Service Notices, Extended Warranty?

[Blue2Orange]

Traded in the NH compact for the BX this past April. Only 2nd tractor owned. NH was free of any issues outside of normal wear for ~25 years of ownership. Never received any service notices from NH. Assuming none ever needed or NH doesn't issue notices.

Does Kubota issue service notices if they discover a problem?
My brain sort of shut off when the dealer started to talk about Kubota's extended warranty option. Have yet to purchase any extended warranty options for anything purchased. What are your feelings about the benefits if any of Kubota's extended warranty? Assuming like most there are limits to what is covered. Maybe copay or deductibles? Don't remember cost if even mentioned. Sort of remember office manager noting I will get a notice before the offer is no longer valid. Assuming close to the end of Kubota's basic warranty.

 

[Old Machinist]

Depends. I'm sure they send notices for any safety recalls as required by law.

For issues that develop they don't consider a safety recall they issue "fix as fails" technical service bulletins to the dealers and mark them as confidential. Unless someone gets wind of it and shares it on the forum you are at the mercy of the dealer looking for it if and when you bring it in for a problem. I don't know how they expect the dealer to perform them and not divulge the TSB?

When I bought my tractor used I called Kubota and got hold of a warranty agent that apparently didn't know the TSBs were not to be shared. She thought they were recalls that all needed to be performed and told me my tractor had 5 TSBs on it that hadn't been done. I asked her to share them in detail and she never sent them so I guess she got schooled. I later got them from another source and have had one performed at the dealer. The others have not been a problem for me except one other that seems to have cured itself with use.

 

[Rcflyer330]

So this may not be too helpfull but recalls they have to send out due to safety concerns. something like a tsb in the automotive world they do not, you would only find out about it if you had an issue and took it in for service.

As for extended warranty when we bought our b2650 the dealer didn't even mention one. At the time I thought that was kinda weird but now that I have had the tractor for 5 years i'm kinda glad we didn't purchase one. In my opnion It would have been an unnessary extra cost for the few hrs the tractor is used ~290 hrs in 5 years. If you put a lot of hrs on your tractor it may be worth it depending on what is covered and the deductible cost.

 

[GeoHorn]

Friend,… An extended warranty is:
1. A Profit Item for the seller/dealer. (not designed to benefit the owner monetarily)
2. Creates Additional Service Requirements and Documentation Obligations for Owner …
3. …such addt’l service obligations are additional costs and expose the owner Loss-of-warranty-coverage if those obligations are inadvertently missed.

In other words, your warranty salesmans’ job is to convince you that your vehicle is the Best, most reliable money can buy….. but then also convince you that it is subject to expensive failures you must pay additionally for protection from that failure-prone vehicle.

Next, this may seem antagonistic, but i do not mean it that way…. Coming online to ask strangers to describe the features of some specific warranty a dealer we don’t know is trying to sell you …. is not the best method for you to lean about it. You must contact that warranty-salesman to learn that. Anything we tell you is pure speculation.

Having said all that: For the first time in my life I have purchased an extended warranty. (I’ve always known they make money for the seller….not likely saving me at all.) But this last year, I lost my truck in an accident while on a vacation trip and was forced to purchase a new truck while out of state.
Ram offered an extended warranty (beyond the 3-year/ 50K mile factory warranty)…. for a little less than $4K they (Ram) would extend the warranty to 6 years/100K miles. I would Not have bought that EXCEPT …that the EW, if no claims are made upon it before expiration…. Full Refund of the EW Price will be made.

Why this made sense to me was because it’s a diesel that has beaucoup emissions-controls that can fail in very expensive ways. (Emission device failure can eaily cost $10K) With a $95K truck … I thought a “refundable” EW might make sense.

Of course, this requires me to replace crankcase vent filters and all kinds of other service items an ordinary owner would likely never perform…. and creates lovely opportunities for me to inadvertently Void my warranty.

 

[GeoHorn]

So this may not be too helpfull but recalls they have to send out due to safety concerns. something like a tsb in the automotive world they do not, you would only find out about it if you had an issue and took it in for service.

As for extended warranty when we bought our b2650 the dealer didn't even mention one. At the time I thought that was kinda weird but now that I have had the tractor for 5 years i'm kinda glad we didn't purchase one. In my opnion It would have been an unnessary extra cost for the few hrs the tractor is used ~290 hrs in 5 years. If you put a lot of hrs on your tractor it may be worth it depending on what is covered and the deductible cost.

The problem for second/third/subsequent owners… I don’t know if Kubota has records of who now owns a product they mfr’d in 1980’s/90’s.
Unless they updated some factory-record unknown to myself…… when I bought parts, for example….(and if a subsequent owner only bought aftermarket parts or salvage, etc.)…. Kubota may not know who to send a “recall” notice to….
the “Consumer Product Safety Commission” ….(who has been under the axe recently)…. only required mfr’s to make contact with “known current owners” …OR…otherwise make public announcements. Unless an owner subscribes to each mfr’s contact-lists…. you may never know about what may kill or injure you due to defective product.
Thank your politicians.

 

[Old Machinist]

The problem for second/third/subsequent owners… I don’t know if Kubota has records of who now owns a product they mfr’d in 1980’s/90’s.
Unless they updated some factory-record unknown to myself…… when I bought parts, for example….(and if a subsequent owner only bought aftermarket parts or salvage, etc.)…. Kubota may not know who to send a “recall” notice to….
the “Consumer Product Safety Commission” ….(who has been under the axe recently)…. only required mfr’s to make contact with “known current owners” …OR…otherwise make public announcements. Unless an owner subscribes to each mfr’s contact-lists…. you may never know about what may kill or injure you due to defective product.
Thank your politicians.

You can go online and register the equipment in your name with Kubota. But, I don't know if they use that for contact.

There was supposed to be a way a dealer could switch it to my name. One dealer took my information and said they would do it but I never received verification. The girl that said she would do it told me the catch was it would list THEIR dealership as my contact. She said if anything came up Kubota would notify them and they would be responsible for notifying me.

I called Kubota and they confirmed my tractor was showing under my name but when they went into the warranty database it reverted to the original owner. I don't know if they show it under my name due to me registering at My Kubota or if it was from the first dealer I asked to switch it to my name. The person I spoke with at Kubota thought it was possible for a dealer to switch it all to my name but said she could not do it.

The second dealer I asked said it wasn't necessary for warranty since that remains on the tractor regardless of who owns it and they wouldn't take the time to look into it.

I guess most of the dealers feel like if you didn't buy the tractor from them they have little to no obligation to you. If they were smart they would treat everyone like a potential customer that will buy their NEXT tractor from them. IF you buy from a Kubota dealer that is probably the case. If you purchase from an owner or independent dealer as I did probably not.

 

[NCL4701]

Does Kubota issue service notices if they discover a problem?

Thankfully, only one experience with a notice.

Shortly after I bought my L4701 new from a dealer, I received a stop use letter direct from Kubota (not dealer) due to a potentially mis-torqued bolt in the transmission. According to my dealer’s service manager, if this particular bolt came all the way out it could jam the swash plate in the HST so you couldn’t change direction or speed; you’d be along for the ride until you shut down the engine, struck an immovable object, took a dive off a cliff, etc. Clearly a very dangerous condition.

The original stop use covered a LOT of tractors over several model lines. As Kubota’s investigation into whatever issue propagated the problem progressed, the list of affected machines narrowed dramatically. My initial reaction was irritation, but upon some reflection I was thankful Kubota was very aggressive in addressing the issue rather than trying to hide it or delaying notice until they had more precise information on which models and serial number ranges were impacted.

A few months after my tractor was cleared as not subject to the stop use letter, Kubota sent me a gift certificate for, I think, $50 toward Kubota equipment or parts. Not something I requested or expected. I used it toward a bucket level indicator.

There’s a pretty lengthy detailed thread on the issue in case anyone wants more details. My vague recollection indicates this issue was the impetus for my introduction to OTT.

MX5200 HST recall

Just got my letter about loose bolt in transmission, any of you guys know how long/difficult process repair is? Will Kubota give you a tractor to use? thanks

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