For those who own Kioti or have owned Kioti's, after using them, what are your thoughts on their reliability and longevity.
Hi Kioti Sufferer,I bought a Kioti CK35 around two years ago and have had many ongoing problems. The worst by far is continual hydraulic oil leaks. Almost every connection with the FEL has leaked at some point - obviously not put together very well at the dealer. The 4in1 function on the bucket is also very temperamental - some days it works fine others it won't work at all. The controller has been replaced twice but the problem still exists.
The biggest problem are the two major leaks underneath the HST transmission. Loses around 2L of oil a week at the moment. The dealer said it was not covered by warranty and quoted almost $4,000 to repair it! Needless to say I walked out of the shop.
Also had numerous problems with large areas of paint flaking off the chassis and body almost right from day 1. They must have some serious problems with paint application in the factory.
The HST pedal also sticks down all the time, so when you take your foot off the pedal it keeps running forward until you push down on the reverse end of the pedal. The dealer has 'fixed' this three times but the problem is still there.
On paper it is a great machine but all these niggling problems and poor backup by the dealer (southern Australia) plus the huge problem with the hydraulic oil leak means I'll never buy another one and wouldn't recommend Kioti to anyone.
I purchased mine from Michigan Iron & Equipment with FEL and backhoe. I used it for moving snow piles and clearing my forest for a pole barn. So far I love it. I had two very minor issues. One grease fitting was missing & one defective on FEL. I've been using backhoe to pull stumps. Works great, the backhoe controls seem a hair touchy but since I have no experience with BH it could be just me.For those who own Kioti or have owned Kioti's, after using them, what are your thoughts on their reliability and longevity.
I have had better luck with mine after working through the initial dealer assembler screw ups . The deck bearings failed multiple times. I finally gave up on dealer tore deck on mower apart, my self in the beginning there is a reinforcing steel plate on bottom of the front edge of deck again this is dealer level assembler fault he did not bolt the piece on correctly and it came loose and got all tangled in the blades they replaced that piece and put new blades on . After that and many bearing failures and talking to others that was not having problems is when I tore into it myself the shafts I took to a friend and using his lathe and press they were bent not bad but you could lay them on a table and roll them and see they were bent I think from the steel piece that came off one of the first times I mowed I spent a long time spinning them with a dial indicator and marking them and using his press I got them (as humanly possible )straight and have now mowed over 100 hours with no problem . My hst 35 I finally got to talk to one of the mechanics that told me how to adjust the bucket pressure there is an allen screw on side under floor the control goes to he told me for max pressure screw it in all the way then back it out 1/4 turn I backed it out 3/4 turn cause he said If not right it could over do it bucket will roll and lift better all leaks have stopped I am knocking on wood. I think it is a decent setup now the backhoe well its mounted with a sub frame would have been better if it bolted to back of tractor it will buck you out of the seat if you snag a root and it slips or breaks sit n on a tiny seat cushion both are being a good tractor now. The so Il dealer told me they had no way of checking for a bent shaft after I confronted them I pointed to his desk and said it a flat surface there is all it takes.I have a Kioti ck35 HST with bucket and backhoe had problems right out of the box with hydraulic leaks on hose connections mainly the fault of the assembly guy at dealer.
I was out the cost of 7 gallons of fluid to get it to move so I could take it to the dealer.
I am not impressed with the power of the bucket kind of weak for its size as far as its ability to roll back and lift. I had a smaller backhoe that i traded in a 24 hp it lifted the things I usually lift with bucket just fine this grunts and moves very slow but if you finesse it it will eventsally get it lifted.
Backhoe power is fine for its size .
I also have the Sc2410 with SM2410 mower deck only no other attachments it has barely 100 hours but has been problematic. I will pick it up at dealer tomorrow for the 2nd time all deck bearings have failed which was full of grease I KNOW BECAUSE I DROPPED IT OFF IN THE MORNING at 7:30 am and I SAW THEM DISASSEMBLE THE BEARING SPINDLES I CAME BACK AT 2 IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE FIXED. WAS NOT this time i ran it on their deck and it started making rattling noise again I WAITED TIL 5 STILL NOT FINISHED HAD TO MAKE ANOTHER TRIP.again the cages that held bearings in proper location in bearing p were broke so the balls were randomly rolling around in the races,
I MOWED WITH IT SINCE THEN AND AFTER 3/4 OF AN ACRE IT STARTED GETTING NOISY AGAIN.I THINK IT IS FAILING AGAIN sounds like the same noise.
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Currently it is under warranty but won't be before long thinking about trying to trade it for a John Deere or Kubota because there are dealers near by the nearest Kioti is 100 miles and I end up having to haul it there and back the local guys will at least pick them up. They can’t be any worse.
I had remote hydraulics added to rear on the 2410 I have a homemade dump trailer that part works great. but agiain an issue with the hoses The 2410 that had a hose for the rear remotes that rubbed against the pto shaft and failed dumped all the Hydraulic fluid again due to the assembler at dealer they always have parts or with in hours of ordering them .
They could stand to hire better help he was supposed to have installed a strap that holds the hose in place but he had just draped it under mower loose.
The tractor part of the 2410 is a nice little tractor if everything it tied in place.
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The deck when within hours of new had a part fall off right after 3rd use again faults of the assembly guy.
I have no faith in the mower deck.
Since original post I had the the 3rd function remote installed at dealer it has malfunctioned stuck in up function will not release from that position, it had done that since they installed it but a quick bump on down it would quit I was trying to get the work done I was doing and we are leaving on vacation was going to haul it back down again after vacation.
But this last time it bent the cylinder on my grapple pushed grapple over center and bent the grapple mount .
I had to make of a loop hose to plug into quick connects so it can be moved without blowing pressure relief or a hose that by passed the cylinder but its still moving fluid I am currently rebuilding the grapple and having to haul it 100 miles to get dealer to attempt to correct it so far everything they have worked on has taken 3 trips to get it right as well as there has been more hydraulic leaks on backhoe hoses.
I am going to take all the hoses to a local bearing and hydraulic shop and have real quality hoses made up .
AM I HAPPY WITH MY KIOTI'S NO!
I mowed the same yard for 15 yeas with a Poulan Pro mower I got rid of it when I got this 2410 it is still in use by a friend and has original deck bearings just uses a lot of belts.
When you do the first service at 50 hrs or so, don't forget to change out the fluid in the front axle, if 4x4, as it only has hydraulic fluid from the factory and should be changed to a good gear lube (75w90/75W110).I've only logged 15 hours on my tractor but so far it has worked without issue.
My theory is that they install the light lube to aid with the break-in process and it flushes any metal grindings out easily at the initial lube change time. As for installing a 10w30 in the front axle out of concern in cold weather, what then should we do in the hot weather? A motorcycle specific 10W40 or 20W50 would be an Ok choice too. The gears in the front axle take a lot of abuse, what with steering, or when 4x4 is activated in snow or dirt, or carrying heavy loads in the bucket etc. So why not use a gear lube since that is the application? Use a good synthetic and change it every 500 hrs or so. I used Amsoil 75W110 and I use my Kioti CK30HST in all kinds of Canadian weather. DutchyThanks Dutchy. Interesting they would opt to fill it with hydraulic fluid in the first place. I'll certainly make that switch come time for the 50 hour maintenance.