Toro Lawn Care & Garden Maintenance Tools

If you're planning on using this machine for professional/commercial use, think again. I'll start with the few positives.. - They're reasonably… Read more

compact so it can get to places others cant (not as compact as a stump humper though as it can't fit through a standard doorway) - Cutter head turns 90 degrees which can be handy - Kawasaki engine has not let me down yet with around 350hrs (unlike the STX-38 with the unreliable Kohler engine)

Onto the negatives: - It's a Toro so expect delayed parts if you need them coupled with poor support from Toro Australia - It uses considerably more fuel than the much more powerful STX-38 - Expect many hydraulic leaks, one of Toro's specialties - The biggest problem with these are they are extremely frustratingly bad at grinding anything pine related, or any large stump at all. If you are silly enough to take on a big stump, expect the cutter head to bounce around and give you an extremely slow cut. Constantly the cutter head comes to a standstill letting the operator know it's fighting a losing battle. Only yesterday i had a 70cm wide cypress pine. After over an hour of painfully slow grinding (i had no choice but to use this useless machine after my brand new STX-38 broke down for the 3rd time in a week that very morning), i told the customer i quit. This is before the stump was even at ground level. I still had another stump to go but i'm smarter than that, knowing the STX-26 is only a toy.

If this machine had another 15HP and maybe 200kg more weight over the cutter head, it would be a good machine. Having said all of the above, if you only plan on grinding stumps 40cm or less, you will probably get away with one of these. I use it as a back-up knowing its only a matter of hours until my STX-38 breaks down so i can keep the business running at least for small jobs.

This week i spent $750 on a hydraulic leak. The very next day i noticed oil drops on my shoe. I looked under the joystick control area and sure enough, more hydraulic leaks.

In my opinion, the only reason Toro has a place in the market here is due to their price. A Stump Humper performs better, but the luxury of hydraulic controls for a little more money makes these look more attractive.

Moral of the story here is if you plan on using a grinder for a living, or don't want regular problems, and are happy to spend tens of thousands more, i recommend looking at other brands.

This machine seems to the best value for money in its class on paper in terms of: - horsepower - reach/height it can cut stumps - depth it can grind… Read more

to - width of machine - price tag - visibility

But it’s not without its issues. To be fair, when these machines are working, they are a relatively good all-rounder. Definitely need another 10-15HP when grinding stumps such as radiata pines though.

At the time of writing (March, 2025), it has broken down on me 3 times this week & a total of 5 times in the one month i've owned it since purchasing brand new (This is my second STX-38). Well done Toro..

The last one went in for breakdown or warranty repairs more times than i can count. There's always something wrong and there's no escaping it. Major inconveniences if you intend on owning one of these as part of your living so take note..

I didn’t want to spend another 30k to try what could be a much better option, so I went with another Toro and am now paying for it.

They are not a robust machine at all. Expect many problems from brand new. Besides regular breakdowns, main issues being constant oil leaks from hydraulics & engine & things coming loose/off.

Bolts consistently come loose whether they be engine bolts, hydraulic pump bolts ect. They also wear and need replacing which is very odd considering their only job is to hold something in place. You will find bolts laying in the undercarriage almost every time you take it out, and sometimes you can’t locate where they’ve even come from. Controls such as the joystick constantly come loose too.

The Kohler engines are extremely low quality. If Toro were smart, they would give the customer an option of buying these machines with a selection of different engines. This is their biggest let down coupled with Toros poor customer service (parts you want are rarely in stock).

The Kohler engine will give trouble in electrics & constant oil leaks that never seem to go away no matter how many times you try to stop them. You’d expect to be able to get 1800-2000hrs out of a well maintained petrol engine but think again if you own a Kohler. You will be doing very well to get even half that in my experience. Worse, to replace the engine you’d think would be a simple process, but the Kohler supplier in Australia (EPG Engines) isn’t smart enough to hold stock on their shelves, meaning there is a 6-10 month wait for a new engine at a cost of $11,600+GST last I checked. That’s supply only then there’s labour for installation.

As mentioned above, i’m now onto my second STX-38. With 10 hours on the clock and a week old, it wouldn’t start and I was stuck on a job. I had to hot wire it until I was able to get the serviceman out for warranty. With the same hours on it, the speed of reverse dropped 90% and it was an absolute headache to use!

It is now one month old/30hrs on clock and has developed a hydraulic leak. After lifting the cover to locate the leak, no surprises there was also a bolt laying loose (unrelated to the leak) with no sign of where it came from. At 32hrs, it broke down 3 times in a week.. throwing a fan belt 3 times which can't be easily put back on due to where it is.

The fan belt seems to be a Toro thing. I remember as a teen we had a Toro ride-on mower. It regularly dropped the fan belt too.

Toro is of no help to their loyal customers in my experience. They feel less than 1000hrs out of the engines they install on their machines represent good value for money. Is less than 3 years at a cost of about $50,000 good value for money? You decide, but if you choose to purchase one of these machines or any product from Toro or Kohler, don’t say you weren’t warned if you’re reading this review.