Customer Reviews for Honda 21 in. 3-in-1 Variable Speed Gas Walk Behind Self-Propelled Lawn Mower with Auto Choke

This mower can't cut wet grass. The motor cuts out and won't restart if the grass is wet or if you've missed a cutting. I've had it for less than 1 month and used it 5 or 6 times.

This lawnmower is excellent! It starts with ease and moves like a charm. Very easy to get up and running. Love the purchase and would bever purchase anything other than a Honda built mower

The mower appears to be well built, but does lack some cutting power. It struggles to cut through high fescue. The thumb drive is a horrible design, I have a small yard and having to use your thumbs to power the self propelled feature gets old after a few minutes. Not sure why they have it geared so high, nobody in there right mind would ever cut their yard that fast. If Honda just fixed a few features they would have a great mower, but for now it is not in the same field as the Craftsman EZ Walk

The Honda mower that I purchased is starting to rust after a little over three years of use. I Purchased it brand new in April 2017 and I’m already seeing rust on the deck as well as adjustment levers. I contacted Honda power equipment to see if they would remedy the situation, they told me since it was out of warranty there’s nothing they could do. I have owned 10 mowers in my life, some for as long as 10 years, I’ve never had a mower rust like this, especially after only three years of use. I have used these mowers at the same house under the very same conditions and never had an issue. I am very disappointed in the quality as well as customer support.

The overall build quality and construction of the mower is impeccable. It is a Honda, they make very high-quality stuff! The NeXite non-metallic mower deck construction is a major advantage, the mower is very light weight compared to my older steel construction mower and it will never rust or corrode. That light weight makes maneuvering the mower in tight places a breeze. Starts first pull, every time. The fuel efficiency is extremely good. II am guessing it is probably 3 times what my older mower powered by a Briggs & Stratton. The fuel fill cap is big! That is super nice, you can see inside the tank to see the fuel level and not make a mess when you are refilling the tank. Honda’s attention to details shows! The Smart Drive self-propelled system is amazingly good. The engagement is very accurate and the when fully depressed the forward speed is a very brisk walk, too fast for some but just don't push the lever that far? It is rear wheel drive and it gets great traction. The mower height adjustment is very easy to use. One lever for the front and another lever for the rear. It is easy to set the right mow height. I am very pleased with this purchase, I did a lot of comparison and review reading and that pays off.

Bought this mower due to my very reliable Toro moving over to my rental houses mower fleet. 170cc motor has plenty of power. I cut to 2 1/2 inches but my yard was 3 1/2-4 inches. No problem. It is critical to adjust self propelled paddle to your comfort. (See pictures) This mower will absolutely pull you around the yard so be ready. Suggest you use it on flat ground until you are comfortable with the speed. Very happy with performance after 1 mow. I don’t see that changing.

Excellent startup, nice cutting blades, & easy to clean.

Bought this on a friday and used the same friday. Went to start it and it started on the first pull. No issues so far! I love it. Cuts well! The reviews on electric were either you loved it or hated it. The reviews on gas are the same, people love them. Glad i went old school on this one!

Overall it's a good mower; however, it only has two handle positions, both too low. The highest position where you hold is right at 2.75 ft. Definitely hurts your back do to the low handle positions. I am sure I can rig up something, but didn't want to mess with that.

Very good mower I owned the previous model with the gcv160 and this new models addressed all the issues on the older model including: the deck having that lip on the bottom that would catch grass. Now the lip goes outwards so no wet grass gets stuck on the buttom! The mower would be hard to push backwards. Now its redesigned and easy to pull backwards The 160cc motor was good but the new 170cc version is great! The height adjustments were on all 4 wheels and didn't have height numbers. Now there are 2 adjustments levers for all 4 wheels with easy to read height numbers The new grass collection bag is a little bigger and catches a lot more grass So all these little and big changes made me sell my 2 year old honda to get this one!

This Honda lawn mower gets an A+!! Honda really did their homework! Everything on this lawn mower is better then any other lawn mowers I've previously owned. The motor is very strong, it's more quiet than the others, it mulches better, and this mower is very fast. Now, the speed is easily controlled with the thumb throttle, so if you're wanting to adjust the speed at your own pace … not a problem. Also, the time it takes me to cut my yard now is about 40% less time. And I think this mower might be their base model … wow!! Now, the only thing I have not used is the bag, because it mulches very well. I strongly suggest buying this self-propelled lawn mower, you will not be disappointed!!

Good mower

I used to own a Honda push mower about 8 years ago and I felt about the same as I do with this one. I just did not like the self propel controls and I still dont like the way Honda has them laid out. So many smart guys at Honda and you cant come up with something better? When I was looking around, I had it narrowed down to either a Honda or an Ego. To be honest, the main reason I did not go with the Ego mower is it is a Chinese made mower owned by a Chinese company. Call it whatever you want, but that was my main reason plus it was almost all made of plastic. Now on to the review of the Honda mower. While it is a good mower overal and Honda dependability is legendary, it still is not as good as it could be. I will start with what I like about it: Pros: - Reasonably priced for a mower that I know will run forever as long as I do the service when it needs it. - The moter is noticebly quieter than my last mower which was a Husqvarna with a Honda GCV160 motor. - Twin blades = finer clippings. - Color scheme is cool. - Deck has a heavy layer of powder coating. - Started right up on the first pull right out of the box and every time afterwards the last 4 mows. - When I have to pull the mower backwards, the wheels don't lock up. My old Husqvarna if you wanted to pull it back, you had to push it forward a bit to get it unlock then pull it back. - The larger gas fill cap did not help me much, I still spilled gas all over the top cover. I do like the fact that you can see the bottom better so if careful you should not overfill it. Cons: - This thing is HEAVY. If you are a weak man or a small woman, it might wear you out if you have to make lots of turns. - As I mentioned in my preface, the self propel controls stink and will hurt your thumbs if you push it for a long time. I liked the controls on my Husquvarna better; one lever for slow speed, one for faster and both were pull levers. The more expensive $620 model had different controls which looked better, but $220 better? Also the speed of this mower is hard to control with these controls and it can get out from under you quick. - No side discharge. When the grass is high, is easier to mow with a side discharge. Also the flap and lever that controls the bag / mulch feature while smart seems to not work 100%. After I mow I raise up the back flap and it is full of grass clippings. - When I took the mower bag and frame out of the box I was like, huh? If you are good at origamy, you will enjoy putting this together. It is still in my garage and will likely not put it together till fall.

Overall a well-constructed and bang for the buck lawn mower. This is my third product from the manufacturer. Their product is known for its quality. Set up was easy. Went outside and mowed my front/back lawns. The engine started without any problem. Love the engine sound. It cut through the tall grass without stalling. Nice beautiful uniform cut. I used both the bagger and the mulch options. Just move the clip director. The blades were amazing provided smaller clippings for bagging. The variable speed helped me especially in uneven slopes. Multiple height adjustment, I tried different settings based on the grass. Good purchase better than my old Lawn mower. Pros: Easy to assemble, Sturdy construction, Efficient motors, Speed Control, Excellent quality uniform cut from the blades, Overall good look (Silvery Red on black base).The need to add more color variants. Cons: Had some issue mowing around tight corners. Did not like the plastic wheels.

I Bought this lawnmower July 25,2019, I loved the lawnmower, was Very easy to cut grass. It started having problems couple weeks ago and got worse this week. The engine starts easily but cuts off after several minutes, when I restart it, it cuts off a few seconds later. I’m very disappointed ...

I hope this mower lasts for years. No issues yet.

Went together easily. I cut about 2/3 of an acre with it at various heights: the dog yard which is about 1/2 an acre and the rest trimming around tress, fences, barn etc. Changing the deck height is a breeze. The speed control works a lot easier than I anticipated. I've used it three times so far and not once has it stalled do to tall grass. The only knock is that when I opened the box and got the mower out, the engine oil, packaged with the owners manual had leaked and soaked the manual. Luckily I didn't need it. But the oil in its own sealed bag would have solved that problem.

Honda HRN216VKA mower was easy to get up and running right out of the box. Basically, the mower is all together except for the grass bag, which needs assembly. Also, the container of oil that comes in the box has to be put into mower. Mower started up on 1st pull, and continues to work really well. Mower cuts through thick grass and mulches well. The top self-propelled speed, in my opinion, is pretty fast and should be all that is needed for most people.

I love this lawn mower.

This is the best lawnmower I ever owned. And compared to my old one it's much quieter. My wife even complimented me about how i cut the grass so nice and trust me she have never done that before. The double blade feature is awesome, It's worth every penny I spent for it. Love it!!

Good lawnmower. Some other reviewers had some things to say about this mower and I'd like to address those first. This is NOT a quiet lawnmower. It's not overly loud either, but if you're looking to do covert cutting, it will clearly announce your presence. Secondly, I've not yet had trouble with the clippings bag falling off. Older lawnmowers were known to have difficult-to-remove clippings bag and this one has solved that problem well. Now, it can be messy though, because grass builds up around the opening, so remove the bag in a place where it's okay to drop grass. The bag is very easy to reinstall after emptying. Unfortunately, you can't tell how full it is, so you'll have to learn how fast it fills and empty accordingly. The self-propel feature can make this machine move very quickly. I'm tall, so I like it. As a matter of fact, since it moves faster than I casually walk, the yard gets mowed faster. But because it moves so quickly, it bounces itself around in areas of your lawn that are not flat. The self-propel paddle is not well-placed - requires quite an extension of the thumbs to use. After one use, I came up with an idea: I cut off the end of a water noodle (those polyethylene foam things kids use in a pool), slit one side lengthwise, and slid it over the self-propel paddle. Then I fastened it to the paddle with zip-ties. This gave more width to the paddle which required my thumb to not move as far to engage the throttle. The mower is heavy enough that, without the self-propelled drive, it may tire you out over the course of a large yard, even if is flat. PROs: - Mulches very well - Very easy to remove clippings bag - strong self-propelled system will allow you to climb hills easily. - auto-choke is terrific - starts easily every time CONs - small clippings bag - cheap hard plastic wheels - self-propel lever not well-placed (can be modified, see above)

Great Lawn Mower! turns the grass into fertilizer, excellent item.

My 4 year old Guaranteed to Start Toro, failed to Start. Was a a dud from the first day I brought it home, took in in for service twice, they said it was good. Long story short, the block cracked, had oil, just stopped. I was hesitant in getting something different. I always had Toro's. Glad i got this one. Brought it home, took it out of the box, put in oil and prepped gas. It started on the first pull. I adjusted the wheels and went to mow in mulch mode. Grass was pretty high, and the mower powered through it with ease. I even like the speed control handle. It was easy to learn and did not interfere with mowing at all. Overall this is an animal as far as power, speed and function. I love it, and you will too once you get one.

Bought it last Friday. Used twice so far and worked very well. Praise the LORD for His mercy and grace. He knows I am not a handy man and He leads me to buy this product which is easy to use. Not only easy to start, but also easy to adjust the cutting height and easy to control the speed by simply pushing the smart control. I have sloped lawn at backyard, this equipment can also deal with it without difficulties. Highly recommended this product.

This lawn mower was easy assemble, lightweight and quiet. Honda lawn mower quality is best one which I met. my first Honda lawn mower was used 10 years, my second mower with other brand was used 2 years with hose leaking issue. this one is my third one. I recommended my friends, my friends have the same feeling as me. Please keep best quality.

My old lawn tractor died right before last mowing last year. I worked on various issues all winter long and after couldnt get it going this year. Desperately needed a good mower and had to be a great mulcher since I don't like to bag (putting back to mother earth and all). After some research and this new HD offering swayed me to buy this mower and I can tell you now with absolutely no regrets! I had grass in some places over 1' tall and this double blade mulching mower had no issues (yes, I had to listen out to when it was starting to get choked up, backed it up, waited a little and went back out the spot). Used it 3 times now - love the "straight across" height adjuster and it has started with the first pull each time. The wife made a comment that the lawn actually looks better now than before - I said it better be since now there's real sweat and tears going into each mowing!

This mower is terrific! We have a walkout basement, and a small hill in our backyard. This mower just walks right up that hill! I just have to keep up!

Great lawn mower, put oil and gas, and one pull it started. No issues at all with operation, just have issues with the self propel bar and how it doesn’t have a lock feature

I thought I’d save a few bucks and buy the Toro with Honda motor, and that was a mistake! I owned this model a few years back and loved it. The self-propelled features are VERY user friendly, much more so than the toro. These mowers are very reliable, and cut very well. I took the toro back and spent the extra money to get the Honda and glad I did. Very simple to install, and very smooth cutting machine.

It was easy to set up and go. The grass was way overgrown as my My 21" Craftsman RWD with big back wheels is not working but was actually more maneuverable and powerful and was less expensive than this Honda. The lever that propels this Honda is a bit awkward and I hesitate to pull the mower backwards too much while it's running because of the reviews that say it falls out of gear. The lawns look good though. I like rear wheel drive better than front and is why I purchased this. But I like the Craftsman better, probably because the back wheels are larger and it has a more comfortable propel lever and goes faster.