Husqvarna TS 242

Very satisfied with performance and reliability – Great mower, zero problems mowing 7 acre property start from 1 metre tall grass and maintaining from there. Comfortable, easy to use, plenty of power. Bit of machine sympathy goes a long way like with anything. Overall extremely happy with this mower. Show details

Perfect machine – Had the mower for 5 years done over 600 hours on a large 45 acre farm, yes replaced a few spindles but for the amount of work is understandable. Would 100% recommend. Kohler motor is unbreakable giving service intervals are met, Original motor, original deck and tyres. Show details

Should have bought a Kubota – New mower and a piece of crap. My brother bought this machine as a replacement for a 20 year old Kubota. This is an inferior product. The Kubota was much more veratile. Did everything better. If I had purchased this mower for myself I would be very disappointed. I would get rid of it asap. Show details

LEMON – Purchased in December 2018 for use on a sloping block of 1.5 acres and it has been nothing but grief. It has the Kawasaki engine and it just continuously cuts out. Have hardly used it in the past couple of years due to dry conditions it has 17.7 hours on it but half of this would be in idle trying to get it to run. Typing this review as it has… Read more

cut out again.

Spindles break at the sign of a stone or a bump.

Reseller stopped selling them shortly after I purchased it, not surprised.

Strongly recommend against purchasing

Owned a John Deere- won't go back! – I have owned a John Deere D 110 in the past- tractor was reliable but the deck spindles had to be rebuilt every time I sharpened or replaced the blades- so far the husqvarna only has 26 hrs- first blade change- original spindles will go round again. Show details

Great machine – perfect for my little 3 acre block, I have the ts242d, great on slopes and soft areas, haven't hot it bogged yet, can still cut while in reverse. Easy to clean and service. Reliable with a Kawasaki engine. Show details

Rubbish – Waist of money backfired in 15 mins wouldnt start again and cheap spindles needed replacement after accidentally small rock. Now there is a recall for the fuel system cheap machine in my veiw Show details

Yep, never again – I've had my ts242 for a couple of years now, only about 60hrs on the clock. Always seems to have something going wrong with it. My acre block is not the easiest to mow, but today I hit a small clump of dirt and broke the alloy belt housing that attaches to the mowing deck. This is the THIRD TIME. It just has no strength. Also, the blade indicator… Read more

light keeps coming on and also not engaging when I can't see anything wrong with it. Always clean it out and give it a bit of a wash. It just seems to be a piece of junk, thinking about swapping to a John Deere, but after reading the reviews, they don't seem to be much better. May as well cut my lawn with scissors.

Husqvarna mower – Never again will I purchase a Husqvarna. Nothing but issues from the day it came home. Would not start after it had been running as it would flood. Dealer had to bypass auto choke. Second fault was the Not so Smart start. Solenoid failed and for months had issues getting the unit to crank until it refused to start at all. Smart Switch needed… Read more

replacing.

Cutting deck split within the the first month. A flat soccer ball caused a split of approx 100 mm near the waste shoot. metal is incredibly soft and poor design as it sheared near a cutout.

All bearings on deck pulleys completely corroded and the unit has only done 24 hours. The repair bill is in excess of $1200 and given the unit is a little over a year old no thanks. The diagnosis I was given was I wash my machine after I use it! Time for a trade in but wont get me near one of these toys again! Junk.

Absolutely pathetic. I purchased a 138, when it was less than 3 months old with 12 hours on meter – It was a HUGE MISTAKE to purchase a Husqvana 138 after having a greenfield for 30 years. I had the 138 for less than 3 months with 12 hours on the meter and i made a bigger mistake when i traded it on a 242. Within 5 months it had 2 recalls, at 20 hours, it would only idle on full throttle and blow black smoke until it stopped. Then it… Read more

wouldn't start.

"" Smart switch what an absolute joke that thing is" Called it a day.

No lights, nothing.

Also, drama when engaging the cutting blades.

Pull button up to start cutting and nothing or they may turn for 3 or 4 turns and stop completely with the EE fault light on.

Took it to Dealership, 190 kms away, for Warranty repairs and service.

Smart switch was replaced under warranty.

Service Cost = $299 . 50.

Upon arriving at home, attempting to unload the 242, Absolutely nothing, press and press and press forward / reverse pedals === NOTHING.

After sometime, with one very hard press of the forward pedal, It savagely grabbed and it almost jumped the front of the car trailer and into the boot of my car.

The next drama after getting the forward / reverse working, was to start mowing.

With the button pulled up to engage the cutting blades .... Nothing or just a couple turns and then stop with the "EE" fault light on.

I rang Dealership again yesterday and advised them of the DRAMA.

I was advised to take it to them again, (190 KMS ) and they will apparently have to replace the smart (or not so smart) switch again next Friday.

Keeping in mind that the replacement smart switch is only several hours old.

My first rude introduction to HUSQVANA was 2 1/2 Months old when i traded it on this piece of garbage 242 which is 9 1/2 months old.

After a very satisfactory 30 years from my greenfield...

Will I be purchasing another husqvana???

The bottom line to this saga is ....

I still have 4 1/2 years left on my warranty...

If it's worth anything????

No ....More husqvana ever...

Good mower if used with care – The mower has 140 hours on the meter and is being used on a 1.7 acre block with good level lawns, and a 2.0 acre block that is fairly rough. The former has lots of trees and garden beds to go round and takes about 2 hours. The latter has trees planted on a grid but has to be taken more slowly because of the roughness of the ground (former… Read more

cultivated paddock). It takes 2.5 - 3.0 hours to mow.

Mower is comfortable and each block can be usually mowed in one go without any aches and pains.

Engine always starts first go and has plenty of power to handle grass up to 30cm high. I usually mow when the grass is a bit damp so it doesn't throw up clouds of dust that might get past the air cleaner. Air and oil filters are replaced regularly according to the maintenance schedule. Oil change and greasing is easy to do yourself.

An early problem was the plastic caps on the quick release blades falling off and getting chewed by the blades. The problem can be traced to the two plastic prongs that go into holes to hold the cap in place. The prong that is facing the oncoming grass when the blade is rotating gets bent back so that it no longer engages properly in the hole. Then the cap is secured by only one prong and it is not long before it comes undone. My solution, which makes caps falling off a rare event, is to put some stiff foam rubber behind the prongs to strengthen their engagement in the hole.

The second problem, which has just occurred at 140 hours is the failure of a lower spindle bearing. On dismantling the spindle, the bearings are Chinese manufacture. I'm currently buying a whole new spindle assembly to put back (quoted $60-$90 for this), and then will try to source some better quality bearings for the old spindle, reassemble it and keep it as a spare. Given the operating environment for the spindles, the dust and water sealing could be better.

There was an official warning from Husqvarna about re-routing the fuel hose at the rear, so that it is well away from the transmission belt. While Husqvarna recommend undoing the fuel hose from the tank and passing it over a frame crossmember, you can achieve almost the same clearance from the belt by just cable tying the hose up to the crossmember.

Lastly, as another reviewer has, I've noticed the chassis twisting on rough ground. Fatigue cracks in the future could be a possibility and regular inspection would be sensible to avoid a catastrophic failure.

In summary, a pretty good product with a few annoying problems that can be managed, and the possibility of having to weld chassis cracks in the future.

Update since writing the above: The fuel tank has developed a crack near the top which weeps fuel when the tank is full. The number of design and quality control issues is becoming significant.

Major problem at 16hours – Both spindles had to be replaced at 16 Hours, also had starting problems when new the choke needed fixing, apart from this the mower is fine. I find the code method to switch on the ignition a waste of time. The mower is comfortable to use and very good at cutting the grass. So far I am reasonably happy.  Show details

great mower with a few problems – have ts24 replacing lth21 42 more speed more talk a great mower apart from one problem the new quick blade release in the first few hours of mowing cap came off chewed up by blades next mow the other one came off yesterday removed blades fore sharpening the brackets that hold blads on were very hard to undo because of the buildup of hard dirt had… Read more

to use the wd spray the blade holders are hinged with two cotter pins on one side they went awol don't know how the blade stayed on pretty scary thought still on the original blades there is a bit of wear through not being protected by the caps i think the idea of a quick release system is a good one but it needs much improvement i think there should be a recall it is dangerous

Too clever – The plastic caps over the quick release mechanism fell off and got munched by the blades on about the third use, around 15 hrs. The cutter deck metal tore open at the exit shute as the cap exited. Not a good start, welded up the cutter deck and tossed the plastic caps. Then around 160 hours later one of the blades fell off. Removed the deck to… Read more

inspect properly only to find one of the pins missing from the hinged quick release clamp, checked its mate and same thing, one of the hinge pins missing though this blade was yet to jump ship. Am yet to discuss my angst with the dealership but was hoping to find a good work around soloution. I think my spindle bearings are also on the way out too, they are a bit lumpy as you turn them with no load. We used to have a Murray by Sentinal, cheap and cheerful and no where near as flimsy as this pretty piece of plastic. The whole chassis twists on uneven ground which is a bit disconcerting, I am concerned about the metal fatigue this is causing. The keyless start is frustrating and unnecessarily time consuming what were they thinking, it’s a lawn mower for goodness sake, keys work just fine thanks. Would I buy another Husqvarna, probably not; would I recommend this model, definitely not.

Had a chat to our local dealer who did not want to know about my dramas, ie not covered under warranty. I sent them an email quoting a few important terms like “merchantable quality” from the Australian Consumer Law web site. It had the desired effect though they had the go slow thing happening for 3 yes 3 weeks. Even hung up on me once. I read somewhere that it is just as important to have a reputable dealer as a reputable product. Too true. Never ever going back to the mob I bought mine from.

Does what I need it to do – After much researching I bought the TS 242 despite some of the reviews on here. It came with poly trailer, cover and bottle of oil and was the best value mower I could find by far. It's perfect for my needs and I've had no problems with it at all (touch wood) aside from accidently starting it with the oil cap off. It only gets used 4 or 5 times… Read more

each summer but it's over some pretty rough and step ground, it's handled everything so far without issues.

Best Value For Money – The cheapest mower i could find with the features it has. Great all round mower. Smooth operation. Nice big fuel tank. 5 year warranty when purchased with 5 litres of engine oil. Powerful Kawasaki Engine. I'm impressed with the features and priced well at $3799. I also thought the 36 months interest free deal was something to consider when purchasing one.  Show details

Purchasers Review Husqvarna TS 242 – I found it hard to find any reviews on the TS 242, so I thought I would give my opinion, as I traded my LT 2142 model single cylinder in on this model twin cylinder. Well, firstly the day I picked it up it cut out half way through the mowing, then refused to start, let it cool down (1 hr ) it started then would keep stopping, I rang the dealer… Read more

took it over had to leave it ( 4 days ) then picked it up, and the same thing again, this happened 3-4 times after going back to dealer, it was in the workshop for the first 4 weeks I owned it, they eventually fixed it with new modifications to carby arm, springs and temp alteration. Now Husqvarna has really made a mess of this new model, comparing it to the LT 2142, they changed the steering setup, now it takes more effort but it's a larger turning circle (bad).... It now has a crazy press button light combo, which malfunctioned and had to be replaced, the twin cylinder is supposed to be quieter than the single LT model, WRONG, this model is LOUD ! ... The LT used to be a breeze to do oil and filter change, so Husqvarna decided to change a brilliant system into a flimsy over complicated system where you have to dismantle bodywork to do the job....Next is the ride, it's so rough and jarring that you feel like your on a WRX STI on steroids with ultra low profile wheels, to simplify, wear a kidney belt ! .... The transmission is basic quality, but I have noticed that at certain times it tends to jerk a bit, no where near as smooth as my old LT.... On the bright side it has enough power to do the normal work. In summary if I had my time again I would have kept my Lt 2142 model, and I have had Cub Cadet, Murray, Toro and now Husvarna, so would I buy a Husqvarna again, probably not, as I think that a company that goes backwards with a new model is not the sharpest knife in the draw. Hope this helps.

Couldn't get it running until I learnt of the Manual​ choke – I purchased the TS 242 and used it twice. Then it stopped. I read everything in the manual and I've used ride on mowers before and still couldn't get it to start/ kick over. It sounded like it needed more choke... Turns out some of the mowers have a faulty choke line. There's a manual override under the hood at the front of the engine. If you… Read more

hold down the choke lever and press the electronic starter button it will work every time. Do this and then go get the choke adjustment done from the dealer. The dealer said it's quite common and once the adjustment is done, it's all sorted. Using this method also doesn't affect the engine, it's just a pain popping the hood and reaching over everytime to start it.

great no drama except reversing it of the ute was a bit tense – i read the reviews ... almost didnt buy it.. look when someone said it lights up like a disco when you try to turn it on i was pretty much going to leave it .. then i went in had a look and the dealership was the best service i have received. now have done about 10 hours. no problems. start first time everytime. no dramas. the light just tell… Read more

you when you have forgetted to do something.... blades still on park brake engage... took on 6 foot grass 2 runs over looks like it was never 6 foot. except all the loose grass. husq rep gave us the run over and when compared to bunnings brands i got myn for the same price as the bunnings ones just no chinese repairs all in house.

i think if your dealer knows what they are doing you wont have a problem.

maybe for the people that have had problems choose better dealers.

these guys tested and said that the auto chock is sometimes a little thirst so they take it back a little.

A case of more is less - much much less – After 10 years of using an LTH1842 with the Kohler motor, 600 hours of pretty much trouble free mowing, I upgraded to the TS242 with B&S motor, "smart switch" and "quick release" blades. Whereas the old mower was easy to start, had trouble-free blades/spindles, the new improved TS242 is the exact opposite. Extremely annoying to start as the smart… Read more

switch is the dumbest thing I have ever seen on a lawnmower. Always a pain to start, lights flashing like a disco, the battery takes a pounding whereas the old one would start with a simple, single turn of the key. The quick release blade system is so frail you have to only hit a stick or root and it will be destroyed. I have smashed the covers, the quick release mechanism, and a blade, and a spindle shattered into 9 pieces as this system is only any good if you have bowling green style lawns. So if you have a bush block, you will NOt want one of these. I have converted the blades to LTH1842 system, and am just adding a dumb ignition switch that uses, of all things, a KEY...so I now have a lesser mower than the old one, as the B&S motor is rubbish compared to the old Kohler..

Issues are non stop – Nice to use, pretty comfy and good turning circle are about the only positives. Under 10 hrs - missfiring, back firing, bearing went and the battery died. The deck has split, yes I hit a rock but the pressed steel is like soft butter. Avoid rocks... or anything but soft short grass for that matter. Had a horrid squeal/scraping noise when… Read more

moving/driving. Pulled the front wheel off and found no grease on the spindle and the washer had started tearing the spindle out. Pulled all the wheels off to find they were the same. Cleaned and greased them myself. The front wheels were so out of alignment that they would tear the grass when driving. Fixed that myself with a tape measure.....

Back to the dealer who charged me for new plugs and air filter (and 200 buck to pick up and return it to me!)...... told me that it was my fault because (they reckon) I hadnt been running it at full throttle when mowing..... they replaced the bearing and battery under warranty. Within two mows it started to back fire again.

20 hrs and its running like an angry hairy goat, sort of sounds like the old stationary engines you see at country shows.

Would not recommend this mower to anyone. Dont think I will ever buy anything husqvarna again.

Poor quality machine – Bought this in September 2015. I live on a hilly country property and clearly it is designed for flat ground. The whole chassis feels as if it twists going over any sort of bump and I feel it will some day snap in half. To start with I had endless problems with starting. The engine would flood and it could never be started warm. I see many… Read more

people have had similar experiences. If it stalled it would have to be left sitting for 24 hours before it could be started again. The dealer eventually fixed this by replacing the auto choke system with a manual choke. Starting has not been a problem since.

However the mower deck is so flimsy it can tear if a stick hits it. So don't use one of these on a property with trees. The left mower spindle has just cracked, presumably some how due to another stick hitting it.

For perfectly flat ground with no trees it seems to cut nicely enough and I would have liked to keep using it but......

I've bought a second tractor for cutting the grass. The TS242 has been an expensive mistake.

worse mower ever – 2 hours old and 1.5 hours of that is trying to start it only will start after sitting all night warmed it up and tied choke in off position still wont start when hot checked spark and is a very week also I think both spindels have failed as they were to hot to touch and making horrible sound with blades engaged not happy and would not not buy 1 of these heaps of crap if I had my time over  Show details

This is a shocking mower – This mower has broken numerous times. If it goes over a stone or a stick it breaks. Not at all hardy. Unless you have flat land with low grass, I wouldn't bother. Would never purchase one of these again. I have spent more money fixing this machine than it cost.  Show details

This is a great mower – Bought this mower 3 weeks ago and was concerned with the reviews about issues starting when warm. I asked the dealer (Red Shed in Mitcham Victoria) and they said it is because people try to start it in the "Cold" setting (putting the throttle to the maximum) and it floods the engine. Actually, this cold setting is used when the temperature is zero… Read more

or less, which is probably of not much use in Australia. Mowed 3/4 of an acre 2 weeks ago on undulating terrain which in parts is just dirt, rocks and sticks on a 10-15 degree slope and not a problem. Then, spent last weekend mulching by using the cart and starting, driving, stopping, tipping mulch and repeating for 5 hours without a problem. I've used it for 3.5 hours so far according to the service reminder and I would definitely recommend it.

Husqvarna TS242 Lawn Tractor purchased May 2016 starting problem solved – Like a lot of others I was very unhappy the very same day I bought this mower as it would not start when it was warm. I had been using a 2005 model LTH1842 for 9.5 years with never a single starting problem, it was brilliant and had 604 hours on it when I recently sold it to get a new one as we have a lawn that gets bigger every year. After… Read more

reading the bad reviews about not starting I printed them off and went straight back to the dealer, a small dealer in a country town. He was extremely upset that this problem was not reported to him by Husqvarna. He rang them while I was there, and the rep said they had a "fix" for it. Imagine his surprise that Husqvarna Australia had a fix for a well know problem but failed to tell the dealers..I spoke to the rep myself, and told him of another problem I had re-programming the smart switch start code. He said there were some mowers shipped that would not let you change the code using the procedure in the book that comes with the mower. He emailed the fix to the dealer and I have today re-programmed the start code OK.

The dealer did the "fix" on my mower that would not start 3 days in a row when warm (started OK when cold every time) and today I started the mower a dozen times cold, warm and hot without a problem. The fix is a very simple job to adjust the bracket on the thermostat that controls the auto choke. Husqvara mowers in my previous experience are bloody good mowers, the old one had a Kohler motor, a gem of a thing, never used a drop of oil in 604 hours. The TS242 has a Briggs & Stratton motor, which appears to be a very nice powerful motor, time will tell if its as reliable as the Kohler. Time will also tell if my wife can handle the idiotic smartswitch, which is the dumbest thing I have ever seen on a mower.

So anyone that has a TS242 that will not start warm, take it back to your dealer and get them to adjust the thermostat bracket and all will be well. If they say they are not aware of the fix, tell them to ring the sales rep for southern Queensland as he is the one I spoke to. The power of the internet wins again....DAVID