Ryobi RLM4619SMB

Bought the Ryobi mower in March, 2017 and still going strong. I average about 50 hours of mowing a year. The lift spring broke and needed to be replaced after 3 years. A home mower repairer replaced the spring, mower blades and adjusted the throttle cable. He replaced the mower blades last year again. All I do is replace the spark plug (NGK)… Read more

yearly, change the oil twice a year and the air filters as required. Some basic service and the mower is going strong, starts first pull most times.

Great Mower – Mows extremely well and without the catcher it mulches to point you don't have to rake the yard after. Starts easily and is fairly quiet for a petrol mower. Easily cleaned with its hose attachment Great mower for the price, would happily recommend this mower to anyone considering a new purchase.  Show details

Proving unrepairable - nobody will touch Ryobi lawnmowers – I can no longer recommend Ryobi lawnmowers, and I recommend suspicion on other 'long-term' products. (I have about a dozen drills, trimmers, saws...) I also will be avoiding any second-hand Ryobi appliances, and suggest you do the same. July 2021. I discovered, the hard way, that the heat-shield (you would think it was non-flammable) actually… Read more

IS flammable. And difficult to extinguish. This also killed the starter-cord. I would have been content to get it fixed by someone competent in such matters, but: no-one can get the spares apart from Bunnings, who only stock things like (over-priced) blades. In chasing this up, I discovered, Ryobi is difficult to deal with in getting spare parts; the Subaru/Scout/Robin motor only has one authorised dealer (in Perth) and they charge a minimum of $20 on postage, irrespective of item size or cost.

In short, no-one will touch it. Six years old, and off to the tip. It did some hard work, but suffered from being underbuilt, both for the work and for the (excellent, but rare-spares) motor. (I should have done the whole spark-plug removal/clean/warm/reinsert method of starting a very cold motor - I didn't, and I'm paying the price.)

I won't be getting another Ryobi lawnmower - and I'll be looking with big suspicion at any other Ryobi products, "Am I content with something that's cheap to buy, expensive for routine parts, and no repairman will touch for major maintenance?"

My new No.1 criterion for a replacement lawnmower: "Is it a make where repairs and parts are easily obtained?" (!!) My new No.2 criterion will be either 'price of routine spares' or 'life-expectancy/Whole-of-life costs'. Not a happy Ryobi customer at this point.

Note: My Masport with a Briggs and Stratton motor (B&S are in receivership) is over 35 years old, and - correctly cleaned, primed and cared for - started first pull in a Canberra frost.

((From end 2020)): In an earlier review, I was impressed by the (Subaru, discontinued now [why? - great motor!]) power and torque of the motor. I still am. But I'm suspecting it's a bit too much motor for the chassis. I have no doubt that this mower (and its Yamaha-powered descendants) is more than adequate for a biggish suburban yard. And as I also stated earlier, what I 'need' for the work I do is a Deutsch (at nearly 6 times the price!). But... A little disappointed. I have a 35 year old Masport which has had any amount of chassis abuse and held up. Admittedly with a smaller motor doing the cutting/battering. But covering the same 2km of walking tracks covered in Phalaris grass, with occasional rocks and sticks. This Ryobi... early on, 'a piece' (down in the cutting/business end) which related to the mulcher gave up and died - metal so soft I was able to peel it off in the field. Today - admittedly after some very hard work - another piece, not quite so soft, (the aerodynamic guide for cut grass) disconnected. But it was still mild steel or aluminium that took only small hand-tools to bend back into a facsimile of its former shape (and requiring to be attached to a slightly different part of the chassis via three roof-screws). Upshot and revised recommendation: For 'lawn' - fine. For 'paddock' - questionable, particularly if there's large pebbles or eucalyptus sticks. No complaints about the motor, but the underside might not be up to it. For a second-hand purchase - I strongly recommend you turn it on its side (oil-draining side, not air-filter side) and check what the status is 'down there'. It might be being sold because the chassis bits and pieces, once welded/riveted/bolted are beginning to come adrift. Which might not mean 'don't buy it', just 'lower price' and expect to repair yourself.

Good motor rubbish chassis – The good parts- Motor is great with power to burn, good on fuel & oil & it is very quiet. The Bad parts- Everything else. Terrible build quality, before I even started it up the throttle cable had disconnected itself at the motor. The spark plug wire rests on the muffler (straight out of the box) and needs to be zip-tied up to the plastic engine… Read more

cover. It's very heavy & sinks in the lawn. The wheels & axles can't handle the weight of the mower & are already bending outwards. The air cleaner sucks in heaps of dirt because it is on the motor, it should be higher. It can be hard to start when its hot too until you realize that you have to prime it again (yes, even when it's hot). But overall, the Subaru parts are excellent other than for the air cleaner location. But the Ryobi parts are very cheap and the build quality is non existent. The catcher is horrendus, & the wost desigh ever. Its tiny & it blows out so much dust & grass that it is almost useless. But when it is full the grass goes everywhere when you try to empty it. I hate it so much that I only use it as a mulcher mower, & even that only partly works properly. And why is the handle so long? The distance you stand from the the mower is totally ridiculous. This mower is way too long for an average size yard I would not recomend this mower to anyone.

Very sturdy mower – Had the 160cc mower for 6 years only had to change the spark plug once still starts first pull and cuts through 600mm high grass on our rural block only issue with the chassis is the quality of the welds on the plates underneath that channel the grass back into the blades for mulching but to be honest I hit quite a few rocks with it have to take out the air cleaner and knock out the dirt occasionally  Show details

These mowers are junk – These mowers are junk. Don’t go near them. The engine is branded Subaru, but it’s not. It’s a scam. Ryobi pay Subaru to be able to use the name, but that’s all. There are no parts available, and my local service shop is reluctant to even work on my mower because they don’t want to waste my money and their time. Show details

Good mower......but – I've owned this mower just on seven years and it has performed quite well. Engine is strong and starts easily. Cuts grass well and evenly. Clippings tend to clog the underside of the base quite heavily though requiring manual removal afterwards each time. My biggest gripe is with Ryobi and not so much their mower. Recently the spring on the rear… Read more

catcher snapped. An easy fix I thought; so contacted Bunnings for a replacement. I was told that this part is no longer available. I thought this MUST be a mistake so called Ryobi direct and had this information confirmed by them. A seven year old mower that I can't buy a part for. Unbelievable. This is a part that is prone to fatigue and ultimate failure, but zero customer support from Ryobi. This is a specialised part also so even spring suppliers can't match it. Very poor Ryobi, very poor indeed. Last product of theirs I will ever purchase on principle.

Great until it breakdown – When I bought this in DEC 2015 I was told that it was the Rolls Royce of lawn movers. There was a difference compared to other mowers I had owned but when it breaks down very hard to fix. It’s been in the repair shop for 4 weeks and the repairer vows never to touch a Ryobi again because they are so hard to repair. Show details

Great motor, everything else bad – Bought this mower in Nov 2017, it has died recently, the throttle linkage snapped, the blades loosened to the point they almost flew off, its frame is poorly made and continuously needs to be tightened at every bolt, literally the only good part of this mower is the engine, would not recommend, bought a masport 140cc to replace it, may be weaker but cuts better and is put together better. Show details

Dirty breather – The Subaru engine is powerful, starts easily and is easy to service. the major problem I see is the air intake. This is clearly designed so the dust stirred up is inhaled directly into the air cleaner element. Why there is no snorkel is beyond my comprehension. I think this engine will have a short life. Show details

Great Engine. Bad mower – As other's have mentioned the engine is great. My mower before this was a Honda and I'd say this Subaru engine is better. The rest, however, is rubbish. - The wheels are different sizes, so you fight it when it tracks along edges. - The Handle is too long, so you fight it in tight spaces and getting it into a garden shed. You'd have to be 7… Read more

foot tall to need handles this long. Even on the lowest setting. - the height adjustment is pretty course. - You need three hands to get the catcher on - the catcher is small and you can only fill it about 3/4 full otherwise you lose 1/4 of the load when you pull it off. - and given the engine is so large it could have been a bigger diameter cut.

Touch wood I haven't had anything break, but clearly whoever designed this doesn't maintain their own yard. They've designed it to look good but it's impractical.

Overall good, but – This is easily the most powerful mower I have ever owned and rarely has there been anything I've encountered that will stall the engine. Long wet grass will stall the mower, even at full speed, but where I live this isn't too much of a problem. The motor starts easily most times and has been reliable with just topping up the oil and cleaning the… Read more

air filter and spark plug occasionally. The fuel tank and fuel consumption is good, I can do my entire yard on one fill. I use mulching plug only and the clippings could be finer but it's okay. It's not the lightest, quietest, or easiest to maneuver mower I've owned but it's acceptable.

The problems, not much; a metal part of the grass guide broke the welds and fell off. To my eye this appears to be poorly designed and very flimsy and only being held on by 4 spot-welds it's not surprising it fell off. I welded it back on but that only lasted about a year so now left it off as the mower appears to work without it (and the blades chewed it up extensively when it fell off). The mulch plug doesn't seal very well and a lot of grass and dust blows past the plug. The hose fitting is in an awkward position but apart from these there's not been anything major. I have a standard 1/4 acre suburban lot so the mower doesn't get a huge amount of use, about weekly or fortnightly during the spring/summer and early autumn.

Starts first time pretty much every time – Had this lawn mower for about 4 years , never did anything to it and it starts most times first time no problem . Subaru engine is fantastic . Might look at replacing it only cause its a pain to push up and down my back yard hill but that's not the mowers fault i just need a self propelled mower November 21st 2019 Update: Not 5 stars but not bad … Read more

I have had this mower for 6 years. Always starts first or second pull . Never serviced it and its still going strong . The only thing I would say is that the air filter is not in a good position . Other than that the mower is reliable and does what a mower should with minimum of fuss

Not worth it – Do not be fooled this product is hopeless. I got this mower less than 2 months ago and already it is failing. It does not cut the grass properly, does not know the meaning of the word straight.....front wheel bar is bent a bit....my daughter is sick of raking after mowing as the mower does not pick up the grass. Show details

Waste of Money – My Ryobi has only had light use every 3-4 weeks for about 12 months and has now failed. Thats only about a dozen or so times ! It is impossible to start despite new plug and service. Given the cost of labour and parts these days, it will probably not be economic to have it repaired. The only way this mower can now be useful is as a boat anchor. No more doing things on the cheap. Back to Honda for me. Show details