Honda Walk Behind Mowers being discontinued Sept 2023

[Keith Outten]

I find this to be a sad announcement, IMO Honda has been one of the best lawn mower manufacturers in the world. The small engine world is full of so many junk machines it is becoming difficult to find quality lawn care machine these days. I believe that buying the very best machines is always the least expensive.

Many years ago I had a part time business doing small engine repair and had to go to school to get a State small engine repair certification because I had was doing service work for our local Sears Store. I was living in a very remote rural area at the time so there were chain saws to be repaired and chains sharpened by the truckload every week. I have seen my share of low quality small engine machines.

Check out this video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMpNGkcQ3rQ) for the details.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

My Honda, self-propelled walk behind is probably 13 years old. I am saddened! Without a doubt it has been the best lawnmower I have had in my lifetime!

[Steve Wurster]

I used a Honda self-propelled walk behind with blade-brake-clutch from 2007 until 2021. It worked well (for the most part) during its time with me. I gave it away for free last year.

After a few years of ownership the engine wouldn't start due to buildup on the valves thanks to the ethanol they add to gasoline. I had to get it serviced and they suggested adding stabilizer to the gas can after every fill-up at the station. That worked perfectly and I never had that problem again. (The same thing happened to the engine in my snowthrower, with the same service and long-term remedy).

More recently however the mower was temperamental and needed a tune-up. The choke was messed up and you had to leave it closer to full choke to keep the engine running when under load. Nothing that couldn't be solved with a service appointment, but I never bothered.

Around the same time my almost-as-old 2-cycle leaf blower decided to stop working, and my also almost-as-old 4-cycle string trimmer started acting up. I replaced the leaf blower in 2018 or 2019 with a battery operated one from Greenworks, because that's what my local Lowe's had at the time and it was on sale. That worked great, and allowed me to get rid of the 2-cycle can. I replaced the string trimmer a year or so later with another one from the same brand and voltage line. Finally last year I gave up on trying to keep the mower running and replaced that with a self-propelled lawnmower, again from the same brand and voltage line. The battery operated mower does not work as well as the gas one did but it's not bad, while the trimmer and blower are definitely better than their engine equivalents.

Now the only non-automobile gasoline-driven item at the house is the snowthrower, which thanks to the stabilizer in the can will almost always start on first try even after months of sitting unused.

[Lisa Starr]

Wow...maybe I should buy a spare before they stop producing them. We use two of the them to mow our triple lot and they're the cat's meow. We've been thru Lawnboys, Husky and others but the Honda's just work.

[Stan Calow]

Yes, very sad. My Honda was the best mower I had. Gifted it to my nephew or I'd still have it. I noticed the have them at my Lowes now, whereas it used to be only HD.

[Jack Frederick]

I think they are probably expecting it all to go electric and that quite soon.

[Alex Zeller]

Cordless mowers are taking over. It's a shame since Honda makes some of the best small engines. Before I had a chance to buy Honda discontinued their riding lawnmowers. They made one which basically had a small car engine under the hood. I did buy a Honda string trimmer back in the day when the other brands were still making only 2 stroke models. Well over a decade later and it still runs great. Purrs like a kitten when idling and the string is louder than the engine at speed.

[Andrew More]

I think they are probably expecting it all to go electric and that quite soon.

I think the time is here. I guess it depends on the yard, but they now have electric riding lawn mowers, and other than charging the batteries and cost, electric is superior to gas. I've personally never owned a gas mower, but I struggled plenty with one growing up. My DeWalt push mower does everything I need, with a minimal amount of muss and fuss.

[Mel Fulks]

My Honda mower will last a long time. Glad I’ve got it. I’ve had a bunch of mowers and none were anywhere close to the Honda. Some
performed okay for 2 or 3 years max. And they were top brands.

[John Goodin]

I have two Hondas that are eight or nine years old. One was my father’s which I kept when he passed. We have a big yard so frequent my wife and I mow together. Hopefully they will last twice as long as using one all the time.

[Jamie Buxton]

California has banned the sale of new gas-powered lawn-care machinery starting in 2024, for air-quality reasons.

[Jerome Stanek]

California has banned the sale of new gas-powered lawn-care machinery starting in 2024, for air-quality reasons.

Now if they ban lawns to conserve water you wouldn't need a gas or electric mower

[Nathan Johnson]

Honda makes a dependable machine for sure, but give me a Toro Super Recycler any day.
The Toro is way more maneuverable, mulches leaves far better, and Personal Pace is head and shoulders above Honda's self-propelled function.
(And Toro offers a Honda engine option, at least currently.)

[Curt Harms]

We have a neighbor with a cordless mower, I think it's an ego. It seems to work well as long as the grass isn't too long. If we have a rainy spell where she can't cut her lawn for a week, she has to borrow a gas powered mower. She also bags her clippings presumably because the cordless mower doesn't have the power to mulch.

[Jamie Buxton]

Now if they ban lawns to conserve water you wouldn't need a gas or electric mower
No if about it. During the current years-long drought, water conservation regs have effectively banned lawns in much of the state.

[Steve Demuth]

I've got a 4 or 5 year hold Honda walk-behind, self-propelled. Easily the best small mower I've every owned or used, although I do wish it had an option to side discharge, rather than being a mandatory bag or mulch.

But all mowers are going electric - which is a good thing overall. I just wish I could find a battery electric replacement for my 13HP Honda GX390 to bolt on to the walking tractor that drives the mower I use most (a 42" twin blade), my garden tiller, my snow blower, and my orchard sprayer. It's the biggest gas hog on the place, and every one of the uses would easily be better served with an electric engine, if I could get at least 60 minutes per charge, and swappable batteries.

[Bill Dufour]

No if about it. During the current years-long drought, water conservation regs have effectively banned lawns in much of the state.
There are companies that will come out and spray paint your lawn green so it looks good during the dry season. They will also paint gravel in different colors with more permanent paint
Bill D

[Edward Weber]

I like Honda for small engine reliability, but I don't like the mower portion.
I prefer a high wheel mower, all lawns are not flat as a table-top.
I just recently replaced my 20-year-old B&S engine for a third the cost of their cheapest self-propelled model.

As Taryl would say, "It ain't the space shuttle, it's a lawnmower".
https://www.youtube.com/c/TarylFixesAll

[Brian Elfert]

I've got a 4 or 5 year hold Honda walk-behind, self-propelled. Easily the best small mower I've every owned or used, although I do wish it had an option to side discharge, rather than being a mandatory bag or mulch.


I believe Honda makes an attachment to blow grass out to the side. I can't recall if my father had one for his Honda or his Toro.

[Alex Zeller]

I like Honda for small engine reliability, but I don't like the mower portion.
I prefer a high wheel mower, all lawns are not flat as a table-top.
I just recently replaced my 20-year-old B&S engine for a third the cost of their cheapest self-propelled model.

As Taryl would say, "It ain't the space shuttle, it's a lawnmower".
https://www.youtube.com/c/TarylFixesAll

B&S has gone down hill. A few years ago I bought a tow behind leaf sucker with a 5hp B&S engine. The second year I left it outside for about 2 weeks (I suck leaves up twice each in the fall) and somehow rain got down the exhaust and into the cylinder. While repairing it I found out that hey don't even make the engine and some parts they don't even sell to repair them (I needed a head gasket yet you had to buy a short block from Briggs so I bought it from Honda). It turns out that the engine is made in one of the Chinese factories making Honda clones for Harbor Freight. B&S decided to focus on selling riding mower engines. In the end it was cheaper to just buy the HF engine that was always on sale for under $100 than to repair it.

Sad because as a kid I had several 5hp Briggs engines (with the pulsa jet carb) and they ran great as long as you didn't try running them underwater or without oil. They always started and ran great. I don't think small engines will go away all together for some time but they will be replaced in part by batteries. But living off of past accomplishments and buying low quality Chinese clones of your competition to pass off to an unsuspecting consumer isn't a good business decision.

[Brian Elfert]

B&S has gone down hill. A few years ago I bought a tow behind leaf sucker with a 5hp B&S engine. The second year I left it outside for about 2 weeks (I suck leaves up twice each in the fall) and somehow rain got down the exhaust and into the cylinder. While repairing it I found out that hey don't even make the engine and some parts they don't even sell to repair them (I needed a head gasket yet you had to buy a short block from Briggs so I bought it from Honda). It turns out that the engine is made in one of the Chinese factories making Honda clones for Harbor Freight. B&S decided to focus on selling riding mower engines. In the end it was cheaper to just buy the HF engine that was always on sale for under $100 than to repair it.


B&S shows on their website which engines are made in the USA. If the webpage for a particular engine model doesn't have Made in the USA on it then it is an import. It appears only push mower and riding mower engines are made in the USA these days.

Unfortunately, the small engine world is going to Chinese engines. It only makes sense for B&S to sell Chinese engines in order to compete on price with manufacturers. Manufacturers are unlikely to buy a made in the USA engine if it would cost them an extra $25 over a Chinese engine. I have no idea how B&S can make push mower engines in the USA that go on $300 mowers.

[Edward Weber]

Not that it matters, but the engine I bought was a B&S Professional Series, it was made in U.S.A. with global parts.
Pretty much everything these days has an amalgam of parts from all over.

Even if B&S are making their engines in China, it's not the Chinese' fault that they're low quality, it's B&S quality control, they set the parameters of what's acceptable.

[Perry Hilbert Jr]

I had a honda walk behind. After about 5 years the cast deck started cracking around two of the wheel bolts. eventually a wheel fell off. Currently have a Black Max brand mower with a Honda engine. It has a stamped sheet metal deck but made from fairly heavy sheet. On it's 5th years now. I have an old Central Tractor brand rototiller with a honda engine. 17 yrs old and works fine. Except the cords for the recoil start keep breaking. Tempted to put a thin stainless steel cable instead.

[Ted Calver]

My Honda professional SP walk behind is 12 years old and has been neglected and abused. The missus didn't appreciate the price at the time, but I told her it would last a long time...and it has. Now the stamped metal deck is rusting out, engine won't start without fluid help, and even then won't run very long. It's comforting to know my mower and I have so much in common.:D

[Steve Demuth]

Even if B&S are making their engines in China, it's not the Chinese' fault that they're low quality, it's B&S quality control, they set the parameters of what's acceptable.

The thing with Chinese manufacturing quality for relatively inexpensive items, is that the only way they come out cheaper than domestic, is if you skimp on the QC. Chinese manufacturers are capable, as you point out, of quality work, but if you pay for that, and the shipping, you won't save enough to pay your leveraged buy-out masters the cut they expect. B & S was going downhill for years, but I expect that now it's privately owned and leveraged, it will go to hell in a handbasket.

[Jerome Stanek]

I replaced my old lawn boy last year it was only 22 years old and my wife had trouble starting it but I could start it on the first pull. still use it once in a while just to mow around the field fence.

[Edward Weber]

The thing with Chinese manufacturing quality for relatively inexpensive items, is that the only way they come out cheaper than domestic, is if you skimp on the QC. Chinese manufacturers are capable, as you point out, of quality work, but if you pay for that, and the shipping, you won't save enough to pay your leveraged buy-out masters the cut they expect. B & S was going downhill for years, but I expect that now it's privately owned and leveraged, it will go to hell in a handbasket.


As is the case with far too many companies.

[Bruce Wrenn]

Honda is moving "four wheeler" manufacturing from a plant in SC to Graham. The South Carolina plant will focus on "side by side" production.

[William Fretwell]

Bought a Honda self propelled over 18 years ago, used it once as the lot was so big a neibour with a ride on tractor took over. It’s been sitting in my workshop ever since. Looks new. Love to sell it!

[Kev Williams]

Honda makes a dependable machine for sure, but give me a Toro Super Recycler any day.
The Toro is way more maneuverable, mulches leaves far better, and Personal Pace is head and shoulders above Honda's self-propelled function.
(And Toro offers a Honda engine option, at least currently.)

I've always liked and had Toro's. My dad bought a "Wind Tunnel" Toro when I was about 7 years old, had a new-fangled wind-up crank starter. The one I have now is 4-wheel drive 'Personal-Pace' Recycler, front-back wheel 'drive bias' is adjustable, just push 'n go, and it'll go fast enough you have to jog to keep up, also has a grab-handle so you can 'squeeze and go' with one hand, great for 180 turns; has a side discharge, back chute 'n bag, or all closed up for mulching, always starts very easy-- Mowed the back lawn last weekend, first time in 6 weeks so the lawn was about 8" tall and wet, not a hint of lugging thru the deep stuff. I know Honda makes good stuff, but I have no reason to even look at one since my Toro does virtually anything I could ask of a mower aside from mowing the lawn by itself! ;)

[Bill George]

Honda farmed out its engine production to China of course they said wow, thanks Honda and began making more they sold to HF and other companies. Maybe now things have gone to he77 in China we can get production back here, on a lot of stuff.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Bill, go to this link. https://engines.honda.com/oem-resources/manufacturing-locations#:~:text=Honda%20produces%20small%20engin es%20at%205%20production%20facilities,primarily%20 sourced%20from%20the%20U.S.%2C%20Japan%2C%20and%20 Thailand.

According to Honda, they produce small engines at 5 worldwide production plants. Most of the engines for the US market are produced in the US, Japan and Thai facilities.

[Bill George]

Bill, go to this link. https://engines.honda.com/oem-resources/manufacturing-locations#:~:text=Honda%20produces%20small%20engin es%20at%205%20production%20facilities,primarily%20 sourced%20from%20the%20U.S.%2C%20Japan%2C%20and%20 Thailand.

According to Honda, they produce small engines at 5 worldwide production plants. Most of the engines for the US market are produced in the US, Japan and Thai facilities.

This is what I am talking about...This is China factory and they also make for Harbor Freight.


489310

[Ken Fitzgerald]

This is what I am talking about...This is China factory and they also make for Harbor Freight.


489310

Bill, they state in very plain English the motors destined for the USA are manufactured primarily in the US, Japan and Thailand. Note...not China!

World Engine Production Bases
Honda produces small engines at 5 production facilities worldwide. Our production capacity is well over 7 million units. Engines for the U.S. market are primarily sourced from the U.S., Japan, and Thailand.

World Engine Production Bases

[Andrew More]

We have a neighbor with a cordless mower, I think it's an ego. It seems to work well as long as the grass isn't too long. If we have a rainy spell where she can't cut her lawn for a week, she has to borrow a gas powered mower. She also bags her clippings presumably because the cordless mower doesn't have the power to mulch.


I haven't had these issues with my DeWalt, and E-Go's a top brand in outdoor power tools, so I wonder if these are decisions she'd made for some reason.

[Bill George]

Bill, they state in very plain English the motors destined for the USA are manufactured primarily in the US, Japan and Thailand. Note...not China!

World Engine Production Bases
Honda produces small engines at 5 production facilities worldwide. Our production capacity is well over 7 million units. Engines for the U.S. market are primarily sourced from the U.S., Japan, and Thailand.

World Engine Production Bases

But those clones are not labeled as Honda, the ones that are sold at Harbor Freight and other sources... and you can really believe what those Chinese say ;)

[Edward Weber]

The parent companies decide where to manufacturer and to what level of quality, don't blame the workers for low quality.
In the homogenized world we live in today, it is almost impossible to buy tools and avoid a particular country of origin, China in particular.

https://www.familyhandyman.com/article/who-makes-my-tools/

https://toolguyd.com/usa-brands-companies-owned-by-foreign-entities/

https://www.protoolreviews.com/what-tools-are-made-in-the-usa/

[Curt Harms]

I haven't had these issues with my DeWalt, and E-Go's a top brand in outdoor power tools, so I wonder if these are decisions she'd made for some reason.

I don't know, we've never talked about it.