Brand new Kubota SVL65-2...can't keep the engine running

[NoobAsNoobGets]

So the dealer asked us to undo the hose from the low pressure pump and hook up a pressure gauge and put the machine key to run to see the pressure of fuel in order to determine if there is a possible fuel pump malfunction or a blockage.

I remember during the first 5 hours of machine operation or so, finding my fuel cap on my return trip back to my place on the property. It had just fallen off but I had never messed with it or put fuel in it (after I put it back on it fell off again, I think it's broken but I was able to get it to stay finally). So it's very possible that sticks and such got into the fuel because I worked with it for several hours before realizing the cap fell off. But then it ran just fine for some time after that before the start issues started to become noticed and got progressively worse. So I don't know.

At any rate, the wife talked with the dealer on the phone today and said we're beyond our depth here and so we asked for them to come out. They wanted us to bring it in but we said we can't do that. Not only will it not start and stay running for more than a minute now, we are located in the sticks and can't get a vehicle up here (we drive a 6x6 ATV one mile to get to our place from the nearest dirt road). We don't own a trailer or a truck that could haul it anyway. Dealer told the wife to let him think on it, said he's busy these days, but he'll get back to us.

 

[NoobAsNoobGets]

So we got off the phone with the dealer. He said that if it's a bug or some other object in the fuel system (even if that happened because the fuel cap fell off of the new machine without me messing with it or ever fueling it) that it would not be covered by warranty by Kubota in his estimation. And he says the cost will be $125 an hour including each hour of travel time (about ten hours driving).

I asked him about the voiding of the warranty for us troubleshooting for him or hiring somebody local to work on it and he said common sense would dictate that us following their instructions would be covered.

We hung up as we try to decide what to do. That's a huge amount of money for a machine that seems to be defective in my view (whether from the fuel cap falling off and something being introduced or if it's a fuel pump or whatever). He also said that if the fuel pump had dirt on it that wouldn't be covered by the warranty because foreign objects.

Thanks for any advice or thoughts.

 

[NoobAsNoobGets]

I have seen a lot of stuff online about their fuel caps falling off. I wonder if anybody else has gone down a similar road from stuff getting into their fuel system after the cap fell off (I don't know if that's the issue or not but if their fuel caps are this bad then maybe).

 

[NoobAsNoobGets]

I think we'll call him back and tell him to send the truck and hope that they find it was a warranty issue, which I would think they would because we haven't done anything out of the ordinary with this machine and the weather conditions have been good and we've only owned it for a few months. But I guess we'll see.

We need this machine because we have a lot of work to do. We live in a tent, we drive an ATV a mile to get here, we don't yet have running water, and we're trying to build our home. Tons of work needs done before the wife divorces me!

 

[Vetech63]

I would request a replacement machine or my money back if I were you. If either of those options don't come through, it sounds like you are going to get screwed to me. Where are you at and who is this dealer?

 

[Welder Dave]

I agree with Vetech63. I just replaced the fuel cap on my skid steer. Highly doubt missing a fuel cap for a couple hours is causing the issue but the fuel cap falling off is definitely an issue and if debris got in the tank because of a faulty fuel cap is a warranty issue. QUIT being nice with this dealer!!! Tell them to bring another machine out and if they can't fix all the issues with yours as well as the fuel cap falling off give you the other machine. I said before, don't ask... DEMAND the dealer come out ASAP and fix your machine, replace it or refund all of your money. Who ever you talked to sounds like an idiot. The dealer should be bending over backwards for you instead of bending you over. You paid them a ton of money for a new machine. What would do if you bought a new truck and it left you stranded on the road 5 hours from nowhere. Spend 3 days playing phone tag with the dealer hoping they can tell you how to fix it? Stop payment if you can in the mean time. The dealer is not looking after you at all!

 

[KSSS]

I have forgot to put the cap back on my SSL and CTL, lucky CASE puts cable on it so you cant actually lose. I am sure my employees have done it as well. I have never had an issue surface as a result, but in certainly is possible depending on what your doing, and the fill location would be important in whether or debris could get inside. Mine is located in the engine compartment. Dust and rain could get in, but nothing of any size. I would be concerned, $125 an hour travel time will get expensive, plus the time it takes to diagnose and fix the problem if it is not warranty issue. If were me I would make sure you don't have any debris causing an obstruction, at least to limits of your ability to turn a wrench. It will likely be at least $2000. Honestly I don't think the dealer is doing you wrong in giving you a heads up on your being on the hook if it is not a warranty issue. Whether or not the cap is defective would be an issue, but short of that. The dealer cant travel 10 hours, fix the machine and not get paid for it, from someone. Kubota nor anyone else will cover a repair that resulted from operator error. That aside, your story is intriguing to me. You have to drive a UTV a mile to get to your tent and future home location, damn. I am dying to know how your building a house a mile from a real road? I doubt your building a road with a Kubota 65....

 

[crane operator]

Did you buy this from the dealer that won't service it?

If you have to take a atv to get to where the loader is, be prepared to haul the mechanic back and forth to his truck several times, he isn't walking a mile each way to work on it. Well maybe some mechanics would. Most aren't looking for extra exercise.

If you worked the machine several hours in dusty dirty conditions in the woods, with no cap on the fuel tank, likely it has crud in the tank. It should be caught by the fuel filter. You can't just "clean" the fuel filter, I imagine that doesn't have a old clear glass sediment bowl on it. It will require a new fuel filter.

 

[NoobAsNoobGets]

I have forgot to put the cap back on my SSL and CTL, lucky CASE puts cable on it so you cant actually lose. I am sure my employees have done it as well. I have never had an issue surface as a result, but in certainly is possible depending on what your doing, and the fill location would be important in whether or debris could get inside. Mine is located in the engine compartment. Dust and rain could get in, but nothing of any size. I would be concerned, $125 an hour travel time will get expensive, plus the time it takes to diagnose and fix the problem if it is not warranty issue. If were me I would make sure you don't have any debris causing an obstruction, at least to limits of your ability to turn a wrench. It will likely be at least $2000. Honestly I don't think the dealer is doing you wrong in giving you a heads up on your being on the hook if it is not a warranty issue. Whether or not the cap is defective would be an issue, but short of that. The dealer cant travel 10 hours, fix the machine and not get paid for it, from someone. Kubota nor anyone else will cover a repair that resulted from operator error. That aside, your story is intriguing to me. You have to drive a UTV a mile to get to your tent and future home location, damn. I am dying to know how your building a house a mile from a real road? I doubt your building a road with a Kubota 65....

Well building the house is gonna be another challenge. Lots of hauling stuff up. We hired a chopper to bring stuff in initially to build the tent (it's a yurt, but really it's just a nice tent) and to haul up the 6x6 and wood stove and such. But since then we built the ATV trail renting an excavator and we're not going to build a road because we can't afford even a gravel road. We're going to rent a track crawler to bring in supplies for our actual home since that will haul a lot up the trail.

 

[NoobAsNoobGets]

Did you buy this from the dealer that won't service it?

If you have to take a atv to get to where the loader is, be prepared to haul the mechanic back and forth to his truck several times, he isn't walking a mile each way to work on it. Well maybe some mechanics would. Most aren't looking for extra exercise.

If you worked the machine several hours in dusty dirty conditions in the woods, with no cap on the fuel tank, likely it has crud in the tank. It should be caught by the fuel filter. You can't just "clean" the fuel filter, I imagine that doesn't have a old clear glass sediment bowl on it. It will require a new fuel filter.

We did buy from that dealer. We're ready with the 6x6 to haul him and his stuff as required. I worked the machine for a whole day in dusty dirty conditions in the woods without the cap (it fell off without my knowledge and I had never touched it before). But then it worked fine without any of these issues for another 10-15 hours. Maybe as the fuel level got lower the crud became an issue? I'm not sure but it's certainly feasible that is the problem.

 

[Welder Dave]

The fuel cap coming off should be a warranty issue as something is defective that it fell off on its own. 99% of people wouldn't notice a missing fuel cap unless they were in a position to look right at it. One simple thing to check (because I recently went through it with a new cap) see if the machine will start without the fuel cap off. I bought a replacement that didn't vent properly and created a vacuum where the machine would fire but not keep running. If the machine was running it would keep running but I noticed it the next day when I went to start the machine. I took the cap off and you could hear the air pressure equalize. Started fine without the cap. Got a name brand cap and all was good.

 

[KSSS]

Proving the cap is/was defective may be a challenge. I too have had one that wouldn't vent, the machine would run but it would collapse the plastic fuel tank. I have never heard of one that would not stay on, usually that would be evident when you fill the first time. This could turn into a battle. Hopefully Kubota and the dealer rise to the occasion.

 

[NoobAsNoobGets]

The fuel cap coming off should be a warranty issue as something is defective that it fell off on its own. 99% of people wouldn't notice a missing fuel cap unless they were in a position to look right at it. One simple thing to check (because I recently went through it with a new cap) see if the machine will start without the fuel cap off. I bought a replacement that didn't vent properly and created a vacuum where the machine would fire but not keep running. If the machine was running it would keep running but I noticed it the next day when I went to start the machine. I took the cap off and you could hear the air pressure equalize. Started fine without the cap. Got a name brand cap and all was good.

Proving the cap is/was defective may be a challenge. I too have had one that wouldn't vent, the machine would run but it would collapse the plastic fuel tank. I have never heard of one that would not stay on, usually that would be evident when you fill the first time. This could turn into a battle. Hopefully Kubota and the dealer rise to the occasion.

I didn't realize the fuel cap was supposed to vent. The cap ended up breaking when I was trying to remove it. The top part that spins broke off, I wonder if that is somehow preventing venting?

 

[Welder Dave]

I misspoke above but I think you understood. Try start the machine without a fuel cap. When did the fuel cap break and what did you do for a fuel cap after that? My machine started fine when I first put the new fuel cap on and kept running. It wasn't till the next day when I went to start it that it wouldn't keep running. There was enough vacuum in the tank the cap was harder to turn to remove. Took the cap off and it started up and kept running. Took that cap back to Napa and went to another place and got a name brand cap (Stant). Twice the money at $16 but no more problems. If it is the fuel cap it's odd it would work for 20 some hours but maybe something blocked it up. It sure sounds similar to what my machine would do, start firing and release key would run about 4 seconds, try again and same thing, third try wouldn't fire. Took cap off and started up normal. Odd thing with mine is I couldn't find the original fuel cap when I realized I forgot to put it back on. It was sitting on the fender of the machine and you would think it would fall off within a few feet of driving but I couldn't find it anywhere. Probably buried in the sand I spread out.

 

[NoobAsNoobGets]

I misspoke above but I think you understood. Try start the machine without a fuel cap. When did the fuel cap break and what did you do for a fuel cap after that? My machine started fine when I first put the new fuel cap on and kept running. It wasn't till the next day when I went to start it that it wouldn't keep running. There was enough vacuum in the tank the cap was harder to turn to remove. Took the cap off and it started up and kept running. Took that cap back to Napa and went to another place and got a name brand cap (Stant). Twice the money at $16 but no more problems. If it is the fuel cap it's odd it would work for 20 some hours but maybe something blocked it up. It sure sounds similar to what my machine would do, start firing and release key would run about 4 seconds, try again and same thing, third try wouldn't fire. Took cap off and started up normal. Odd thing with mine is I couldn't find the original fuel cap when I realized I forgot to put it back on. It was sitting on the fender of the machine and you would think it would fall off within a few feet of driving but I couldn't find it anywhere. Probably buried in the sand I spread out.

When my fuel cap broke it was just the top part of it that broke, the bottom part that seals the fuel filler still works so I just twisted it to stay in place. So very possible this is the issue. I'll go take the cap off here in a bit and try to start the machine and see if it stays running!

 

[NoobAsNoobGets]

Took the fuel cap off (in a nice clear area with no debris) and tried starting after waiting 3 minutes in run (no dice). Waited another 3 minutes and it started but, as per the new usual, died after a minute to a minute and a half of running. I put the fuel cap back on.

Left a message with the dealer earlier about getting service and we're waiting to hear back from them.

 

[Welder Dave]

It sounds fuel related but I think the fact it did start and run would indicate it doesn't need bleeding from having a faulty fuel cap. Was it running properly for the 1-1/2 minutes it ran? Did you try it at full throttle? I don't know what all electronic junk is on your machine that may be casing a fault. The dealer should be looking at it under warranty.

 

[NoobAsNoobGets]

It sounds fuel related but I think the fact it did start and run would indicate it doesn't need bleeding from having a faulty fuel cap. Was it running properly for the 1-1/2 minutes it ran? Did you try it at full throttle? I don't know what all electronic junk is on your machine that may be casing a fault. The dealer should be looking at it under warranty.

It does run full throttle during that short period. I turned it up to full RPM and it's the same as being at low RPM.

 

[NoobAsNoobGets]

Just gave the dealership a piece of my mind. He started off saying that he couldn't get out here, said it was impossible. I asked him how it was impossible and he had nothing to say other than we could bring it to him. So I told him he's been quibbling from the beginning and looking for every excuse to not do his job, and that we'll talk to Kubota ourselves.

If they don't want to fix this, we'll stop paying for the loan on the machine and they can come repo it. We financed it through Kubota so it's their call.

We knew this dealer had horrible reviews before we bought, but they're the only game in town. Perhaps Kubota will be interested in turning this dealership around since they're so awful. We tried to troubleshoot it ourselves to save them the trip, we offered to buy them a plane ticket to cut down on driving costs, and they still won't come out. We said we'd pay their exorbitant travel rate, they're not interested in coming to fix our machine with 28 hours.

So Kubota can fix it or come get their machine. We have no issues with our credit score taking a hit.

 

[Welder Dave]

I think one of the experienced mechanics on here could guide you better than I could but I'd have the dealer figure it out if it was my 50K.