A class action lawsuit filed against the Kubota Tractor Corporation claims that the company uses wiring that attracts rodents.
The plaintiff is Burgess Properties LLC, an Alabama corporation that uses Kubota tractors. Allegedly, Burgess purchased a 2017 Kubota L5460HSTC Tractor on Sept. 28, 2017 to use for work purposes.
Burgess reportedly stored the tractor in a covered barn, as many tractor owners do. The company claims that the tractor failed in January 2018, and after taking it in for a repair assessment it was discovered that the wiring harnesses had been destroyed by rodent chewing.
An authorized Kubota dealer allegedly told Burgess that the wiring had been destroyed because it was made from a soy-based product that attracted rodents. Allegedly, Burgess was informed that the repair would cost $1,753.10, and that the rodent-related damage would not be covered by Kubota’s warranty.
The Kubota tractor class action lawsuit claims that soy and bio-based wiring is known to attract rodents more than wiring covered by glass, plastic, or polymer-based insulations. Soy-based insulation is reportedly cheaper than the alternatives, but attracts rodents because rodents eat soy and bio-based products.
Reportedly, many companies began using soy and bio-based wiring after gas prices rose in the mid to late 2000s, when fewer people bought vehicles, and vehicle manufacturers saw a downturn in profits. Thus, many companies made efforts to decrease their manufacturing costs, including the cost of wiring.
Burgess claims that the Kubota dealer told them that Kubota had started using the soy-based wiring because the company was experiencing financial problems.
In 2012, the United States Department of Agriculture reported on the use of soy-based wiring, noting that many companies did tout the fact that soy or bio-based wiring is more environmentally friendly than synthetic wiring, but that most companies used it for its cost effectiveness.
The Kubota tractor wiring class action states that Kubota knowingly caused customers financial injury by using a material that put wiring at risk to rodent damage, and by refusing to cover the damage in a warranty.
Burgess claims that had they known that the wiring could be easily damaged by rodents, they would not have purchased the vehicle, or would not have paid as much for it as they did.
Additionally, the Kubota wiring class action lawsuit claims that Kubota knowingly endangered the safety of the tractor drivers and others. They allege that rodent damage to wiring can cause a vehicle’s systems to fail in ways that can cause the vehicle to malfunction, get into a collision, and otherwise be dangerous.
Burgess states that soy and bio-based wiring is not suitable for its intended purchase, and that Kubota knew this but used it nonetheless in the interest of increasing its profits and decreasing its costs, while causing injury to customers, drivers, lessees, and others.
Burgess Properties LLC is represented by Joseph “Jay” H. Aughtman of Aughtman Law Firm LLC, Richard M. Golomb and Kenneth J. Greenfield of Golomb & Honik PC, and Richard D. Morrison of The Morrison Law Firm LLC.
The Kubota Tractor Soy-Based Wiring Class Action Lawsuit is Burgess Properties LLC v. Kubota Tractor Corporation, et al., Case No. 5:18-cv-00897, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama, Northeastern Division.
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10 thoughts onKubota Tractor Class Action Lawsuit Claims Wiring Attracts Rodents
My Kubota 60-60 with a cab needed an entire new electric harness that cost me with some other inexpensive service $6140.00.
The dealer told me the warranty would not cover it. Is there a class action suit I can join.
DO NOT BUY ANY KUBOTA PRODUCT
I BOUGHT A NEW KUBOTA LX 4020 TRACTOR TO USE FOR A SNOW REMOVAL BUSINESS
IN BRIAN HEAD, UT. I HAD TO PURCHASE FROM A DEALERSHIP IN COLORADO AS IT WAS
THE ONLY KUBOTA DEALERSHIP WITHIN A 1000 MILE SEARCH TO HAVE THE TRACTOR I
NEEDED FOR THE PURPOSE INTENDED. The Dealership, Wickham Tractor in Fort Collins, CO
sold me the tractor and added Howes diesel treatment to the tank as well as selling me the
remainder of the bottle to use to prevent the fuel from jelling. I Used as per specs. Tractor was
purchased on 11/21/23 and I picked it up and transported it back to UT. Tractor was in
operation for 17.2 hours before it would not start. Local Kubota dealerships said they would
not come out to try to fix it as we did not buy it from them. Took it to Las Vegas, NV, as they
were closest Kubota dealership, dropped off on 1/8/24 at 730 am. Kubota dealership said the
fuel smelled funny so it wasn’t covered under warranty and said $12000.00 plus to fix. The DPF
was completely clogged and the only codes were low temp MAF sensor and no
communication with EGR. Western area rep said there was no fuel to test because I drained it.
This is a Lie. Had more than 6 gallons of fuel in it when i dropped it off. I have all the emails and
correspondences and text messages, proving they denied coverage for adding a fuel additive.
Sergio at Kubota customer service said, “When I put fuel in the tractor it voided warranty.”
Apco, the Kubota dealership in Las Vegas, sent out the injectors for testing they came back as
bad due to fuel contamination on 1/23/24. Kubota persisted in their point of me putting bad
fuel in the Tractor. When I called the tester, I pressed about the fuel contamination. The person
who did the test, said it was visible metal in the injectors that most likely came from the high
pressure fuel pump. There was no metal in the fuel tank, fuel filter or fuel water separator. The
dealership i bought the tractor from said they were the only ones that could help me at this
point due to Kubota policy. Eddie at Wickham tractor told me I needed to bring the tractor
back to them, 1367 miles round trip. and they would sell me a new one because I had broken
this one. And would see about trying to fix the one I had already bought for a discount. I
transported the tractor back to Greely, CO to Wickham on 1/18/24 they tested the fuel that was
still in the filters and it came back as fine 2/8/24 so they were going to replace the entire
engine. This could take between 3 to 9 months. My warranty coverage says all warranty work
to be completed within 30 days. On 2/28/24 I found out there was internal Kubota Service
Bulletin that came out to all the dealers the week before I bought the tractor stating the very
problems my tractor was having. They knew this, and still denied coverage, and finally, when I
presented this fraud to Kubota, on 3/7/24 Wickham tractor said they were going to replace the
tractor with a new one, but wouldn’t give me a timeline of when I would get a new one and I
would have the expense of picking it up from them verses a local dealership. These delays
have cost me my business and reputation to move snow I had to pay out my competitors and
cancel and refund all my contracts. A service bulletin for this tractor was issued before I
bought it stating this very problem. and it was to be fixed at Kubotas expense. They knew the
problem existed, they tried to blame it on me for adding fuel supplement, they tried to coerce
me into buying a new tractor on top of the broken one so i didn’t lose my business. they
refused to cover the cost of repair until i proved their fraud, and intent by pushing the narrative
and then changing and deleting emails. I have all emails and correspondence showing the
timeline, the fraud and intent.
Mine has caught a fire twice and been Replaced but still shorting out
2013 m110gx replacing wiring harness because of mice eating wiring
Recently purchased a Kubota B2650hsd at a Ironplanet Auction. Tractor had an engine fire that owner blamed rodent caused. Fired destroyed everything plastic and melted wiring on engine. Could restore wiring if Kubota would sell the connections, however, they will only sell complete wiring harness for $1390.
I just paid $500.00 for rewiring my Kubota b7800 the shop said the damage was from mice eating my wires 03/18/2019
Mine has caught a fire twice and been Replaced but still shorting out
Get a dang cat, mice have been chewing wires since long before soy and bio-based wiring were available…
It is important to note that dogs or sheep that WILL chew are also attracted to this, as my son’s new tractor just got the hell chewed out of his wiring. Wondering about the materials the seats are made of as well, as that was also destroyed. Very expensive for a $20k plus tractor!!!
I purchased a new M5660 Kubota tractor in Dec. 2017. I have had numerous rodent nests behind the dash board wiring. Every time I use the tractor I have to clean the nest out. I’ve had trouble with blown fuses. I’ve also had trouble with the PTO switching on and off. I believe my problems are related to this case.
Thank you