Agreed, if I still did commercial work I'd stick with steel or aluminum decks, but since I'm just cutting my own approx 1/2 acre yard these days a 'plastic' deck Honda is perfectly fine as we have no half buried tree stumps, bricks,rocks, etc. to worry about.
Is Honda Xenoy / Nexite decks a joke?
- Thread starter Fordiesel69
- Start date
I have personal experience with exactly one HRX. It’s a fantastic mower. Other than being stored inside and getting roughly yearly maintenance it does not get treated especially well. Our yards are not smooth either.
I’d buy it again even at the current price of about 1000.00.
I’d buy it again even at the current price of about 1000.00.
What is a heavy duty ICE mower?
Also all this lingo about gas being outlawed I doubt it. When diesel and gasoline came out, coal / steam ships / trains weren't "outlawed". Industry moved to newer tech. I assume we will just all adopt battery tech once it becomes good and affordable. Id hope OPE wont be outlawed.
Oh and before I forget, there is one more failure mode on these newer dark grey Xenoy / Nexite decks. Where the wheel adjust cams go thru the plastic deck, that is a metal cam. You should not "grease" it with a petrolieum grease, and not leave it dry either. The rust will swell up and cause the deck to crack. When I took it all apart I used a non petrolium "silicone grease" to prevent rust from forming on the metal cam. This issue occurs on both the front and rear. I beleive doing a tear down ever 3 - 5 yrs.
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The 60v super recyclers are aluminum. The Milwaukee is also steel. None of the more affordable ones are metal though I don’t think. The battery style will likely be obsolete forcing the consumer to replace the mower before the deck becomes a problem I imagine.
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One time I had a friend who asked me to come see why her mower wouldn’t start. It was a top of the line plastic deck Honda, the best money could buy cause her father owned several Honda dealerships and always had to have the best. I went to give it a pull and the whole motor flexed up and sideways. The deck was so full of cracks it was barely supporting it’s own weight. I was amazed she had been using it like that. She just had a postage stamp lawn so I don’t get how it got that bad. I told her the motor refusing to start was the least of her problems and her dad got her another top of the line Honda. Fell out of touch with her so I don’t know how the newer one held up but that made me swear off plastic decks.
Can anyone think of why Honda has pushed these decks for so long despite the obvious problems? I suspect there’s a reason no other manufacturer made plastic decks till the invention of lightweight battery mowers. What was the benefit? I can’t imagine it would be much lighter than an aluminum deck. Vibration? Baffling decision to me.
I've had my HRX217KVKA s/n MAGA-1441496 for more than 15? years. Other than not initially filling it with oil (the dipstick showed full when I pulled it out prior to starting, it 'seized' to a stop, I filled it up then), and it not wanting to start when cold (I think its float sits too low in the bowl), I've had zero issues. I've done no maint other than oil, and filter cleaning, with one new air filter in all these years.
I haven't flipped the mower over, to clean underneath, in a few years, but there were no cracks at that time. I have a very rough lawn, never been rolled in 20+ years.
The variable speed transmission still works like new.
Oh-and I have always bounced the mower back and forth, to clean out the grass sticking underneath. I guess I'll stop doing that!
I haven't flipped the mower over, to clean underneath, in a few years, but there were no cracks at that time. I have a very rough lawn, never been rolled in 20+ years.
The variable speed transmission still works like new.
Oh-and I have always bounced the mower back and forth, to clean out the grass sticking underneath. I guess I'll stop doing that!
The quality of mowers from 15 years ago unfortunately doesn't translate to today. I have customers who got rid of older Hondas for newer ones and weren't as happy. I still think Honda makes a good mower, but to me they are "luxury" mowers. Like luxury cars, they have very nice features and are nice to use, but can be expensive to fix. Customers buy a top of the line Honda, and think it will cost the same to repair as a cheapo push mower from WalMart.
The only problem with the best battery mowers is that the batteries cost as much as a new mower(exaggeration.)
Also the one I tested had a flimsy blade to use less power.
I'd want 2 batteries then if they last 5 years its throw out mower for a new model almost.
I guess you could bring up gas savings but how much is that a year.. 5 gallon goes a long way in a push mower.
I do like my dewalt mediocre electric string trimmer. The lack of vibration and low noise is very nice.
I have 5 nice dewalt batteries so it doesnt put much wear on them.
Perfect for light trimming weekly or biweekly(depending on time of year).
I still have a gas trimmer for the heavy duty stuff.'
Maybe if they could switch to lithium iron phosphate with 2000+ cycle life I'd be more interested.
Also the one I tested had a flimsy blade to use less power.
I'd want 2 batteries then if they last 5 years its throw out mower for a new model almost.
I guess you could bring up gas savings but how much is that a year.. 5 gallon goes a long way in a push mower.
I do like my dewalt mediocre electric string trimmer. The lack of vibration and low noise is very nice.
I have 5 nice dewalt batteries so it doesnt put much wear on them.
Perfect for light trimming weekly or biweekly(depending on time of year).
I still have a gas trimmer for the heavy duty stuff.'
Maybe if they could switch to lithium iron phosphate with 2000+ cycle life I'd be more interested.
I've got a Honda HRX217HXA purchased in June 2019. I was changing the oil a few days ago, and noticed large cracks where the engine mounts to the deck. This mower hasn't been abused, so I'm thinking these cracks are the result of fatigue and engine vibration. I took the mower to an authorized Honda dealer, and they are going to file a warranty claim. My owners manual says the warranty on the deck covers parts and labor, so we shall see.
I have looked around online, and the cheapest I can find a new deck shipped to me is slightly over $235. I have also looked around for a used mower with the same deck that I could use for parts, but so far, no luck.
The engine and hydrostatic transmission still work great on my mower, but if Honda won't honor the warranty, I'll have to consider my other options.
I have looked around online, and the cheapest I can find a new deck shipped to me is slightly over $235. I have also looked around for a used mower with the same deck that I could use for parts, but so far, no luck.
The engine and hydrostatic transmission still work great on my mower, but if Honda won't honor the warranty, I'll have to consider my other options.
