2018 rtv-xg850 major issues

truckfixer

Member

Equipment
rtv-xg850sl
May 2, 2023
43
11
8
Cusick WA
well finally found the real reason jt was running so bad.
it was a ruined engine losing compression and killing itself slowly. it's knocking reeeeeeally bad now so I guess I'll have to find another subaru engine or a rebuild kit.
where would I even look for those parts if for nothing else but to rid myself of this nightmare machine
 
  • Sad
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users

GreensvilleJay

Well-known member

Equipment
BX23-S,57 A-C D-14,58 A-C D-14, 57 A-C D-14,tiller,cults,Millcreek 25G spreader,
Apr 2, 2019
12,495
5,404
113
Greensville,Ontario,Canada
might search here for previous posts. I know one of 'them' is/was a nightmare, and I suspetc others have replaced the troublesome engine with something else. I remember seeing the term 'short trip' or something.
you can always ask google 'subaru engine model number replacement', see what pops up.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users

Sidekick

Well-known member

Equipment
Kioti CK2620SE cab, RTV-X, BX2360, Z726XKW-3-60
Jul 29, 2023
725
750
93
N.Y,
I wonder if you have excessive fuel in the crankcase like several others of us had. The 2018s to 2022s seem to be affected in cooler climates. Have to run them at least 20 minutes every start to get the engine hot enough to evaporate the excess fuel after starting I was told. There's a whole thread about it. Engine was changed in 2023 to fix ir supposedly but can't swap it into the older models.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user

truckfixer

Member

Equipment
rtv-xg850sl
May 2, 2023
43
11
8
Cusick WA

I'd be looking into an old 4 stroke sled or atv motor if mine self destructed
that was the plan but i got told no thats impractical.
i can't find any service parts for the engine at all. suburu knew what motor it was but basically said they didnt make the parts and the only way to get them would be to buy the generator.
kubuta said they could get the parts.....for 8k... thats about what was paid for this pile so thats an obvious no. so im stuck between getting it good enough to let it explode on its own terms or throwing the old engine in the trash anyways and risking the fight with family about how i "ruined" it.
probably gonna take the 2nd route anyways since i plan on selling it and replacing it with something far far more reliable and useful. like a wrecked ford ranger or something
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user

truckfixer

Member

Equipment
rtv-xg850sl
May 2, 2023
43
11
8
Cusick WA
I wonder if you have excessive fuel in the crankcase like several others of us had. The 2018s to 2022s seem to be affected in cooler climates. Have to run them at least 20 minutes every start to get the engine hot enough to evaporate the excess fuel after starting I was told. There's a whole thread about it. Engine was changed in 2023 to fix ir supposedly but can't swap it into the older models.
not Originally no. it used to be fine until it hit 70 hours (purchased from original owner at 10 hours. should have been a sign) then it burned up a starter, generator and 3 cvt belts and then gkt its 2nd oil change because it sat outside in the rain and was probably better for it..
then it got to 140 hours with no more issues until this engine bs started last year with it guzzling fuel, not having any power and getting water and fuel in its oil.
needless to say i won't be buying any other kubota anytime soon unless its from the 80s or something and REAL CHEAP.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user

lugbolt

Well-known member

Equipment
ZG127S-54
Oct 15, 2015
5,349
2,020
113
Mid, South, USA
belt burning is almost always a symptom of improper operation-not likely anything wrong with the system

engine, however, could be anything, and without opening it up and/or knowing it's history I can't even speculate

I will say this, and people might not like it. Kubota's venture in the SxS business has been a failure, specifically the RTV400, RTV500/520, and the RTV-XG850. All three of them have competition from other brands which destroy Kubota in almost every aspect. Why anyone would buy any of those 3 is beyond me. The diesels are decent, slow, rough riding no ground clearance poor brakes (but you don't have to use the brakes, just let off the accelerator and you go through the windshield), poor air intake location (too low on most of them), etc--but what sells them is that diesel engine; and since they don't sell them with anything more than 24.8hp, and they all have that power sucking hydrostatic transmission, they really suck--but that's what sells them (the name, and reliability). The 500/520 is so slow that it's not even funny. It rides terrible. It has no ground clearance, a small bed, harder to work on than any of the other comparable sized machines. I've had friends (and a coworker) buy them because it says kubota on it and it must be good, and they'll use em a few times and realize, this thing sucks, and sell them. 400? LOL. They quit making them for a reason. Garbage (mostly) and overpriced. Back when they came out they cost more than the Mule 600 series and the Mule was faster, had more ground clearance, and even as terrible as they ride, rode a lot better than the RTV400 did. Don't understand what Kubota was thinking there but whatever. THey kept them around a few years. IMO a few years too long. The cab RTV's are nice and the a/c works great in them but again they are snails. They'll get you there, so long as the ground aint real rough, and in comfort (again if it's not rough or muddy)--as long as you ain't in no hurry, but for the money, you can get better. The only thing not better is the a/c. Other brands haven't mastered that part yet. Ranger a/c is decent but not great. Defender a/c just sucks. But yes as a generality, the rtv's aren't great overall. Kubota has an idea and they can indeed improve on them if they want, but I believe that they don't want to for whatever reason. Maybe trying to stay competitive in the market, nobody else has a diesel SxS. Polaris had one but it was also plagued (I work on a few sometimes). The RTV gas units are just outperformed by everything else.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user

FTG-05

Active member

Equipment
L4330 w/FEL, RTV-XG850 and ZD326S
Jul 21, 2013
285
120
43
TN
belt burning is almost always a symptom of improper operation-not likely anything wrong with the system

engine, however, could be anything, and without opening it up and/or knowing it's history I can't even speculate

I will say this, and people might not like it. Kubota's venture in the SxS business has been a failure, specifically the RTV400, RTV500/520, and the RTV-XG850. All three of them have competition from other brands which destroy Kubota in almost every aspect. Why anyone would buy any of those 3 is beyond me. The diesels are decent, slow, rough riding no ground clearance poor brakes (but you don't have to use the brakes, just let off the accelerator and you go through the windshield), poor air intake location (too low on most of them), etc--but what sells them is that diesel engine; and since they don't sell them with anything more than 24.8hp, and they all have that power sucking hydrostatic transmission, they really suck--but that's what sells them (the name, and reliability). The 500/520 is so slow that it's not even funny. It rides terrible. It has no ground clearance, a small bed, harder to work on than any of the other comparable sized machines. I've had friends (and a coworker) buy them because it says kubota on it and it must be good, and they'll use em a few times and realize, this thing sucks, and sell them. 400? LOL. They quit making them for a reason. Garbage (mostly) and overpriced. Back when they came out they cost more than the Mule 600 series and the Mule was faster, had more ground clearance, and even as terrible as they ride, rode a lot better than the RTV400 did. Don't understand what Kubota was thinking there but whatever. THey kept them around a few years. IMO a few years too long. The cab RTV's are nice and the a/c works great in them but again they are snails. They'll get you there, so long as the ground aint real rough, and in comfort (again if it's not rough or muddy)--as long as you ain't in no hurry, but for the money, you can get better. The only thing not better is the a/c. Other brands haven't mastered that part yet. Ranger a/c is decent but not great. Defender a/c just sucks. But yes as a generality, the rtv's aren't great overall. Kubota has an idea and they can indeed improve on them if they want, but I believe that they don't want to for whatever reason. Maybe trying to stay competitive in the market, nobody else has a diesel SxS. Polaris had one but it was also plagued (I work on a few sometimes). The RTV gas units are just outperformed by everything else.
When my warranty is almost over, I'm going to get rid of my XG850 and replace it with... something, I don't know what yet, but it won't be a Kubota. Whoever designed the throttle for the XG should be fired, hung, shot then burned alive. :mad:
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user

GreensvilleJay

Well-known member

Equipment
BX23-S,57 A-C D-14,58 A-C D-14, 57 A-C D-14,tiller,cults,Millcreek 25G spreader,
Apr 2, 2019
12,495
5,404
113
Greensville,Ontario,Canada
Maybe just having to drive what they designed would be 'appropriate' ?? ideally they should be forced to FIX their mistakes !
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user

lugbolt

Well-known member

Equipment
ZG127S-54
Oct 15, 2015
5,349
2,020
113
Mid, South, USA
When my warranty is almost over, I'm going to get rid of my XG850 and replace it with... something, I don't know what yet, but it won't be a Kubota. Whoever designed the throttle for the XG should be fired, hung, shot then burned alive. :mad:

The saddest part of that is, kubota introduced the sidekicks in, what, 2017? And the first year, the throttle was terrible, so they 'redesigned' it, a little bit different geometry but that's it. It's still terrible, and here were are, about 8 years into production, and they STILL haven't fixed that.

I'm honestly surprised there hasn't been a class action yet. I can think of, gosh, 4 I think, of our customers (and one personal friend) when I worked at the dealer, who've had accidents due to that poor throttle. And that's just out of one, SMALL, dealership. Come to think of it, I think 4 maybe 5 is about all of the sidekicks that were sold total from 17-20 as I recall. Wasn't very many of them.

This is typical of the japanese brands. Keep a product around 8-10 years and not make enough updates to them to stay competitive. Toyota same way.

why wait til warranty is up to dump it? They're worth more if they still have warranty....
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: 2 users

FTG-05

Active member

Equipment
L4330 w/FEL, RTV-XG850 and ZD326S
Jul 21, 2013
285
120
43
TN
I agree: I don't see how there isn't some sort of class action due to the throttle issue. I don't see how - at least several - people were not injured by it's out of control jerkiness. Especially in reverse.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user

truckfixer

Member

Equipment
rtv-xg850sl
May 2, 2023
43
11
8
Cusick WA
I agree: I don't see how there isn't some sort of class action due to the throttle issue. I don't see how - at least several - people were not injured by it's out of control jerkiness. Especially in reverse.
oh thats the only issue mine doesn't have lol. the low engine power helps alot
in all seriousness i never had it be jerky until it burned through the first belt. my guess is the weights in the cvt are just wrong and its engaging too fast. i do remember putting a stronger spring in mine and then it stopped chewing through belts (it would squeal like a trapped pig before even after they "fixed' it)
i did look into the engine a bit more by tearing it down and a. yeah no parts for less than a new machine. the cylinder head part number i have is alone 600 which is ridiculous.
and b. the headgaskets these come with are a joke. much less the grade 8 headbolts with a k stamped on them.
i truly reccomend to anyone who has one currently to replace the headbolts with stronger ones (grind a slot in the oiling one) maybe 10.9 and some copper gaskets instead of the mls composite garbage these have. (should have been mls only or copper to begin with)
 

lugbolt

Well-known member

Equipment
ZG127S-54
Oct 15, 2015
5,349
2,020
113
Mid, South, USA
oh thats the only issue mine doesn't have lol. the low engine power helps alot
in all seriousness i never had it be jerky until it burned through the first belt. my guess is the weights in the cvt are just wrong and its engaging too fast. i do remember putting a stronger spring in mine and then it stopped chewing through belts (it would squeal like a trapped pig before even after they "fixed' it)
i did look into the engine a bit more by tearing it down and a. yeah no parts for less than a new machine. the cylinder head part number i have is alone 600 which is ridiculous.
and b. the headgaskets these come with are a joke. much less the grade 8 headbolts with a k stamped on them.
i truly reccomend to anyone who has one currently to replace the headbolts with stronger ones (grind a slot in the oiling one) maybe 10.9 and some copper gaskets instead of the mls composite garbage these have. (should have been mls only or copper to begin with)

Are those bolts TTY (torque to yield)? I think they are...
 

GreensvilleJay

Well-known member

Equipment
BX23-S,57 A-C D-14,58 A-C D-14, 57 A-C D-14,tiller,cults,Millcreek 25G spreader,
Apr 2, 2019
12,495
5,404
113
Greensville,Ontario,Canada
somewhat, yes.

Problem is, to get some other engine to go in there and work it is going to take a lot of engineering.
gee,in the good old days(5 DECADES ago ), guys would drop SBCs into JEEPs using Advance Adapters kits.
It seems to me IF there was a market, someone could easily design the 'kit', especially with all the fancy computers and CNC machines available today
 

lugbolt

Well-known member

Equipment
ZG127S-54
Oct 15, 2015
5,349
2,020
113
Mid, South, USA
gee,in the good old days(5 DECADES ago ), guys would drop SBCs into JEEPs using Advance Adapters kits.
It seems to me IF there was a market, someone could easily design the 'kit', especially with all the fancy computers and CNC machines available today
Them days is about over. Government is involved now. Finding kits to swap automotive stuff was easy at one point, not as easy now. Swapping engines in powersports stuff? You get to pay someone to do it for you, or you can spend months/years doing it yourself.

Polaris seems to be the easiest to swap stuff into/around on and those aren't easy either....certainly doable, but a business of doing it would then have to get some kind of certification that their kit allows a newer/cleaner/quieter engine to be retrofitted where the old one came out. Secondly the numbers just don't work out by time you buy the CNC machinery to make the plates, clutch adapters, clutches, belts, electronics to make the new engine talk to the old ecu (or completely new electronics altogether...e.g., new harnesses and sensors and/or ecu(s)), etc

This stuff is NOTHING like cars and trucks. NOTHING, not even in the same galaxy as far as what you're speaking of

that engine has it's own unique mounting points, the transmission doesn't bolt directly to a "bellhousing" per say, the electronics that run it are specific to that engine and chassis only, sensors are somewhat proprietary to that engine, etc

as said I've been messing around with Polaris stuff and a lot of them are very similar but different enough that, things don't interchange-even within the same product line. You can't put a 850 engine in a sportsman 570 chassis. They're both sportsman ATV's right? SUre are...and they are TOTALLY different in almost every aspect. You can't just make an adapter plate for this stuff and bolt a chincanese 6 hp OHV lawn mower engine to a sidekick chassis and make it actually usable. Remember there's wiring fuel system primary & secondary clutch belt cooling intake and exhaust, etc to have to deal with....

Sorry, it's not as easy as it used to be, nor as easy as some people would want you to think

but if you have fab skills, electrical skills, efi skills, and ecu skills, a lot of time and probably money, feel free to do as you please

The amount of money you'd have invested in swapping stuff in, may very well exceed the cost of a replacement engine. THAT is why swap kits for this stuff aren't in existence. Money. There are so many differences that you'd need a LOT of swap parts, which means it'll cost a lot of money, which means it's simpler in the long run to put the factory engine back in. And stay legal, emissions-wise.

this subject came up many years ago when the Kawaski Mule 454 engines were failing. Guys would go pick up some snowmobile engine and "bolt them in". I did it as "the internet said you could" and I guarantee you that it was NOTHING like the "internet" says it was, it's a pain in the neck, lots of days of trying to align belts, clutches, finding a clutch to work with the new engine, removing the belt cover (it couldn't go back on so if you had any water splash, it slips), installing a new CDI, re-doing the air intake, exhaust, just a lot of work that "they" didn't talk about.
 

GreensvilleJay

Well-known member

Equipment
BX23-S,57 A-C D-14,58 A-C D-14, 57 A-C D-14,tiller,cults,Millcreek 25G spreader,
Apr 2, 2019
12,495
5,404
113
Greensville,Ontario,Canada
gee lugbolt sounds like a friggin NIGHTMARE ! I'd have thought a 'series' WOULD be built using 'common' parts so the manufacturer would save money...sigh...
Never owned one, sure sounds like I don't want to...
curious though ... are replacement parts 'unique' and ,ugh, expensive ? Stuff like brakes, axle shafts, diff gears , cables ,??