Kubota Z200 Series

Quite possibly the worst designed mower on the market – I bought this mower for light duties for my lawn maintenance business and my own acre sized block. Having used Kubota tractors and other mowers in the past I felt like buying a residential tier zero turn would be a solid investment. I state "light duties" because I was made aware by numerous reviewers that this mower is designed for residential… Read more

purposes only, and as a result, has been treated accordingly. My first disappointment was with the fuel tank. The level is easily read under the seat. However, if the level gauge reads halfway, 1/2, one has approximately 25 minutes of mowing or about 3 litres left. To get an accurate level read you have to lift the seat or unscrew the tank cap to check. So what's the point of the level gauge, Kubota? The control is terrible. The mower refuses to turn or stay straight on slight hills and forget about backing up one, the damage this mower does to turf is unbelievable. I'm also led to believe that Kubota has the only outlet for this particular tyre size and a weird rim size, so forget about upsizing, It's a common complaint, The drive motors are exceedingly noisey. At mid throttle where Kubota indicates the engine is to be "warmed up" at, you cannot hear the engine over the sound of the hydrostatic units whilst driving. Why one drive motor is much louder than the other, is unknown. I made a call to the selling dealer and was told that perhaps at 50 hours, the mower requires a transmission fluid change. Imagine driving your new car home to be told at 2500km it needs a full transmission service. That's the sort of parallels that Kubota is attempting to draw. As I was using my new mower I was noticing a clunking noise as I was traversing driveways or horizontally uneven section of both my yard, and my customers. Upon further inspection I found Kubota has used non-press fit ball bearings in their front castor wheel pivots, instead of a bush or a greaseable pre-load enabled tapered roller bearing as would have been an obvious choice. As a result, these non pre-loaded bearings are simply sitting on an integrated C-clip design, and eating into the mower's chassis. As a result of Kubota absolutely cheaping out on an integral component, damage to the chassis and the resultant knocking will only worsen over time. There is no way to adjust ANY ball bearings for axial preload and expect longevity, and my attempts to search for a suitable at-home engineering solution has come up with nil. I have had serious issues with deck vibrations and belt slack. The deck is driven from a simple pulley which houses an electric clutch mounted to the engine crankshaft, which is an effective enough design and commonly used. However, over time the vibrations I've felt through the feet platform and the deck itself have worsened to the point I cannot operate it for more than around twenty minutes. The deck moves and shakes below one's feet. I had an assistant sit on the mower while I observed the belt, and it's oscillations were such that it was hitting and damaging the hydrostatic drive units. I observed the tensioner unit, seemingly loose, flopping around wildly. Checked for tightness, which it was, then disassembled, to find Kubota has cheaped out once again with nylon washers in the place of an actual greaseable bearing system, which have worn at 50 hours and cut grooves into the tensioner arm. A call to the dealer was once again fruitless and a waste of time, apparently tensioner and belt slack to the point that the vibration and associated rattling noises are louder than the engine are "normal" for a new $7,000 mower. May I remind the reader that I use this unit for light duty commercial work where image and professionalism are key. I have inspected all components for wear, and replaced the belt and nylon washers at my own expense due to the dealer being nonplussed. The problem persists at the time of writing. I cannot recommend this mower at all and I deeply regret not something painted green or yellow. For near $7,000 a mower should be perfect and problem free for at least 300 hours or more, being conservative. I can only assume this is Kubota's attempt at a "race to the bottom" of pricing, and the unit is in my opinion, unfit for purpose. I cannot wait to be rid of it.

(Edit: Local dealer (different to selling dealer) provided great service and tried some solutions under warranty however problems persisted. I have sold the machine).

Rare problem that ruins a good machine – For 8 years I have been fighting this problem. At first changing a brake switch would help but now that doesn't seem to fix problem. I think the safety devices are preventing me from starting the mower. Have spent a fortune trying to solve. They just can't fix it. It may take me 20 minutes playing with the PTO and brakes to get in just the… Read more

right position to crank mower. Crazy! Once running, it is a great machine. Call me exhausted and poor. Love to hear a fix.

Best mower I have ever owned ! – First zero turn mower I have owned and found it to be so manoeuvrable around trees and bushes. Also like the hydraulic deck lift makes it easy to set the cutting height. Have owned a kubota diesel ride on before and found them to be very reliable, Definitely can recommend the Kubota zero turn.  Show details

Sorry i didnt purchase earlier – The Zg222 mows my 6 acres off buffle grass faster than the other 2 smaller mowers iv worn out. Iv only put 18 hrs on on it so far so its early days.As the first service is at 50 hrs I haven't had to do that yet but I have cleaned the air cleaner twice but it realy didn't need doing, is easy to get to,clean and good quality. It is situated up high… Read more

on top of the Kubota mtr so collects less dust I guess. But even though you can clean with air air compressor I will replace it probably at 50 hrs. All the grease nipples or seem easy to get to and there is lots of them which is good. At 16 hrs my blades were blunt,i passed a iron bar through the front uni yolk to stop the blades from turning to tighten the 3 bolts holding the blades.A tourque wrench is a must for this. The 3 blades are extremely heavy duty compared to my older mowers and ought to be able to be sharpened multiple times. All the oils are simple to get to and check. This mower is very heavy compared to my older at 530 kg so be carefull reversing don't ask me how I know this, and there is extremely good exterior metal protection encasing the mtr wich off course sits out the rear.The discharge chute developed a small split in it at about 4 hrs and slowly got longer until it dropped off so now I have about a third left. In hind sight probably shouldn't run shute up against fences and things try to use other side but this did break way earlier than my old ride ons. Mower deck is extremely heavy duty steel and you would be doing well to damage that. I also have a Kubota tractor and as with that this mower is quality throughout. The Zg222 has a soft comfortable seat but this model in someones wisdom fails to offer a suspension seat as an option. If you have lots off trees the roll bar will hit them iv had to position it at the half way.Have had 3 flat tyres so far that have all been sticks, super cheap sells a simple tyre changer.The tyres are tubless I fitted tubes and am able to mend my own punctures.It takes aprox 30 litres to do my block. Apart from tubes I have not had to buy any new parts. Having a Kubota dealer in my town is a plus. I have lots off rough buffle grass and the mtr never even hesitates it just chews through it. The zg222 is a commercial mower so is extra tough and heavy duty and the Kubota v twin 22 hp motor hopefully will last and last.Ear muffs are a must the mtr is way noisier than my old ride ons and having three blades turning at 3200 rpm can make a lot off dust if in a fine sandy area so take the washing in and wear a dust mask.

good machine very commercial grad – we brought this machine in july 2016 and have since put 289 hours on the clock the main reason we got it was the shaft drive from motor to deck as opposed to the belt drive on other brands this increses the power from motor to deck and it also has a mulching kit fitted which works a treat even in the longer grass, the ground speed is fantastic and… Read more

even at 48'' it leaves the toro 54'' titan behind with parts and service from the dealer easy to get also (1 set of blades so far) the blades are commercial grade and last a long time despite the grass you cut and the hydrulic lift and drive on the machine add to the productivity on a daily mowing run

the cons of this machine are the pedals for the brake and cutting deck on the floor panel cant get in the way while getting on and off the machine and as i have found the machine has a tendency to keep cut grass under the deck until you disenge the cutting deck (due to airflow from blades) then when you drive away it drops it to avoid this we usually stay on the grass before entering a pathway other then that i highly recommend this machine

Great mower but unresolved issues – Bought this mower for my acreage property after destroying a John Deere over the last 20 years. I have to admit that it mows very well and handles well. There are, for me, a couple of major issues and a few minor ones. The first time I used the mower it put a rock through the discharge chute. That was in the first half an hour. Kubota needed… Read more

prodding to admit that it was a problem. Their solution was to provide a replacement months later after I reminded the dealer several times. The dealer suggested I use a rubber chute from another brand mower cut to size and bolted under the Kubota chute. That proved to be impossible. In the finish I bought a sheet of 4mm polyurethane grade 90A, cut it to size, glued and bolted it to the underside of the replacement chute. I had to refit it myself. All up it cost me $120 dollars not counting my own labour. So far so good. My point is that the chute as supplied is unfit for purpose as it clearly presents an unacceptable risk of injury and property damage. Kubota clearly has no intention of fixing the problem even though they are fully aware of the risks.

I don't know if anyone else has experienced the second of the problems or if it is atypical. The mower emits, when cutting, an extremely loud low frequency hum that is so loud that I am forced to wear both earplugs and high energy absorbing ear muffs. Bad enough for me but risky for anyone else. Kubota have no comment.

On the minor side are loose and missing bolts, poorly finished paintwork (obvious grinding marks simply covered with paint), missing air valve caps, and holes in the rollover bar so badly misaligned that it cannot be locked down and is difficult to lock up.

All in all a bunch of quality and design issues spoiling an otherwise good machine. Not happy Kubota.

Edit: it could be that my acreage that is a bit too uneven for this mower but I think that there are still design flaws that make this mower too prone to damage. The pin that holds the grass chute has bent. It is about half the diameter of the pins on comparable machines. Two of the deck guide wheels have locked up. I have yet to check why. I am generally careful with my equipment and this machine has done less than 30 hours. Could it be poor design and inferior quality? You be the judge.

Almost Wife proof! – Have had our ZG222 for 5 years now. Almost 400hrs on the clock. The only issue we've ever had is that it generally blows the deck belt every year. I'm not really that stressed though because it does some terribly hard work in long heavy grass. My wife mows roots, rocks and stumps with it. She has killed every other mower we have owned in the past… Read more

twenty years but so far the Kubota is standing up to it. Keep the air filter clean and change the oils at the correct intervals, grease everything and these things will last and last.

Puts the fun back into mowing – Have owned the ZG222 for 2 years with 100 hrs on the clock. I love it!.... A powerful, solid, well built mower that does what it is designed to do. Features that other brands lack, like shaft drive & hydraulic deck lift are just part of what makes it reliable. Also, love the sacrificial cans that protect the lower deck bearings. Just brilliant!… Read more

Only downside is the wheels on the mower deck are easy to hit and bend off centre. It's an easy & very cheap fix to replace the wheel mounting bolt but annoying. Solid, reliable and efficient. Cuts heavy grass with ease. Has halved my mowing time. My tractor with 6 ft finishing mower deck has been made redundant. Kubota dealers are scarce here in Queensland so service is generally not close by.

Superior quality. Nicely engineered – This is my third ride on zero turn in 12 years. By far the best machine I have owned. It is beautifully engineered with a fabricated mower deck - not a pressed metal one which are thinner and rust out after a 3 - 4 years - especially if you don't get all the grass off the deck. The hydraulic deck raise / lower function is a dream to use. All… Read more ·  2

mowers should have them. The hydraulic PTO deck drive is powerful - not belt drive. The way the deck can be removed from under the mower is clever; 4 pins and one bolt. Bingo! Deck off in 5 minutes. I really wanted the 27 h/p model but it was an extra $2K on top of an already pricey machine. So I compromised and went for the 22 h/p. It has heaps of grunt because it's a specialised mower motor. I have to cut an area of grass that has some really tough paspalum grass amongst it. Usually this stuff just stalls the other mowers, but the Z222 just chews through it due to the fast tip cutting speed and extra grunt.

Now the whole family all want to mow the lawn because they know the finish is fantastic (fast blade tip cutting speed)and it's a so easy to drive!

I am sure there are other top end mowers on the market that are also great to use. But for my money spending the few extra grand and stepping up to a Kubota was worth the spend.

Why did I choose Kubota? I already have a Kubota L2850 GST mid size tractor that has given me 10 years of service without fault - and I hammer it. Also, the local council mower man has a Z327 and swears by it. So at the end of the day the Kubota got the nod. Well engineered, hydraulic deck lift, fabricated deck

Excellent – Best mower I have ever used. I can mow my 3 1/2 acres in just over an hour. With the 0% financing that Kubota is offering I couldn't refuse the temptation to get a mower that will be the last one I purchase, it should last a lifetime. Construction. Power. Ease of maintenance. Comfort for operator. Price. You do get what you pay for.