SVL-90 w/hi-flow Problems

[PhillipL]

Is anyone else having problems with their new SVL-90 with hi flow hydraulics?
@ 200 hrs I had to have the auxiliary hyd. pump replaced. Metal shavings from the pump contaminated the hydraulic system and many other valves and parts related to the hyd. system had to be changed also. @ 250 hrs the fuel pump went bad and had to be replaced. Now @ 450 hrs. the hi-flow won't turn on. The dealer says the solenoids that activate the hi-flow feature are bad.
I have been in the landscape construction business for 25 years and have always run Kubota tractors and excavators with no major problems, so when they started making skid steers I figured there would be no major problems with these either. BOY WAS I WRONG!
Kubota did give me an extra year of warranty coverage after the bad hyd. pump, but at this rate I'm considering asking for at LEAST another year.

 

[Bulldog]

Sounds like you bought a lemon. I don't care who the manufacturer is from time to time everybody has one. You may be better off to dump that one and get something else. I personally have only used a 75 and it was a very nice machine. Smooth, strong and quiet just like I would expect from a Kubota product. I've been on about every skid steer on the market and I liked the Kubota better than any of the others.

 

[Barry Bonin]

Hi Phil, we've got the same problems. I talked to the mechanic at my local dealer and he told me the 90 had a problem with a cracked line that sucks air and wipes out the pump. When I talked to the service manager he got noticeably agitated and said he wasn't aware of that problem and said Kubota would replace the pump but I have to pay to flush the hydraulic system and replace the filters. I'd be very interested if anyone else has had these problems. Glad to hear you got an extra years warranty. I'll be sure to ask. Please let me know how things worked out for you. Barry

 

[Diydave]

Sounds like when the pump went, it might have sent some metal into the solenoids. From my experience, there's not much to the solenoids, just about like changing a relief valve, in a hyd bank valve...

 

[Daren Todd]

Why are you having to pay for filters and flushing the system? That should be covered in the warranty repair. Just dumped the local green dealer because of practices like that. Started bussing my equipment thirty miles to a different dealer, and getting the service you should expect to recieve. Huge difference in the bills. Had two pieces of equipment with the same model engine. $300 for the front main seal at the new dealer, with a couple hours labor. Dealer I fired charged 6 hours for the same repair

 

[Barry Bonin]

Hi Phil, we've got the same problems. I talked to the mechanic at my local dealer and he told me the 90 had a problem with a cracked line that sucks air and wipes out the pump. When I talked to the service manager he got noticeably agitated and said he wasn't aware of that problem and said Kubota would replace the pump but I have to pay to flush the hydraulic system and replace the filters. I'd be very interested if anyone else has had these problems. Glad to hear you got an extra years warranty. I'll be sure to ask. Please let me know how things worked out for you. Barry

12/29/15 Well we just got the labor bill to replace the pump from F&W Equipment in Orange Ct. Over $4000.00 to replace a pump Kubota knows it has a problem with. Do your homework before you buy one of these machines and intend to use any attachments. This was the seventh Kubota that we've purchased and I feel betrayed. I can assure you this will be the last. 2zero3-673-55five2

 

[coachgeo]

12/29/15 Well we just got the labor bill to replace the pump from F&W Equipment in Orange Ct. Over $4000.00 to replace a pump Kubota knows it has a problem with. Do your homework before you buy one of these machines and intend to use any attachments. This was the seventh Kubota that we've purchased and I feel betrayed. I can assure you this will be the last. 2zero3-673-55five2

You've more been betrayed by the dealer and not by the manufacturer.

You've had fine experience with the other six Kubota units, right? Then don't throw out the baby with the bathwater as they say. Dump the dealer. The dealer has proved they've got no spine.

 

[85Hokie]

"You've had fine experience with the other six Kubota units, right? Then don't throw out the baby with the bathwater as they say. Dump the dealer. The dealer has proved they've got no spine."

A spineless dealer will eventually end up without a body! Word of mouth is a powerful tool - I would head back to that dealer and ask him if you really want to call HQ and report on how wonderful of an experience you had....

Barry,

Like Bulldog said, maybe a lemon - but I would squeeze all the lemons on trees until I got the juice that I wanted! Sometimes starting at the top ends back at the bottom - call the local area rep and see if they can help. But before the call - go BACK to the dealer and see if they wish to help you on that bill and tell him that you are not expecting to pay THAT bill until someone at Kubota is talked to. May not help one bit - but Big K should stand behind a known problem.

 

[Rye Beach Land]

Having similar problems. 2013 SVL90, had hydro pump replaced at 384 hrs. Just out of warranty at that time, Kubota bought the pump but we had to pay $1400 in labor. Now at 1004 hrs we just lost another pump. Dealer says it's because we are using a snowblower that is rated for 19.8 GPM and the machine puts out 23GPM, saying the pump vanes got pushed back by the flow restriction and ate the bearings and housing. They say all attachements need to be flow matched to within 5% of pump output, which is not in the manual and not a fact known by my salesman either.
I had the snowblower hydro motor (Danfoss brand) checked out by an independent shop certified by Danfoss and there's nothing wrong with it (thought maybe it was going bad and put some debris in the system). That shop (arguably the best in the state) says that, if anything, the snowblower motor would have gone bad, not the pump.
Furthermore, I called my Bobcat and Cat dealers and posed the problem to them (leaving out my machine brand and dealer name). They say the same: that the machines can easily take a minor difference in flow and any damage would be to my motor, not to the machines pump. And also, that if it were that big a deal, they would have to closely monitor what attachements their customers were putting on their rental machines and match flow. But they don't, because it's "never been a problem".
I have a $4400 bill waiting on me at the dealer. Everyone I've talked to says their explanation about flow differences causing pump failure is bunk. Any feedback or thoughts?
Thanks

 

[Bulldog]

Sounds like crap to me. The 19.8 gpm most likely it what the blower requires to work properly. Every hyd attachment I've seen is rated that way. Meaning you need a machine that has at least a 19.8 gpm to operate that implement. At 23 gpm your machine should be matched perfect for that blower.

Their logic is dumb. My M9000 has 17gpm flow and when I'm using my disc mower it only has to operate 1 single action cylinder. No way 1 cylinder is within 5% of my flow and I've been mowing with it since 04 when I bought the tractor.

Sounds like you need to talk to a Kubota rep and go thru the entire situation from the beginning. Obviously to me it sounds like they were admitting a problem when they paid for a pump out of warranty. I would take that as they knew their product failed and it was a patch job to keep your business. Did they tell you them that your blower was the problem? It that was the problem you should have been told then but I bet you weren't. Sound like a BS excuse because they don't know what happened but don't want to admit it's their problem.

I know one thing for sure. If I had to eat that bill the machine would have a new owner and I would be the proud poppa of a new yellow and black one.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

The whole thing sounds like bull poo to me too!
I've never heard of such a thing.
If that system was designed that way, all brands of Skid Steers all over would be destroying their pumps!

I would get a hold of a Kubota corporate rep before paying any bill, as I think you dealer and / or mechanics are inept and just flat ripping you off!

I'm betting the root cause of the problem is something else entirely and unless addressed and repaired will pop it's ugly head up again!

 

[Rye Beach Land]

Update on the bull-poo situation with the SVL 90:
Dealer asked to take my blower and test it on the machine to look at flow rates. They'd tested output with the new pump at 23gpm. I brought it down and heard back this morning......they found tons of air in the system. Traced it to a leaking pump intake line, no doubt causing cavitation and premature pump failure.
First of all, this shoots down their theory of my blower causing the failure. Second, why the heck do I have leaking suction lines at 1004 hrs costing me a second replacement pump? This isn't why I buy Kubota. I'm way out of warranty and wondering if Kubota and the dealer are going to make me eat the entire repair/testing cost. Hoping the fact that we own 6 Kubota machines factors in, but I have a sinking feeling I'm going to end up under the bus.
If that's the case, I'll have to conclude that we can't afford this machine because it's unreliable. Already had one pump fail, and a fuel fill neck that rusted inside and cost me a winters worth of filters before we figured it out. Might lease our next machine so we won't own the repairs......

 

[Bulldog]

Sounds like that may have been the cause of the first pump failure. I believe I would want to talk to a Kubota rep and get some input from them. If it was overlooked by the dealer the first time then obviously it wasn't properly repaired and thus caused the second pump to fail. If that be the case they owe you some credit toward the current situation. Just my $.02.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

I will second Bulldog's take on this!

 

[rentthis]

I have dealt with Kubota for a bunch of years. In every warranty situation, whether beyond warranty period or not, Kubota has never said "we will split it with you". If they owe you part of it, they owe you all of it. You have a dealer problem. I recently had a hydro-stat unit in an L-49 eat itself from the inside out. Kubota agreed that it was a known issue and replaced the transmission. The tractor was waaaay out of warranty. They paid it all. I had the same situation with one of my tractors. The transmission went to hell. Kubota repaired it and charged me nothing. This one was farther out of warranty. Theses were both known issues and Kubota didn't as much as try a head fake.

 

[ShaunRH]

If there are 3 people on this thread with nearly identical problems, it's probably an engineering issue that Kubota itself must address. A nice dealer would do this for you, and several of them with the same issues would rap on the Kubota reps door for you and get this dealt with. A bad machine not only makes the entire brand look bad but the dealers also because they are the front line of the brand.

So, what you also have here is a great indicator of a good/bad dealer. If they don't fight for you, want the money RIGHT NOW, and won't go to bat with Kubota for you, they are a bad dealer. Drop them and find one that will.

Also, make it clear up front when you take a new machine back in that you expect them to warranty it. Putting a slightly lower rated GPM device on a higher GPM system will not damage the pumps at all. They aren't usually vaned, they are generally gear or cam pumps. Neither of the latter two are bothered by pressure changes, that is what pressure relief and over pressure valves are for (which should be the component that fails). It should be dumping excess pressure back to the tank. Restrictor systems are COMMON on hydraulics (every control valve in a hydraulic system is a restrictor) and tell the dealer to take the double talk back to someone else or tell them that you'll tell the Kubota rep that the dealer thinks that Kubota doesn't know how to properly engineer a hydraulic system and it's somehow your fault and you should pay for it (in essence, this is the dealer argument.)

The one that is our fault as buyers is that WE need to educate ourselves on these systems and make sure we have other reputable resources to double check this kind of crap. Kubota itself has an email contact form:
https://www.kubota.com/contactus/ContactKubotaForm.aspx?s=cs
You can write them at:

Kubota Tractor Corporation
Customer Satisfaction
3401 Del Amo Blvd
Torrance, CA 90503

 

[FatHead]

I have a 2018 SVL95-2 at 150 hrs the high flow pump went out. Sat in the shop for month wanting on Kubota to get the replacement parts to my dealer. Got the machine back now with 162 hrs on it the Def injector blew and caused Def fluid to corrode the complete wiring harness and ECU . Now sitting at the deal for over 5 weeks and still no eta on getting the ECU. My dealer was going to give me there loaner but it's down with the same problem. I've called the customer support line out of Texas and all she can tell me is that the dealer should be able to give me an ETA. My dealer can't get an answer when the ECU will ship either. All the woman that says she was a supervisor could say was it is what it is. After that comment I when ballistic. There customer service is horrible!!!! They don't have a fix for the injector problem some it with have the same replacement parts back on it so when I do get it back just a matter of time before it happens to again. Buyers beware of there track loaders they have problems with no customer support!!!!!

 

[lugbolt]

vendor issue most likely.

They don't know when they'll get it from THEIR suppliers. Thus they can't tell you when it'll ship from them to dealer.

On the kubota dealer system, they usually have a column for "ETA". However, when that box is yellow and nothing in it, that means they have no idea when they'll get it. That's when the dealer needs to step in and do some legwork with the Kubota parts departments, as well as their FSR's.

Backorders have been a little bit of an issue lately, for us on different types of equipment since we don't do a lot with CE.

Kubota is going through some small internal changes that will affect the dealer and ultimately customer support.

Suggestion. Call the DFW Kubota number and ask for a service representative, perhaps you can get through to one. The one I usually spoke with retired a couple years ago, and is SORELY missed, but at the same time I haven't had to call down there very often since.

 

[VikingDirt]

I know its been a few years on this post. Did anyone here get anywhere with getting Kubota to help?

My second pump just went out at 1500 hours and the dealer will not help figure out whatvis going wrong.