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Murray Lawn Mowers

Murray Lawn Mowers • Self-propelled models • Belt failure • Riding models • Push models • Gas leaks • Other problems • Murray Defenders ---- • 2003 Lawn tractor recall • 2002 Lawn tractor recall

Few things are as infuriating as a lawn mower that doesn't work. Unfortunately, this seems to be the case with many of the Murray mowers we hear about. Whether it's flimsy plastic gears, poorly-designed belts or gas leaks, the inexpensive Murrays seem to have more than their share of problems, as the complaints in this section indicate.

But wait ... there is another side to the story, and it comes from Ben of Frederick MD (8/19/05):
I am the owner of a small engine business and am not partial to any brand. I work on all small engines as well as sell every name available. I was appalled at the ignorance of your writers in your complaints on Murray lawn equipment. Most of the complaints were not against Murray at all, but more of the individual stores they got them from. If you have a problem with Wal-Mart�s customer service, that is not Murray�s fault, take it up with Wal-Mart.

As far as recalls go, every big name company has them, it is important to check them and know them, if your equipment has been recalled Murray always handles things properly if the CUSTOMER does. If you do what they instruct you to do (such as call them to make an appointment at an authorized shop) they will take care of you -- Murray�s customer service is impeccable compared with some of the others on the market.

The other thing is most of the complaints are direct result of a user failure. If you do not follow your instructions on simple operating procedures you will break something. As far as the woman with the blown motor �squirting oil� I can explain that. I do not even need to see the tractor to tell you what is wrong. This person put too much oil in the motor to start with. Then found it nearly imposable to start. This is because there was oil in places not meant to have that kind of pressure causing it to have back pressure in the crankcase.

Then when the person at the (I believe it was Wal-Mart) store did get it started, it blew oil everywhere, because there was nowhere else for the oil to go. The Wal-Mart man then proceeded to tell her (in his ignorance also) that the motor was �blown.� Then when she took it to a real dealer they set it aside on the basis of �this is an irate person that needs to cool down and doesn�t know anything about this situation.�

The other possibility is, depending on how long it was run with the overfilled oil, the motor could have actually had internal damage caused by the excess oil. This explains the wait, major work takes time. In short, your �consumers� had many complaints yes, but only a few of them were legitimate and even those were often misdirected.

Here are a few of the more recent complaints:

john of Mudgeeraba, Australia November 15, 2009

A local Dealer whose judgement I fully trusted ABSOLUTELY RECOMMENDED MURRAY, even though another 'Murray Dealer' said he was going out of them for more dependable models...(smart guy to get out)offering me a great discounted price @ over 3,500AUD....down from approx 4,000. My MURRAY MONSTER (aka the Heartbreaker) is a 17hp Ride-On with 38" twin-cut, purchased less than 2 years ago which I subsequently note is a 2005 Model (it's late Nov' 2009 now)....for whuich I never rec'd an Owners Manual (they keep promising) & for which there is none recorded online.

The machine gives me nothing but grief, refitting & replacing belts (Andy tells me it's the vibration) & a dramatically uneven cutting pattern 1" - 2" variation from one side of the deck to the other) nb: on flat ground. Honest Andy my 'Dealer' who unfortunately I particulary like just keeps reassuring me. Latest incident..I stopped the engine last week to chat with neighbours & it hasn't started again since - Andy told me it was dirty terminals on the battery (which is a Deka & the only working thing on the mower). After taking the mower to him, more disappointment as he was shut on a busy weekend (Sat' morning @ 9.00am)

Daniel of Minor Hill, TN September 26, 2009

I am currently looking to purchase a new riding mower as my 13 year old snapper is about wore out and i sure as h#ll don't want another murray,I was looking at a Husky at tractor supply and it didn't want anything that murray or any of it's subsidary company's make and somehow i ended up at this site.

Several years back i found myself in need of a lawn mower i looked around at various makes and found that my budget wiuld allow me to purchase a murray,so i went to the local walmart and bought a 42inch rider, you might say i had about 1/8 of an acre to go when my old simplicity played out. 1050.00 later i was finishing up the 1/8 of acre, after finishing up i put the mower in the same shed that the 15 year old simplicity had been stored all those years, without any problems!

Fast foward to the next spring i push out the new murray, the battery was dead, hookup my charger, check the oil, air up 2 of the tires,they were flat. after about 10 minutes of charging i'm finaly ready to mow!I MIGHT HAVE MOWED THIRTY MINUTES WHEN THE MOTOR SIEZED UP! Let me say this before I continue, Every lawn mower I have ever owned had a Briggs and Stratton motor on them, seldom ever have i had any problems with them, then it was something simple!

I checked the oil again and it was burnt, stunk like it had overheated! I let it cool down for awhile and attempted to turn the engine and start it. I started, so i turned it off and changed the oil, well it started back up again and seemed no worse for the sizure. Approxamately 20 minutes later it siezed up again, this time for good! I loaded it up and took it to the local murray repair shop, explained what had happened to the repair man.

About 2 hours later he called me and said i needed to come by and he would show me what had happened. After work i went by and indeed he showed me what had happened, the cooling fins on the cyclinder was packed full of straw and nuts, mice had built a nest around the cooling fins so it overheated and siezed up,it wasn't anybody's fault!

At the time i thought i don't have any mice in my shed i have 4 cat's,anyway being a automobile mechanic i bought a new engine and after almost half the origanal cost of the mower i was gleefalee mowing again. Then i hit the rock! Not a large rock, from that point on every 2 0r 3 ft the deck would leave a sprigg of grass, I put new blades on it to no avail! the next thing that went wrong was one of those" I'm to stupid to use this lawn more saftey switches shorted out and it wouldn't start" I disabled every one of them and it ran!Still leaving a sprig of grass every 2 or 3 ft. I put fixaflat in all the tires, now they all go flat every week, I bought a new battery because i was tired of jumping it off every time I SHUT IT OFF! Now it starts,the tires hold air and it leaves a sprig of grass every 2 or 3 ft.

Then came the straw that broke the camel's back, I was mowing and some how i got a piece of honeysuckle vine wrapped up around the blades! Before I could get them disengaged the blade belt broke and somehow one of the jackshaft pulley's broke also! well that was it! I took the enging off the POS murray and put it on my 12year old simplicity! I took the murray and pushed it out in the weeds where it sat for 3 years and then i took it to the scrap yard.

Let me add this little tid bit of knowledge to this articale before I close. i live 30 miles from where they make the murray mowers and work on a lot of thier employees automobiles. One day after i had junked the murray i was relating this very story to one of them. He told me that they had a mouse problem, but murray not only wouldn't admit it they wouldn't do anything about it! one more thing for 10 yeqrs my simplicity sat in the same shed and never had a mouse build a nest in it, after i put the new motor on the murray my mouse problem went away, and the snapper sat in the shed for another 15 years and never had a mouse problem. Well lets just say that by the time I was finished with the murray I had learned a valuable lesson! you get exactly what you pay for. Start with junk and you end with junk!

rebecca of terrell, TX August 11, 2009

I was putting air in plastic rimmed tire off a model 309008x92A when the rim rxploded. It was like a bomb going off. there was plastic schrapnel everywhere. I only had it up to 12 lbs of pressure when this happened. The tire said it would hold up to 24 PSI. I would have expected the tire to fail before the rim did.

It fractured my left thumb, and my first knuckle on my left hand. there were various other cuts and bruises. As a result, I now have a bunch of medical bills that I cannot afford. I still may have to have a pin put into the knuckle.

Anthony of Andalusia, AL July 10, 2009

On May 4, 2004 I purchased a Murray mower Model 3090029x95NA from our local Wal-mart. I aid 777.00 for te mower. Since I have had this mower I have had to replace the plastic tire hub 4 times. Today being the fifth. How could you possibly put a defective product such as this for sale? Plastic rims. Everytime I have to repace the rim I have to get tire and all at a cost of almost 50 per pop.

Ernest of Fayetteville, NC June 18, 2009

I brought Murray's 22" 6.0 lawn mower in 2003. It was a good lawn mower. Now I may have to buy another lawn mower because of a gas leak, not Murray's. I didn't know where the gas was leaking. I replaced a few things, afterwards I found out it was the plastic fuel tank.

Terry of nuevo, CA June 5, 2009

we bought the murray under the scotts brand, after the 3rd use we found it would not self-propell. found plastic gear stripped by metal gear drive. stated buying front tires for 11.00 ea. now they are 30 dollars each with 8 dollar shipping. have replaced at least 6 sets. called murray unable to talk to anyone of importance. said to call distributor. my wife was right when we bought it "its a piece of crap". they have taken advantage of everyone who has bought this brand.

Carmen of Kingston, ON June 3, 2009

I have a Murray 3 1/2 hp briggs and straton engine gas push lawnmower. With a throttleless carburator. It starts fine but I can't get it to run fast.Is there an adjustment somewhere.I see no set screw to change the speed. what can I do to fix it. can't cut the grass cause it runs too slow. please help.

Randy of Fredericksburg, VA June 3, 2009

I bought a 20" Murray push mower in 1999. It has given me at least twice the service I expected, and finally died this year (2009). The recoil start crapped out and instead of getting it fixed quickly, I just took it off and used a rope. Unfortunately, doing this let the dip stick piece get loose and it blew some oil. It finally threw a rod and died - at least half my own fault. I think if I'd fixed it properly, it would have lasted at least another five years. Great mower.

I've replaced it with a Murray self-propelled, electric start model - much fancier and with more things to go wrong, but if it does half what the first one did, I'll be a happy camper. Great mowers at much less cost than some of the green and yellow colored ones with the designer price tag.

Janet of Anderson, CA May 30, 2009

Model Number 22507x92A Murray High wheel lawn mower. Both rear high wheels 14" spokes cracked apart. unable to move the lawn mower and I am having to order replacement parts by computer. Now, the lawn has to wait for mail delivery. I spent money at Sears, wheels don't fit. Parts not available at Home Depot or Lowes.

Nicholle of Wauneta, NE May 28, 2009

We have a 4 year old Murray mower tractor. In the past have been very happy with the mower. I called your custormer service and was directed to parts department Wend. morning checking on a short block for model # 28707 type # 1120-E1 and was told that it was no longer available. When I asked about a replacement motor for the mower I was told by the man on the phone it would cost more than the mower was worth. When asked what I could do? I was told "buy a new tractor or a goat". I will be shopping for a new mower tractor but it will not be one of yours, with your kind of service. With money being tight for everyone that is a poor attitude for a customer service department to have.

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