Not very impressed with Bobcat servicing

[Rolando]

Well, it's now been a week since my Toolcat went into the shop and more than three weeks since I've been able to mow or use the grapple effectively. And now they're telling me that the hydraulic pump in on back order and they don't now when they'll get one!

This is the first major problem I've had with the Toolcat and it's been a nightmare. Three weeks ago, when I started using my new grapple, I notice that the opening speed was a lot slower than the closing speed, and the mower deck started working sporadically. Two weeks ago when I need to mow again, the mower stopped working altogether. The spindles would turn, but not fast enough to cut the grass.

I called my Bobcat dealer and they said they couldn't pick it up until last Wednesday, which they did. But the following morning the delivery guy shows up with the Toolcat telling me they couldn't find anything wrong with it. He unloaded it and I showed him how the mower wasn't working. He got it to work by turning on the high-flow, but I explained to him that the mower deck wasn't supposed to need high-flow to work. He called the service manager who said he would check on it then called back and said the mower needed high-flow. I became more concerned at that point. Since I know that's not the case, he was either getting bad information or just lying to get me off his case. Neither alternative is very encouraging.

We then mounted the grapple and I showed him the problem with opening the jaw. They couldn't claim that the grapple needed high-flow so they finally decided there must be something wrong and took the Toolcat back, this time with the grapple.

It bothers me that; one, they couldn't figure out that the mower wasn't functioning properly, and two, that when they came to that conclusion, they just brought the Toolcat back, rather than calling me while it was still in the shop to ask me about it. I could have explained to them how it wasn't working and we wouldn't have lost a half day of them working on it while the guy brought it back to me and then took it back.

Last Friday they told me the hydraulic pump was bad and they had to wait until Tuesday to get a replacement. As I said above, now they don't know when they'll be able to fix it.

My Bobcat dealer is already one hour away. The next nearest dealer is in Jacksonville, which is twice as far away. I don't know what I'm going to do if I continue to have problems and have to continue to deal with my dealer's service department.

I don't understand how Bobcat can be back ordered on hydraulic pumps. Has the factory line ground to a halt and stopped building Toolcats?

 

[odleefs]

Rolando,
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you may have a larger problem than you think, or rather, than your dealer thinks. If you search a TC link from earlier in August or July several people have had complete failure of their hydraulic systems due to defective parts. I hope this is not the case, but random, early make Cs are the ones that are plagued. If I find the link to the thread I will post it ASAP.
Good Luck,
Steve
PS On the bright side, those units were individually recalled and Bobcat gave them new units. In the meantime, raise a stink and have your dealer give you their demo unit while they are solving your problem

 

[odleefs]

Rolando,
Here's the link for you->

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/toolcat/82216-if-you-have-toolcat-questions.html

Look towards the end, or search the member fresh2ob as this member was the one that had a problem very similiar to yours, which leads me to think that you share the same problem.
If you agree, call your dealer tomorrow and tell them to save you the diagnosis fee...
Good Luck,
Steve

 

[CRJCaptain]

Hey Rolando, sorry to hear of your difficulties. I think that there may be some variation in the quality of the individual dealers throughout the country. The shop that I've dealt with has 3 separate locations and has always been very responsive, albeit sometimes busy.

Have you tried calling or emailing the Bobcat headquarters in North Dakota? If it were me I would contact them and let them know the details of the problems you've been having with your machine as well as with the dealer, then ask what they can do to retain you as a valuable customer.

Best of luck...

Dean

 

[SkyPup]

Rolando, in light of the situation, the hydraulic pump is probably on backorder due to the number of failures they've experienced with it....

Sorry to hear about your experience with the equipment and the dealer service. I indeed feel very fortunate to have thousands of severe duty hours on my Kubota machines without ever once needing any warranty or repairs.

 

[dsb5610]

Rolando,

I hope Bobcat gets you back in service soon. When I first read your post I thought the same thing as odleefs .... might be one of the defective hydraulic pumps. I would get a thorough explanation before it is returned. As I recall from the other post on the pump failure the filter was discovered with metal filings. If I'm not mistaken, the filter is on the low pressure side of the pump. If the metal filings are from the pump I would be concerned the hydraulic system is contaminated, including the attachments.

I've only used Bobcat service one time for a couple of factory updates. Was an interesting event. The service manager and I agreed the work was not critical and he would schedule it when they had other work in my area. My understanding from the discussion this would prevent a travel charge in the event Bobcat's reimbursement did not cover the 'extended' travel .... approx 40 miles. He eventually called and said they would be out my way for other work and would do mine the same day. The service guy showed up with a truck/trailer and said he couldn't bring the service truck due to the need to use the trailer for a delivery. Fortunately, I was able to provide him with the tools he did not bring with him so he would not have to make an additional trip. I figured that happens and it's saving me any potential travel cost, wrong. To be fair it was only one event and I am reserving judgement on Bobcat service but am now leary.

Other than the pump problem I have not read about much trouble on the Toolcats. I've had no trouble with my 'A' model in the almost 200 hours I have put on it since early this year. Mine has over 400 hours on it now. Hopefully once you get this corrected it will be trouble free for many hours to come.

dsb

 

[Bob999]

Perhaps someone can clarify the situation here.

My understanding was that the pump problem that was previouly reported is with the variable displacement pump used for motive power. I understand that the PTO circuit, which drives a mower and some other attachments is a different pump and also a different type of pump--a gear pump rather than a variable displacement pump.

 

[Rolando]

dsb5610,
What updates are you talking about? We have the same machine so shouldn't I have heard about them as well?

 

[Rolando]

Skypup,
I totally envy the reliability of the Kubotas and the great dealer you have in Gainesville, but the design and function of the Toolcat is still exactly what I needed. Maybe Kubota will get around to making their own version of the Toolcat some time.

 

[Rolando]

Steve,
I think the post you were referencing was this one:

Thanks everyone for your support. The symptoms of the problem are a noticeable whining sound when mowing in reverse, like at the end of a row where you have to turn around, and then when you go into forward again, and some loss of power going uphill. Then the hydraulic filter warning light came on, and the code said 2-17, which is a plugged hydraulic filter or overheated fluid. When the little filter inside the locked compartment is removed, particles of copper and iron debris can be seen in the fluid. That's when the mechanic says "this is bad news..." Our dealer is very frustrated as well. The service manager told us this morning that Bobcat manufacturing has discovered that one of three suppliers of copper sleeves or casings for the pistons in the drive train evidently did not provide parts with the correct specifications. On units manufactured with this defect, the pistons start creating debris immediately when the motor is running, thus explaining the early catastrophic failure we have experienced on two brand new units. (The first happened at 35 hours, the second at about 50.) Yes, we are concerned about other damage to the drive train that might not be detectable now, and we are debating what to do--accept the repaired unit, ask for more extended warranty at no cost to us, ask for another new unit, etc. In the meantime, they are giving us back the old non-turbo unit with the chronic overheating problem to use until something else can be worked out. What a mess!

I didn't have any of these symptoms. My only complaint was that the mower blades weren't turning fast enough to cut and that the grapple was opening slower than it was closing. I didn't have catastrophic failure. In fact, the mower and grapple functioned if we turned on the High-flow. Also, I have more than 100 hours on my machine, but then I only recently started using the auxiliary hydraulics.

That being said, I visited my dealer today to make sure my Toolcat still existed and I asked the service manager about the metal debris problem with the defective casings. He said that is exactly what is going on and that they are replacing the entire pump assembly which is three pumps in one. He also said that the problem hadn't progressed very far with my unit, since I still had function, albeit not normal. He thinks they can fix it.

They're going to flush the entire system and I should have the Toolcat back on Monday. I talked to the dealership manager to make sure that they also flushed my grapple that they had down there, and the mower which is here. I don't know if they can flush out the mower here when they bring the Toolcat back, or if they'll need to take the mower back to the dealership.

The manager is also telling me that Bobcat is very good about honoring repairs after the warranty if were caused by problems that occurred while in warranty. Everyone is telling me that it will be alright. I don't know.