Bobcat code list by serial number and machine generation

Specs and rules checked on October 24, 2026.

The code list that fits your Bobcat is set by the machine generation on the serial plate, and the code itself can’t tell you which one that is. Loaders built before the M-Series keep their definitions in the operation and maintenance (O&M) manual for that serial range, M-Series and early R-Series codes sit in Bobcat’s 2020 Diagnostic Service Codes PDF under your product’s rows, and newer machines go through Bobcat’s online lookup with your serial number.

Plate to document, by machine generation

If your plate names one of these machines, the third column is where the definition lives.

Sources: Bobcat’s Machine Diagnostics & Fault Codes page and Diagnostic Service Codes PDF, revised 10-20; launch years from Bobcat’s R-Series and T86 and S86 releases.

Older Bobcat loaders show two-part numeric codes such as 04-15, while M-Series and later machines show a letter followed by four digits. The system-and-condition layout of the older codes has its own walkthrough.

Find the model line on the plate first

Read the model off the serial plate before you open any list. A code with no model attached is four characters with several possible meanings.

Bobcat’s serial number location guide says the plate position differs by model and series.

• Skid steers and track loaders: near the back of the machine on a frame upright. Whether it’s on the right or left side depends on which of the two loader types you have.
• Telehandlers: on the frame near the right front tire.
• Compact wheel loaders: on the left side, under the lift arm.

If the plate is painted over or gone, Bobcat directs owners to their dealer or to Bobcat Customer Service at 1-800-743-4340. When you can read it, photograph the whole plate. Bobcat’s lookup needs the full serial number and the code exactly as the display shows it, letters and suffix included. Pulling the code off each display type is covered display by display.

Where Bobcat’s 2020 PDF stops

Bobcat dates its public code list to 2020 and points owners to its online search tool for newer code information. That date leaves gaps at both ends of the lineup.

The first R-Series loaders, the T76 and S76, were announced in February 2020. Bobcat’s PDF cover lists R-Series loaders only through the S60s–S70s and T60s–T70s. The T86 and S86 followed in 2022, and Bobcat’s European announcement says they replace the 700 and 800 M-Series loaders. Neither model appears in the PDF’s machine list. On an 80-frame R-Series loader, the online lookup is the only public route to a definition.

The older end has the opposite gap. The cover list starts at the M-Series, so a pre-M-Series loader gets nothing from it. Bobcat’s fault-code page names the O&M manuals as the place that holds fault code lists. Bobcat also sells digital O&M manuals written to a specific model and serial number; the S185 digital O&M manual was listed at $61.86 on Bobcat’s US parts store on October 24, 2026.

Any model you can’t find on that cover list, including anything released after October 2020, goes to the lookup. Machines with no display show warning lights and symbols, and the operator guide for that model explains each one.

Can one code mean two faults?

D7509 is a joystick pattern switch fault on an M-Series loader and a park brake fault on a telehandler. Both rows are in the same Bobcat PDF, and its search instructions tell you to validate which product a duplicate code appears on.

Source: Bobcat Diagnostic Service Codes PDF, revised 10-20.

The PDF gives no keep-working or shutdown call for any of these rows. The calls in the table are the conservative read, so every row stays parked until a dealer reads it. Brakes, system voltage and lost controller communication are not codes to work through.

The letter in front of a code doesn’t name the same system across products. In the same PDF, A0321 is a telehandler battery voltage code and A0618 is an attachments wheel-speed code.

Hazard: On a telehandler, D7509 reports low park brake reserve pressure, so the park brake may not hold the machine on a grade or with a raised load. Lower the boom on level ground. Then have a Bobcat dealer technician confirm D7509 against your serial, and ask whether the park brake holds to spec before the machine works again.

Engine and Machine IQ codes sit in separate lists

A loader can show a machine code and an engine code at once, and the two come from different controllers. Bobcat’s PDF files engine codes under the engine itself:

• Bobcat Engine V1: Delphi ECU.
• Bobcat Engine V2: Bosch ECU.
• D34: listed with a DCU; its rows are mostly DEF faults.

P0072 shows the problem.

• Under V1 it appears twice, as MAF Sensor Fault and as Intake Air Temperature Fault.
• Under V2 it reads Engine Compartment Temperature Sensor Out of Range Low.

The engine type decides the row. The list gives no severity for engine codes, so they go to a dealer scan tool before any repair.

For fuller descriptions, the PDF points owners to Machine IQ Health and Security. That subscription is offered through the Bobcat Owner Portal and can also email fault code alerts. Who receives Machine IQ fault alerts has its own page.

No match on any list: take the serial to a dealer

The dealer’s service desk is the next call in two cases:

• the code isn’t listed for your machine, or
• it appears under more than one product and the plate doesn’t settle which row is yours.

Have these ready:

• the full serial number from the plate
• the exact code, with every letter and suffix
• the document you checked and the row you matched

Ask the service writer two things: whether that code is listed for your serial range, and whether the machine can work before the repair.

Bobcat describes its Owner Portal as the place for owners’ manuals and service bulletins on your machines. Once the code has a confirmed meaning, which Bobcat codes mean stop work sorts it by shutdown risk. A buyer can check it against the codes to read before paying for a used Bobcat.