Kubota L6060 Engine failure

[Rdrcr]

Kubota isn't charging the customer for the parts or the labor. Their responsibility ends with the warranty. The decision to not participate in a goodwill claim is theirs. Any responsibility for improper diagnosis, unauthorized repairs or unnecessary part replacement lies with the dealer.

True. I don't think anybody is specifically arguing this point.

It's been verified that 3 major components failed. Injectors, Injection pump and ECU. It doesn't appear that the dealer just randomly threw parts at this machine. However, since fuel was ruled out as a culprit, it would appear that these components are perhaps defective in nature. Failing well before their life expectancy.
And, that is why I feel Kubota should have stepped up to the plate and offered a Goodwill warranty in this situation.

Mike

 

[chevyman29]

True. I don't think anybody is specifically arguing this point.

It's been verified that 3 major components failed. Injectors, Injection pump and ECU. It doesn't appear that the dealer just randomly threw parts at this machine. However, since fuel was ruled out as a culprit, it would appear that these components are perhaps defective in nature. Failing well before their life expectancy.
And, that is why I feel Kubota should have stepped up to the plate and offered a Goodwill warranty in this situation.

Mike

At the very least a discount on the parts .

 

[KCPO]

If Kubota was as bad as some seem to think and JD etc. never had catastrophic failres, we would all be using the same brand. We have Kubota, JD, Kioti, Case and MF.

 

[chevyman29]

Until this situation I've never read anything but good things about kubota reliability. And most likely this is an anomaly. I just feel kubota should've stepped up on the parts. Very little on there part would've bought tons of good will.

 

[buck12]

Kubota isn't charging the customer for the parts or the labor. Their responsibility ends with the warranty. The decision to not participate in a goodwill claim is theirs. Any responsibility for improper diagnosis, unauthorized repairs or unnecessary part replacement lies with the dealer.

Does Kubota have training for technicians? I know JD invests heavily in technician training. It sounds like the dealer threw parts at the problem.

 

[RickB]

Does Kubota have training for technicians? I know JD invests heavily in technician training. It sounds like the dealer threw parts at the problem.

They do. And more importantly Kubota has multiple platforms where dealer service departments can have direct communication and conversations with manufacturer's service representatives, technical advisors and area service reps about specific machine failures and repair strategies. This includes capability of uploading various data files from machine ECU's before, during and after repairs.

 

[buck12]

They do. And more importantly Kubota has multiple platforms where dealer service departments can have direct communication and conversations with manufacturer's service representatives, technical advisors and area service reps about specific machine failures and repair strategies. This includes capability of uploading various data files from machine ECU's before, during and after repairs.

Thanks. I was not sure how Kubota operated.

 

[AKForest]

Obviously, many of you have had a bad experience with a dealership. I have been very satisfied with the Fairbanks dealership.

To address RickB's input specifically, I have the following comments. The very first thing that the dealer service department did was a complete diagnostic analysis utilizing the proprietary Kubota software interfacing with the tractor's ECU. Right from the very beginning, the dealership service department was in consultation with the Kubota technical staff because of the unusual nature of this failure ("they had never seen it before"). I was advised by the dealership that the Kubota technical staff at at multiple levels had been consulted. Numerous additional tests were performed at the suggestion of Kubota. It was Kubota and not the dealership that confirmed that the ECU, injector pump and all four injectors needed to be replaced.

I have never suggested that there was any improper diagnosis, unauthorized repairs, or unnecessary parts replacement. What I am suggesting is what Rdrcr touched on. Three major components failed simultaneously and before their life expectancy. That is a Kubota problem. Possibly, it was one or more bad parts that were installed at the factory in my tractor. Hopefully, similar equipment failures will not happen to any other owner of an L6060. Or, it may be a more systematic problem and my experience will become one of many. Either way, whether it is a one time parts failure or a design/engineering problem that Kubota has with the L6060, it is a Kubota problem. Kubota fully warranty these parts for 5 years, but on the 6th year the tractor owner can have a parts failure, which was no fault of the owner, resulting in repairs totaling more than 20% of the price of the tractor new. Kubota bears no responsibility? Such a practice does not speak highly for a company that prides itself in manufacturing a high quality product!

 

[BeezFun]

Kubota fully warranty these parts for 5 years, but on the 6th year the tractor owner can have a parts failure, which was no fault of the owner, resulting in repairs totaling more than 20% of the price of the tractor new. Kubota bears no responsibility? Such a practice does not speak highly for a company that prides itself in manufacturing a high quality product!

That raises an interesting idea of a pro-rated warranty rather than a binary cutoff. If they warrantied parts for 10 years, decreasing coverage 10% every year, that would seem to be a lot more fair for help with situations like this. Not sure what fraction of their warranty payments fall into each year of the warranty period. It might be cheaper for them in the long run.

 

[MHarryE]

What about your downtime? It appears it took over 2 months to repair a tractor you use to earn money? It’s been a major complaint I’ve had with Kubota. I still have a difficult time understanding how fuel could take out the ECU but if that’s what it took... But so much time to repair.

 

[gtbensley]

What about your downtime? It appears it took over 2 months to repair a tractor you use to earn money? It’s been a major complaint I’ve had with Kubota. I still have a difficult time understanding how fuel could take out the ECU but if that’s what it took... But so much time to repair.

It wasnt fuel that caused it. The fuel tests came back clean.

Likely ECU messed up everything somehow.

OP was anything recently welded on your tractor?

 

[AKForest]

It wasnt fuel that caused it. The fuel tests came back clean.

Likely ECU messed up everything somehow.

OP was anything recently welded on your tractor?

No welding or anything electrical that could have messed up the ECU.

 

[IH3444]

All these parts are used to control diesel emissions to ensure we all have clean air. Should Kubota warranty the items such as Ford has to.

https://help.ford.com/warranty/emissions-defect-warranty/

 

[RichNJKubota]

I just read thru alot of this thread. It's interesting. The only conclusion I can come to is that the ECU failed. A software glitch could have caused a hardware failure on the board or perhaps simply a driver transistor for the fuel pressure solenoid shorted or the input circuitry for the pressure sensor failed somehow. The idea that the ECU caused the fuel pump to overpressurize the system and damage the pump and injectors seems plausible.
I suspect that some technician or engineer at Kubota can diagnose what failed on that board. And for all we know this is not the only time this has happened. The new ECU could have different hardware and/or software.
Does the OP have exact part numbers for the original and replacement parts? It would be interesting to know if any of the parts have had revisions released. Does anyone here know how the Kubota part numbers work?

 

[crazyal]

Obviously, many of you have had a bad experience with a dealership. I have been very satisfied with the Fairbanks dealership.

To address RickB's input specifically, I have the following comments. The very first thing that the dealer service department did was a complete diagnostic analysis utilizing the proprietary Kubota software interfacing with the tractor's ECU. Right from the very beginning, the dealership service department was in consultation with the Kubota technical staff because of the unusual nature of this failure ("they had never seen it before"). I was advised by the dealership that the Kubota technical staff at at multiple levels had been consulted. Numerous additional tests were performed at the suggestion of Kubota. It was Kubota and not the dealership that confirmed that the ECU, injector pump and all four injectors needed to be replaced.

I have never suggested that there was any improper diagnosis, unauthorized repairs, or unnecessary parts replacement. What I am suggesting is what Rdrcr touched on. Three major components failed simultaneously and before their life expectancy. That is a Kubota problem. Possibly, it was one or more bad parts that were installed at the factory in my tractor. Hopefully, similar equipment failures will not happen to any other owner of an L6060. Or, it may be a more systematic problem and my experience will become one of many. Either way, whether it is a one time parts failure or a design/engineering problem that Kubota has with the L6060, it is a Kubota problem. Kubota fully warranty these parts for 5 years, but on the 6th year the tractor owner can have a parts failure, which was no fault of the owner, resulting in repairs totaling more than 20% of the price of the tractor new. Kubota bears no responsibility? Such a practice does not speak highly for a company that prides itself in manufacturing a high quality product!

I disagree with you. Kubota offers you a soolution, you made the choice not to pay for it. You could have bought KTAC insurance that would have covered this for a small deductible. Yes it would have been nice if Kubota offered something to help ease the pain but since this is the first and only failure like this and the L6060 is not a brand new model it seems like you were just unfortunate. I also understand you feeling bitter after paying a $10k bill, I would too. If you feel this could happen again I would look into KTAC for peace of mind.

 

[pmsmechanic]

.... I would look into KTAC for peace of mind.

I wouldn't have peace of mind till I had a different tractor.

 

[Citydude]

I disagree with you. Kubota offers you a soolution, you made the choice not to pay for it. You could have bought KTAC insurance that would have covered this for a small deductible. Yes it would have been nice if Kubota offered something to help ease the pain but since this is the first and only failure like this and the L6060 is not a brand new model it seems like you were just unfortunate. I also understand you feeling bitter after paying a $10k bill, I would too. If you feel this could happen again I would look into KTAC for peace of mind.

Does KTAC provide coverage on mechanical breakdowns outside of the warranty limits?

 

[BeezFun]

I disagree with you. Kubota offers you a soolution, you made the choice not to pay for it. You could have bought KTAC insurance that would have covered this for a small deductible.

KTAC has nothing to do with failure of parts. You would need to purchase extended warranty coverage.

 

[AKForest]

I disagree with you. Kubota offers you a soolution, you made the choice not to pay for it. You could have bought KTAC insurance that would have covered this for a small deductible. Yes it would have been nice if Kubota offered something to help ease the pain but since this is the first and only failure like this and the L6060 is not a brand new model it seems like you were just unfortunate. I also understand you feeling bitter after paying a $10k bill, I would too. If you feel this could happen again I would look into KTAC for peace of mind.

In reply to crazyal, I was told in no uncertain terms that the the KTAC insurance, that I have, does not cover this type of mechanical failure. If you know different, please let me know how to file a successful claim. I was not offered nor am I aware of an extended warranty option through Kubota. If it were available I would have taken it out. My current problem with this tractor is just one of several that I have had. The previous repairs included a broken ram on the backhoe, several problems with the snow blower, over pressure to the backhoe resulting in blowing out all the O-rings on the controls, the quick-hitch is very easy to twist out of shape and the space between the 3-point hitch is inadequate and eats hydraulic hoses.

 

[BeezFun]

I was not offered nor am I aware of an extended warranty option through Kubota. If it were available I would have taken it out.

I'm not sure how long this has been available, but Kubota does offer an extended warranty now. I know they didn't offer that when I bought my tractor, so I'm guessing it's fairly new. It's also very expensive, as I recall for the large L tractors like yours it was close to $1000 a year, they only offer extended coverage for 2 years so that would cost you $2000ish for 2 years coverage. So I'm not sure I would have bought it at that price even if it were available.

Edit: I found the page on Messick's that has pricing for extended warranties. I also read what's covered and noticed that injectors are considered a wear item and not covered under either the original warranty or the extended warranty. Never thought of injectors being something that would wear out sooner than the rest of the engine.