Broken Kubota Backhoe

[Sootgrinder]

Hello all,
I wanted to share my disapointment with Kubota and possibly come up with some help from my fellow TBNers to get Kubota to step up and do the right thing. My best friends Kubots backhoe model BH 76 cracked nearly the whole length of the main boom. The tractor and backhoe are 13 months old the tractor has 70 hours on it and the hoe has maybe 15 hours digging time max., all residential /farm use no for hire work or anything. The boom is cracked right along the weld nearly the whole length (probably 36 inches or so). The machine has not been abused at all, I have been present when 75 % of the digging was done with the machine. Kubota has denied the warranty claim because it is one month past the 12 month warranty period. This is wrong, there is no way that you could have broken a properly welded boom in this manner even if you were trying to. I am extremely diasapointed with Kubota. I have the exact same hoe on my tractor, so I am also concerned that mine could be faulty also. If Kubota doesn't make this right then there is no way they will ever get another dime of my money and I will make sure that I tell everyone I know what kind of products and customer service Kubota really has. Anyone have any phone numbers for higher ranking customer service reps that we can get a hold of?

Soot

 

[bxn]

Please post pics of damage.
A lot of folks would be interested in that.
Even better if you have the pic of "hay bail" that broke it.


bxn

 

[devildog1]

:laughing: That was a good one!!:laughing:
Even better if you have the pic of "hay bail" that broke it.


bxn[/quote]

 

[teg]

Hello all,....Kubota has denied the warranty claim because it is one month past the 12 month warranty period.....

Yes, need photos :thumbsup: Want to see it the best we can...

 

[Carl_NH]

Sootgrinder,

This is very unusual to have a main boom weld break - the interesting aspect is the B21-B26 and BX series TLB style BH have a 2 year warranty, where the BH76/90 series have 12 months along with the "other" implements. I think this is more about covering all "implements" under a blanket 12 months rather than BH for 24 months, they lump all the attachments together to minimize claims/issues.

I suspect you have a bad weld joint - Kubota has them made here under contract I beleive so you should go back to the dealer then talk to the regional rep for something like this. Other than that if the unit isnt twisted or warped then maybe the best solution is to grind out the weld, re weld and paint.

I agree this should not happen but as a matter of principle they should IMO address this issue as long as it hasnt been abused.

 

[MessickFarmEqu]

I suspect you have a bad weld joint - Kubota has them made here under contract I beleive so you should go back to the dealer then talk to the regional rep for something like this. Other than that if the unit isnt twisted or warped then maybe the best solution is to grind out the weld, re weld and paint.

They are built by Kubota, not under contract.

 

[gwdixon]

:laughing: That was a good one!!:laughing:
Even better if you have the pic of "hay bail" that broke it.


I don't get it.

 

[TalonDancer]

Something doesn't sound right. If the BH76 split doing normal work, it must have been a faulty weld.

FWIW My Kubota BH90* has taken quite a bit of strain in the last 3 years (600 hrs total with probably 10-20% BH work). I live in limestone country so my back hoe work always entails ledges, large rocks, etc. As I reported in another thread, I just finish digging 300+' of 14" wide by 40" deep trench in alluvial fill. In the process I snagged a dozen or so very large rocks embedded in the fill. These rocks were large/tight enough to completely stop the BH, pulling the rear down and spreading the stabilizers. IOW they put a great deal of strain on the BH boom, stabilizer and frame. The BH90 took this in stride.

Talon Dancer

* I know the BH90 is not the same as a BH76. But IIRC it is the same basic design and construction.

 

[Sootgrinder]

I don't get the part about the hay bale??? I will get some pics the next time I over at his house. I know that the weld is defective, that is my point. We have rocky soil here also but this machine hasn't been used to hammer through limestone or anything, the boom hasn't been twisted, it hasn't been rolled over or crashed into the barn or anything. The dealer acted astounded that it was broke and he said at first that there would be no problem getting the boom replaced. But after a few days they said that Kubota denied the claim and that my buddy would have to pay $1000 for a new boom. The dealer offered to install it at no charge. There is no way I would give them a dollar for the replacement boom and if Kubota doesn't step up then I will weld the boom up myself. I just want you guys to know what kind of company and what kind of quality we have all jumped into bed with, and it just sickens me.

Soot

 

[Robert_Parent]

I would certainly not take No for an answer if all is as stated above...... First, Document and photography everything. Once that is done I would start with the district reps and work up from there. Written letters usually work better than just phone calls. If you do make calls document them as well.

I have known several people with field rep and warranty claim jobs and all say one must push their case especially if you are not a huge customer.

Good luck....

 

[funwithahoe]

This is a hard one to believe without pics - Those booms are way over-sized for the size of the hydralics and I can't believe 'Bota would deny a faulty weld one month out of warranty. You sure this isn't a Kioti - They are the same color:laughing:

 

[Chilly807]

As much as I dislike being a wet blanket, I doubt he's going to get anywhere with Kubota, unless he can bully them into replacing the boom. He's dealing with two separate entities here, one being Kubota, and the other his local dealer. It sounds like the dealer is on his side as far as the labour is concerned, but they're not willing to pay for a boom as well. Kubota has refused to provide them with the parts free of charge, but they are hoping to keep him as a customer if it doesn't cost them too much to do it.

Like it or not, it IS out of warranty. Kubota has no obligation whatsoever other than good will and good relations with a possible repeat customer.

The weld probably was defective, I don't dispute that. It's too bad he didn't notice the damage prior to the warranty expiring, if it was there at that time.

I've had excellent warranty service from my dealer on the one occasion I've needed it, beyond the expiry date I expect they MAY help me out if they can to keep a customer in the long term.

Was extended warranty available on the BH-76? I know it is on the tractor itself, the implements may be different.

Sean

 

[2458n]

Bigger fish to fry. Get a welder that knows what he is doing and $100 later you are down the road. Having stress and a stroke is alot worse. Pursue Kubota if you enjoy that sort of thing. Sometimes life is not fair.

 

[funwithahoe]

Bigger fish to fry. Get a welder that knows what he is doing and $100 later you are down the road. Having stress and a stroke is alot worse. Pursue Kubota if you enjoy that sort of thing. Sometimes life is not fair.

I agree - Really the time to mess with this if it is just a weld split? I am a crappy welder and I took my time to weld a major cracked seam in a hoe bucket and it worked great - Believe me, if I could weld that seam with a Lincoln stick welder a skilled welder could do it in no time. Again, I really believe the boom is way over engineered for the size of the hydralics that are on any of these.

 

[MarkV]

You just can't get past the point that it is out of warranty. Should it have happened, no. Bad weld for some reason, most likely. Would it be great if Kubota honored problems after the warranty period, sure. Is that to be expected these days, no. Is this an on going problem with this model, not that I have heard reported.

Get it welded and move on. It does sound like the dealer was trying to be as stand up as he could.

MarkV

 

[montelatici]

I used to be a motorcycle racer, until a few years ago actually. I recall that when we cracked a frame and rewelded it, the welded part would be stronger than the rest of the frame and any future crack would occur on untouched, unwelded chromoly. The frame would hardly ever crack again where it was welded unless I did the welding. So, I suspect that you have a case in terms of manufacturing defect with Kubota and you can probably have an expert welder weld the crack and it will never crack there again.

 

[radioman]

Any pics yet sootgrinder ?

 

[DiezNutz]

Once, a friend with a Ford Probe ate an oil pump at 63K on a 60K powertrain warranty. A warranty is a warranty, sometimes the manufacturer will "good will" a claim, but in reality they owe you nothing.

How about the dealer that's playing "good cop", would they be willing to weld the boom? If it isn't beyond repair and weldable, put their good will to the test; friend gets BH fixed, dealer makes customer happy, win-win.

 

[Chilly807]

They may not want to weld it from a liability standpoint, but it's worth asking.

Sean

 

[ultrarunner]

A couple of things for consumer products... does not generally apply to products used in business.

First... The warranty clock stops anytime the unit is out of service for a warrantable repair.

Second... If the problem can be classified as a safety item... it could eventually become a voluntary or mandated recall.

The Song Beverly Act (California) and the Magnusen Moss Warranty Act(Federal) carry a lot of weight in my State.

Third... become enough of pain so the manufacturer wants to resolve the problem...

Pictures would go a long way in showing others the specific problem.

http://www.lemon-law-explained.com/magnuson-moss-warranty-act.html

Usually these types of consumer disputes start with a claim being made without a satisfactory resolution forthcoming...

The consumer then needs to escalate by finding out the manufacturer's procedure for dealing with denied claims... it could be arbitration, litigation, etc.

It behooves the consumer to keep a well documented paper trail and to go step by step... with litigation being the last remedy.

All correspondence should be sent to a specific person of authority within the organization...