Toro XL Series
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I will not say a bad word about our little Toro, it's fantastic. It keeps going and does all that we have asked of it. We bought this mower about 4 years ago. It was already about 16 years old, so it has some wear. It had a few problems, mainly electrical and minor mechanical, but there was nothing I couldn't fix. The bonnet is weather worn,… Read more · 1
cracked and quite brittle. Many Toro owners discard the bonnet when it gets like this. I repaired the bonnet with zip-ties, glue and plastic repair hot staples. It gives it a "Mary Shelly' look. We call it Franken Mower...!
This mower has a light touch. The Hydrostatic (heel-toe) control is excellent. The steering was worn, loose and heavy when we got it, but I replaced the worn parts, greased where it needed to be greased and fixed the bits needing fixing. The steering is now light and direct. No more vague wandering requiring massive steering input just to stay in a straight line. I have fitted a knob to the steering wheel too which makes getting around tight spots a breeze. I have a bad back. I can ride the Toro all day with nary a twinge. Some mowers I can only use for a few hours before I have to give it a rest.
Our yard is 3 acres of gently sloping land. There is a dam out the back and a steep verge in the front. The Toro is a right little mountain goat on the steep slope of the dam wall and the verge. Who needs four-wheel-drive or aggressive tyres ??
Like any mower, the engine works hard (especially if the grass is long) but the Toro cuts through it like a demon. I fill up the fuel tank every second mowing. Not bad for a 15 ½ Hp single cylinder on 3 acres.
I'm retired from the ADF (Air Force aircraft mechanic). I repair and restore mowers as a hobby. I've had many, many mowers through my workshop. I get all makes and models to work on. Some I like, some are OK and some are just scrap, but none have been as good as my trusty old Toro. Sure, there are better quality, newer mowers out there, but I prefer the old Toro. It starts with just a touch of the key. It's smooth and it cuts well. It is also a tiny tractor for doing tiny tractor tasks around the yard; We love it. I have made up a tow hitch with a 50mm tow ball to tow the yard cart or the box trailer. Ours has a genuine Toro 'carry all' on the back which is handy when doing jobs around the yard for carrying stuff. I made a bracket for the carry all to fit a 100L weed sprayer.
Parts are not a problem. Even though it's an older machine, I can still get most parts for it. All except for the bonnet. They must be made of 'unobtanium' they are so rare.
Reading the other reviews of people having so many troubles with their Toro's, I can’t help but wonder if they would have had a better experience if their machine had been properly maintained by someone who knows how to look after them. Belts should last many years before they need replacing. Bad adjustments, bent guides, seized idlers are the main cause for belt failure. Most engine faults on Briggs and Stratton engines are a blown head gasket (lots of smoke from exhaust), not turning over on the starter past compression at TDC is a broken decompression device on the cam shaft. These faults are common on B&S engines. Most people try all sorts of dodgy fixes without dealing with the root cause. They are easily fixed if you know what you are doing. I bought an XL440H (44") as spares for the XL380H once. It was a 'basket case'. When I started really looking at it before I parted it out, I found that it was restorable. So, I did! It was a ripper too. But sadly, I can’t afford to keep every mower I restore, so it was sold. And besides, I prefer the smaller 38" machine on the steep bits and for getting around the trees.
Work Horse – Moved onto acreage (1 hectare) in 1999 and bought the Toro a year later. It's now 2025 and time to replace it. Engine has worked flawlessly until this year. I've had one electrical problem, which was to replace the solenoid to engage the cutting deck. Replaced the battery once. I've worn out several sets of blades and of course belts get old and… Read more
slip so there's been a few of them as well. I have lots of trees so there are always branches on the ground. Before mowing I remove anything thicker than a finger. My sons do the mowing now and aren't as careful as they should be so it's getting abused in its old age (bent steering arm). Oh yeah I replaced the bush at the bottom of the steering column and had to weld up the wheel linkage for the steering because the hole had worn itself into a long slot. These steering fixes were done around 2020. I must say that the current crop of mowers I have to choose from (Husqvarna, Kubota, Masport, Rover, Cox) don't impress me. Built cheap or wildly expensive.
TORO WheelHorse Garbage – Absolute garbage. I need to use 24 volts (2 batteries) to get this to crank over. One battery will not start this mower. Constantly breaking things. Lost track of how many belts this thing has chewed up. Electrical problems, wont cut long grass, belts with either slip or it simply doesnt cut. You look back at where you've just been and half the… Read more
grass is still standing. Works OK of short grass but whats the point. Even the Toro dealer I bought the mower from told me the three blade deck is not very good. Plastic fuel tank cracked and leaked fuel everywhere. steering bushing worn through and lost steering, new parts required. When you put the rear hydrostatic into neutral so you can push the mower around one wheel still locks up and wont turn so you need 2 people to drag the thing around. Reverse is incredibly slow, a snails pace. Deck blade spindles regularly chew up the bearings requiring rebuilding. NEVER NEVER will I EVER buy another TORO product. Absolute garbage. Poorly built. Very low quality of parts, Bad design. People do yourselves a favor and buy a John deere or Husqvarna or something else, just dont buy a TORO piece of crap.
absolute work horse! – I had toro for past 7 years and it's still going strong. I replaced drive belt once & still using same blades. Blades been sharpend half dozen times. It has slashed, chopped, mulch through acres of my property. It is such a good machine compared to my crap husqvarna zero turn. My next zero turn will be Toro brand. Show details
Piece of crap – Bought this new, the motor has been reliable, but have lost count of the amount of belts I've been through both on the deck and the drive. Frustrating to say the least. The brackets holding the deck have broken as well. Next door neighbor bought a John Deer around the same time and it has not missed a beat and is still on the original belt. Show details
Don't buy a toro ride on – First problem it was leaking oil out from the muffler then the deck kept on coming off then had trouble starting it and when I finally got it started it wouldn't stay running kept on. Stopping also it doesn't cut well in long grass. Shame on you toro.... Show details
Some good some bad – 2007 purchased TORO XL380H. No motor problems. Some breakages. Replaced mower clutch (Borg Warner after market $A450 plus labour - dealer wanted $A1,000 originalTORO part). Had bracket on chassis holding up mower deck break. Got formed steel welded into Mower deck, steel on exit shute broke. Lots of belt replacements.
OK – Paid $600 at a clearance sale for my mower around Nov 2014. I have used and abused this machine mowing many times over, our very rough ground ~ 20 acres of rocky ground. Of which most people would not ever do; most normal people would do it with a thing called a tractor and a slasher. Well over 200 hours of use in the past 12 months. But I cant fault the machine for the money I paid for it and the abuse that it has taken.
Poor machine – Torro work horse. Has been to the repair man numerous times and hundreds of dollars later the drive belt keeps jumping off. Even torro head office can't tell us why. So now we either have to buy a new mower or use the push mower. Not a product that we can recommend. Oh the mower has done 180 hours.
Great mower – I've got 2 2006 XL380H's and with regular "Maintenance" as described in the owners hand book! They will cut all day long with no issue. As far as noise go's they are the same as any other Briggs driven unit. A lot of people forget that they are a mower and not a slasher and will struggle to cut 4 foot tall bison grass' old car parts and house… Read more
bricks as would any mower in the same class. Service your machines and do not exceed the machines design limits and it will treat you right. Oh yeah and try reading the instruction's !!
Great Mower. I have the XL440H – UPDATED. 31/08/15 - I have changed my 5 Star rating to 1 star. The Transmission failed on my mower last week. The Toro dealer has advised the replacement Transmission will be $3000.00 plus labor. I only paid $3,200.00 for the Mower brand new nearly 5 years ago. I have tried to call Toro Head office and sent emails to Toro Australia and USA. No… Read more
replies. I no longer recommend Toro. Sad.
This mower has been fantastic. I've owned this mower from new for 18 months. I have a 28 Acre property with about 1 acre of lawn and the rest is rough ground with different type of grass, weed ect. This mower has plenty of power and will power through grass up to 40cm high. The blades can take plenty of hits. I have lots of rock on my property and I only just replaced after 18 months. The Briggs and Stratton motor starts first time every time uses no oil and is economical on fuel. I get about 8-9 hours use out of a tank. I have no hesitation in recommending this mower. My next door neighbor bought the latest Toro ride on a few months ago with the Kawasaki Motor and he loves it. Well priced. Reliable, Cheap to own. Will handle plenty of abuse. Headlights poor.
Bastard of a thing – Flat one acre block, very easy to burn out the blade belt when under load with the mulch attachment, changing the belt is fifty bucks material and two hours of your life you'll never get back,guaranteed loss of skin on knuckles, don't even attempt without a ratchet spanner, loads of bolts with only a quarter turn access..we have snapped a belt every summer at least once even when cutting high with new blades. Motor has been good, no troubles
Not happy – The XL440 worked ok for the first 2 - 3 years then it was one problem after the other. All idler pulleys have been replaced, vibrates badly, bolts work loose, steering is very loose. It's like whoever put it together had a really bad day. Very poor quality control and even worse dealer support. Wouldn't buy another one.
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Dissapointment – First time i bought a new mower What a dissapointment Every one said its the best ,Briggs and Stratton motor, What a croc I am over 50 and very mechanically minded This is the first motor i have ceased in my life Now they say should have got the one with with a Kawasaki motor not briggs and stratton Alsop have still got it due to very poor… Read more
second hand value
falt block 2 acresd easy work lod
Have had lots of pullies break belts
Would not buy another one
Now it wont turn over all the time, Battery is not fla,t reluctent to take it top a shop after the last experiance
one of the best mower available – had my 2006 model xl380H for 2 years has been faultless,if you look after it and change oil and filter on time it will look after you
Toro Wheel Horse – I have had the Toro 42" wheel horse ride on mower for 12 years. I do all my own maintanence which is straightforward. Blades are replaced every 5 years or so. I have the Biggs and Stratton motor which never gives me trouble. Some of the safety switches tend to gum up after a while ( especially the one under the foot brake) but can be removed. The… Read more
plastic guard on the cutting deck is pretty wierd and lasts about 3 months. I just tape it over with good old bitumen tape. I also have the battery going flat at wierd times so I separately charge it every 6 months or so ( there must be an inherrent problem with the battery charger on the mower). Changing oil, the oil filter, belts, blades and spark plugs is straight forward. I have the "old" model where the blades engage by pulling up a lever. Twice, the lever has pulled off, but it is fixable at no cost. The newer models don't have this feature any more.The mower cuts and mulches well and gives a nice level cut to the grass. I use the mower as a tractor and have a trailer and it happily pulls a full load albeit it bit slowly. Headlights are a bit dim, but who cuts at night?. Never thought that the mower would last this long but it still starts and cuts. Reliable, cuts when reversing ( some mowers don't do this which I find annoying), comfortable Not the fastest machine. The trailer hitch is a bit wierd - just a hole in a flange on the back of the mower.
Works well, but very noisy – I've had my Toro XL380H for over two years and haven't really had a problem with mine - touch wood. I bought it second hand from a commercial garden maintenance franchisee who had had used it for a year and bought another Toro, but the zero point turn one. It drives well, not as fast as the Victa I previously owned, but cuts better if you keep the… Read more
blades sharp and revs up. Doesn't like thick grass (kikuya) with the recycler - don't bother with that unless you mow every day. All in all it has been good, and I mow a very steep 3/4 acre block of mostly kykuya. Easy to use, cuts well, easy to clean and strong Poor (rusts quickly) steel in the handles, etc of the Toro towable wheel barrow/tip trailer - hopefully they have made something better quality now.
Don't bother – Purchased XL380H 02/09. Expensive,low quality bolts, plastic parts, etc. Very noisy muffler,low power when cutting. Engine was using lots of oil in first 6 months use. Dealer,(Lawn Power Nowra)told me nothing wrong with mower. After lots of arguments took mower elsewhere. Diagnosed problem immediately as blown head gasket. I was told this was… Read more
an inherent problem with this engine of Toro XL 380H mower.
Have replaced many parts in first 12 months of use.
I have 1.5 acres of mowing, so not hard work for mower.
I still have this mower because of low value to trade in.
Expensive,cheap bolts & plastic parts,noisy muffler,bad warranty service.
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Cannot agree more, Just had mine break down again. This time piston not moving when cranking and… Read more (+5 replies)