I am a Kioti DK45 4x4 with FEL owner. My tractor is about 10 years old now. At the time, I was deciding between a Kubota and Kioti. The things that made me decide on the Kioti was the extra weight compared to the equivalent Kubota (cant' remember the specific model), and the dealership. The guy was a small operator at the time. The lead mechanic walked me through the parts department ensuring me parts were readily available. He was very knowledgeable about their tractors. They assured me that because they were small, they would be able to service my tractor quickly when needed.
I had the choice between the previous year's model used tractor with a cab that only had a couple hours on it, and a brand new one without the cab for the same price. I figured the cab with AC would let me work more in the summer heat as I got older so I went with the cab. Mine has a shuttle shift and is not hydrostatic.
Let me preface this by saying that I know noting about their tractors today or what improvements they may have made. I wish I had purchased the Kubota instead. There were two big design flaws with my DK45. First, the loader was weak. I will admit I did push it doing some clearing, but it broke several times. To this day, it is not quite right. I kept breaking pins. I finally figured out that a bracket had widened just a bit over time. They wanted an outrageous price to replace the bracket. I ended up working with the mechanic to devise a solution that has finally solved that problem. We ended up modifying a pin for a larger tractor that had the same diameter but was longer. The FEL design itself is poor. There is almost zero bucket curl, so transporting material can be problematic on uneven terrain.
The biggest design issue is the AC. It was constantly blowing up compressors and the compressor itself was $1,000. The issue here is that the condenser sits in front of the radiator and behind the battery. The radiator has a removable screen but the condenser does not. The battery blocks air flow, and it fills with dirt and debris very easily. Once this happens, if you don't stop working and blow it out with an air compressor, it puts a load on the AC compressor and it locks up. The clutch is what goes, but it is internal and you can't replace just the clutch. I eventually gave up and had them remove the AC completely. I now open the top, rear window, and doors and use a fan. It is still hot with all that glass in the summer. Be sure if you get a tractor with a cab there are no design issues with the AC.
Speaking of the rear window, I had that replaced twice. I was using a heavy rear blade once that somehow flipped upside down. It caught on something and there was enough force to bend the toplink down and the blade flipped up. Freak accident and not a fault of Kioti, but it shattered the rear window. I think that was a $1,000 for the glass. It had to be shipped from South Korea. Then the next year, I had the rear window open and was using an auger. The auger stuck a bit in the ground and when it popped out, there was enough bounce in the hitch for it to hit the open window and shattered it again. This was a design issue for the Kioti. The rear window should have opened far enough that the auger could not have hit it. I was not going to replace it again. I just got a sheet of plexiglass from Lowes and built a "good enough" rear window.
The dealership grew over time and then it was sold to a new owner. The highly knowledgeable mechanic left. I had an front wheel fall of twice. The last time was last year, they had it for several months!
Years before I bought the Kioti, I bought an old Kubota B2400 at an auction for a few thousand dollars. It has a FEL and belly mower. When I picked it up, I found rental company stickers on it, so I assume it had a hard life. I think I've had it in the shop 2 or 3 times over the years for regular service (filters and fluids). I did have to have the gas tank replaced one year because of a leak. Other than that, it had performed flawlessly. I realize this is a smaller tractor without a cab and may not be a completely fair comparison between the companies.
Having said that, when I finally get a new tractor, it will not be a Kioti.
I believe LS is another South Korean company that has started servicing the US after Kioti. I would expect to see similar issues to Kioti when it comes to getting parts. Now that COVID is an issue and shipments are greatly reduced, some parts just are no longer available as my Kioti has gotten older. I would expect the same for LS.
As relative newcomers to the US markets, these companies sell a much lower volume than the companies that have been here longer. This means that as tractors get older, there are fewer parts and junk yards that have them to get used parts.
Hindsight is 20/20, but as of now, I would avoid both companies. I was penny wise and pound foolish.
Thanks,
Jack
