Why is modern machinery so flipping unreliable?!

[Dan Powell]

It gets to about 3000 hours and hey presto, air con failures, ad-blue faults, pipes leaking, going into limp mode for no good reason and all costs a fortune to fix.

I'm fed up with it frankly. I want to go back to a John Deere 10 series before the build quality of everything fell off a cliff and prices went through the ceiling....

I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels like this on a regular basis...

 

[Barleycorn]

One word, lectrics!!

 

[Dan Powell]

One word, lectrics!!

I think it's more than that. It's the unnecessary complexity of everything. What have we actually gained here?

 

[Jackov Altraids]

I've heard the same comments from so many recently.

My tractor has been out of action for over 2 weeks due to a faulty circuit board. Bloody annoying when everything is mechanically fine.

 

[Nearly]

and 3000 hours is more like 2000 on a proper clock.
@7610 super q

 

[7610 super q]

This comes up, and gets pooh-poohed on a regular basis.
Modern leccy tractors are fine for the first owner who looks after it, keeps it undercover, and is careful with the pressure washer, and who more than likely has 3 years warranty anyway.
Probably OK for the second owner if it's been looked after and serviced regularly.
The problem starts with owner number 3 and 4......
Water gets where it shouldn't, wires start to chaff and get brittle, error codes pop up regularly.
Worse, it's expensive and difficult for the average Joe to fix, and parts such as potentimeters ( spelling ? ) are expensive. I think the lift arm ones on the 40 series are £400 each ?
My next tractor purchase is going to be from pre 1990's era. Not a great place the day, but mechanically fixable, and they appreciate in value.

 

[egbert]

It gets to about 3000 hours and hey presto, air con failures, ad-blue faults, pipes leaking, going into limp mode for no good reason and all costs a fortune to fix.

I'm fed up with it frankly. I want to go back to a John Deere 10 series before the build quality of everything fell off a cliff and prices went through the ceiling....

I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels like this on a regular basis...

absolutely with you.
A manufacturer could clean up if they chose to.

I've a couple of 30 series JDs which give more problems than the lone old 10 series on the place. (and the 10 series pulls like a train)

I don't believe it is just emissions guff, although that clearly plays a part.
The over complexity, and endless options, mystify me.

I've briefly looked at the new slopey bonnet Ms....but the price is waaaay beyond what I would entertain.

(And to be clear, if I have to pay X to have the kit to do the job, I will)
What I hate is being asked X (plus Y) for kit which then needs a constant umbilical back to JD

 

[Sid]

Would you agree that in the automotive industry it has gone the other way?
More reliable?

 

[ED.D]

But what else is the manufacturer supposed to do when it comes to justifying the hefty price tag?

 

[ewald]

Car electrics do indeed seem pretty reliable, but typical car life is a lot less than we expect from a tractor and the operating environment is kinder on the whole.
Having said that, a fairly trivial fault will write off a 10 year old car (as value will often be only a few hundred pounds)

 

[Derrick Hughes]

To much electrics same as cars . Never anything wrong with a gear stick
JCB diggers the same . Was told the newer they get from 2011 the more problems they get ,mainly electrical

MX 110 all the way

 

[Dan Powell]

Would you agree that in the automotive industry it has gone the other way?
More reliable?

100% and car customers wouldn't stand for this level of unreliability. Our newer machinery is at 1980s car reliability levels...

 

[Jackov Altraids]

A local contractor has been saying that new tractors having been getting increasingly unreliable.
This is having tried a few different brands.
They have just returned 4/5 new tractors to dealer as not fit for purpose.
This would be genuine and not any kind of shenanigans.

 

[slackjawedyokel]

My perception is that cars are less reliable than in the past, but that many will think they are more reliable because they have shorter life cycles than cars in the past. My first car was a 13 yr old merc 190d and that was fairly bulletproof; I has it for several years. My last two cars (Audi A4 and Volvo s40) I had to get rid of because of electrical issues (Audi-immobiliser, Volvo dpf electrical system economically unfixable at less than 10yrs old).

I have a 2yr old loader, which has already had dpf issues, so I fear for it’s long term economic viability (if I buy a new machine I’d like to keep it good and keep it long term ideally).

I think a lot of the unreliability, particularly in farm machinery is all of the electrics, sensors etc associated with the engine and particularly with emissions control systems. I assume that in the future, if electric loaders etc become commonplace, it will be possible to once again make machines with fewer breakdowns.

 

[egbert]

Would you agree that in the automotive industry it has gone the other way?
More reliable?

I can't tell whether it's an age thing with me, as opposed to the gear.
Is everything 'best' from some halcyon period in my life?

I wish i could replace the 10 series tractors new, and I wish landrover would supply me with a new non-computerised hi-cap
(got nothing against the 5 cylinder donk, but much preferred 300tdi level of tech.)

but is that cos I wish I was back in my late 30's early 40's, and able to keep going like the clappers?

hmm.

 

[ACEngineering]

It gets to about 3000 hours and hey presto, air con failures, ad-blue faults, pipes leaking, going into limp mode for no good reason and all costs a fortune to fix.

I'm fed up with it frankly. I want to go back to a John Deere 10 series before the build quality of everything fell off a cliff and prices went through the ceiling....

I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels like this on a regular basis...

But is it all the machines fault or is it really the owner/operators have lost touch with maintainace and the newer generations of owners/operators not having an ounce of mechanical sympathy or no how?

?

 

[Tarw Coch]

It gets to about 3000 hours and hey presto, air con failures, ad-blue faults, pipes leaking, going into limp mode for no good reason and all costs a fortune to fix.

I'm fed up with it frankly. I want to go back to a John Deere 10 series before the build quality of everything fell off a cliff and prices went through the ceiling....

I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels like this on a regular basis...

Absolutely agree with you although more of a Massey man myself, I have said before that I would buy a new MF 6200 series in preference to anything on the market today although a JD or NH from the same era would also make the list.

 

[Jackov Altraids]

But is it all the machines fault or is it really the owner/operators have lost touch with maintainace and the newer generations of owners/operators not having an ounce of mechanical sympathy or no how?

?

I can grease/ oil mechanical linkage.
How do I maintain sensors/ circuit boards and ECU's?

I agree about the lack of sympathy when sat in a sound proof air conditioned box with suspension.

 

[Tarw Coch]

But is it all the machines fault or is it really the owner/operators have lost touch with maintainace and the newer generations of owners/operators not having an ounce of mechanical sympathy or no how?

?

That wouldn’t explain why older models on farm are performing better than the newer models they work alongside.

 

[Dan Powell]

But is it all the machines fault or is it really the owner/operators have lost touch with maintainace and the newer generations of owners/operators not having an ounce of mechanical sympathy or no how?

?

No and I resent the implication. Even the trained up mechanics from the dealerships are getting fed up with it. You cannot expect a farmer to be an expert in ad-blue injection system sensors. They should just bloody well work.