Kubota M5660SUHD caught on fire (60hrs)!

[lambchop]

It would sure seem like a warranty issue to me @ 9 months. I'd work my way up the ranks beyond the dealership.
Good luck with this.

The fire damage is definitely a warranty related failure and if you had insurance your insurance company would go after Kubota for the total amount of the damage. Don't waste your time by attempting to go through the dealer. Call Kubota directly and tell them you want a new tractor and not a repaired one. Given Kubota's lack of parts you could be waiting a year for repairs when they owe you a brand new tractor.

 

[Gitrdone2dayt]

Unfortunately i did not insure (never had any claim in 30 years) but I should have since this was financed by Kubota

Any time I have financed anything auto tractor anything insurance was a requirement last Kuboata it was in the finance pkg I would look at my paper work just may save you a bundle of money that is to much money for a company to let roll off the lot without some kind of coverage

 

[Gord Baker]

9 month old tractor and I run it for maybe 10 minutes and notice that it has less power than usual
Anyhow I see smoke out in the hood area on top of engine. I open the hood and flames spread out all the way to fuse box and the dashboard (plastic)
I manage to douse off the fire and all the wiring is now bare and burnt to a crisp. The quote to repair is at least 30k which is close to what I paid (actually I still have 40 payments due)!


Question: What could have caused it (it was plastic/ wiring burning and super hot!)...not fuel related.
The dealer told me I need to turn to insurance co; i.e it is not covered by warranty!

Obviously I don't want to spend as much as a new tractor on this; besides the wiring and the dashboard cover everything looks like new! I am getting a 6060HD delivered in a few days as I can't wait to get a resolution to this....

 

[Gord Baker]

So sorry about your luck. ALL: NEVER put out a vehicle fire if there is no one at risk. That is what Insurance is for.

 

[Diesel5000]

Unfortunately i did not insure (never had any claim in 30 years) but I should have since this was financed by Kubota

Any finance company or Kubota would require insurance on the tractor. I once had a dead short on a Toyota Truck wiring involving the main cable from the fuse box. I was there with good open to put out the fire but it got so hot so quickly it melted the wiring and fuse box where all the wires were melted together bypassing the fuse box. If I had not been there to break the circuit at the battery it would have burned all the wiring and maybe truck up too. I looked at my fuse box and wiring diagram. The box main fuse was designed for the maximum current draw with all the accessories like air conditioning, electric windows, locks, seats, radio, etc which I didn’t have but the fuse box and main fuse was designed for this load. I suspect the box was designed for max load to cover trucks with all electrical loads but the wiring may have been designed for the lower electrical load. I know a dead short involving the battery can get incredibly hot in a couple of seconds. I’ll tell my age. I was driving a Farmall Cub with a hand crank. The crank was on the floor under the seat. I bumped it with my foot and it bumped over and hit the battery causing a dead short. The crank handle actually welded to the tractor floor in about 2 seconds. Had to kick the crank handle very hard to get it off the battery.

 

[tradosaurus]

A new tractor from Kubota comes with a 2 yr warranty. Not sure it covers fire.
My homeowners insurance, Texas Farm Bureau, would cover a fire related disaster with my tractor as long as it was on my property.
$250 deductible.

 

[dbritt]

I have bought a LOT of equipment on Kubota's "0% for 48 months" financing plans. I had to provide proof of insurance on every one. None of them had insurance provided by Kubota. I don't remember if it was offered or not, but my farm insurance covered them. I do believe I had to provide the proof before they would release the financing. Knowing the dealer personally, he did go ahead and deliver the equipment every time, but he might not have been supposed to. My point is, AFAIK, there is no way to get Kubota financing without proof of insurance.

 

[Martin Roper]

9 month old tractor and I run it for maybe 10 minutes and notice that it has less power than usual
Anyhow I see smoke out in the hood area on top of engine. I open the hood and flames spread out all the way to fuse box and the dashboard (plastic)
I manage to douse off the fire and all the wiring is now bare and burnt to a crisp. The quote to repair is at least 30k which is close to what I paid (actually I still have 40 payments due)!


Question: What could have caused it (it was plastic/ wiring burning and super hot!)...not fuel related.
The dealer told me I need to turn to insurance co; i.e it is not covered by warranty!

Obviously I don't want to spend as much as a new tractor on this; besides the wiring and the dashboard cover everything looks like new! I am getting a 6060HD delivered in a few days as I can't wait to get a resolution to this....

Sounds as if your dealer is trying to pull a fast one, 9 months old and forty hours, that's what you expect from a cheap Chinese machine. Unless the dealer can prove you have misused it I would be very disheartened if he doesn't sort this.

 

[Bentrim]

A few things I have learned working at a dealer.

Combines are a fire hazard especially if not kept clean. An exhaust leak, a bad bearing, Mr. Squeaky gnawing on wires are good fire starters.

Electrical fire can cause more damage than what is visible. A short can cause the starter to operate, this may draw burnt hoses and other things into the engine. They can also cause other component damage from misdirected voltage. Until the battery is disconnected or the main cable shorts to ground and kills the battery you have wires that are shorting and causing more damage.

Insurance -- Usually good to have. Always found it a must on a financed unit Will not pay all the damage. One job the agent said "we will deduct 10% for betterment". What?? "the parts you are replacing are old the new parts are new so they are better" Still?????

Warranty -- Warranty covers DEFECTS in Material and Workmanship. Not wear parts, not abused parts, not wrecks. Had a fire job that was warranty and they replaced all parts EXCEPT the part that caused the fire.

When you think you have all the parts for the repair, double check you will find you need more.
Had a combine that burned. repaired it enough to start the engine to be sure all was good--- Kept getting sprayed with oil, found the fire had melted a tiny hole in the aluminum valve cover. Aluminum parts disappear quickly in a fire!! Damage to wiring harnesses can go a lot farther than just where the fire burned.

I would badger the dealer and or the company and would not take delivery of that new tractor, it is a good wedge to get some action on the burned unit. And determine what started the fire. If the fault is the manufacturer you should not have to pay.

Good luck hope you can get that repaired and have little if any out lay

 

[tradosaurus]

I usually but even my z turn mower blinks at first 50hr for oil/change.

I would not expect a diesel machine to need dealer service at 50hr,

Whatever you do don't volunteer the knowledge to Kubota or your insurance that you didn't do the 50 hr service.

The owners manual calls for oil, oil filter and hydraulic filter change at 50 yrs service. That wouldn't have caused the fire though.