I have had mine a little over a year and cut 2 properties with it each week. Sometimes I need to mow every three days. No problems at all. Changing the blade was a piece of cake for this 60 year old.
That is awesome, I hope you continue to have good luck with yours. I am still using mine as a push mower with great results after the self propel died.
This same issue happened to me. I took the “transmission” apart and the bearing that the motor shaft runs through was seized. I popped it back into position and started mowing again. On the last line it seized again. Since it’s mowing season I can’t drop my mower off anywhere so I just bought the $95 part. Next time no self-propelled or go with a different brand all together.
FYI Home Depot will no longer accept any Ryobi products for repair! I too have this mower and it would stall out when I pulled the self propel bar. I took it to Home Depot last November and it took the 6 weeks to get it back to me. They had to ship it to Ryobi for repair. As of today it is still under warrant and once again doing the same thing when I pull the self propel bar. I called Ryobi (3 hours total to actually get a response!) and was told I had to drive it to an authorized dealer over an hour away because Home Depot will not longer accept Ryobi products! Funny they will still sell them to you though! So now I am stuck in the Florida summer heat having to push this mower to get my lawn mowed even thought it's still under warranty for another 6 months! Please note the company that owns Ryobi also owns Milwaukee tools and several other companies!
Tks for the heads up, I was considering one since I have the ryobi 40 vdc batteries for their other products. Guess my 20 year old Honda will have to hang in for another couple years. Tks again.
I have the 20 inch model and the self propel feature stopped working. Found out it was the switch inside the lever box on the handle, not the transmission. The plastic supports for switches are cheaply made and break easily. They need to be glued back in and then supported with epoxy or some other material that can be used as a spacer.
I am having the same issue as described in the video. I took apart the handles and tested all the switches. All functional. What a shame I dropped this much money on a garbage design, and now can't find a place to repair it.
Mine stopped today. I've owned mine for five years, so I guess I should feel lucky. It will move a couple of feet, then stops altogether. If I wait 10 minutes with the mower off, it will move another couple of feet. I can hear it clicking inside, so I don't believe the parts inside broke as the other video suggested. I'm a 70 year old woman with a big yard and need the self-propelled part most of the time. Any ideas on how to fix?
Yeah, I got the cheaper one under that model last march and literally used it 4 times and had the same problem. Took it in to Home Depot for repair in September and didn’t get it back until February. Even though it was a free repair under warranty, that timeframe was unacceptable!
me too! same thing! they had it for 6 weeks and now it's doing it again except Home Depot no longer takes warranty repairs for Ryobi! this his horrible!! If I knew this was going to happen I never would have bought it!
I have a 20inch brushless self propelled model and I honestly only use the self propelled button when in a tough spot. I only used it when going up a slope, which is like 10% of my yard. Most of it is flat terrain. It’s close to 5 years now so when it does go out, it’ll be past the 5 year warranty.
I bought a non-self propelled 1.5 years ago and now 2-3 times per week. I’ve had no issues. The first few mows I question my purchase, but after that I was use to it. The mower is so light, much cheaper, I get more exercise and won’t have any self-propelled issues.
Wow! Thanks for posting this, I have the whisper AWD and mow 2-3 times a week and my mower just reached 1 yr 1 month, and need 2.5 batteries charge to mow 1/4 acres of my lawn (1.5 hr to mow entire lawn) my 1st month or couple weeks each battery failed to recharge batteries were recall and took 5-8 days for Ryobi to send new batteries. My inital thought was this the right investment…after last year and 1 month mowing I am pleased with the cut… after seeing this video I am alarmed… Has anyone with the whisper AWD 40 volt had this issue with the self-propel motor? I purchased 5/2022, has anyone called Ryobi to request the self-propel parts in advance? TIA
200h would take most home owners 5 years or more. The more likely issue is a brushed motor that makes contact with wet grass, promoting corrosion. Brushed motors are actually very stout but not if the bushing/bearings get wet.
All valid points. In my case I know I did exceed 200 hours, so I can attest that it can and will make it to that rating. Never cut in anything more wet than a light dew on the grass. 200 hours very well be more than sufficient for a lot of folks. In my case, it unfortunately wasn't.
Ryobi has a three year warranty so if you bring it to HOME DEPOT or let YOB know they should either send you the part for free or you will have to go without them on for the six weeks and send it in to get repaired either way it should be free they have a three in warranty please check on that because I would definitely not buy that mowerIf they don’t cover it on the warranty but Ryobi is usually really good at covering things I found that Ryobi is better than Dewalt and better than several other brands when it comes to honoring their warranty
Home Depot no longer will take Ryobi mowers under warranty. How do I know? I just spent have the day trying to contact Ryobi and when I finally after two and a half hours got through they said I had to take it to a shop over two hours away because Home Depot no longer accepts Ryobi. :-(
Iv been a big ryobi fan for years when it comes to home owner grade tools. I finally got my, widowed, mother into the battery yard tool club. I do offer to work on her yard for her but she likes to do it herself. She purchased the mower, string trimmer, blower, extended hedge trimmer and has been loving them. Recently the self propelled went out in that same mower and I told her we need to bring it to the local ryob repair center for a warranty claim. For whatever reason they went after the motor head to attempt to take it apart. They said they tried with all their might but couldn’t get the bolts from the blade motor to budge, indicating that the mower had too much water intrusion thus warranty claim denied. These bolts secure the motor head to the plastic deck and are inches away from the blades chopping wet grass with no cover to prevent it from being in the elements. I was shocked and I felt bad because I talked her into buying this stuff thinking that ryobi had a pretty stellar warranty policy. I figured since there’s no warranty I decided to try my hand at it. I stuck my impact driver, at low setting, on the bolts that were claimed to be rusted and froze and with about 10-20 secs of impacting the bolts spun right out with zero rust on the threads. Though there was lock tight on the very end. I stopped there today to send ryobi pictures of the set of bolts with no rust on the threads to see what they have to say.
I wanted to update this comment with good news. I heard back from Ryobi yesterday, and I was shocked to hear they are sending me a whole new mower at no charge. I understand this doesn’t mean the self propelled motor isn’t poor quality. Hopefully ryobi can learn from this, you can’t send everyone a brand new mower and stay in business. However Ryobi’s prices are going up because the quality is getting better. They are not John deer, or Honda, husquvarna, or anyone else so there is a balancing of buying power and the longevity of use for the dollar. I was upset at first because I just wanted the warranty honored and I took it as them trying skirt by the warranty. But it sounds like the tech didn’t really know what was going on. I didn’t want to argue and beat a dead horse so I handled it my way, the calm way, and think I came out ahead.
My self propelled Ryobi just died. Purchased it almost exactly 1 year ago and mow about once a week during spring and summer months. Died half way through my last mow with 50% battery remaining and after recharging the battery, cleaning all the surfaces and checking all the wiring, it still won't start. I feel ripped off.
WOW got mine last APRIL and now about 1/2 acre a week and so far no trouble but if it does break I will be using my EGO 8 plus pounds of TQ self propelled mow then
Let’s hope yours last longer than mine. Mine made it about 1.5 years. It started making a whining noise when using the self propel the last month, and then finally it just gave up the ghost.
Mine is still under warranty and the self propel motor quit. I checked the voltage at the motor connector and it shows about 9.8 volts. I would expect to see the voltage change when you move the speed slider, and it does change but the total change is less than 1 volt. I see between 9 and 10 volts over the entire speed range. The OEM motor manufacture you reference shows 36V for this motor, so I would expect the voltage swing between min. and max. to be much higher. So I have to wonder if the controller might be bad. Is there any way you can check to see what voltages you see at the motor? (I disconnected the power lead right by the motor and checked the voltage being delivered to the motor.)
After three years, the only problem I had was the battery was getting very difficult to take out. Also, it needed some lube as it was squeaking a lot. I lubed up the battery, and so it is able to be removed.
I bought one yesterday hopefully it will last but the first thing that I noticed that this motor have absolutely no covering plate and have no protection from dirt and dust... I'm looking to manufacturing a metal plate and cover all this
I think you're on to something there. Even mowing slightly wet grass seems like it will get moisture and grass clippings all up in that area and eventually destroy the motor, which is already not a very heavy duty part to begin with.
Just had my transmission die. 2y 12d of mileage out of it. Nearest service center is 60 miles away in Canada. So yeah, not repairing this thing. Refuse to give them my money to order the part and do the work for what is a warranty repair.
@@bzreviews800 what’s crazy is that I took the transmission out of the mower.. cleaned up some loose clippings/dirt in the area put it back in and it ended up working again. I purchased the push only version and am going to sell this self propelled version
Mine is a 2 years old and not wanting to push freely anymore its locking up the left rear wheel. I believe its the one connected to the self propelled system. That works but acts like its not disengaging so you can push it on your own.
Wow I guess I got lucky mine will still push freely. Not sure if you can take apart the wheel assembly and take out the gear connecting the driveshaft, but it might be worth a shot
I'm having the same problem with a year old 20" model. Everything else works fine, the self-propulsion system still works, but the other rear wheel locks up. I'm really wishing I would have bought the Ego instead.
@@jasperstarr6804 Mine has freed up by engaging the self propelled for a few seconds at full speed and letting go. Haven't tried it in awhile, no sticking anymore.
@@codysmith9813 I'll give that a try, thanks for the tip! If that doesn't work, I might try something else. I'm looking at the exploded parts diagram for that mechanism right now.
@@codysmith9813 So I just went out to fiddle with mine, and could not recreate the issue. The one thing I did differently before I started: I R&Red the starting key. I haven't removed it since I bought it, I just take out the battery when I'm finished - did it reset a relay or something? I have no idea, but it seems to be working for now, anyway. It might be worth a try - maybe it's the reason why some of are having this problem while others don't.
My one encounter with Ryobi about 2 years ago was the batteries got stuck hard and even a Ryobi rep at Home Depot finally got one out with a lot of force. He even contacted one of his coworkers to try to get to the bottom of that issue. Needless to say I got my money back on the same day I purchased it. JUNK!
I actually had this happen once as well. I was pushing the mower to it’s limits cutting some thick brush and eventually overheated one of the batteries. It swelled but I was able to get it out with a claw hammer with a good bit of force. Was definitely not a fun experience
No other electric mowers can beat EGO yet. EGO builds solid products that last instead of putting cheap parts in it like with this mower. This mower overall just looks uncomfortable to use and cheaply made. A self-propelled EGO is around the same price and it actually looks comfortable, solid, and well built. Ryobi should be ashamed of themselves for charging that price for their electric mowers and using some cheap piece of crap for the self-propelled feature. They clearly didn't want to put the money into making a decent product but make it last long enough so anyone that didn't spend extra money on a protection plan couldn't return it when it breaks. I see all these videos about Ryobi mowers breaking and needing to be fixed. My oldest EGO mower is around 7 or 8 years old and still works perfectly fine, have not ever had to fix it or give it any maintenance other than just basic cleaning.
I have the exact same mower and just pulled it out this season and started having issues with it randomly shutting off. Went to use the self propel to take it back to the garage to clean and the self propel had stopped working. After using my leaf blower to clean it off I stood it up and found a wire dangling from the drive motor. Now I am wondering if that bad wiring might be the cause of all my issues. Wished I had known of all these issues before purchasing even though it has done a outstanding job up to this point. Now it will be to see how to get it fixed or replaced.
Luckily mine didn’t have any wires hanging or anything like that. I actually checked all the connections with a volt meter and the wire continuity was all good. I agree though, I would not have paid the extra for the self propel knowing all I know now. Mine was really great right up until it broke.
@rafaelcolon2465 I believe it should cover any part. But the biggest issue is trying to get any kind of warranty service done. After hours of sitting on hold all they would say was to take it to one of the 3 listed shops that come up within 200 miles of me. So no shops near me . Of those 3, 2 of them do not service mowers, and the 3rd told me that they are booked out 6 plus weeks before they could even look at it. They said depending on the issues and repair it could be 8-10 weeks or more before I would get it back. Totally unacceptable service in my opinion.
My unit is junk. A little over a year after purchasing it the blade stopped turning. The nearest authorized repair center is 26 miles away and took 30 days to fix the problem. Approximately 5 weeks later the part gave out again so I brought it back to the same repair shop where I waited 2 more months before being able to pick it up again, the whole time getting different excuses from them and Ryobi during every conversation. This will be the last Ryobi big ticket item I'll purchase again. That's sad for me to say because I own a lot of their electric drills and garden equipment and have been happy with the performance of most of them.
these ryobis are light and easy to manipulate. I cannot fathom why anyone would need a self-propelled ryobi. i have the push 20" ryobi and it has been flawless for over a year, i bought it for the noise reduction but it is superior in almost all other ways to my old gas mower. looks like this guy's blade needs sharpened. sharpening properrly really extends battery performance.
Sid: You apparently do not have to push your mower up a hill. That is why I want a SP mower as my old knees just don't want to do that push up the hill any longer.
Well DANG! I need a SP mower. I am a Makita guy but their better mowers, in addition to being more $$, lack folding handles and my storage shed is at over capacity. So I had decided on the Ryobi. Now I find this video. 😢Sours me completely on the Ryobi.
I feel you. I still have a lot of Ryobi tools as i invested in the battery system, and I really wanted to like this mower. The cut quality, noise, weight, all of that was great. All the way up until the Self Propel broke. Now I have to push around a lot of extra dead weight. I'm thinking of just unbolting the transmission from this to make it easier to push.
@@bzreviews800 Well, I'm back to considering the Makita "commercial" model. I suppose (hope?) it's better built all-round but, it's near twice the price and the blasted handle does not fold at all!
@@dandillon5163 My 7 year old 20" Ryobi push mower works great. I take the battery out when not using it and charge it when down to 1 light and bring the other charged battery to the mower and place it in the spare position that has no connection to the system and then move it over to the wired side when ready to use. Remove these rechargeable batteries when not in use and bring them indoors when it's cold outside...
DO NOT BUY THIS MOWER!!! Mine quit during its first season. The self-propel motor still worked but the blades stopped spinning. I brought it back to Home Depot for a warranty repair and when I got it back 6 months later, it STILL DIDN'T WORK. That's when I found out that Home Depot stopped handling repairs for Ryobi. I was told I would need to MAIL THE MOWER (at my expense) to Ryobi for a warranty repair. Thankfully, Home Depot took care of me and allowed me to return it. Now I'm using a gas powered Honda.
Do 3:35 this mower. Mine, had it less than 3 years, I used it for only 20 minute uses at most each time. Last use it went down in flames. I saw smoke then flames. The fire started in its circuit board and wiring and not at the battery. Thesse Ryobi battery mowes are a danger and should be recalled.
you can push it around like a non-propelled electric mower if the propel motor dies. That way you will not be without a mower for 6 to 8 weeks while the repair shop waits for the WARRANTED motor replacement to arrive. I bet they will let you install it if time is an issue.
Problem with that, at least with the authorized repair shops in my area, is that they wanted to keep the mower the whole time and wouldn't let me just bring it in once the part arrived. Your mileage may vary if you have a really good shop in your area.
I have a new Toro battery mower, it sucks, drive wheel falls off in 2nd hour, battery shorts, and on-line Toro will not take it back. They do not take items back if you use it for 1 minute! Their rear left geared wheel unbolts itself from the bracket, it self destructs! Two others have the same problem. Their repair dealer literally told me "with Toro, its Buyer Beware". I have a Toro case number, a BBB case number, and a US Consumer Product Safety Commission case number. Save yourself and learn from my mistake, and stay away from Toro.
I don’t know the exact wattage, but backing into it via the runtime I get from a 6ah battery, I believe it to be around 300 watts. I’ve heard some Ego mowers have 1000 watt motors though. For what it’s worth, the big main motor has been pretty awesome in terms of being able to cut through tough grass
@@bzreviews800 Thanks for the quick reply. Next question, Does the drive wheel transmission look to be serviceable as in can the brushed motor be replaced with a better one, maybe from a dewalt or RC car?
The part for the drive wheel transmission comes as one big assembly with the axles attached and all of that. If you were very clever mechanically, it might theoretically be possible, but it definitely wouldn't be easy as you'd have to figure out a way to interface your new one with the axles. The OEM that makes this part does list some beefier transmissions that are specifically labelled brushless. I would think the best shot to make it work would be to try and get one of those, but no idea if it would all play nicely with the "computer" that Ryobi has listed as a controller for the drive motor, which takes signals from the speed selector switch and user grips to send voltage to the motor.
@@bzreviews800 Thanks for the quick reply. I see that Ryobi has a 30 inch mower available now and was wondering if you knew what axle drive unit was being used on them. Maybe its the future upgrade for the smaller 40v unit
I found out it is the GT ME622 transmission in the 80v push mower. Its over 400 dollars by itself. It is, however, fully brushless and rated for 500 hours of lifetime according to the company. generaltransmissions.com/en/products/me-622/
That’s awesome, I hope you have better than luck than I did and yours keeps on trucking. I have continued to use mine as a push only mower and it’s still working great that way
Twice a week mowing. You must be bored. I always ask people who mow their grass with gasoline I tease them to say if your willing to burn that much money on gas then throw me a few bucks so I can drive my vehicle. It’s a shame though that forking out that much money that they would have a device that prematurely breaks down. Just like all the tech companies trying to have planned adolescence
I would agree that is a much better design. Probably down to the fact that Toro has been building mowers for a long time and just brought over proven designs from the gas lineup.
The problem you are having is not a burned-out drive motor, but a broken microswitch mount. You should hear a click when you pull the green handle back and you don't because it is not making contact with the microswitch in the handle assembly. Fixing this is relatively easy and explained in my video: th-cam.com/video/QikKLLAKkbw/w-d-xo.html
I have to agree with that approach based on my own experience. I advised my father to get an Ego instead of this after my problems with it, and so far he has not experienced issues.
Because you would have to have a Ryobi authorized repair shop hold your mower for several months to get this part. And this is assuming you have a Ryobi repair shop in your area. I don't think very many people have spare mowers sitting around they can use during the time this would take.
Is not the technology, is just companies are to greedy to produce something for homeowners that last longer than what they estipulate, that's part of their business model.
All depends on your use case. I’ve been containing to use mine after the self propel gave out and it’s still going strong. Just wish I wouldn’t have paid extra for the self propel given its somewhat limited lifespan
I stopped using the self propelled on mine as well. If you really don't plan to use it anymore take the caps off the back wheels and remove the small drive gears inside. This will make it easier to push since you won't be pushing the transmission anymore.
@@scrapgamingx1942 my average use of the mower is maybe twice a month, 6 months/year. So 12 times/year. let's say 20 time/ year to be safe. After 4 years the batteries are dead after being used 80 Times.
I have had mine a little over a year and cut 2 properties with it each week. Sometimes I need to mow every three days. No problems at all. Changing the blade was a piece of cake for this 60 year old.
That is awesome, I hope you continue to have good luck with yours. I am still using mine as a push mower with great results after the self propel died.
This same issue happened to me. I took the “transmission” apart and the bearing that the motor shaft runs through was seized. I popped it back into position and started mowing again. On the last line it seized again. Since it’s mowing season I can’t drop my mower off anywhere so I just bought the $95 part. Next time no self-propelled or go with a different brand all together.
FYI Home Depot will no longer accept any Ryobi products for repair! I too have this mower and it would stall out when I pulled the self propel bar. I took it to Home Depot last November and it took the 6 weeks to get it back to me. They had to ship it to Ryobi for repair. As of today it is still under warrant and once again doing the same thing when I pull the self propel bar. I called Ryobi (3 hours total to actually get a response!) and was told I had to drive it to an authorized dealer over an hour away because Home Depot will not longer accept Ryobi products! Funny they will still sell them to you though! So now I am stuck in the Florida summer heat having to push this mower to get my lawn mowed even thought it's still under warranty for another 6 months! Please note the company that owns Ryobi also owns Milwaukee tools and several other companies!
Thank you. I wanted the self propel BEFORE watching this video. Aint nobody got time 4 problems like this 😂
Agreed get the non self propelled mine works with the lever just fine but will not disengage just locks up the left rear wheel.
Tks for the heads up, I was considering one since I have the ryobi 40 vdc batteries for their other products. Guess my 20 year old Honda will have to hang in for another couple years. Tks again.
I have the 20 inch model and the self propel feature stopped working. Found out it was the switch inside the lever box on the handle, not the transmission. The plastic supports for switches are cheaply made and break easily. They need to be glued back in and then supported with epoxy or some other material that can be used as a spacer.
I am having the same issue as described in the video. I took apart the handles and tested all the switches. All functional. What a shame I dropped this much money on a garbage design, and now can't find a place to repair it.
Mine stopped today. I've owned mine for five years, so I guess I should feel lucky. It will move a couple of feet, then stops altogether. If I wait 10 minutes with the mower off, it will move another couple of feet. I can hear it clicking inside, so I don't believe the parts inside broke as the other video suggested. I'm a 70 year old woman with a big yard and need the self-propelled part most of the time. Any ideas on how to fix?
That is a serious flaw. Thanks for the info.
Yeah, I got the cheaper one under that model last march and literally used it 4 times and had the same problem. Took it in to Home Depot for repair in September and didn’t get it back until February. Even though it was a free repair under warranty, that timeframe was unacceptable!
me too! same thing! they had it for 6 weeks and now it's doing it again except Home Depot no longer takes warranty repairs for Ryobi! this his horrible!! If I knew this was going to happen I never would have bought it!
Sounds like it’s time for a Class Action Lawsuit!
I have a 20inch brushless self propelled model and I honestly only use the self propelled button when in a tough spot. I only used it when going up a slope, which is like 10% of my yard. Most of it is flat terrain. It’s close to 5 years now so when it does go out, it’ll be past the 5 year warranty.
I bought a non-self propelled 1.5 years ago and now 2-3 times per week. I’ve had no issues. The first few mows I question my purchase, but after that I was use to it. The mower is so light, much cheaper, I get more exercise and won’t have any self-propelled issues.
Wow! Thanks for posting this, I have the whisper AWD and mow 2-3 times a week and my mower just reached 1 yr 1 month, and need 2.5 batteries charge to mow 1/4 acres of my lawn (1.5 hr to mow entire lawn) my 1st month or couple weeks each battery failed to recharge batteries were recall and took 5-8 days for Ryobi to send new batteries. My inital thought was this the right investment…after last year and 1 month mowing I am pleased with the cut… after seeing this video I am alarmed…
Has anyone with the whisper AWD 40 volt had this issue with the self-propel motor? I purchased 5/2022, has anyone called Ryobi to request the self-propel parts in advance? TIA
90 min to mow 1/4 acre? Jfc. Are you walking on your knees?
@@tonsoffun49 lol ikr
200h would take most home owners 5 years or more. The more likely issue is a brushed motor that makes contact with wet grass, promoting corrosion. Brushed motors are actually very stout but not if the bushing/bearings get wet.
All valid points. In my case I know I did exceed 200 hours, so I can attest that it can and will make it to that rating. Never cut in anything more wet than a light dew on the grass. 200 hours very well be more than sufficient for a lot of folks. In my case, it unfortunately wasn't.
I use it twice a week, 1.5-2 hours each time. So 200h is not enough.
Thanks for the heads up. I have two Ryobi push. They work find, however they both have wobble wheels.
Ryobi has a three year warranty so if you bring it to HOME DEPOT or let YOB know they should either send you the part for free or you will have to go without them on for the six weeks and send it in to get repaired either way it should be free they have a three in warranty please check on that because I would definitely not buy that mowerIf they don’t cover it on the warranty but Ryobi is usually really good at covering things I found that Ryobi is better than Dewalt and better than several other brands when it comes to honoring their warranty
Home Depot no longer will take Ryobi mowers under warranty. How do I know? I just spent have the day trying to contact Ryobi and when I finally after two and a half hours got through they said I had to take it to a shop over two hours away because Home Depot no longer accepts Ryobi. :-(
Nice find in the product details. Odd motor choice when they offer a 5 year warrantee.
Very true!
Yep, same problem here exactly. Only mine went out and didn’t get one season completed. I wish I would have seen this video 4 months ago 😂
Iv been a big ryobi fan for years when it comes to home owner grade tools. I finally got my, widowed, mother into the battery yard tool club. I do offer to work on her yard for her but she likes to do it herself. She purchased the mower, string trimmer, blower, extended hedge trimmer and has been loving them. Recently the self propelled went out in that same mower and I told her we need to bring it to the local ryob repair center for a warranty claim. For whatever reason they went after the motor head to attempt to take it apart. They said they tried with all their might but couldn’t get the bolts from the blade motor to budge, indicating that the mower had too much water intrusion thus warranty claim denied. These bolts secure the motor head to the plastic deck and are inches away from the blades chopping wet grass with no cover to prevent it from being in the elements. I was shocked and I felt bad because I talked her into buying this stuff thinking that ryobi had a pretty stellar warranty policy. I figured since there’s no warranty I decided to try my hand at it. I stuck my impact driver, at low setting, on the bolts that were claimed to be rusted and froze and with about 10-20 secs of impacting the bolts spun right out with zero rust on the threads. Though there was lock tight on the very end. I stopped there today to send ryobi pictures of the set of bolts with no rust on the threads to see what they have to say.
I wanted to update this comment with good news. I heard back from Ryobi yesterday, and I was shocked to hear they are sending me a whole new mower at no charge. I understand this doesn’t mean the self propelled motor isn’t poor quality. Hopefully ryobi can learn from this, you can’t send everyone a brand new mower and stay in business. However Ryobi’s prices are going up because the quality is getting better. They are not John deer, or Honda, husquvarna, or anyone else so there is a balancing of buying power and the longevity of use for the dollar. I was upset at first because I just wanted the warranty honored and I took it as them trying skirt by the warranty. But it sounds like the tech didn’t really know what was going on. I didn’t want to argue and beat a dead horse so I handled it my way, the calm way, and think I came out ahead.
My self propelled Ryobi just died. Purchased it almost exactly 1 year ago and mow about once a week during spring and summer months. Died half way through my last mow with 50% battery remaining and after recharging the battery, cleaning all the surfaces and checking all the wiring, it still won't start. I feel ripped off.
That’s exactly what happened to me just now. Been using it for around a year and suddenly it won’t turn on at all.
Same thing happened to me just now don't understand this
WOW got mine last APRIL and now about 1/2 acre a week and so far no trouble but if it does break I will be using my EGO 8 plus pounds of TQ self propelled mow then
Let’s hope yours last longer than mine. Mine made it about 1.5 years. It started making a whining noise when using the self propel the last month, and then finally it just gave up the ghost.
Mine is still under warranty and the self propel motor quit. I checked the voltage at the motor connector and it shows about 9.8 volts. I would expect to see the voltage change when you move the speed slider, and it does change but the total change is less than 1 volt. I see between 9 and 10 volts over the entire speed range. The OEM motor manufacture you reference shows 36V for this motor, so I would expect the voltage swing between min. and max. to be much higher. So I have to wonder if the controller might be bad. Is there any way you can check to see what voltages you see at the motor? (I disconnected the power lead right by the motor and checked the voltage being delivered to the motor.)
Glad i only got the push version of this would of likes the seacond battery. You should have a 2 year warranty on it
After three years, the only problem I had was the battery was getting very difficult to take out. Also, it needed some lube as it was squeaking a lot. I lubed up the battery, and so it is able to be removed.
I bought one yesterday hopefully it will last but the first thing that I noticed that this motor have absolutely no covering plate and have no protection from dirt and dust... I'm looking to manufacturing a metal plate and cover all this
I think you're on to something there. Even mowing slightly wet grass seems like it will get moisture and grass clippings all up in that area and eventually destroy the motor, which is already not a very heavy duty part to begin with.
@@bzreviews800 actually took it back week later and got ego . Posed 2 videos on my channel !!! About it
Just had my transmission die. 2y 12d of mileage out of it. Nearest service center is 60 miles away in Canada. So yeah, not repairing this thing. Refuse to give them my money to order the part and do the work for what is a warranty repair.
I purchased this exact mower around the same time frame… my transmission just went out 2 weeks ago while mowing…
This unfortunately seems to be all too common. Hopefully your mower will still at least keep working as a push only mower like mine still is.
@@bzreviews800 what’s crazy is that I took the transmission out of the mower.. cleaned up some loose clippings/dirt in the area put it back in and it ended up working again. I purchased the push only version and am going to sell this self propelled version
Mine is a 2 years old and not wanting to push freely anymore its locking up the left rear wheel. I believe its the one connected to the self propelled system. That works but acts like its not disengaging so you can push it on your own.
Wow I guess I got lucky mine will still push freely. Not sure if you can take apart the wheel assembly and take out the gear connecting the driveshaft, but it might be worth a shot
I'm having the same problem with a year old 20" model. Everything else works fine, the self-propulsion system still works, but the other rear wheel locks up. I'm really wishing I would have bought the Ego instead.
@@jasperstarr6804 Mine has freed up by engaging the self propelled for a few seconds at full speed and letting go. Haven't tried it in awhile, no sticking anymore.
@@codysmith9813 I'll give that a try, thanks for the tip! If that doesn't work, I might try something else. I'm looking at the exploded parts diagram for that mechanism right now.
@@codysmith9813 So I just went out to fiddle with mine, and could not recreate the issue. The one thing I did differently before I started: I R&Red the starting key. I haven't removed it since I bought it, I just take out the battery when I'm finished - did it reset a relay or something? I have no idea, but it seems to be working for now, anyway. It might be worth a try - maybe it's the reason why some of are having this problem while others don't.
My self propelled feature doesn’t work after only one year and I used it like 6 times last year I loved it until I turned it on yesterday
My one encounter with Ryobi about 2 years ago was the batteries got stuck hard and even a Ryobi rep at Home Depot finally got one out with a lot of force. He even contacted one of his coworkers to try to get to the bottom of that issue. Needless to say I got my money back on the same day I purchased it. JUNK!
I actually had this happen once as well. I was pushing the mower to it’s limits cutting some thick brush and eventually overheated one of the batteries. It swelled but I was able to get it out with a claw hammer with a good bit of force. Was definitely not a fun experience
Ours is still working fine. I would call tech support and see what they could do for you.
Thanks for the info glad mine still under warranty:-) other than that I love the mower
Me too. Still loving mine in push only mode, just wish I would have saved money and got the non-self propel version.
No other electric mowers can beat EGO yet. EGO builds solid products that last instead of putting cheap parts in it like with this mower. This mower overall just looks uncomfortable to use and cheaply made. A self-propelled EGO is around the same price and it actually looks comfortable, solid, and well built. Ryobi should be ashamed of themselves for charging that price for their electric mowers and using some cheap piece of crap for the self-propelled feature. They clearly didn't want to put the money into making a decent product but make it last long enough so anyone that didn't spend extra money on a protection plan couldn't return it when it breaks. I see all these videos about Ryobi mowers breaking and needing to be fixed. My oldest EGO mower is around 7 or 8 years old and still works perfectly fine, have not ever had to fix it or give it any maintenance other than just basic cleaning.
I have the exact same mower and just pulled it out this season and started having issues with it randomly shutting off. Went to use the self propel to take it back to the garage to clean and the self propel had stopped working. After using my leaf blower to clean it off I stood it up and found a wire dangling from the drive motor. Now I am wondering if that bad wiring might be the cause of all my issues. Wished I had known of all these issues before purchasing even though it has done a outstanding job up to this point. Now it will be to see how to get it fixed or replaced.
Luckily mine didn’t have any wires hanging or anything like that. I actually checked all the connections with a volt meter and the wire continuity was all good. I agree though, I would not have paid the extra for the self propel knowing all I know now. Mine was really great right up until it broke.
@bzreviews800 question for you does the warranty cover this part?
@rafaelcolon2465 I believe it should cover any part. But the biggest issue is trying to get any kind of warranty service done. After hours of sitting on hold all they would say was to take it to one of the 3 listed shops that come up within 200 miles of me. So no shops near me . Of those 3, 2 of them do not service mowers, and the 3rd told me that they are booked out 6 plus weeks before they could even look at it. They said depending on the issues and repair it could be 8-10 weeks or more before I would get it back. Totally unacceptable service in my opinion.
My unit is junk. A little over a year after purchasing it the blade stopped turning. The nearest authorized repair center is 26 miles away and took 30 days to fix the problem. Approximately 5 weeks later the part gave out again so I brought it back to the same repair shop where I waited 2 more months before being able to pick it up again, the whole time getting different excuses from them and Ryobi during every conversation. This will be the last Ryobi big ticket item I'll purchase again. That's sad for me to say because I own a lot of their electric drills and garden equipment and have been happy with the performance of most of them.
these ryobis are light and easy to manipulate. I cannot fathom why anyone would need a self-propelled ryobi. i have the push 20" ryobi and it has been flawless for over a year, i bought it for the noise reduction but it is superior in almost all other ways to my old gas mower.
looks like this guy's blade needs sharpened. sharpening properrly really extends battery performance.
Sid: You apparently do not have to push your mower up a hill. That is why I want a SP mower as my old knees just don't want to do that push up the hill any longer.
Try mowing a half acre on a 55 degree incline without self propel. Found out that when my self propel motor shit the bed today.
Mine is 4 years old this year and just recently replaced original battery. It's nothing like that one.
I was figuring manual non-self propelled for a better workout...
I've had mine for a couple of weeks, it seems to stall for no reason too. My biggest issue with this mower is the weight of it , it's just heavy.
thank you!
My self propelled works but the main motor. That spins the blade won’t start
Well DANG! I need a SP mower. I am a Makita guy but their better mowers, in addition to being more $$, lack folding handles and my storage shed is at over capacity. So I had decided on the Ryobi. Now I find this video. 😢Sours me completely on the Ryobi.
I feel you. I still have a lot of Ryobi tools as i invested in the battery system, and I really wanted to like this mower. The cut quality, noise, weight, all of that was great. All the way up until the Self Propel broke. Now I have to push around a lot of extra dead weight. I'm thinking of just unbolting the transmission from this to make it easier to push.
@@bzreviews800 Well, I'm back to considering the Makita "commercial" model. I suppose (hope?) it's better built all-round but, it's near twice the price and the blasted handle does not fold at all!
Well, I gave up on both the Ryobi and any of the Makitas, for totally different reasons. Ordered the Milwaukee. Should have it within the week.
Starting my 5th year with same 2 batteries and my Ryobi works great. Would never go back to gas mowers.
My batteries are also in great shape. Agreed, never would go back to gas either myself.
Really I love my 20” self propelled Ryobi going on 5 years and it has been a great mower.
@@dandillon5163 My 7 year old 20" Ryobi push mower works great. I take the battery out when not using it and charge it when down to 1 light and bring the other charged battery to the mower and place it in the spare position that has no connection to the system and then move it over to the wired side when ready to use. Remove these rechargeable batteries when not in use and bring them indoors when it's cold outside...
Can you 'free wheel' these mowers or are you forced to use the self propelled lever?
On the model I have, you do not have to use the self propel. It pushes normally with self propel disengaged.
DO NOT BUY THIS MOWER!!! Mine quit during its first season. The self-propel motor still worked but the blades stopped spinning. I brought it back to Home Depot for a warranty repair and when I got it back 6 months later, it STILL DIDN'T WORK. That's when I found out that Home Depot stopped handling repairs for Ryobi. I was told I would need to MAIL THE MOWER (at my expense) to Ryobi for a warranty repair. Thankfully, Home Depot took care of me and allowed me to return it. Now I'm using a gas powered Honda.
Do 3:35 this mower. Mine, had it less than 3 years, I used it for only 20 minute uses at most each time. Last use it went down in flames. I saw smoke then flames. The fire started in its circuit board and wiring and not at the battery. Thesse Ryobi battery mowes are a danger and should be recalled.
Wow that is pretty scary. Hopefully that didn't happen in your garage
you can push it around like a non-propelled electric mower if the propel motor dies. That way you will not be without a mower for 6 to 8 weeks while the repair shop waits for the WARRANTED motor replacement to arrive. I bet they will let you install it if time is an issue.
Problem with that, at least with the authorized repair shops in my area, is that they wanted to keep the mower the whole time and wouldn't let me just bring it in once the part arrived. Your mileage may vary if you have a really good shop in your area.
How old is it? Do you let it sit out in the rain? Looks rough. Take care of your tools and they will take care of you!
I have a new Toro battery mower, it sucks, drive wheel falls off in 2nd hour, battery shorts, and on-line Toro will not take it back. They do not take items back if you use it for 1 minute! Their rear left geared wheel unbolts itself from the bracket, it self destructs! Two others have the same problem. Their repair dealer literally told me "with Toro, its Buyer Beware". I have a Toro case number, a BBB case number, and a US Consumer Product Safety Commission case number. Save yourself and learn from my mistake, and stay away from Toro.
Excellent video. Droppin knowledge.
Do you know how many watts the blade motor is?
I don’t know the exact wattage, but backing into it via the runtime I get from a 6ah battery, I believe it to be around 300 watts. I’ve heard some Ego mowers have 1000 watt motors though. For what it’s worth, the big main motor has been pretty awesome in terms of being able to cut through tough grass
@@bzreviews800 Thanks for the quick reply. Next question, Does the drive wheel transmission look to be serviceable as in can the brushed motor be replaced with a better one, maybe from a dewalt or RC car?
The part for the drive wheel transmission comes as one big assembly with the axles attached and all of that. If you were very clever mechanically, it might theoretically be possible, but it definitely wouldn't be easy as you'd have to figure out a way to interface your new one with the axles. The OEM that makes this part does list some beefier transmissions that are specifically labelled brushless. I would think the best shot to make it work would be to try and get one of those, but no idea if it would all play nicely with the "computer" that Ryobi has listed as a controller for the drive motor, which takes signals from the speed selector switch and user grips to send voltage to the motor.
@@bzreviews800 Thanks for the quick reply. I see that Ryobi has a 30 inch mower available now and was wondering if you knew what axle drive unit was being used on them.
Maybe its the future upgrade for the smaller 40v unit
I found out it is the GT ME622 transmission in the 80v push mower.
Its over 400 dollars by itself. It is, however, fully brushless and rated for 500 hours of lifetime according to the company. generaltransmissions.com/en/products/me-622/
On my third season with mine cutting 2-3 times per week without issue.
That’s awesome, I hope you have better than luck than I did and yours keeps on trucking. I have continued to use mine as a push only mower and it’s still working great that way
You have too much time on your hands
@@cameronr7223 not too much time. I’m just very organized
You are wasting your life on your lawn? for real!
I bought the same mower. After 3 months the motor shuts off every time I engage the self-propelled function. $700 for a piece of junk.
I have this same machine. My self propelled works but the blades stop cutting once activated. Its a bullshit. Just get a regular mower
I'm in the same boat as you and am looking for a fix. Any luck?
@@beefamato Nope, nothing. I just push. Its so light so its not bad
@@gjwilliams4098 Thanks! When something goes wrong with electric, seems like there's no fixing it like with gas.
Mine lasted less than a year. Just dropped it off at the shop. Get a Honda, wish I had not sold mine.
Good news is that it is only a mower you are talking about. Research the problems that people are having with electric cars.
Mine makes a grounding sound and not self propelled anymore
Twice a week mowing. You must be bored. I always ask people who mow their grass with gasoline I tease them to say if your willing to burn that much money on gas then throw me a few bucks so I can drive my vehicle. It’s a shame though that forking out that much money that they would have a device that prematurely breaks down. Just like all the tech companies trying to have planned adolescence
Toro has a better design wherein it uses a traditional gear-driven transmission powered by the main motor.
I would agree that is a much better design. Probably down to the fact that Toro has been building mowers for a long time and just brought over proven designs from the gas lineup.
The problem you are having is not a burned-out drive motor, but a broken microswitch mount. You should hear a click when you pull the green handle back and you don't because it is not making contact with the microswitch in the handle assembly. Fixing this is relatively easy and explained in my video:
th-cam.com/video/QikKLLAKkbw/w-d-xo.html
The plug on mine came off the motor controller.
I’ll stick with my EGO. This is my 3rd season and no problems so far.
I have to agree with that approach based on my own experience. I advised my father to get an Ego instead of this after my problems with it, and so far he has not experienced issues.
good to know, i should get about 5 years out of mine.
Mine quit working after not even a year. The lights and power drive works but no blade motor. Buyer beware! 73
It has a 5 year warranty, why buy a new motor?
Because you would have to have a Ryobi authorized repair shop hold your mower for several months to get this part. And this is assuming you have a Ryobi repair shop in your area. I don't think very many people have spare mowers sitting around they can use during the time this would take.
Mine has a fully charged battery and won't start. Will not buy electric again. The technology is not there yet.
Is not the technology, is just companies are to greedy to produce something for homeowners that last longer than what they estipulate, that's part of their business model.
Get the warranty bro.
200 hours can cut 400 times if per cut uses 30min, i save $20000 already instead paying somebody to cut for me when it dies at 200 hour LOL
All depends on your use case. I’ve been containing to use mine after the self propel gave out and it’s still going strong. Just wish I wouldn’t have paid extra for the self propel given its somewhat limited lifespan
I dont use the self propelled on mine mower weighs half of a gas mower
I stopped using the self propelled on mine as well. If you really don't plan to use it anymore take the caps off the back wheels and remove the small drive gears inside. This will make it easier to push since you won't be pushing the transmission anymore.
Don't buy any 40 volt product from Ryobi. Their batteries are bad. You will be lucky if you reach 100 charge/discharge cycle.
Purpose of their like 3-5 yr warranty
@@scrapgamingx1942 my average use of the mower is maybe twice a month, 6 months/year. So 12 times/year. let's say 20 time/ year to be safe. After 4 years the batteries are dead after being used 80 Times.
@@fuyo1563 did you register the battery on ryobi’s website because they will replace it or repair it i believe
Don't buy anything ryobi!
I have the same piece of garbage mower.
DO NOT buy this mower. Mine has been used about 5 times & now it won’t start. I’ll NEVER buy anything Ryobi again.
Don't blame you buyer beware! 73
😂