With the increase in technology being utilized on the farm and in the equipment industry comes added challenges. Farmers and ranchers have advocated for right-to-repair legislation to gain back their freedom of fixing their equipment. This month, National Farmers Union even filed a federal right-to-repair complaint against Deere to fix their own tractors. As a response, John Deere announced it will enhance the capabilities of existing diagnostic tools and expand their availability.
In 2023, the company will include a mobile device interface and the ability to download secure software updates directly to embedded controllers on select John Deere equipment with 4G connections.
“Customers with connectivity already receive proactive maintenance through over-the-air software updates and diagnostic code information available to their smart phone,” said Luke Gakstatter, Senior VP Aftermarket & Customer Support. “The next step for us to digitize and enhance the repairability experience is to enable customers themselves to remotely download secure software updates to controllers.”
In addition, John Deere announced that coming this May it will expand its offerings by giving customers and independent repair shops in the U.S. the ability to purchase Customer Service ADVISOR directly through JohnDeereStore.com.
“We recognize our customers’ desire for more autonomy in managing their equipment,” said Gakstatter. “Quality and uptime are essential to their operations. That’s why we’re expanding the point-of-sale options for Customer Service ADVISOR to include the John Deere Store website, which will give our customers and independent repair shops direct access to additional self-repair tools.”
Customer Service ADVISOR has been available through John Deere dealerships, enabling customers to diagnose, troubleshoot, and repair their own equipment. With the ability to purchase directly from John Deere, equipment owners and independent repair shops will have expanded access to Customer Service ADVISOR, in addition to existing access to replacement parts to complete needed repairs.
“We hope John Deere customers are pleased about the expanded access to diagnostic information they will get with Customer Service ADVISOR available in the online store,” said Denver Caldwell, Director Aftermarket & Customer Support. “And we’re even more excited about what’s in the pipeline regarding repair. When customers see what we have planned, I think they are going to feel more empowered on top of the offerings that are already in place.”
John Deere owners will continue to have the option to visit a dealership, engage an independent repair shop, or self-repair their machines according to their preferences.
