's a game changer. I have a cruise setting at 1700 RPM, and my higher RPM is 2000 - engine doesn't feel like it's racing to go 5 mph now. I'm sure I'll have to adjust it when I start working with PTO driven attachments, but at least this solves the issue's associated with finding the optimal compromise between engine RPM, PTO speed, ground speed, and power. Plus, I DO like the idea of auto throttle for loader work sometimes. So....moral of the story - keep it connected and utilize the RPM recall switch, or just unhook the linkage and disconnect it totally.

@Paystar - nothing wrong with a little extra fluff . I named mine YOLO "you only live once" (that's how I justified the purchase). This is a pretty fantastic tractor. Tons of power for its size, buttery smooth engine, comfortable....etc. etc... only thing I don't like about it at the moment is the emission system, but we can't get away from that these days...Let me know if there's anything you want to know about the tractor!

 

[Paystar]

So....I actually spoke too soon, and have since reconnected the auto throttle. Let me explain why: there is an RPM memory switch with "A" and "B" settings. It was advertised to me as a nice-to-have if you "don't want to hunt for 540 RPM", or you are mowing and want to "slow down for a turn and then bump right back up to 540 RPM". When I heard that, I figured the feature was probably wasted on me. BUT....it turns out that when one of the throttle settings is activated with the switch, the auto throttle turns OFF!! This is true whether the PTO is/isn't engaged. I've used the tractor for about 6 hours since I learned about this, and it's a game changer. I have a cruise setting at 1700 RPM, and my higher RPM is 2000 - engine doesn't feel like it's racing to go 5 mph now. I'm sure I'll have to adjust it when I start working with PTO driven attachments, but at least this solves the issue's associated with finding the optimal compromise between engine RPM, PTO speed, ground speed, and power. Plus, I DO like the idea of auto throttle for loader work sometimes. So....moral of the story - keep it connected and utilize the RPM recall switch, or just unhook the linkage and disconnect it totally.

@Paystar - nothing wrong with a little extra fluff . I named mine YOLO "you only live once" (that's how I justified the purchase). This is a pretty fantastic tractor. Tons of power for its size, buttery smooth engine, comfortable....etc. etc... only thing I don't like about it at the moment is the emission system, but we can't get away from that these days...Let me know if there's anything you want to know about the tractor!

How do you find the noise level in the cab? Is the hydro whine truly gone now?

 

[Gator6x4]

How Auto Throttle works.

Auto throttle, also known as automatic throttle, is a system on tractors that links the engine throttle to the HST pedals to synchronize the tractor's speed and engine RPM. This allows the operator to focus on the task at hand while the engine RPM is managed by pressing the HST foot pedal. Auto throttle can help increase productivity, simplify operation, and reduce fuel consumption.

People with a Hydro Tranny have a tendency to push down on the hydro pedal when they hear the engine rpms drops. This action causes the tractor to slow down more instead of speed up. The hydro pedal is not a gas pedal. Auto throttle when working correctly senses the engine is dropping RPMs and increases the fuel flow to increase engine rpm's.

Example. You are using the rotary cutter with Auto Throttle on. When you encounter higher or deeper grass or weeds the auto throttle senses the drop in engine RPMs and advances the throttle. Auto throttle does not allow for one to run the tractor at idle speed with a rotary cutter attached and it will automatically adjust the engine rpms when the cutter encounters high gas to cut and drop back to idle as it passes through the grass.

As an aside I have never tried to run a Tractor with a rotary cutter attached in the highest gear the tractor has unless going from field to field and traveling on a road.

 

[sigmundkj]

How do you find the noise level in the cab? Is the hydro whine truly gone now?

I don't have a cab on mine. There really isn't much hydro whine at all, and it must sound even better with a cab!