Problems with my new JD 3320 tractor

[pebald1]

I'll try to keep this brief. I have a tendancy to ramble, especially when I'm upset.

I was on a while back asking about apples and oranges (JD vs Kubota). In the end, I ended up buying a JD 3320 cab tractor with 300 CX loader and a 6' rear mowing deck.

I want to note that my dealer has a good reputation for sales and services and I like the folks.

I got my tractor < 4 weeks ago. Within the first day or two, I noticed a small leak under the rear, and the left turn signal did not work, which I told my dealer about immediately. I later was mowing on a nice 65 degree spring day and about roasted myself out of the tractor cause the air conditioning in the cab was not working. I also made my dealer aware of this. He has asked for a day or two to get out there and pick it up, but said to go ahead and use the tractor. Well, my father came to mow for me and then told me it was leaking out the rear bad. I called my dealer and they were literally to my house in under 15 mins to get the tractor (on a Monday).

Problem with AC was a loose coupling and it had lost refridgerant. They got that fixed for me, but were slow in getting O rings for the rear end. When I called and explained I had a rototiller rented for the weekend to get my garden in, I asked for my tractor to be fixed or for one to use. By Thursday, I had my tractor back in my garage with everything fixed. Great! or so I thought.

Saturday morning comes and I go get tiller. I then go into garage to get tractor and see it's leaking again. I decide to pull it out and hook to tiller in hopes its not leaking bad. Well, it's bad enough and I call dealer. He doesn't have any used tractors in stock for me to use and he can't get ahold of owner. So, he sends a guy out with some fluid so that I can finish rototilling my garden and promising me that JD will make this right.

Well, my idea of right at this point is a new replacement tractor, and minimally to have a tractor to use while mine is fixed and/or replaced.

My dealer went to the regional manager who asked if I was a commerical customer and when the answer was no, said that they didn't really owe me anything. Well, I have close to $30K in their equipment and I haven't had this for 3 weeks and they don't owe me anything?!?!

I understand it's warrantied and it's covered, but do they have any idea how much of an inconvience this is? I have 14 acres of land that I take care of along with about 15 apple trees and other stuff (trying not to ramble).

If this was a new car and it went back to dealer with this many problems, wouldn't I be dealing with the lemon law at that point.

I'm thinking I need to move up the chain with my complaints. I would be interested in getting feedback from the people here.

What are your thoughts?

 

[mocassincreekranch]

This seems to be a growing trend with John Deere tractors in the past few years. I have 3 friends that have purchased new 5205,5103,5203 tractors all less than 6 months old and have had too many little troublesome problems. Hydraulic leaks in lift cylinders,parts falling off shifters,axle housing breaking=5205,seats coming apart. All picked up and repaired free of charge with no hassles and back in less than 5 days. John Deere makes good tractors but they need to pay a little more attention to quality control. My 5210 has never had any problems, but it was made in 1998. You should not be treated any different than the commercial customers! Go higher and don't give up till you are satisfied.

 

[GreatWhitehunter]

Well, this may help you. Go on the JD site, there's a contact us section up there. It then goes to FAQ's look over that, then send an email to them. In two days you should have a response. Then they will leave a number for you to call. I would call it. I was having an issue with my dealer yesing me to death and then no follow through. I called the number,talked to a rep. She put me on hold and then got the dealer on the phone. Set up the three way call. And made sure the dealer was going to do as I aksed. And that got the dealers attention quickly. Try that and see how you make out. Best of luck!

Matt T.

 

[pebald1]

Here's another thing that gets me with this: They have to remove the cab to get at the pump to find the problem. Now, I don't know about you, but would you want someone removing your NEW car exterior from the frame to get to the tranny??? What would your "piece of mind" be after this whenever something "odd" happens with the tractor.

I really don't think my dealer is tring to roll me over. I do worry about the regional manage, but of course, I haven't spoken with him directly.

I haven't even made my first payment yet. I'm guessing Kubota would still be happy to hear from me.

My whole thing is that you shouldn't have to deal with this with a brand new item, whatever it may be. I just want it made right. Thanks for letting me vent!

 

[pebald1]

fyi... I've posted a complaint through the JD website for equipment issues and another to the credit branch. I'll let you know how I make out.

 

[swines]

Here's another thing that gets me with this: They have to remove the cab to get at the pump to find the problem. Now, I don't know about you, but would you want someone removing your NEW car exterior from the frame to get to the tranny??? What would your "piece of mind" be after this whenever something "odd" happens with the tractor.

I really don't think my dealer is tring to roll me over. I do worry about the regional manage, but of course, I haven't spoken with him directly.

I haven't even made my first payment yet. I'm guessing Kubota would still be happy to hear from me.

My whole thing is that you shouldn't have to deal with this with a brand new item, whatever it may be. I just want it made right. Thanks for letting me vent!

R&R the cab may be standard procedure. Engine service on pickup trucks often requires R&R the entire cab because the engine bay is so stuffed that it's the only way to get to certain parts on the motor. If the dealer knows how to do it, there should be no problem. The only thing for you for "piece (sic) of mind" would be to purchase a Kubota immediately.

 

[schmism]

id press for a loaner/demo tractor... new or used didnt matter

but that way your putting hrs on HIS equipment he is motivated to get yours fixed correctly and back to you so your not running the hrs up on his equp.

 

[DrainPondDesign]

If all of the problems are just seals & no damage has happened due to low fluids then you may wish to consider that a replacement tractor migh have worse problems. So far the only multiple posting I've seen on the 3320 for leaks has been the the front axle seals, especailly if run under water.

So far my 3320 cab model has worked well with no leaks & only hoses needing to be dressed away from moving parts. It was delivered just before snow season so its first 30 hours were running at max throttle for the blower which is not the way I would have liked to break it in.

 

[coolhl7]

DrainPond Design: as far as the break-in with my MF1540 my understanding is they want you to run it at full throttle because I gather its worse for the engine to bog down and struggle under a heavy load.......what does the JD manual say?

 

[Z-Michigan]

Hard as it may be, I would try to be patient and let the dealer get things fixed. I would *nicely* remind him of the issues and your lack of free time, and see what you can get out of it (e.g. maybe future free rental of a tiller or something like that).

I am new to this tractor business but I am getting the impression that many pieces of equipment don't have the quality control they should, and some dealers may be sloppy. I'm still waiting for a dealer (not the one I bought my tractor from, though they did try hard to sell me a Kubota instead) to fix or replace a Landpride implement where a 3/4" thick steel plate bent from normal use. Same dealer also delivered me only 1/2 of my chain harrow and took 4 weeks to get me the other half. My JD 5105 had one very minor issue (loose shift knob) and there were somewhat bigger issues on two implements I bought with it, but the dealer picked up all three, fixed everything right, and had them back to me in about a week. It was frustrating to wait a week, but it got fixed and now it works fine.

I will also say that having those issues fixed promptly and without a hassle validated my decision to buy from a nearby dealer who seemed to provide good service. Had I bought hundreds of miles away to save a few bucks, I'm sure I would be less happy with the results.

I can't believe I'm saying it, but so far the only trouble-free purchase I've made was the "Farm Force" disc harrow I bought at TSC. Who would have thought...

 

[pebald1]

Here's an update:

I've heard from John Deere coporate and their take was "not our problem." They stated they have an independent dealer network that you have to work through. Well, didn't you, JD, make the tractor??? Don't you stand behind your work? How is this not your problem? Needless to say, I was extremely disappointed in JD's response.

Meanwhile, dealer has delivered a new 3320 non-cab tractor for my use in the interim, which I do appreciate. However, it's been over 2 weeks since I reported the problem and it's still not resolved.

I thought that perhaps I was being unrealistic in my request for a replacement and some people here have hinted at that, but the longer this goes on, the less I think so. I bought a new tractor and expect it to function as a new tractor for more than a week. Even if the problem is fixed, where is the compensation for the stress and inconvenience of dealing with this issue? What happens to your confidence or piece of mind with this piece of equipment?

I think it's ridiculous that we've all been conditioned to accept less than what is right simply because it has become customary. I have had a number of major purchases in the past couple years and have only had 1 that I was completely satisfied with. It seems that each issue I had was always someone elses problem.

This is me.
This is me on my soapbox.
Getting off my soapbox now

 

[Z-Michigan]

Meanwhile, dealer has delivered a new 3320 non-cab tractor for my use in the interim, which I do appreciate. However, it's been over 2 weeks since I reported the problem and it's still not resolved.

I thought that perhaps I was being unrealistic in my request for a replacement and some people here have hinted at that, but the longer this goes on, the less I think so. I bought a new tractor and expect it to function as a new tractor for more than a week. Even if the problem is fixed, where is the compensation for the stress and inconvenience of dealing with this issue? What happens to your confidence or piece of mind with this piece of equipment?

I think it's ridiculous that we've all been conditioned to accept less than what is right simply because it has become customary. I have had a number of major purchases in the past couple years and have only had 1 that I was completely satisfied with. It seems that each issue I had was always someone elses problem.

This is me.
This is me on my soapbox.
Getting off my soapbox now

Actually I'm pretty impressed that the dealer dropped off a new ROPS 3320 for you to use while your cab 3320 is being fixed. That sounds really good to me. I don't think you would find many dealers or brands providing that service, especially (but not only) to a non-commercial user. Keep in mind that while this is a pain for you, it is much different from a commercial farmer losing an entire season, the year's income and maybe his farm if his equipment fails. Probably why commercial farmers all keep lots of running tractors around.

On the quality, stress, convenience issues - I feel your pain. I also think that manufacturers of all sorts of stuff need to do better QC. I have bought three new cars in the last 7 years, two of which have had serious mechanical problems within their first year and each spent cumulatively weeks in the shop over many visits. One of those two was a Honda, which I had picked for its quality reputation! And because of Michigan's extremely weak lemon law, I had no recourse. On the plus side, the more recent of these was from a great selling dealer that has taken good care of me when it's in - giving me rental cars on their dime, even though they aren't required to. For me, the dealer has made a big difference.

At the same time, I think we have become too accustomed to a "throwaway" mentality that if something has an issue, junk it and replace it. A good tractor (like a 3320) will last several decades of use with little change in its performance. While it's a pain now, in the long view it would be silly for the manufacturer to replace it when it should be easily fixable for much less $$. Then they just take a big hit on reselling something used with 5 hours and giving you a new tractor that may have its own issues. My view would change if you had had a dozen problems instead of three or so. But with the loaner of an identical capability tractor, you can get all your work done just the same as if no problems, albeit without that really nice to have cab.

My two cents - while I would probably be equally mad in your position, I think your best bet is just being patient as you'll probably have a perfectly working tractor in a couple weeks or less, and have no problems from then on.

 

[DrainPondDesign]

Coolhl7,

Thanks for asking about the JD break-in recommendations, I don't see any in the manual & just assumed I was abusing the machine by running it at max to blow snow. This is my first diesel & I guess that with the lower rpms that the old gas engine break-in rules don't apply. Maybe I did the right thing for once.

 

[Jibber]

Actually, them having the tractor for an extended period now may be a good thing. Maybe they will actually FIX the problem. Although, I would think that if they had to remove the cab they would have tried to get it right the first time. I hope you don't have a defect in manufacture. I haven't had a similar problem with any tractor. But I have a car that had an engine/tranny seal problem that first surfaced soon after I got it home from the showroom.. and it's had four seals since.. In fact.. right now it's leaking again. Now, I'd say in my case.. there's something seriously wrong that they just can't fix and keep patching.. well, kept patching as long as it was in warranty. Now it's MY problem.

I too am impressed you got a loaner to work with. You won't find many dealers willing to do that unless you're a big money customer that spends hundreds of thousands over a few years.

 

[lawn_king]

Heres my take on this situation, for what its worth. You seem to be patient with all this bad tractor luck, give the dealer a deadline to make thing right. If you are still getting the run around, a letter from an attorney always gets peoples undivided attention. The letter will run around $100. the results will be worth 5 times that!

 

[crbr]

Heres my take on this situation, for what its worth. You seem to be patient with all this bad tractor luck, give the dealer a deadline to make thing right. If you are still getting the run around, a letter from an attorney always gets peoples undivided attention. The letter will run around $100. the results will be worth 5 times that!

Word.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

What happens to your confidence or piece of mind with this piece of equipment?

After the problem is fixed, and a couple years go past you will not even think about the problems you had to start with. Not all tractors are created equal and it might take a few times until the dealer finds what is actually making this thing leak. It could be an burr they did not notice or a defect in the metal that they wouldn't find until it kept acting up. I wish you well with your problem but be patient and keep in contact with your dealer but don't expect a new tractor unless this goes on for a long time.

 

[BTDT]

Sorry to hear of your problems with the new tractor. Just remember, though, that even if it says JD on the stickers, it was still more than likely made overseas somewhere. BTW, welcome to TBN. Where are you located? Might fill out your profile so we know what area of country we're dealing with.

 

[lawn_king]

Word.

The squeaky wheel gets the grease!