US farmers win right to repair John Deere tractors

https://www.msn.com/en-xl/news/other/us-farmers-win-right-to-repair-john-deere-tractors/ar-AA166A1b ^ | 1/9/2023 | BBC News

[Chode]

Tractor maker John Deere has agreed to give its US customers the right to fix their own equipment.

Previously, farmers were only allowed to use authorised parts and service facilities rather than cheaper independent repair options.

Deere and Co. is one of the world's largest makers farming equipment.

[Hyman Roth]

Oliva!!!

[Hyman Roth]

The official tractor of corporate country music.

This......

[Eric in the Ozarks]

Our 2016 JD Gator still runs perfectly.

[Still Thinking]

And a lot of problems may be sensor diagnosis and replacement or adjustment that could be done by the farmer himself if Deere will allow him to talk to the equipment with his laptop. A lot of farmers are plenty tech savvy for that. No mechanic involved.

[Still Thinking]

If it’s still under warranty I’m sure they’d be using factory service.

[wally_bert]

I would trade lives and worlds with Mr. Douglas.

[marktwain]

This is huge. Right to Repair laws have been proposed for years.

Perhaps John Deere is attempting to head them off.

I knew dedicated John Deere farmers in Australia who were buying German equipment because of this issue.

[the OlLine Rebel]

There are a few more recent bonafide country hits with Deere in it.

Name of one escapes me, I think it’s main thrust is Deere, but the other one is “She Thinks My Tractor’s Sexy”. Line near the end, “if it runs like a Deere than her eyes light up!”. Can’t believe it’s been 20 years since that song.

[FreshPrince]

WD-45?

Got my Dads, a D17 and a 175

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

The problem was not just using JD techs but that you had to haul it in for piddly stuff.

Put in a new fuel filter? Even if you used a JD part you needed to have it verified by taking it to an authorized dealer who would hook it up to his system and it would then receive a computer code and your equipment would work again.

It was meant to make sure you took in your equipment for not yet necessary maintenance rather then pushing it until it failed and then doing the fix at that point. Because at that point it would not start until you took it in.

And you do not want your equipment to fail during harvest.

[the OlLine Rebel]

So, Deere and other makes haven’t figured out the underhanded method of the auto manufacturers of making everything impossible to work on without an “expert”?

I think the car manufacturers are also trying to force mechanics to only be employed by them, for official XYZ knowledge. Drive out regular service station independent mechanics.

[nascarnation]

Biggest disappointment in lawn/garden tractors is my JD 345.
It was a brand I aspired to, but discovered they’re like BMW cars.
Good performance, lousy reliability, and parts are priced like they’re made of precious metals.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

This has nothing to do with equipment still under warranty.

[SeeSharp]

Do other manufacturers make the addons that Deere offers like combines, balers, etc...

Yes

A modern combine is using the same computerized systems the tractors are using.

Yes

[caver]

“This has nothing to do with equipment still under warranty.”

I did not see that anywhere.

[BipolarBob]

Farmers have the right to repair and John Deere has the right to deny your warranty if you don’t use their stuff.

Ever hear of the Magnuson–Moss Warranty Act? They would have to prove the non-Deere part was defective to deny warranty claims or service.

[Gnome1949]

Farmers who own and use a lot of equipment have their own tools, shops and welding equipment.

When weather dictates immediate use of the equipment, rational people do not wait for an appointment for service with a tractor dealership when something breaks.

In June of 2021, I took a John Deere riding mower to the local farm dealer to buy replacement mowing blades and have them installed. The parts department told me there were no blades then available for this popular mower ANYWHERE in the U.S. John Deere network. John Deere always bragged they stocked parts to repair every machine they ever built.

I also checked with the John Deere service department. They told me they had no openings for service until AUGUST ! It was still June.

I took the mower to a nearby auto mechanic shop run by Mexicans, most of whom did not speak English. They said they could sharpen the existing blades IMMEDIATELY. They rolled the mower off the trailer and sharpened the blades as my wife and I were having lunch across the street. Mission accomplished. Charge was $30.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

And you did not see that it was either.

You just assumed.

But no, it has nothing to do with equipment under warranty, or equipment that has been financed or equipment that has been leased or any of the other excuses that I have heard out of FReepers over the last few years who are desperate to cling to the idea that Big Business is full of angels and these evil socialist farmers just want to run roughshod over the poor little dears.

[srmanuel]

If this ruling allowing Farmers to repair their own equipment, it might save John Deere from themselves, over time, Framers will begin to switch to other manufacturers and move off of Deere Equipment.

IMO, John Deere started this policy because a group of Financial Types are running the company instead of people in touch with the farming community and their customers. This policy be Deere was an attempt to extract every last dollar from their customers by screwing them.

[CFW]

It’s about time! This was a policy that could stop farmers’ ability to plant or harvest in a timely manner. When time is of essence at harvest time, you can’t wait for a certified JD repairman to have a opportunity to come repair your harvesting equipment. It’s needs to be repaired immediately. You can lose an entire crop due to such a policy-caused delay.