RYOBI 48V Battery-Powered Ride-On Mower Questions & Answers

Have experienced same problem when plastic motor/drive switch failed. Unfortunately, you are probably between a rock and a hard place, e.g. Bunnings (from whom the mower was purchased) do not carry spares, and it took them two weeks to advise that a replacement switch is not available. Contacting the actual importer gave the same result. Fortunately for me I was able to find my original receipt and effected a complete new mower exchange under warranty, though at some extra cost due to upgrades. It would seem that this system is, whilst more suitable to the seller, it does little for customer service.

thanks l will keep trying

I bought my 480e here in Australia from Bunnings in Feb 2023 and only used it four times for grass catching that year. In June this year, first for this year, I took it out for a run and the front right tyre was flat. I took the tyre to the local tyre centre where they said they couldn't get that kind of tyre and that the valve seal was faulty. They patched it as best they could and it lasted two mows before going flat. Unable to move it into my shed, I covered it with a tarpaulin, from Bunnings, and strapped it down for the winter. August was mind this year, so I went to take it out to get the wheel off and it started to beep like it was in reverse, then stopped altogether .... this is without the cutters running. I reversed it back to a better cover area and it has remained there since. I live two hours drive to the nearest Bunnings store and they tell me I have to get it closer to Bundaberg in order to be covered by the Ryobi warranty. I am 78 years old with a damaged hip and shoulder, and so I have no way of getting the mower onto my trailer and down to Bunnings. Because of the battery weight, changing a tyre needs a pretty hefty jack, which doesn't come with the mower. I strongly advise against buying this dud until both Ryobi and Bunnings find a better way of servicing this mower for country residents when it is not the owner's fault. I have also stopped buying products from Bunnings, as have my friends who have also had trouble with their battery mowers. Pete

Oh and I forgot. Most rural areas in Australia no longer have land line or 4/5G mobile phone coverage. I can't find an easy access email address so I assume, like most business these days, there is none. Pete II

What exactly do you want to know?

Did you find out what the problem was

I have had problems with the charging meter - similar but not the same as yours. In my case I have come to ignore the apparent low charge and mow any way. However mowing with an error message showing is a risk. I saw on the Ryobi website that they have a chat function where you can talk to a technician - why not give that a go?

I had this issue recently and the gauge would go from fully charged down to the red in less than 10 minute. Occasionally it would stop or the blade would turn off . However I figured out today that by turning the key to aux and back to off then turn on it reset the meter and I was able today to mow more than 1.5 acres and still have 1/2 charge. No issues of stoppages blades or drive .

Same C2.1 message on a new gauge here. I just replaced the gauge thinking it would resolve my issue. I was getting full charge, then half charge readings when switching on/off. Mower would cut out and start beeping after running only a couple of minutes. Batteries tested 48v on a multimeter, but now going to test each one individually.

It could be a disconnected cable. I'd open the control panel first and see if the forward/reverse switch is still connected. Lift the seat and see if the safety switch below is still connected. Lastly look under the mower to see if those cables are still connected. Failing that maybe the drive motor has failed.

Yes. I find this issue occurs when the batteries are getting low which is something I am seeing more frequently. I have had my machine for 12 months now and after initial favorable impressions, I am now very concerned about battery life. I estimate battery life is now half what it was new and consequently find I have to cut short a mow when the machine does this and I have to recharge.

Thanks Ian... My mower is currently being examined by Ryobi mechanics. I'll let you know what they come up with.

Hi John. My experience is that when the load is too great it just disengages. Turning or slopes loads up the motor. As Ian notes it is worse when the batteries are flatter. No solution I am aware of other than don’t run the batteries down past half way if you can avoid it. Or buy a petrol mower. That will fix the problem too.

Yes I had this problem. I think John and I had corresponded elsewhere on this blog. Ryobi now have a mobile service team who you can contact via their webpage. A technician came and looked at my mower at home and found that the original batteries where only putting out 40V when under load - such as going up hill. On formal testing all the batteries had had it even though the mower had only done 60 hours, representing about 40 recharge cycles. He replaced all the batteries with new Century 75Ah Deep Cycle batteries and now the mower works like new. I mowed my whole block today only using about 50% of the battery charge. The old batteries, even when new, could never have managed that, so I suspect that the batteries that came with the imported mower were not very good. Anyway, it was all done for free, so good on Ryobi Australia for supporting their product. As an aside, the Century batteries cost $350 each (on my local supplier website) with a 2 year warranty and if I read their information correctly claim to be able do manage 600 recharge cycles if average discharge is 50%. My advice is if you have any problems get your batteries changed whilst still under warranty

The Ryobi Service guy came to my house twice and did his best but I'm thinking that whatever was causing the malfunction was an issue not easily solved. I stopped mowing upslope on any halfway decent gradient a while ago because of the danger of the mower slipping into freewheel mode and sending me careering backwards, but it didn't help much. It was still malfunctioning in near level situations (especially when turning sharply). I even had it slip into freewheel mode when going downslope when it was definitely in a low-load situation.

Hi Jenn. I have some quite step sections on my block - well over the 15 degrees Ryobi recommend. Some perhaps >25 degrees. I find it very stable going across the slope if the ground is dry, but it quickly starts to slide if wet. Similarly it will only manage to go up the slope when the ground is dry. If at all wet, it looses traction and quickly bogs itself. I have had to tow it out with my 4X4 a few times. However, with some practice I have learnt how to handle all the trickier sections even when a bit wet, so the slope isn't a problem.

Thanks so much Rod. I appreciate the feedback. (That sounds a bit like my place, incl the 4x4 experience!) Can I ask how rough your terrain is? That's probably my only other concern with the Ryobi - how tough the mowing carriage area is with the odd tree stump.

My ground is fairly rough thanks to the many rabbits who have invaded our place. It handles the bumps well, but like all mowers doesn't like large tree roots - I have gum trees, so there are quite a few. I've bent one blade on a large root - it would happen with any mower, but now I know where they are its not a problem. The actual mower carriage seems very robust. The only cushioning for the rough ground is in springs under the seat. There is no suspension, so some people have felt the ride is a bit rough, but I haven't had a problem.

Thank you! Greatly appreciate your answer as the traditional mower guys all say the deck is too thin. I've got a Husqvarna that runs into a tree root or two a day and seems to come out the other side with no problem. Its issue is the transmission... Also, I have electric for everything so am used to hearing that electric machinery doesn't cut it - usually said by someone who doesn't use it.

I have heard you can use the lipo4 batteries with internal BMS as a drop in replacement. You can even use the same charger. Have a google for it.

Could be a number of reasons * Are you overloading the blades as in cutting lush grass short * Underinflated tires * Faulty power guage showing less power than there really is (the guage on my mower has been replaced twice). Even now it sometimes starts showing only two yellow bars which I know has to be wrong so I just mow anyway.

I suppose you could but would that save you much?

Thanks. How much are the legit ones?

Around $800 for a full set

There's a lever on the left hand side that you lift up and down (perhaps re-phrasing the question might make it clearer exactly what you want to do )

The lever is at the lowest possible position, I want to lower it more

Perhaps removing those two little wheels on the cutting deck might work, of course you risk scalping your lawn.

Don't really know but might that possibly damage the motors?

It is the Voltage that is important and I assume you meant 48V (4 x 12V), 100AH batteries have 25% more capacity