Exactly so. I've used Kubota machines for a very long time, I have a very good dealer. If I had this guy's experience I wouldn't swear off Kubota equipment, I'd never buy anything from THAT Kubota dealer again.
What did you use when you put a chemical in it to dry out the suspected water? That's what deteriorated the lines. Lol. You should have just drained the shitty fuel and put fresh gas in.
Non-ethanol gas is if you going to be storing your item for a long. Of time if you use ethanol gas high test gas and make sure you run it out before storing it
I dislike Kubota I have a Craftsman Zero-Turn deck overdose Kubota Kubota has been the worst zero-turn I have ever bought and will never buy another one I've had nothing but trouble out of it from day one
I have this same machine, just hit 445 hours on it. Haven’t had a single problem since day 1. I also know 2 people who have one as well and haven’t had a single issue and reading through the comments, my experience is similar to others. You definitely had a defective machine, no fault of your own it’s just they didn’t want to admit it. It’s cut is absolutely amazing, the stripes look like they come from a machine triple the price. I also just put a suspension platform on the seat, because the seat sucks in my opinion. I see this video is from a few years ago, have you gotten rid of it or got a new machine? Hope everything has worked out for you since then though!
I don’t blame you, you might put 1000 it 1500 trouble free hrs and still not buy a Kubota. I have a Kubota tractor 450 trouble free hours. Sucks to deal with that . The whole reason we buy new is to be trouble free. At least for the first 1000 or so hours. Anyway glad you got it figured out. Before you know it we will be out there mowing . Good and fair video. You didn’t bash Kubota but you conveyed your frustration. Take care
You can't blame Kubota for an engine problem. Same thing could happen with any brand mower. Looks like the dealer tried to fix it. More than some other dealers. I don't think the mechanics were very good. I believe you will come to like the Kubota now that things are sorted out.
This brings back memories of my ExMark x-series 60" w/ Red Technology a few years ago. We put about 1,300 hrs on the mower in 3yrs and it stayed in the shop constantly,almost all the time. I sold that mower and now run Ferris. We are very pleased so far.
that stuff is usually contains even more ethanol and possible other really corroive stuff. I would have just flushed the tank and the carbaretor to get water out of the gas tank.
I disagree with your take on the situation. I fully understand the frustration caused, though. Unfortunately, I think your issue was with Kawasaki and not Kubota. It sounds like you got a fluke deal, and the dealer did everything they could do and ultimately made it right. This could have happened with any brand.
This sounds more like there was the original problem and the service techs didn't do a real good job of fixing it right, more of throw parts at it till it works again
sounds like the issu was the machanic not replacing a line that they already knew was breaking up on the inside. any small engine person would have went straight to that with your description
Sorry for your poor experience. Maybe the bad taste with fade over time. I just pulled mine out for the first mow of its second year. I put 30 hours a year on as a residential user. Mine has run like a top with no issues. (Z421, 54")
Get a 700 series. Your doing commercial mowing with a "we call it promercial so Harry homeowner thinks he's getting commercial mower" my dealer. I got the z 726x with the bagger for the price of an Exmark. Kawi engine, Parker pumps. Just over 200 hours, not a single issue. I ran an Exmark for a company before getting this mower. I like the Kubota better. You're paying for the name with Exmark. Also I'm a one man crew too, you say you're not a mechanic but you need to become one. At least be able to sharpen blades and change the oil/filters. Or drain all the gas and change the fuel filters when you think you have bag gas. Downtime and traveling to/paying a dealer is wasted money. 👍
@@dw489 It's only like $2k more then the 400 series.. I was out the door with the bagger for the cost of a 60" Exmark, without a bagger. If you're only doing 20 or 30 Lawns, I'd still get a 700 series. Financed, that's nothing monthly. I have about 5 acres of my own to mow, I'd probably buy a 400 series if that was all I was mowing. The 700 series could use a few more hp. Especially with the bagger. Wouldn't want a 60" with less hp. I'm looking at the 72" diesels now. Because for me, time is money. I make more not cutting grass, so I want to get it done as fast as possible.
I have bought two brand new zero turn kubotas, the first entry level gave me a ton of issues after about 20 hrs, but Trust me if you get bad fuel or low quality fuel they will not run! I have had to drain entire tanks before after fill ups. Get gas from another station and its good to go. They are very picky. My last mower I just picked up is the z726 with the Kawasaki engine, I"ve only got bad gas in it once so I've started using ethanol free fuel and no more issues. But on my first entry level z mower it had an issue with the clutch like seizing up at random times as well and breaking belts or smoking belts and breaking them. It was under warranty and it went in several times to get "Fixed" but claimed nothing wrong with it. It had under 50 hrs on it when I sold it to get the big mower. I only use my mower for personal use as well. My 700 series I've had almost a yr and its been great so far.
I had the same problem with a John Deere Zero. The fix was drained both tanks and used ethanol free gas. Problem solved , that has been five years ago still runs great..
Last spring I decided to upgrade mowers, and sold my trusted garden tractor I had for almost a decade. I went around to the different dealers, and tried a bunch of different zero turns. I fell in love with the Kubota Z125S, so I did the paperwork, and had it dropped off on a Friday afternoon. The following morning I went out to the garage to wax the mower, treat the seat, etc. While waxing a big chunk of paint flaked off the front of the mower with rust behind the paint, being brand new I wasn’t too impressed to say the least. It was a long weekend, and knew nothing could be done until the following week. I finished getting all the wax off, and went out to mow. I finished mowing the yard, and parked in front of the garage to blow off the grass before parking it back in the garage, when I looked and seen one of the LED headlights missing. After walking around for almost a half hour I found it laying in the middle of the yard, ran over. I went back to the dealer the following week once they opened back up, and told them what happened, they immediately sent a truck out to pick it up. A few days later I dropped by to see what was up. They started picking at the powder coating to see how bad it was, and how far it went, and they stopped once they got to the operator's platform. They hit it with some paint, and replaced the headlight, and gave it back to me to use until Kubota figured out what they were going to do about it. A week or so later word came down that Kubota was going to replace the frame on my brand new mower with at that time 1.6 hours on it. I wasn’t too keen about it, but what am I going to do, I needed a mower, and I’m financing that one. So at least I had a mower to use until the new frame came in. Fast forward a few months later, and then it started having the same sort of troubles running as you described. It had the 25HP Kohler motor on it. It would not stay running, and had to run half choke just to get it back to the garage with a half cut lawn, this time it only had 10.5 hours on it. Went and seen the dealer and showed them a video of it barely running, they immediately came and picked it up. A few days later it was back up and running., they had to replace pretty much the entire fuel system same as yours. At this point I didn’t want it back... Between needing a new frame, and then the fuel system problems, I told them I didn’t want it back, and to order me a new Z421 with the 54” deck. I finished off the season with the Z125S, and the new Z421 came in just after the finish of the season, and is still sitting in a crate. I can’t say anything but good about the dealer. They have gone above and beyond to make me happy, and keep me mowing. I hope to god that the trouble you’ve had with your Z421, and the trouble I had with my Z125S isn’t a precursor to what I’m in for again...
Wow that doesn't sound fun at all hopefully the new mower works out for you! Sorry it took a few days to reply to your comment. It was marked as likely spam for some reason. Thanks for watching, and best of luck to you.
@@AlsLawnCare Hey Al, thanks for the wishes. I truly hope the new one is better than my last one, and don't have the same issues as you did with yours.
Dang Al, if it were not for bad luck we would have no luck at all! Make sure you put ethanal free in that tank. My dealer told me before he died about the dangers of ethanol in these mowers? Let us hope that monster will run for the rest of the year trouble free. I'll be rooting for you.
As a manufacturing expert with many decades under my belt, I can tell you that things we used to make and buy did last a long time. Over the decades, we accepted all the junk made in china, and think that is normal. When we have true free market competition, (as close to Laissez-faire economics as possible), we have people competing, and quality is very important. When you have communism producing in unethical ways, (that is a long list), to stop a free market from competing, they can sell you all the junk they want and you have to buy it because we can't make it here anymore.
I am a retired from a +44 year career in manufacturing. There is a lot more to it than just fair trade. Fuel costs began to dictate not only the functional design of items, but also their weight to save transport costs for initial distribution. Safety, environmental, labor arrangements, energy, tax and transport costs created challenges over the last 50 years that we are only even now finding methodology to deal with. Before we point that constant finger at the Pacific Rim region concerning balance of trade when the American nation practically priced themselves out of business. I do not claim to know how, say, the Chinese gov subsidizes there industries but the corporatists were waiting at the docks to haul all those products and jobs away
Your going to find places like tractor supply ,Kubota , and some outher places leave their mowers outside in the weather. I bought a Hustler Fas trak 54 inch. I bought it off the showroom floor. I never leave my equipment outside.
I own one and within the first year the Hydro belt broke, had to wait a week for a replacement, battery went dead, two of the three spindles burned up and had to be rebuilt, carburetor has had to be removed and cleaned three times. Fuel tank has been flushed out, lines replaced, new carburetor, new fuel filter. and now it's acting up again. All this is on a brand new mower with less then hundred hours on it. Every time I remove the air filter to change or clean it there's always trash inside the area where there should be just clean, filter air. I'm using the same fuel cans, same gas in my other mowers and not one has had this issue. When you start it up it sounds like it's running on one cylinder, after a while it will make a pop and start running OK, after that I can mow a bunch of yards and it runs perfect. The next day it will just quit after mowing for an hour, and I have to use my other mower to tow it onto the trailer to get it to the shop once again.
Exactly same problem we had! Now at 222 hrs with expired warranty we are replacing the entire engine that locked up dead!! 2500 costly repair. WE ARE PISSSSSED!
It's not the mower that gave you the problem it was the motors components I've had the same mower 4yrs with 700hrs on it and only thing I've done was basic maintenance and changed the bearings on the deck and belts
I have run kubota mowers and several others running them 10 hours a day 4 plus days a week I found the scags worked the best for me yes they cost more but I ran my first one about 12 years before I had any major issues the one I have now is going into its 9th year also I have yet to see anything that can handle steep hills like they can I can take it up hills I can barley stand on
Don't feel bad I had to replace a fuel pump on a Spartan-Kohler 33 EFI and an Exmark 708. Both in the 70 hour ranges. Those parts are no longer reliable and I carry spares. I did a Simplicity fp change about 4 years ago and on Amazon I paid $6 for the fp shipped... That's what you get for $6. Good luck going forward,
For $8,000.00, you could have spent about a $2000.00 more, and gotten a Grasshopper with the Briggs Vanguard 810cc, and 4400 hydros. And a much much better seat. That would've been well worth the extra cash spent as far as bang for the buck. Not saying that 2 grand isn't a lot of money, but quality, and true commercial durability, actually costs less in the long run. I've ran the Grasshopper with those 4400 hydros., they're well worth the extra money over the 3,000 series hydros. Night and day difference in fact.
Mine has been flawless. After watching this vid, i just have to ask perhaps you got a lemon, or just did not treat it well"? My mower has 100 hrs on it and has been stellar.
Thanks for watching and commenting! I personally think I got a lemon as I did not even run the mower long enough to treat it badly. Now that the problems have been taken care of I've put quite a few more hours on without further problems. I think I'm at about 145 hrs now.
@@AlsLawnCare That is great news, I was getting concerned. Good for you for not giving up on it. This is my first Kubota product after bad experiences with Deere and Husq, and so far I am very impressed with the cut, and economy of the mower. I usually mow just under 1 acre on my place, and find the ZT a real time saver. It takes me longer to trim around the close stuff than it does mow the lawn.
@@AlsLawnCare I will run 4oz seafoam per tank in my mower. One of my oldest Kawi engines has over 4000 hours on it and is just now getting tired. I also have been running Rotella T6 Oil.
Wow.....sounds like major trouble.... I would drop it off make note to the Kubota in stop all payments..... Something is up because mine is flawless and I only have 25 hours......
I have a similar model with similar problems I did not have problems until the first a service.. I have a lemon that has cost me heaps in repairs that did not help or helped only for a short time.
Interested in hearing your thoughts on this brand of mower. I have a dealer near me and they have some really good deals going on, but unfortunately it’s asphalt dealership and there’s no way of demoing one on real grass!
They gave me a diesel which I ran for about 3 hrs. It did a pretty good job, but I didn't care for the way it handled. It felt big and bulky. I did really enjoy the air ride seat it had though.
We’re you using ethanol free fuel? That sounds like what’s happening. EPA has ruined gasoline unfortunately. Thankfully where I live I can get straight gasoline without that shit in it.
No this was just the regular fuel from a gas station. Been running it in mowers for 6 years and have never a a problem with it until this point. I will have to keep that in mind for the future. Thanks for the comment!
I do part time repair work and an auto shop/toro dealer. the first thing we would have done would have been a complete carburetor clean and atleast been able to diagnose that the carb was plugged. It may have taken a second time of looking at it to find the deteriorated grommet If there would have been no pieces that you could see visually in the carburetor bowl. Sorry about your experience. Sounds awful. I will always try to look for a dealer/servicer who has loaner mowers. A backup mower is also nice. I know theyre expensive though. Ive got a 2000 series Toro Titan HD showing up Wednesday as my new mower! Check out a toro/exmark. They are just about the same thing. I stick with Toro because I ran them on golf courses exclusively and they are a great machine. Good luck!
My Dad came from Exmark to a Kubota ZTR a couple of years ago and had nothing but problems out of it. His Exmark gave him several trouble-free years. Traded the problematic Kubota for another new Kubota ( I thought it was a bad idea) after the dealer offered to take the problematic mower back on trade. The new one doesn't break constantly like the old one but still isn't a great mower. Dad will probably be going back to Exmark...my vote is for a new Hustler. Kubota makes great tractors, their ZTRs need a lot of work.
I have a 54” deck, fuel pump has failed at 17 hours, took my shop 2 weeks to repair! Lucky this is for my personal use and not for my living... this is my first mower, so I can not speak on others... I hope I am not headed down the same path you are!
I have a z411 and have nothing but trouble out of it, I probably haven’t cut grass more than 6-8 timesin a year and a half without the drive belt coming off causing the tension spring to come off, has been in the shop numerous times and I have put all back together 50 times, I am fixing to either see if they will still warranty or if I need to pursue legally to resume the problem! Never buy kubota again!
I'm surprised at the reactions of most of your viewers. Keep in mind this issue was not a machine issue but rather a fuel, fuel delivery, engine issue. Kubota and Kawasaki are top of the line equipment. I am disappointed in your condemning this product based upon the carburetor issue. If the unit sat for a long time at the dealer condensation and/or ethanol degeneration could have taken place. Adding the fuel treatment may have been a bad choice which caused the grommet to deteriorate as fuel treatments are quite harsh. I have owned the ZD series and currently own the 700 series as well as this exact model. The 421 is NOT a commercial mower however it performs very well in the intermediate area of homeowner and commercial. I believe you have a great mower but a sorry dealer that could not pinpoint the issue. If they were not told that you added fuel treatment, then they should have been told. Kubota is a great product. If you change your mind in the future toward a Kubota purchase you need the 700 series. BTW - Clean-up the machine before a video shoot, looks like you are not taking very good care of the product anyway. In closing, this is NOT a honest review of the mower but rather a disappointing troubleshooting experience. The mower is a good machine and the proof is in the hours you have ran it since the fix. Best regards, RK
Hi, Rick as I say in the video I hate to leave a bad review, but this is the experience I had with the mower and it was not a good one. This was my first Kubota buy and unfortunately it will probably be my last. I have lost faith in the name. I'm sure they make some good products, but this particular product cost me so much time and inconvenience that I cannot risk another similar experience. I did tell the dealers about the fuel treatment and they actually later recommended that I add it again. They dealers wanted to replace parts but Kubota said no try to clean them first. I do agree the mower is dirty in the video as we had had an extremely wet and muddy year. I was too pressed for time at the shooting of this video to get it cleaned although it has been cleaned since then. As for this not being an honest review, I disagree. I gave my honest thoughts and opinions on the mower. Thank you for commenting and for your criticism. I will keep it in mind in the future.
Exactly right. When you don't get co-operation from the dealer, you're stuffed from the start. Kubota is the best on the market & if you're prepared to pay a bit more, you get a whole lot more!
@@myredute well despite your mis-interpretation of my post, I will maintain as a former R-D Lab technician in the automotive industry...that the only SAFE fuel additive is Chevron Techron. The OEMs use Techron featured fuel to get their CAFE ratings. On the other hand I imagine you tell folks to put automotive motor oil in outdoor power equipment...
adding additive to remove water when you should have drained the tank. The water may have been in the tank from new!!! Lucky you didnt score out the engine. I worked more than 40 years in heavy truck and equipment, sometimes intermittent issues hard to find .
Mowers are all over price I don't care what model, and in saying that I love my Torro zero turn and my other two MTD mowers I have for over 15 years You take care of it they will last.
i have john deere, hustler, and kobota. all run great, 1900hrx, 900hrs, and 200hrs. likethe hustler the best. but ltatt comes down to care maintence fuel and oil
You're not really reviewing that mower *_MODEL,_* you're reviewing the dealership you bought it from and the service you (didn't get) from that dealer and Kubota. Assuming that the dealer was honest about what Kubota had to say of course. I've been running Kubota equipment for decades and if I have a choice for that class of machine I won't buy anything else. My dealer is excellent and has never failed to provide rapid satisfaction. When you spend over $10,000 with a dealer they want you to be happy and come back. That you are not happy and won't come back proves the dealer is the actual point of failure even though you got a machine with problems. No matter what else applies, the *_DEALER_* is your point of contact with any brand. No one can make you happy about your choice in equipment except the dealer. You can always get a machine that slipped past quality control or has some sort of unforeseen inherent problem no matter what brand it is. It's when those problems occur that the dealer makes all the difference and your dealer let you down badly.
I have a z421 pro at around 80 hours the clutch pack and all the pulleys on mower deck and mandrel bearings wear gone Kubota replaced everything then at 183 hours the 2nd clutch pack has completely gone out and 2 mandrel bearings are very rough it's out of warranty and the clutch pack is 1000 dollars just for the part the z421 is a complete piece of junk
Sounds to me like something was in the gas tank that would sometimes clog up the screen on the pick-up tube. Did you ever find out exactly what the problem was?
Brian Hoglen a 8k mower should mow wtf ever you want to mow. I personally own a kubota and it mows great even has a fan over my head that keeps me cool. You can mow through knee high grass on mine and not even bog it down.
Andy Perkins if I’m looking at the mower on the video, I assume it was run on wet grass, and muddy substrate. What mower does great when the grass is wet?
Andy Perkins I own a Kubota mower as well. I’ve had no issues. Keep it clean, keep it serviced, use non-ethanol fuel, and it will run forever. Ethanol is probably the reason this mower was running so rough. Ethanol turns into a sugar bowl in small engines.
I have the 48 inch haven't had a single issue has 80 hrs on it but I never run ethanol in any of my equipment no matter what it's been a good mower but I have found it is difficult to work with Kabota dealers them self for parts and maintenance so now I just get all my stuff at the local parts store in lot cheaper that way too at least half off add up
tell me more about the Kubota zero-turn tell ya do it got three year warranty Kubota zero turn 60 inch cut commercial zero. We got three year warranty for years and 5 year warranty on a
I been having a lot of problems with the engine, only 21 hours had to replace parts in the engine, Kubota is over valve, parts are extremely expensive, don't buy one.
Sounds to me like you need to find a better dealer who knows what they are doing. Also why didn’t you just drain the gas instead of adding snake-oil? Buy an Exmark dump chemicals in it = same problem.
I drained of gas on mine and it still didn't fix the problem mine has been nothing but junk I refuse to buy another Kubota I have a Craftsman Zero-Turn that outdoes the Kubota any day
Its not the mower or motor. Or the brand its our junk gas. I use nothing but non-ethanol gas. All they had to do was throw on a new fuel filter. And take the carburetor part and put it in an ultrasonic cleaner I have to do this with all of ours at least once a season problem fixed
please have all your facts together in order to so you can explain exactly what the situation is on this mower I have the same thing and you're scaring the shit out of me..... I have had no problems whatsoever in the first 20 hours.....
So you put bad gas in it, and it caused a problem. The dealer did everything they could to fix it. You like everything else about how the mower runs but you give it a negative review? Wow.
Thanks for watching, and commenting! It was not only a problem with gas. They also had to replace the pto clutch and there was a fuel line part that had disintegrated into the fuel system which caused a large majority of the problems. They had to replace the whole fuel system with less than 15 hours on it. I made 3 payments on the mower before it was properly working. I like the mower now that it is working, but I have to judge it off of the experience I've had with it. Would I want someone to have the same experience? No, therefore I have to give it a negative review. Thanks for your input and feel free to make up your own mind about the mower. I may have just received a lemon.
If you aren't sure what the problem is, never go to the shop and tell them what you think it is. You could be giving the mechanic a red herring and maybe he doesnt want to be disagreeable so goes down that path.
@@ronniekidd2753 Thats great. Not all mechanics are like you. Its not a criticism of the tech... More of the customer. If they think they know what the problem is, why are they in his shop? In this videos case, you could hardly blame the mower or the mechanic... Why was there water in the fuel in the first place? Was there water in there? What was put in there to get rid of it? How is it Kubotas fault to the point he demands a new mower? Guys like you must want to find a wall to bang your head against!!!
That is totally bizarre. A brand new machine with deteriorating lines ? Ya this must have been hard to take man. It does sound like a carb issue. You were well within your rights to ask for compensation not the machines fault. It was that dealers fault. Period. Something must have been spilled on that line Exmarks have major issues all the time. There are so many zeros out there now. I would only trust the big dogs. This was just a fluke. Bad luck.
we have a zd326 diesel wich is $15,000 and no issues wich the best diesels are mostully good for lawn care companys and gas are mostully resedential units
You bought the WRONG Kubota. The Kubota ZG222 Commercial 48" is the mower you should have bought. Costs more but you get more including shaft drive from Kubotas own V2 engine. Had mine 8 years & as good as the day I bought it. BTW, you leave your mower in that condition, you're bound to have problems. Look at all the rust around the rollover bar. Shhhheeeesh!
It was only a long experience because nobody could figure out what was wrong with it and only guessed, starting with you assuming there was water in the tank. I don't understand how a guy could have a lawn care business, and not have any mechanical ability to work on their own machines. Warranty does not last forever, and I think you will find a lot of shops don't know how to find the problem. You need to learn how to do your own work IMO, and the first thing you do with a gas engine that is not running properly is check the spark plug. Would you believe all that was because the spark plug was on the verge of fouling? If the plug is black and getting wet, (running rich or too cold of a plug), the voltage tends to go through the deposits on the plug, instead of jumping the gap for a spark. Always check your spark plug first, and figure out the rest as needed. In time, you will never take a mower to a shop again. :)
comments make me laugh. until you get into a diesel engine all these zero turns offer the same 3 or 4 gas engines. not a kubota issue, it's a kawasaki issue. AND this guys dealer sucks
A lot of these companies are starting to make their own engines. I don’t know how good they are but at least any issues they have fall directly on the them.
ironmatic 1 i know toro and exmark is. At least they are branded as their own engine. Maybe John Deere? All the parts except for the “Assembled in the USA” sticker are probably made by Chinese slave labor in a sweat shop. I shouldn’t have said “a lot of”.
@@JonBecker81 Toro and Exmark engines are manufactured by Loncin Industries from Chongqing, People's Republic of China. They are exactly the same as Harbor Freight Predator engines. John Deere doesn't manufacture engines under about 65 hp, diesel. They use mostly Briggs & Stratton gas engines.
What went wrong was I haven’t seen my new zero turn mower that stopped pulling on the right side for going on three months because Kubota didn’t want to honor their warranty.
I have a 5 year old kubota kommander with 28 hours. I bought it new. (And wish I never did)!, complete JUNK ! I'm currently on RU-vid now trying to fix it. I'm FURIOUS WITH IT. TRASH. !
