@bf7 @JerseyGreens @jskierko @ReelWILawn @Pete1313
Hey ya'll. Do any of you own, or have experience with a honda HRX?

It just seems like i've heard people that reel mow, still need somthing to suck up stuff in the fall. Thought Honda was common for that use.

The top 2 HRXhave hydrostatic drives, where the lesser expensive ones have the "variable speed select drive". I wish I could go test these two side by side before I buy. Do dealers do that?

OH!!! and these mow down to 0.75"? that's sweet. i'm trying to push reel mow from 1.5" (max ego height) to 1" and its exhausting. I know its good for me, but i'd prefer to do my workouts not while mowing.

 

i've been reviewing the HRX2176VKA and i was kind of surprised I saw 7 reviews on Blaine's Fleet Farm that said it lacked in suction power. hmmm.

 

Last post for tonight, i swear! Any reason to step up to the HRC (commercial) unit? Damn, with self propel, those babies are expensive!!

 

As a person with an HRC and an HRX, YES the quality is completely when compared to the HRX. I would never buy an HRX again because of the difference in quality it having used the HRC for a year. The bagging on the HRC will collect everything that goes under it where as the with the HRX with sharp blades will leave clippings everywhere and make you have to rake it up by hand.

As a note: I had to have my transmission replaced on my HRX and it went through 2 carbs in 2 years even though the fuel was out of the tank and was ethanol free fuel. So in summary the difference in quality is night and day when compared to the HRX.

 

I've never had any issues with cleaning up yard debris with my hrx. Mine is the select drive and a family member has the hydrostatic, the hydrostatic is well worth the money to me.

 

is the only way to engage the hydrostatic drive with that cruise control lever? I only saw 1 handle on that model.

 

I have 2 Honda HRX217HZA mowers. The first one I bought back in 2016, the second I bought a month ago. I've shown no mercy to the first mower and I currently use it as a bush hog type mower. It handily does that type of work and with regular maintenance is still running strong. The second I am using for a new crop of KBG.

A couple of things I have noted over the years:

" A man who takes care of his tools is well served by them" - Maintenance is key to any tool; while the HRX doesn't require any special maintenance, regular oil changes will help extend the life of the engine. Honda parts are reasonable priced and readily available. Regular blade sharpening helps as well. If you are not the type to sharpen your own blades you can try: ReEdgeIt. For those not so mechanically inclined there are plenty of videos available to help.

Fall Cleanup - I have used the HRX to clean up masses of leaves (and other debris) each season. I have to make at least two passes to get a "clean" look but it gets the job done. One thing to note is the amount of leaf dust and mulched leaves that will escape from the mower during a heavy cleanup job. I don't know of any mower that will totally get all of the trash the first pass. As far as "lift" goes, this mower works for me. I have read others that are not happy with the lift; it's subjective in my book and as long as I accomplish the cleanup I don't concern myself with how much lift is occuring. There is no bagging problem for me. Again I have to make a couple of passes and that gets the job done, even when picking up scarified material.

Hydrostatic Drive/Blade Engage - I use this every mow as it allows me to have very good control over the speed when mowing close to the house, around flower beds, or if I have another need to move forward at differing speeds. I like how the blade stops when I release the bail handle when emptying the bag.

Maintenance Tip: Honda recommends an oil change every 25/50 hours depending on usage. I change every 25 hours regardless. Keeping track of that time is easier with a quick installation of a Tach/Hour meter. When the engine is running RPM's are shown; when the engine is stopped it shows accumulated running time.

I suggest you take a look at the Owner Manual for better details of this mower. If you have a local dealer that will let you look more closely, invest the time to ask questions that you may have after reading the manual.

 

I have 2 Honda HRX217HZA mowers. The first one I bought back in 2016, the second I bought a month ago. I've shown no mercy to the first mower and I currently use it as a bush hog type mower. It handily does that type of work and with regular maintenance is still running strong. The second I am using for a new crop of KBG.

A couple of things I have noted over the years:

" A man who takes care of his tools is well served by them" - Maintenance is key to any tool; while the HRX doesn't require any special maintenance, regular oil changes will help extend the life of the engine. Honda parts are reasonable priced and readily available. Regular blade sharpening helps as well. If you are not the type to sharpen your own blades you can try: ReEdgeIt. For those not so mechanically inclined there are plenty of videos available to help.

Fall Cleanup - I have used the HRX to clean up masses of leaves (and other debris) each season. I have to make at least two passes to get a "clean" look but it gets the job done. One thing to note is the amount of leaf dust and mulched leaves that will escape from the mower during a heavy cleanup job. I don't know of any mower that will totally get all of the trash the first pass. As far as "lift" goes, this mower works for me. I have read others that are not happy with the lift; it's subjective in my book and as long as I accomplish the cleanup I don't concern myself with how much lift is occuring. There is no bagging problem for me. Again I have to make a couple of passes and that gets the job done, even when picking up scarified material.

Hydrostatic Drive/Blade Engage - I use this every mow as it allows me to have very good control over the speed when mowing close to the house, around flower beds, or if I have another need to move forward at differing speeds. I like how the blade stops when I release the bail handle when emptying the bag.

View attachment 11008


Maintenance Tip: Honda recommends an oil change every 25/50 hours depending on usage. I change every 25 hours regardless. Keeping track of that time is easier with a quick installation of a Tach/Hour meter. When the engine is running RPM's are shown; when the engine is stopped it shows accumulated running time.

View attachment 11009


I suggest you take a look at the Owner Manual for better details of this mower. If you have a local dealer that will let you look more closely, invest the time to ask questions that you may have after reading the manual.

Wow, much Thanks for this great mini review. I take care of my tools. Love the tach/hour meter idea. Any particular tach I should look for?

I'm leaving Blaines with the only hya I could find in Wisconsin!

 

I'm thinking Honda HRX because this is the last year they're making them I hear. Always wanted a Honda push mower. I've always heard they're top of the line for a non-commercial push mower.

Thoughts?

Like you, I have always wanted a HRX. However, the justification for one wasn't very convincing to the wife since I reel mow. However, it being the last year of production convinced her that I should buy it. Fortunately, I found a Honda HRX217VYA at Lowe's on closeout for $415 at the beginning of the season.

I will only be using it for clean up purposes. So far, it works as expected and is extremely quite in comparison to my 20 year old Troy-bilt. It has the Select Drive. So, I will never know what I am missing out with the Hydrostatic transmission?

Good luck with your decision...

 

I figure if I hate it (impossible?) I can sell it for more money next year when honda is out of the gas mower game.

 

I've only had this for a short time, however it serves the purpose.

Tach/Hourmeter

Congrats on your purchase. Do read the manual.

 

Thanks, bought one of those, another bottle of oil and a max power high lift bagging blade, read about good success with it in another forum.

Figure stock dual blades for mulching and this high lift single blade for bagging spring and fall. Less blades to worry about getting dinged up from sticks and whatnot.

 

I have not had an HRX, but i've been very interested in picking up a new lawn vaccum for the past year. I even called my local dealer last summer to obtain pricing and availability. I've only owned toro recylers and they have been pretty good. But congrats on the new mower! Let me know how you like and and maybe i'll upgrade my toro this year.

 

First thoughts, holy cow this thing is a beast, and it's quiet. Definitely liked the blade shut off feature. The hydrostatic drive is easy to engage and predictable. There's no delay like the ego.

This thing chopped up some wet grass this morning, then I cut the front where my reno will be in the afternoon. I already had the grass down from 3.5" to 1.5". Then the HRX cut the grass down to 1.25" then 0.75".

II know the grass is all brown, but I have NEVER had stripes before. This thing lays stripes! I'm excited to see how much green comes back by June 1st when I glyph it.

I don't know how it compares to other gas mowers, but this thing is amazing. I took the blades off and sharpened them after the mow.

The bad....
While I was mowing this morning I got into a thick spot and it almost stopped the engine, I let go of the handles and it started chugging and spewing black smoke out the muffler..... I shut it off as quick as I could. It fired right up on one pull smoked for a few puffs and then cleaned out. It ran like a top after that.

Any reason to be concerned about that? Hoping it was some weird hickup that'll never happen again, but for brand new has me a little concerned I hurt the engine.

If I did hurt it, I feel like that would be a fluke. Hondas are known for their reliable engines and it has a 5 year warranty I think.

Only other issue, I'd had it not want to let me pull the starter rope two or three times. I'm still weak in my dominant arm from an ancident a week ago, but there's a difference between engine turns over slowly and something acting incorrectly and not letting any rope to come out.

EDIT: Just read black smoke isn't oil burning it's over rich condition. Probably sucking in fuel, then rpm quickly dropped then back up, just got funky on the carb for a second. Whewwww

 

congrats on the new purchase. Negative, no experience with this mower. I just have the reel mower. My lawn cleanups are achieved by a monster Stihl backpack blower, haha.

 

THANKS! I got a Stihl BR800c the other year. its got this side pull function, kinda nice when you need to kill the power to hear your wife yelling for dinner, then fire it back up without taking off your back.

 

CONS TO THE HRX217HYA:
Two things I don't like about the mower, and this might be all gas powered walk behind mowers, or that it's still super cold out and running rich?, but my hands, hat, sweatshirt all smell like exhaust after 45 mins. Keep in mind I have a 2stroke stihl br800c backpack blower and I've never noticed an exhaust smell after using the backpack blower. Come to think of it, I've used a lot of gas push mowers in my day and never noticed an exhaust smell on my clothes.....

If the cost of being able to suck up everything is some exhaust, okay.

It also leaves a bunch of crap on the bag channel where the bag hangs. So everytime I empty it I gotta wipe that off, so then I also reach in and pull out any grass in the chute. This freaks me out because the engine is still running and I'm putting my hand by the blade area. I'm not worried about this mower cuz the blades shut off.

It's not a huge pain to clean that out, I'm just nit picking.

Anybody that says the wheels are hard to adjust is nuts. You lift up ever so gently and the wheel moves very easily.

 

I tried to determine battery life and did not find anything on it. I suppose when that time comes I'll find a way to open the case and try...

 

Good news, I mowed today and didn't recall ever smelling exhaust, it was 68 degrees today and probably 45 degrees when it was smelly.

Installing an hour meter tomorrow and changing oil for the first time.

Ohh, and I bought a single high lift blade that worked like a charm. I think I'll use the high lift for early spring and late fall, and rain blade for mulching.

Maxpower 331654B Mower Blades,... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078YKPZ5Q?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

 

Anybody know how to fix a BRAND NEW mower that wants to yank the starter rope out of your hand violently?

It seems like it only does this when its been running for a while and you try to re-start it.

i'm afraid to pull the rope, because it sometimes YANKS back hard. Oh, and it also doesn't want to pull very smoothly either. Joys of new purchases? Ugh..

EDIT: Looks like it might be an engine timing issue. Might also explain why the exhaust is so smelly, not getting optimal combustion. I'll get to the flywheel to see if that woodruff key is sheared.

 

this webpage is like EXACTLY what is going on.

Mower Engine Kicks Back When Starting | Fixed by Lawnmowerfixed .com

This is the Ultimate engine kick back repair guide. It's an easy to follow tutorial that will help you find your kickback problem and fix it, fast.

www.lawnmowerfixed.com

"Firing too soon – When the timing is off, it means the plug is firing outside its narrow window of operation.
It’s firing too soon and that causes the piston to reverse, causing the crank to turn counterclockwise and snap the pull cord from your hand as it does so, Ouch!"

so i took the cover off and the pull cord assembly, pulled the flywheel nut off and this is what it looks like.......It doesn't seem like the typical shear key cut out I'm use to seeing. Can anybody identify what i'm looking at in this picture? Is everything there, is something missing/broken?

 

maybe another question i should be asking is, how does warranty/return of a mower work when it has 3 hours on it and exhibiting a major issue?

 

with this type of setup, could you even tell if the shear pin was broken without pulling the flywheel off?

This photo is from an HRS, but i'm guessing a similar shear key is in the hrx.

Honda Lawn Mower HRS216K6 PKAA Flywheel Key Replacement

This guide shows how to remove and replace the cast aluminum flywheel key on the Honda HRS216K6 lawn mower. Drain the fuel from the fuel tank...

www.ifixit.com

 

Well I'm impatient, so I pulled the flywheel off, the woodruff key did not shear off. the engine seems to turn over quite smoothly right now by hand turning the flywheel. I also played with the cord mechanism for a little bit. it never bound up or acted weird once.

So what is causing this kickback and hard pulling issue? Maybe I just have to start it with an impact from now on, lol.

This video shows how to replace the cam sprocket that also releases pressure from 1 of the 4 strokes to make it easier to pull. perhaps that is broken.

I put it back together and i'm waiting for honda to email me back about warranty work. The place i bought it from is 90 miles away, think there are a few local places that sell honda, but didn't have the model i wanted in stock. Kinda sucks i didn't have more time when i bought it, would have preferred to buy from a local place that also might work on it.

 

It seems like your last statement about the compression release cam sprocket failing is unfortunately a common problem on new mowers that users are experiencing.

I was just reading this thread yesterday and then came here and read yours - this user had the same exact problem on 3 different brand new mowers...

Honda Lawnmower HRX217HZA-Awesome!!

Ok, I read Honda is getting out of the gas lawnmower biz after California imposed too strict of emissions standards from what I understand. So I went out and picked up a Honda HRX217HZA today since Honda's are known to be built like tanks. I had an ego for 7 years and the batteries are...

www.troublefreepool.com

 

It seems like your last statement about the compression release cam sprocket failing is unfortunately a common problem on new mowers that users are experiencing.

I was just reading this thread yesterday and then came here and read yours - this user had the same exact problem on 3 different brand new mowers...

Honda Lawnmower HRX217HZA-Awesome!!

Ok, I read Honda is getting out of the gas lawnmower biz after California imposed too strict of emissions standards from what I understand. So I went out and picked up a Honda HRX217HZA today since Honda's are known to be built like tanks. I had an ego for 7 years and the batteries are...

www.troublefreepool.com

Thanks for the link and info @x Wild Bill x. I too thought, honda built like a tank, should be good for years. Problems in one week, hopefully just a bad batch of compression release "thingies" and the ones they install for warranty don't have issues.

 

Update: Even though Farm & Fleet say a mower that was started is your problem, apparently i was persuasive enough for the assistant store manager to authorize me to bring the mower, bag, owners manual back (he didn't want the box or plastic contents, which I still have) and he'll have his mechanic look at it to determine if its a manufacturers defect. If it is, he'll swap it out for the floor model that he says has only been on the floor for 2 weeks.

What do you guys think? Should i get it fixed for free locally under warranty,

or drive 3hr round trip plus the mechanic's time to verify it wasn't caused by me and get a new floor model?

@x Wild Bill x , what would you do?

 

@steffen707 that's a tough call. As mentioned in the thread on the other forum, he was given a new mower two more times and both of them failed in the same exact way before getting a full refund. It was also mentioned that reviews on other sites had mowers failing in the same manner. Without knowing for 100% certain that Honda has a permanent and reliable fix for these failing cam gears I think you will be chasing your tail. With the free local fix, is there any way to get it in writing that if the mower fails again you get all of your money back? If the new part isn't improved then I have a feeling the mower will fail again in the same time period... So, I guess I would personally go with the free local warranty fix and save the driving because it will likely happen again either way. Definitely frustrating on a $1100 dollar machine.

 

Mine was only $1000, but I don't have the battery start feature.
Mine doesn't seem to be a cam problem, but a compression release problem. Once it starts it runs like a top.

 

I believe the "cam" they are referring to is not an actual cam gear, but a plastic cam that the compression release uses. I guess if you can manage to start it without the compression release it will run fine, but the electric start model does not have the torque to overcome the lack of the compression release.

 

And of course I start it tonight, 1 pull no funny business, let it run for 20 mins, no issues, let it run for 40 more mins, no problem again.......like taking your car to the mechanic and the issue not acting up.