kubota KVT please please help

Jimmywray

New Member
I have just had a Kubota M7172 KVT premium delivered and i just cant get my head around it . On the farm we presently have Newholland auto commands, power commands, range commands as well as Bateman sprayers and they all operate slightly differently but the principles are relatively straight forward.

I really want the Kubota to fit into our system but at the minute we are having operating issues

The problems are all in relation to the software operating the vario transmission

1/ to increase the speed in reverse you push forward ( is it just me or is this crazy?)
2/ the command stick has a 2 second delay before anything happens
3/ once you select a cruise speed and you pull the command stick back to slow down for a bumpy part of the field then the cruise speed slows leaving you no cruise to resume to
4/ If you want to speed up slightly in cruise for example if you are baling and the sward is light and you want to go faster then resume your cruise, the cruise speed increases as you go faster so you have no set cruise to return to
5/ Kubota have said that the tractor has to be taken out of cruise if you are going to alter the speed at which you are travelling and since the command stick has a two second delay the only way you can do this is to change to petal mode to speed up or slow down
IM STRUGGLING
Can anyone PLEASE help as its decision time !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 

Jimmywray

New Member
This kubota has no issues regarding a fault .... the problem is how it is designed to work.... Fendt, Massey, newholland, case, John Deere all operate on similar principles but I just can’t get my head around having to drive with both stick and pedal. Barking mad
 

Horn&corn

Member
Ours is a kvt M7151 so earlier model but sounds the same.
Yep you need to click cruise button to take out of cruise to adjust speed down on pedal. Seems logical to me but it’s the first vario gearbox we’ve had so I’ve got no preconceptions. Push lever forward will change speed immediately in v small increments but that’s not much help for going from 10-20kph when mowing etc.
I set the speed for field work on foot pedal then press and hold cruise button for beeps then your speed is set. Just click off to reduce speed for headlands etc. Can press pedal to go faster for a light section etc without adjusting button or cruise.
 

Jimmywray

New Member
thanks horn and corn .................. then im afraid the dealership will have to be told in the morning its not the tractor for me. on a John deere, massey, fendt, neholland or case you could take the foot throttle out and throw it over the hedge. its like driving a combine with a throttle......... My silly mistake, when i ordered the tractor i assumed vario was vario across the board :-((((((
 
The lever only works in the direction it does, but the speed response has been improved with software, I would get the dealer to check what level is in it as the older ones were lazy but the latest ones we have had through were a lot better, asi can you upload a pic of your trans page off the k terminal?
Cheers
 

Jimmywray

New Member
No offence taken, I had a Powershift demo and the vario demo was not available but it’s soooooooo much different than the leading brands that I never expected kubota to be trying to invent the wheel
 
There are settings that your dealer should be able to adjust on their service tool, also by adjusting the m/s ratio on the transmission screen...should alter the response rate on the lever...
 

Fish

Member
Location
North yorkshire
I have just had a Kubota M7172 KVT premium delivered and i just cant get my head around it . On the farm we presently have Newholland auto commands, power commands, range commands as well as Bateman sprayers and they all operate slightly differently but the principles are relatively straight forward.

I really want the Kubota to fit into our system but at the minute we are having operating issues

The problems are all in relation to the software operating the vario transmission

1/ to increase the speed in reverse you push forward ( is it just me or is this crazy?)
2/ the command stick has a 2 second delay before anything happens
3/ once you select a cruise speed and you pull the command stick back to slow down for a bumpy part of the field then the cruise speed slows leaving you no cruise to resume to
4/ If you want to speed up slightly in cruise for example if you are baling and the sward is light and you want to go faster then resume your cruise, the cruise speed increases as you go faster so you have no set cruise to return to
5/ Kubota have said that the tractor has to be taken out of cruise if you are going to alter the speed at which you are travelling and since the command stick has a two second delay the only way you can do this is to change to petal mode to speed up or slow down
IM STRUGGLING
Can anyone PLEASE help as its decision time !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Your point 1, is in fact one of the reasons we bought a fendt over a case, I just could not get my head round the fact that to go faster in reverse, using the stick, you had to push it forward, crazy, just an accident waiting to happen, looks like kubota have the same dim system.
 
Hi I have 2 m7 Kvt firstly get your dealer to check responce setting on the a good system to be done with laptop and wants to be at its quickest setting. You can do a lot with the Kvt if your new make sure you set up screen ok set m per second to about 2.0 and droop to 50 %. To start with just drive the tractor with the pedal and once at the speed you want to work at push the leaver until it beeps and it will hold that speed, if you want to quicken or slow push the leaver forwards or back and it will drive like a hydro, or you can push the pedal or brake. You can use the cruise for a pre set speed but this will change when you move the leaver. We have got on very well with ours as there is no ranges only a tortoise hare that changes response limitation. We have now got 6000 between them and they have been no bother.
 
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This kubota has no issues regarding a fault .... the problem is how it is designed to work.... Fendt, Massey, newholland, case, John Deere all operate on similar principles but I just can’t get my head around having to drive with both stick and pedal. Barking mad
If you’ve driven/owned a Fendt then yes you will have been spoilt as the operation is undoubtedly the most polished, intuitive (and customisable) on the market.

What you have to appreciate is this is effectively Kubota’s “first go” at a CVT, therefore it’s only reasonable, at least in my mind, to have some sense of expectation that the ergonomics around control won’t be as polished, sophisticated or customisable as some other makes that either exclusively run CVT across their entire range of machines, nor indeed have been producing them for 20 years.

It’s immaterial that it’s mechanically the same ZF box found in other makes. Cab controls, transmission ECU software are all completely in Kubotas camp.

I hope there are some software updates, that can cure some of the control “hesitation” issues you describe, but other “characteristics” I’m afraid you’ll have to either live with or get shot of the machine if it’s enough to send you bananas.
 
https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/deutz-ttv-popping-out-of-gear.281258/
Have a read, probably the same tractor, different cab and engine, slightly different brain!
Or you could have the same tractor as a Mccorrmick, fitted with an excellent engine as fitted to NH and Case.
John what’s the connection here? I’m failing to understand your logic.

Sure it’s a ZF box, but so what. Different controls, logic and transmission control software.

There’s more enlightening stuff/fluff in that thread about trailers and towing laws in Poland than there is about ZF CVTs I’m afraid. Even then there would be no relevance to the OPs concerns.
 

john432

Member
Location
Carmarthenshire
I was trying to make the op aware that the same tractor ,bar engine , cab and styling can be had as a Deutz, Mccorrmick /Landini, or Kubota, so if he's demoing one, and not quite happy, has another two brands with zf transaxles to try .
 
why not ask your dealer for help?he could get the manufacturers demo driver to help show you the way round the tractor?i know your first vario can be a nightmare /struggle to use the first few times you use it(im still learning with mine) hang in there,at least give it a bit more time !
 

Jimmywray

New Member
Thank you pheasant surprise....

What you have said is completely right

But kubota have been selling the kvt tractor since 2015 and the 7172 is the second attempt to get it right.

They are reHarding themselves as a premium brand with a high price tag so with the money and capabilities available I think they should have done better
 

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