Husqvarna 200 Series

Have had it for 4yrs. Bought with a catcher. It’s been average. Starts & every time & engine runs great. When 1st bought one side cut on an angle. Took it back & they said it was a bent blade because I’d hit something?? On clean flat lawn??? No!! Charged me over $100 for a check over & new blades. Still cut badly. Checked myself. … Read more

Flamin spindle was broken & the belt was pulling it over. So the spindle must have been broken from new. I just bought a new spindle & replaced it. Cut flat after that.

The catcher is pretty useless. Using the correct blades, the chute clogs up very often. If cutting lawn in a low blade height, it hardly picks anything up. Basically I need to mow to the desired height & then go over it with the blades higher to pick up all the cut grass. Double the time, double the fuel. Catcher is an a pensive waste of time & money.

Lately the engine will cut out for a few seconds & then fire again, as if you’ve tried to reverse with blades running. I assume it’s to do with the reverse switch. Not investigated yet.

I have always bought the correct blades from a Husqvarna agent. For the last 2yrs it will not cut fully & always leaves a narrow line of uncut grass in the centre. Clearly the blades are too short / wrong size. But I buy the correct ones??? Absolute pain in the butt.. & again, more cutting time, more fuel.

As noted, Engine is great. But everything else lets it down.

I had to replace the mower deck drive belt again on this machine. This problem was caused by the sales person who supplied a drive belt for a different 48” deck. Fortunately, the sales person who sold me this replacement checked the deck type which… Read more

was fitted to my mower and when he put the belt on the counter top it was obvious the belt is nearly twice as thick as the stretched and frayed belt which had been supplied at the end of last summer. $100.00 for a belt which was carelessly supplied and $100.00 for the correct belt. Hopefully, I can get through summer without any more reviews. I had to adjust the deck mow height to make it cut level and not scalp when turning as this mower has done since new, I can put that down to a bad set up at PD check. Measuring the adjustable mower deck suspenders immediately showed a 12 mm difference in each of them. The mower look 20 years as it can not be washed due to open bearings on the engine drive shaft and electronic clutch. An $8000 mower is looking like a piece of scrap, it is an embarrassment to me. The mower has only 90 hours on the clock. New blades have been fitted, I bought after market ones and these are much better than the original equipment. I also noticed that an idler pulley is now rattling on the useless threaded bolt which is used as a shaft for the idler to run on. Another example of cheap thoughtless construction items used. The mower is so disappointing, Husqvarna did not honour the warranty after only a few hours work when the clutch seized up and cost me $800 for a replacement unit fitting. The fixing bolts have come out of the end pulley covers. I replaced those as well. Buyers beware !!!! I have to live with my mistake purchase, which is in pieces more than it has run in the past 5 years.

Absolutely fabulous mower, catcher needs a redesign – We traded up from an old faithful CTH180XP Husky ride-on that I had pretty much worn out over the years on our lifestyle block. I've been very happy with orange power tools on our block and so stuck with it for this purchase - and overall I am glad. The 242 was such a massive step-up in terms of its ability to mow through (literally!) a hay… Read more

paddock with barely a sideways glance, and the welded mowing deck seems indestructible. We've had it two seasons now, and put about 70 reasonably hard hours on it - It's an absolute weapon, and we love it. The fuel tank (around 10l I think) is big enough to mow all the lawns on our property without running out, and the reserve tank is a lifesaver when it does stop well away from the house. The seat is comfy, although the flip-down arm-rests don't seem to be all that useful except for on side slopes. We have just busted our first deck belt, but given the use it gets I think thats ok - I used to do a (costly) belt every season (sometimes two belts a season) on the 180. The 242 belt is cheaper too, so that's a win.

Like others suggest, I drilled a small hole in the corner of the plastic side chute and use a bungee cord to hold that up out of the way most of the time when the catcher is off. It helps when getting through tight spaces, or when mowing very heavy grass that I want to spread, as the chute will just end up bundling it all in windrows otherwise.

Ours has a diff lock, which I wanted for the difficult terrain on some of our property - but actually it makes tight turning a bit difficult - so there is a trade-off there. The diff lock is worth it though - it just keeps going where our old one would have started spinning a wheel. You just need to do a three-point-turn from time to time.

It also has two pedals - a forward one, and a reverse one - this took me a couple of hours to get used to as the old mower had a lever on the guard to change directions - but I love it now, it's much quicker and easier than the old system.

The achilles heel of this mower is the catcher though - I was told I could only have a bag system, and only the 2-bag system would fit. Coming from the nice big rear-mount catcher that I could just back up, pull a lever to dump, and drive off again - this new system is a pain in the butt. It fills rapidly on our property (lush grass, grows thick and fast) so you're getting off and on the mower a lot. It's also not that easy to get on and off the mower with the side-chute fitted because it blocks one side, and the deck height lever blocks the other. And the chute blocks easily if the grass is even slightly damp, meaning you have to pull it all apart (no easy task) to clear it. One of the handles ripped off one of the bags within about 2 months of owning it, and the lid doesn't open properly to access the bags (it hits the back of the seat). And the spinner that is supposed to show when the bag is full will only spin briefly just before the tube clogs - so that doesn't help much. But the major problem is the two-piece chute - it really is poorly designed. The rubber bungees holding it all together keep breaking, and the pins the bungees are mounted to will bend or break if (when!) you catch them on a tree/fence/whatever. Moreover, very frustratingly, the top of the chute keeps falling down out of the catcher housing where it suddenly starts blowing cut grass down the back of your shirt instead of into the bags. It's a real shame because I absolutely love the mower - I just absolutely hate the catcher. I really expect better from Husky, this just seems like it was dreamed up by the marketing team rather than designed by their engineers.

Having said that, I fully intend to engineer my own catcher system because despite how frustrating the factory one is - I love the mower way more than I hate the catcher. And if you have normal nice lawns that don't grow like hay paddocks every week then that catcher system might not be so bad for you. Would I buy it again, knowing what I know now? Yes, without even blinking - it really is an exceptional mower despite the catcher.

Ride on mower with a bit of grunt – We currently have a Cub Cadet LT 1042 1000 series ride on mower, due to slow parts supply(covid19 excuse) we are waiting for a paid for $12 part to get it back up and cutting again, 3 months for a small part doesn't stop the grass from growing neither does the covid19 excuse. My wife and l bit the bullet and decided that as our mower is 12 years… Read more

old with only 312 hours on it, we'd but a new mower and sell our Cub.

We looked compared and haggled for a brand new same sized mower as the Cub Cadet and purchased our Husqvarna TS242D from the Red Shed in Bunyip Vic.

Good deal, great mower, had to ring them back an hour after we took delivery to complain about an issue, they laughed (my complaint was that l couldn't get my wife off the mower). Ha ha.

After a week, our now long grass looks like a bowling Green again and back to where it should have been, months ago.

Great ride, excellent power from the 21.5 HP Kawasaki twin cylinder engine. The D in the model stands for the auto diff lock which the Cub does not have.

So gone are the days where l'd lean my weight to one side to get out of a rear wheel slip incident, the diff lock cuts in right away and get the mower back to firm ground without having to move your body from side to side to regain traction.

After a week l hit a gum tree broken branch just hidden under the grass cuttings and broke the left Spindle on the blade...... My fault not the mowers fault.

The spindle did exactly what it was designed to do, sheer off the mounting ears of the spindle, reducing the likelihood of greater significant Damage to the deck.

1 hour later with a new genuine spindle, l was mowing again. Easy fix even if you have the lowest level of mechanical knowledge.

Speed of flat travel, side by side, Cub Cadet is 5 mph, Husqvarna is 10 mph.

Would l recommend.... Hell Yes. David.

Good so far – Bought this 3 weeks ago and have used twice now. My yard is 80X170 ft. Before this I had a John Deere E120 for about 7 years. The good....has no problem with the hill part of my yard which I have to do at an angle. The Deere didn't like this part to well as one back wheel would spin a lot. This machine has a locking drive so it's no problem. This… Read more ·  1

thing has a ton of power compared to the E120 which had a 20 hp. motor. It's hard to believe that the 1 1/2 hp. difference between the 2 could be so pronounced. The not so good is the deck seems to not have as much spring to it as the E120. I have a couple of spots on the lawn where there's little dips and while the E120 cut evenly going through these, the Husqvarna does a bit of scalping. Husqvarna advertises the seat as being super comfortable, while it is has a lot more padding than the E120. I don't find noticeably more comfortable, the E120 had springs in it's seat base which the TS242 doesn't. I know this isn't mush of a real review as it only has less than 3 hours on it. But so far I can't really complain. In a couple of years time I'll revisit this review to update it.

Not perfect but not bad either – Right up front, I'll admit I am rough in the treatment of the mower and my backyard doesn't help. I have owned the mower for over 6 years and is showing 329.5 hours on the clock. The Good: Starts first (or second) go. Has never refused to start. Behaves perfectly on flat(ish) ground. It handled my sloping up to 15 degree backyard quite well until… Read more

about 120 hours.

The Not So Good: The blade spindles were easily broken (usually by running over a root or stump). The quick release blade system was hopeless. However, a dealer was able to get these upgraded under warranty spindles the blades bolt to and supplied heavy duty blades which make short work of small fallen branches and the loose rocks my yard seems to grow. No broken spindles since the upgrade and they come with grease nipples. There have been 2 broken belts that drive the cutting deck and 1 broken belt connected to the transmission. Not too bad I guess for the hours.

The Bad: As a result of the blade quick release failing a blade made a 20mm cut in the deck where the cuttings are expelled. This was poorly repaired by the dealer and now it split and grass jams in the crack and bend the deck. Every so often I get out the hammer and rectify the bend, but not the split which has grown to 50mm+. The transmission is effectively worn out after about 120 hours of mowing my sloping yard.

Now you may have noticed the 120 hour comment above and the fact I have continued using the machine as indicated by the 329.5 hours currently registering. The problem is the hydraulic transmission oil gets hot and the worn pumps will not drive the mower uphill any more. Flat ground no problem. Basically I had to adjust my mowing patterns to make sure I only ever run at grades the mower will handle. In some cases this is achieved by using a pattern where mowing up slopes is done at around 45 degrees or less. This often involves a reversing turn at the end of an across slope run to set the correct up slope angle. The across slope runs come with their own particular problems as tipping is never far away. Luckily I have experience of sailing catamarans on the Derwent and use this technique to keep the mower stable. Frequently after mowing the bottom of the backyard I can only get back to the shed by to and froing across the yard gaining a few yards of hight each time util I reach the flatter ground at the top of the yard.

i thought an electric ride on would be the answer... no transmission, therefore no hydraulics to wear out. So I bought a EGO Z6 ZTR Model ZT4200E-L mower. Bad (and expensive) idea. It not only can't handle the up slopes the old Huskie could and still does (sometimes), it can't handle driving across the slopes and will veer off down the slope virtually out of control. Trying to keep it on a straight line usually ends up with one wheel locked up being dragged and chewing up the grass. I have had this machine for 18 months and have only added 10 hours - 4 of which were attempting to learn how to exert some sort of control over it. (Not very satisfactorily I'm afraid.) There is another entry on this site for the EGO machine.

Piece of cheaply built junk. Design flaws – Easy domestic lawn. No rocks. Smooth. Purchased Husqvarna ts242d from new. Immediately upon arrival front wheels loose on axle. Dealer collected. Two weeks later, tried billing me for repair. Bushers miraculously needed replacing. Several uses later, front wheels were both wobbling on axles again. Dealer quoted on busher replacement, again. I… Read more

shopped around and found a busher replacement kit - essentially some flanged bearings. Less than half the dealer quote on the idiotic bushers alone. Never mind their labour charges. The bushers erode themselves and destroy the axle at the same time. Such a stupid, cheap, flawed design - appears to be deliberate fault in design for repeat servicing. The bearings that replaced the bushers work much better and are more durable without causing damage. Install these items yourself - it is so easy. You also get steering bearings that facilitate steering and mitigate wear.

On easy lawn, low hours, v-belt snapped. Costly replacement. This machine is absolute rubbish. It is fragile. Not fit for purpose.

Great machine does the job without fuss – We purchased this tractor mower in 2009 and haven't had any issue with it. It has plenty of grunt, can go up and down a long steep drive and push through grass as high as the engine cover. It has an excellent turning circle which is ideal for mowing around shrubs and pergolas. Fuel tank has good capacity. The only annoyance is its push button… Read more

start code which has sensibly replaced with a key in newer models. Would recommend it for rural house yard mowing. For paddock sized lots a mower with a larger cutting width would be better.

Anything but a Husky TS 242 – Purchased new in 2020, the ride-on now has 68 hours on the clock. Used on our 3 acre block, for every mow it spends at least 3 weeks in he shed while we wait for mower deck parts. The pressed steel mower deck is VERY flimsy and is unable to cope with even light encounters with hidden tree roots or stones without breaking. As we live in the… Read more

far north Queensland tropics and the lawn needs mowing weekly, this issue becomes extremely frustrating. Has anyone got one of these mowers fitted with a cast steel deck and if so, what has been your experience with them? Is the extra price worth it, because as far as I'm concerned, I've shelled out 5 grand for a piece of junk.

NOT A HAPPY CAMPER – I have had a TS 242 for 5 years , had to replace starter switch at about 400 hrs , now at 800 hrs have to replace starter switch again , alternator and wireing loom . Now it has cost me 6 months waiting for parts and and about a $1000 plus down time it has already cost me and will cost me more down time while it's being repaired Show details

Newer Models seem to have sorted out the earlier problems – I've had this mower for 2 seasons and have been very satisfied. I use it to mow a vacant block of 2500 square metres plus some lawn areas. I used product review before I purchased and was almost put off this model, but realised that the faults mentioned on most reviews are for older models. The latest model has addressed all of the earlier… Read more ·  1

issues. (strangely Husqvarna keep the same model number so you cant recognise how old they are). I've had various brands of ride-ons over the years and found that this model had all the features I wanted. The locking diff is excellent and hill climbing ability more than I expected. Kawasaki engine starts reliably (with the right amount of choke) and has not missed a beat. I do most cutting with only a small amount of throttle; there's plenty of power. The only negative is that the side by side blades leave a small uncut area between them; its not an issue for a paddock but is a hassle on a lawn when you have to go back over it to trim the missed bits. It takes a little while to get used to the various interlocks which will stop the engine when you take your weight off the seat or go into reverse (this can be locked out when starting). I find the separate pedals for forward and reverse a bit strange after having heel and toe pedals previously. I would recommend this mower based on 2 seasons use and hope to report that it continues to perform for many more years.

Gets worse as it goes. Chassis and mounts too small for the mower – I Reviewed this mower after owning it for 21/2 years when it was OK and still under warranty. " have had this mower for approx. 2 1/2 years during this time apart from a cutter head bearing collapsing and the fuel filler cap needing THOR to open or close it has been excellent. My neighbor bought one several months ago and the front wheel fell off… Read more

on the 2nd mow ???" BUT just before the 5year warranty period finished the welds on the chassis bracket to the transaxle broke and I thought the transaxle was failing - repaired under warranty. Just over 5 years the chassis rail on the R/H side cracked all the way through and I was forced to repair the fracture. Now at the 5 1/2 year finished warranty point the L/H chassis/chair mount where it mounts to the support the transaxle has completely broken away. I weigh 72kg so if you weigh over that you might want to be very careful in your choice of mowers. It's still good BUT!!!! ------

Don't buy this ride on lawn mower – Worst ride on lawn mower!!! I've had nothing but trouble after buying it 18 months ago to mow a 3 acre area around our house. Have taken it back twice to Agent/Seller & when they put on my statement that I didn't use the choke and throttle correctly, I was amiss. Today (3 months later), the belt came off the cutting mechanism!!! For the price of this machine, totally disappointed & would never recommend it Show details

Nice engine, nice plastic body shell, worse than 1980 models – I bought my TS 238 in 2018, it was 1.5 years old and had about 90 hours on the clock. I was nice to drive, very manoeuvrable and cut neatly on flat lawn. My kids like driving it and mowing. But in the springtime when the grass was lush and about 100mm high, it would clog up the grass delivery shoot to the catcher. It it is a long plastic curving… Read more

tube that delivers cut grass to the rear catcher. It is no bigger than the rear grass shoot on my 4.5 hp walk behind mower, so that is the first design flaw. I catches at the lower edge where it is moving from the mower deck up into the delivery tube. Our property is completely flat, and during spring has thick lush grass. At a 100 hours, it broke the drive belt for the mower deck, and in replacing it I found that 6 of the 8 bearing on the deck were worn, rusty and had almost no grease. These are the bearings for the two short blade drive shafts, and the bearings in the tensioner/change of direction belt gearbox. Not impressed about that. The Husqvarna dealer noticed that the belt pulleys mounted on the tensioner bracket were askew, not aligned, out of allignment about 20 degrees, seemed to be due to the weak bracket they were mounted on. Bent it back into place Soon after repair it broke the propulsion drive belt. Then at 150 hours it broke the mower deck belt broke again, this time the previous bracket had bent/twisted again so two pulleys were askew, and as well, the back idler pulley right up by the engine drive pulley, was also misalligned, and a full 15 mm too low for the belt coming off the heavy main drive pulley. It took a day to modify both faults. The bracket was strengthened with long weld beads. The back idler bracket had to be modied to sit up higher and have two bolts clamping it, not just the factory one. All this was done in consultation with the dealer who was very helpful. Next the tensioner spring broke, the belt jumped off got caught and nearly burnt out a third mower deck drive pulley at about 160 hours use. These faults may be corrected but I think the design engineering in these mowers is very poor. My advice is to check pulley alignments, and belts to preempt belt wear from this possible fault. I would now recommend that the plastic guards be removed on the two outsides of the mower deck. it is better to be able to see what is happening down there, and to clear grass and rubbish that accumulates very quickly in the recess above the blade. I B&D engine is a very good unit, just changed the oils and filters and works faultlessly

Worth moving to the country – My TS246 was purchased late in 2016 just after we moved from the city to a 2 acre block at Clare in rural SA. The only level part of the block has the house on it; the rest is up and down with a gulley running through. The front half of the block is grassed with the back is quite rough, with patches which are too rough to mow. There are a fair… Read more

number of sticks and stones. Having a dog means that just about anywhere there are sticks and other rubbish hidden in the grass. Boggy conditions mean traction can be lost if the cutters are too low. I have not had any trouble until now. The other day I was mowing when I saw a metal object sticking out of the ground, I recognised it as a blade. The retaining clip had disappeared. I think the caps went long ago. Talking with the dealer we are arranging a swing blades conversion which will better suit the block. In all other aspect I am satisfied. The petrol line mod was fixed by me with a cable tie. It was worth moving from the city to get this mower.

Don't touch these – Quick release system is useless, very easily damaged, mine has been ripped off twice and spindle has been damaged Always having problems starting it.... To much of a pain in the head.... absolute junk and thats all after only 3 years old with 65 hours on the clock Husqvarna should be charged by Consumer Affairs for selling these as mowers. Show details