8 comments

  • AShyFig 4 minutes ago
    I've always been a bit confused about the right to repair debate, especially as it concerns John Deere equipment. I don't own any "new" John Deere products, but I do have a few pieces circa ~2010. Perhaps my experience is out of date.

    Here's how it's always worked for me:

    1. A code comes up on the computer.

    2. A. The problem is self evident. Or;

    2. B. I search online and find the problem. Or;

    2. C. I search online and find the diagnostics manual, which I use to find the problem. Then I have diagnostics manual pdf forever, and can use this in the future.

    3. A. I search online and find the parts diagram. Or;

    3. B. I search my dealers website and find the parts diagram.

    4. I order the part.

    5. I install the part.

    Has something changed with newer equipment that prevents farmer from doing this?

  • JohnFen 19 hours ago
    > The agricultural machine manufacturer has a subscription service that lets owners repair their own equipment. Why is barely anybody using it?

    Because it doesn't address the actual problem.

    • RajT88 12 minutes ago
      The problem the company has is not making enough money. It addresses that problem.

      The funny thing about that problem is that it is unsolvable.

  • nilamo 57 minutes ago
    Requiring a subscription violates the right to repair. Even for backwater places where the right to repair isn't enshrined in law (like the usa), people still know what the right to repair is, and often refuse to use a paid service what what ought to have been included in the base price.
  • Aboutplants 32 minutes ago
    A subscription for the right to repair your own machine seems completely insane to me. How is this a thing that is allowed?
    • werdnapk 25 minutes ago
      A lot of vehicle manufacturers don't even give you access to their repair/diagnostic software even if you want to pay.

      Tesla for example lets you pay to access their diagnostic software, so why is John Deere the bad guy here?

      • jchw 22 minutes ago
        Oh that's simple. Both Tesla and John Deere are bad guys.

        And yes. I am happy to expand that list to literally every other manufacturer you have in mind. They are all bad guys too. If manufacturers were altruistic good guys, they would need no regulation.

        • arrowsmith 0 minutes ago
          If all manufacturers except one were altruistic good guys, the one malevolent bad guy would undercut the altruists and drive them out of business.

          Regulation is the solution to this prisoner’s dilemma.

      • RobotToaster 13 minutes ago
        Real life isn't as simple as the one in fairy tales, there's usually more than one villain.
      • voxl 4 minutes ago
        Whataboutism. Two evils are still evil.
  • alpaca128 5 minutes ago
    The term "Self-Repair Service" already sounds so wrong.
  • 27183 39 minutes ago
    Why would you pay extra for some website the company could just take away from you on a whim? I have the bound paper repair manuals for my 1998 Dodge truck, my 1995 Toyota, and my 2002 Kubota tractor. Nobody can arbitrarily take those away. Why can't companies these days just print a shop manual and be done with it?
  • Simulacra 12 minutes ago
    This article seems a little condescending. They are neither a mechanic nor a farmer, as they say, and from there it just sort of goes off the rails.