# I fixed a John Deere tractor. Farmers still don't buy it. > John Deere says its self-repair software works. The farmer suing the company says try it with four error codes at once. - Title: I fixed a John Deere tractor. Farmers still don't buy it. - Summary: John Deere says its self-repair software works. The farmer suing the company says try it with four error codes at once. A repair tool that only handles easy… - Keywords: right to repair, john deere, farming, software locks, antitrust, technology, science, fixed, John, Deere, tractor, Farmers - Source: Ars Technica — https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/09/i-fixed-a-tractor-using-john-deeres-self-repair-service-farmers-arent-sold-on-it - Published: 2026-09-13T11:00:41+00:00 - Read time: 3 min - Topics: right to repair, john deere, farming, software locks, antitrust, technology, science ## A tractor with a problem The water-in-fuel sensor on a John Deere 5130ML has come loose. It watches the diesel engine for contamination, and right now it is disconnected. ## Not a mechanic, not a farmer A WIRED reporter sits with a laptop on the grass at Deere's Santa Clara office, cable running to the tractor, red alert glowing on the screen. ## Two wires and a click The software pulls up manual pages matched to the machine's serial number. He finds the dangling wires, presses them together, hears a click. The alert clears in minutes. > In just a couple minutes, all by myself, I've fixed the water-in-fuel sensor. ## The audience was the point Deere staff applaud a man who has written repeatedly for WIRED about the company's refusal to let anyone but its own technicians touch its machines. ## Deere's pitch, in person CTO Jahmy Hindman flew in from Illinois for the demo. Thirty years at the company, here to sell Operations Center Pro Service as the answer. > It is owner-friendly. I think that's always been our intent. ## Farmers beg to differ Deere is the largest farm machine maker in the US, and over the last decade it has become the biggest target of the right-to-repair movement. ## Digital locks on the metal Modern tractors carry controllers, radios, sensors and 4G. Some drive themselves. All of it sits behind locks that need dealer-sanctioned approval to open. ## Ninety-nine million dollars In April, Deere agreed to pay equipment owners $99 million for inflated repair costs. In July it settled an FTC suit over repairability. No wrongdoing admitted, no final ruling yet. ## What Pro Service costs Launched in 2025. One machine runs $195 a year. Fleet access starts at $4,995, and $5,995 for agricultural and turf service. ## Smooth as an Amazon page Connect by Wi-Fi or cable, diagnose by serial number, work offline, track update history. Need a part? The software links straight to Deere's shop. > It feels as smooth as scrolling through an Amazon page. ## A thousand daily users A year in, Pro Service has roughly a thousand daily users against about 1.8 million US farms. The demo exists because almost nobody knows the tool is there. > We're just trying to get the word out. ## Where do you start? Jared Wilson farms 3,000 acres of corn and soybeans in Missouri and is a named plaintiff in the $99 million case. He laughs at the demo. One broken sensor is the easy version. > If you have three different or four different diagnostic codes, where do you start in the tree? ## Farmers use cracked copies Wilson doesn't pay for Pro Service and doesn't know anyone who does. The farmers he knows pull cracked software off gray markets instead. > It's taken a class action lawsuit and FTC action to get them to come this far. ## The PIP delay Novel faults only get documented after Deere gathers reports, verifies the issue and issues a product improvement plan. Until then, the person with the dead tractor is on their own. > They're still not giving us access to that next level that we have to have. ## Whose customer are you Repair.org board member Willie Cade is blunter about what drives the company's choices. > Their real customer is not the farmer. Their real customer is Wall Street. ## Tractors are the vanguard Farm equipment lasts decades. If owners can't win the right to fix machines this durable, advocates say, winning it for phones and laptops gets much harder. > It's really the vanguard of a much bigger and persistent problem. ## Key takeaway A repair tool that only handles easy faults isn't the same as the right to repair, and farmers can tell the difference.