Makita 36V Mobile

Manoeuvrability - Light and easy to turn/ push into awkward positions.
Battery life (5 amp) - 30 mins on long wet grass.
Catcher - Average size, has problems filling, grass needs to be pushed deeper in by hand occasionally.
Terrain - Perfect on my suburban block. Also works well beyond my expectations on my rough rural acrage.
This mower may look and feel flimsy but has put up with rough terrain without issue. If you are looking for a quiet, light, easy to use and clean mower for a regular lawn than this one will be perfect.

Can’t mow a lawn with it jams up not a tool it’s a toy not buy one especially from Sydney tools greasiest waste of money
Plastic cheap useless

Chassis is a bit flimsy. Front wheels bend easily if bumped. Catcher holds a decent amount of clippings, however, can be tricky to mount.
Mower struggles with thicker grass.
I'm now hunting a replacement set of blades as they bent when they bent.
I love Makita, but this mower is poorly built for anything other than a hobby lawn.

Good if your yard is small and not overgrown. Struggles with some types of grass(even when it is short) but if you have the right grass it is quiet and literally vacuums up all the mess. No good if you have a big project. You need lots of batteries to do a whole yard but two 6ah should be ok.

Construction is light - almost toy-like as per earlier criticism and the steel struts for the wheels bend very easily - not sturdy at all. Cuts well and with Makita stable I have lots of batteries to keep going.
The catcher has poor mounting ability and is difficult to position - and is small.
Looking at a changeover deal from Makita for the larger cut width (460) and sturdier - better engineered? DLM460 steel chassis and thicker struts for the wheels.

Still waiting for Makita

I had to choose a mower that I could rely on and after 6 months; I do feel that I made the right choice!
I never use a mower before and it was easy to understand and use it after a basic info got from the seller.
I have not yet made any maintenance and use it in a regular base - I highly recommend it.

i am very much happy with the mowers cutting results it i easy to maneuver the mower easy to operate and maintain is has 5 different heights for cutting easy to handle just one thing in any heavy cutting it turns off for sometime may be it get warm or take sometime

Hi after looking at many reviews of this product and opinions of other owners of cordless lawn mowers I took the plunge and got this one for $320 from bunnings with no extra batteries. Missed the promo so the assistant offered me $75 off the retail $395 which I took.

I chose the DLM380Z for 2 main reasons:
1 - I already own makita cordless tools so no need to purchase batteries and charger which would roughly be $500 for 2 x bl1850 and a dc18rd
2 - my lawn is roughly 200m2 and relatively flat and well kept

Otherwise I would've looked at other models offered by other brands.

Now, I've used many types of mowers from push, self propelled ride on's(from working with my dad who does lawn mowing when I was younger so I think I have pretty good experience when it comes to mowing. From this experience, I keep my lawn pretty high. I believe keeps it healthy and hinders weeds coming through so at the max height setting from this mower its fine. Its no manicured lawn but I'm happy with it. I was looking forward to purchasing one of these since I bought the cordless makita DUR182LZ line trimmer a year ago. Slowly changing over from petrol driven garden tools since its only for my small yard.

Pros:

- Does what it should, cuts and doesn't have much trouble even with damp/wet grass.
- Easy quiet operation, even the wife doesn't mind using it and she doesn't have to try use a pull start and we don't need to worry flooding the motor or having problems starting it
- Small and lightweight
- No dealing with all the petrol mower associated maintenance and ongoings

Cons:

- Plastic chassis doesn't feel strong
- Small catcher opening could clog easily if being cut is long or really wet
- Have to mow regularly before lawn gets over 15cm tall otherwise its useless
- Definitely not as powerful as a petrol one
- Wheels slide around on the driveway too easily
- Where are spare blades for when it needs to be replaced? none on ebay so will check the local mower store

Features you may or may not be aware of:

17mins run time
270m2 cutting on charge
40L catcher is quite small
Pretty much completely plastic except for handle

Important things to consider before purchasing this mower:

- Do you like to keep your lawn cut down really low to the ground?
- Do you tend to leave your lawn til its pretty rough before pulling out the machine to do the yard?
- Do you need to purchase the batteries and charger for this tool?
- Is your mowing area larger than 270m2 or quite hilly?

If you answer yes to any of the above I would not purchase this and look for a petrol mower in the $500-$800 range because for that amount of money you'll get a more capable machine suitable for your needs for the same amount of money spent.

In Summary, very happy with my first use of the machine. Did the yard in one charge and I did have to go a little slower than I would've with the petrol one but it still cut fine and it was done in 15mins. Grass was damp from the wet weather we've had recently so the cutting chute and cutting area was getting clogged with wet grass so I needed to clean it out at the end but then that would be the same for nearly any mower. No mulching option. Grass full catcher indicator is a nice touch. Wouldn't bother with the DLM431Z for the extra $100

TLDR: Great machine if you already own the batteries and enjoy looking after 200m2 of well kept lawn. Don't buy it if you regularly have a jungle at your place.

Incredible mower and so easy to use... perfect for anyone who's sick of having to mix oils, petrols and deal with their smell too.

Makita have done a great job brining this out, it's a lot quieter compared to petrol mowers too.

Great buy and lookout for the deals that come with batteries as it usually aren't included...

I couldn't start the old petrol mower anymore, even after the hubby serviced it, we live in a quiet neighbourhood and had downsized our lawn, very nervous after reading the reviews on battery mowers. However, we are long time Makita fans, we have batteries and charges (and about 10 skins of various tools) I knew the quality of Makita was good. I tried it out as soon as I got home, easy to set up, our Makita batteries were not fully charged so I didn't expect much. It cut through wet thick buffalo grass really well, better than any petrol mower, so quiet, the catcher so easy to put on and off. was surprised how perfect the lawns was afterwards. Doesn't like bits of palm fronds,(makes a racket) but not many mowers do. We get 3 -4 years from our batteries.

Batteries don't last long.
It hasn't got enough to Grint to mow.
You won be able to do your whole lawn in one hit.
Love Makita but this is just not up to par with the price 160 dollars max you should pay for this, I also think you need to maintenance it quite a bit.

Having read other reviews I know why some users would mark this mower down especially on cost. So straight away let me say we already had a charger with the tool kit that I inherited from my carpenter son. His batteries, which were pretty well-flogged, plus two new ones, are all working perfectly with the mower, plus two tools and a leaf blower. With 4 fully charged batteries we can complete a rough, Blue Mountains lawn provided it is not too damp or long. The Makita follows a Chinese on-line petrol monstrosity which was quickly sent to mower hell (see elsewhere) so for two ageing humans with breathing difficulties the Makita is a blessed relief. No it is not "beefy", but for us it does the job. Mitre10 in Blackheath were terrific. They arranged with the Makita rep to deliver a demo mower to try out and they did us a great deal on batteries which more than matched Sydney outlets. After nearly a year of use our advice would be, if you have a "boutique" lawn, this mower is perfect and quiet enough not to annoy the people next door. If you have something that Mad Max would ride over, forget it. If you are in-between and undecided, try and get your hands on a demo unit first. We would hate to go back to petrol, though we would have been reticent but for the free charger and we do have to be prompt before the grass gets too long.

Before I decided to purchase it , I discovered , you would need 2 batteries, at a cost of $ 300 when you buy it and every year because the batteries dont last . you then have to charge it regularly even you are not using it because it can not stay in the shelf flat, so expenses there and time consuming. Wonder why 2 batteries? i believe no much power with one. Is all cheap poor quality plastic, which unlike others are stronger. The blades are of poor quality , very thin , so another wear much faster. iT reminds me of toy mower the , a pretend mower, of the quality . another reason that is why is so light , everything is poor quality materials. money down the pit.

I have a couch lawn this mower will not mow on the lowest setting, it gets stuck and because the construction of the mower is so flimsy it will break. On next setting it will cut but very slowly. I have many Makita tools including a line trimmer. Afraid im very disappointed with this product but must stress that this is the only Makita product that I have been unhappy with. Glorified toy!

Bought this to mow a 10m x 2m nature strip with short grass and it struggled. Took 30 mins to mow nature strip. Had to lift up after every push to get the blades going. Batteries also drain quickly. Very very disappointed. The lawn mower is extremely quiet which is a plus.

After reading the only review online, I was hesitated to buy it. But, being a Makita lover and knowing, that mower came out only last year, I had the gut feeling, it couldn't be that bad. As long you have good batteries. I bought recently, two 6Ah batteries. That was the reason, why I actually bought the mower.
I used it today and cut about 200sqr meters, no problem at all. So quiet, didn't use any ear protection and powerful enough, even through thick patches. Of course, you have to take it gentle, but its common sense.
I used the 18V line trimmer Model Makita 18v Li-ion Line Trimmer DUR181Z after that with one battery out of the mower. I worked 90min all up and not the slightest sign of batteries going flat.

It looks like a toy, sounds like a toy, BUT got balls and I LOVE IT !!!

Haven't used it in wet grass, but not planning to, because I can wait for a sunny day anytime !

It does what the specs state and the quietness and ease of use is a dream.

LOVING IT, GO MAKITA !!!

Went ok on manicured lawn when first purchased but as grass grew longer during wet periods weaknesses appeared. Power drain on batteries soon affected the life of the batteries , hard to push hard to empty took about 3days in short sessions to mow average lawn. would not recommend for Aussie lawns lot of money down the drain
great appearance, quiet, no emissions
hard to push miniscule battery life grass wont throw into catcher if damp