Craftsman Riding Mowers Reviews

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2.7(178)

About Craftsman Riding Mowers

Pros
  • Durable and long-lasting performance
  • Easy to maintain and repair
  • Good value for money
Cons
  • Poor customer service experiences
  • Warranty coverage concerns

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Craftsman Riding Mowers Reviews

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    Page 1 Reviews 0 - 10

    Reviewed June 7, 2025

    I bought those lawn tractor three years ago and the first two years. The automatic choke wouldn’t work until after an hour of cranking and recharging the battery over and over again. Now I’m using starting fluid to get it to start and my starter died. Put the old choke lever back on the machines because this automatic one is junk.

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    Punctuality & Speed

    Reviewed June 1, 2025

    I have had my Craftsman T2200 for two years. I chose it primarily for the 19.5hp Kohler engine, which is rock solid. I'm now in my third season of using it, and I'm pretty pleased. The 5" turning radius is about as tight as it gets, short of a zero turn, which is a completely different type of mower. The transmission is super smooth. If you do your maintenance, it should serve you well for a very long time.

    The only hiccup has been the battery. I didn't really notice until it was dead this Spring. I shrugged and charged it. It was dead again a month later. It wasn't until I brought the replacement battery home that I noticed that they had cut a major corner at my expense. The included battery is a nonstandard size, about 1/4 the volume of a standard U1 battery. They have a plastic insert to make the smaller battery fit in the U1-sized hole. Take out the old battery and the insert, and the proper battery fits like a glove. I love this lawnmower, but that's pretty rotten and outrageous way to save pennies on a machine that costs over $2000. Deducting one star for that nonsense!

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      Reviewed May 18, 2025

      I bought the 36” Craftsman mower 2 years ago, I now have 54 hours on the engine and I’ve never once had any sort of an issue. Only thing I had to jump the battery because I never hooked the trickle charger for the winter (MY FAULT). I’m really surprised by so many awful reviews I’ve read. I know if mine ever gets tired I’ll buy another craftsman.

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      Customer ServicePunctuality & SpeedReliability

      Reviewed May 16, 2025

      Last fall we moved into our new place. The lot is .8 acres, so the back yard is probably some over a half acre. The previous owners had fenced it, and put in 34" gates, so I needed a 30 inch mower to get through the gates. I'm a pretty decent mechanic. I've restored over a dozen motorcycles, and three cars. All I can say is that this mower shows exactly why foreign products have taken over the market.

      First, I bought the mower from Lowe's, who assembled and delivered it, so I don't know whether the problems were caused by them or if they are endemic to the Craftsman brand. It was delivered without an ignition key. When I called Lowe's, they MAILED me one. Meanwhile, I went to a hardware store and just bought one for a couple of bucks. That was the foreshadowing. The very first time I tried to mow, both seat bolts snapped off. Lowe's told me that is not an unusual problem, but then said they couldn't get it in to repair for several weeks. That was unacceptable. I took the seat assembly apart, noted that the seat bolts are actually self-tapping screws, and showed signs of overtightening. They also looked wimpy for seat mounts. I further disassembled the mower, likely voiding any warranty. Big deal. Warranty will put it back like it was. Like it was broke!

      I drilled out the seat mount and put a couple of 1/2" bolts in from the bottom, put thin nuts on the top of the mount as lock nuts, then the top part of the seat bracket. It won't break now. As it was late in the year, I waited until now to service it. Another annoyance--- the oil drain plug. Why, in the 21st century, did B&S use a 1/2" SQUARE oil plug? And why is it impossible to change the oil without getting it all over the deck, the floor, and the user? Yeah, I know, you're supposed to buy the oil change kit. Let me say I'm reluctant to spend more money for something that should be included if it's needed to do the oil change. Instead, I got a 6" piece of steel plumbing pipe and a ball valve with a piece of hose. Now I can untuck the hose, put the drain pan to the side, and open the valve.

      That was not the worst of it, though. The worst thing was getting the blade off to sharpen it. I don't know if it was the factory, or Lowe's, but somebody WAY overtightened the nut holding the blade onto the spindle. I tried to loosen it--- no go. I used penetrating oil. I used a propane torch. It would not loosen. I have an old style 24" torque wrench, the kind with a pointer. I had to have help pulling it. At 250 lbs torque, the nut rounded off. Vice Grips and a hammer wouldn't budge it. I tried a nut splitter--- it's a flanged nut, so the splitter wouldn't work. I ended up using a grinder to grind away one side of the nut, almost to the threads before the damned thing would turn. TWO DAYS of work just to get a nut off! You want to know why I'll pick almost ANYTHING before "American Made"? This is a perfect example. US products suck.

      Having said that, as a mower, it works fine. It has adequate power, has been reliable, and I can't complain about it performance-wise. It only gets 1 star, though. I have friends in Tennessee that work for both Briggs & Stratton and MTD, and no corporation that pays its employees less than a living wage will ever get more from me. I'd rather feed a Chinese family than help Bezos or other corpo-criminals buy another yacht.

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      Reviewed Sept. 23, 2024

      I purchased a Craftsman T110 Riding mower earlier this year. I am 85 years old and have been using Craftsman mowers almost exclusively since I was 12 years old. My other Craftsman riding mower is a LT 1000. The older mower is far superior. The first issue with the T110 was the very first time I engaged the mower deck blades. There was a noticeable vibration from the mower deck. I immediately shut the mower off and looked for a loose blade or any visible damage. I found no detectable issue. I decided that possibly the blades were out of balance. I have never experienced that severe of a vibration on any other mower. I have not replaced the blades yet.

      The second issue is with the 2 ply tires installed on the mower. The very first time I mowed, two tires went flat from goat heads. I had to order 4 ply rated tires after one use of the mower. The third issue is with the rear bagger. It is almost worthless. The flexible hose is too short by 3 or 4 inches, It keeps disconnecting from either end while mowing. Also it is far too wide to fit through my 48" side gate. My LT1000 with rear bagger fits nicely through the gate. The rear bagger also keeps plugging up the hose with grass. The bagger is very flimsy and hard to clean. I regret buying it and now rarely use it. Nice yard ornament. If I could mount the old bagger system on the T110, I would. That is not possible, due to the design differences. All in all, not one of my better decisions to buy it.

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      Reviewed Sept. 16, 2024

      Last year I purchased a Craftsman 42 inch lawn tractor, within days I knew I had a lemon. Multiple issues from wiring and battery problems to carburetor choke sticking. I took it back. Being a firm believer in Craftsman, even from MTD, I accepted that maybe this was just a lemon, everyone has them from time to time, so I left Lowe's with another tractor the same make. The tractor worked great - for about 6 weeks. Then the choke started sticking, just like first one. Shortly after the mower started choking down and cutting out when in 3 inch high grass. Now, it's a fight to get it to cut consistently at all.

      I contacted Craftsman AND Lowe's. Explained the problems, including the safety brake on the transmission not working, it rolls without releasing the transmission lock. So far as I can find, and after talking with a local repair shop on Craftsman's list, the repair won't be warranted. They tell me that MTD, the manufacturer, usually won't pay for the repairs that this mower likely needs, they've seen this before and MTD has always denied the claim. There is no way I can ever recommend a Craftsman or MTD product again.

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      Reviewed Sept. 3, 2024

      30 hours on mower in 2 years and in the shop FIVE times and shop cost over $400. Warranty either not covered or you can’t find any factory help! I think my comment should stop any sales if they publish this. JUNK. JUNK.

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      Reliability

      Reviewed Aug. 14, 2024

      I purchased a T210 riding lawn mower in 2020. I have 118 hrs on the machine. I recently experienced complete failure of the transmission. I took it to a reputable repair shop and they informed me that the repair parts were not available and it would need a whole new transmission. The mower in queue before mine was also a Craftsman with a failed transmission. Today I took the deck to the repair shop to donate along with the mower to try to help out someone else with parts. The engine ran fine. I thought about purchasing the next model up. I believe it was the 2400 as they don't make the T210 anymore. As luck would have it as I was at the shop a customer was dropping off a 2400 with only 40 hrs time on it for get this transmission failure. Come on Craftsman. Start building a reliable transmission or at least one that can have parts replaced. Needless to say I will no longer purchase a Craftsman. Buyer beware!!!! Highly disappointed.

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      Reviewed July 29, 2024

      My Craftsman lawn tractor will only cut for 20 to 30 minutes. I have taken it to the shop and it is still doing it. New spark plugs, fuel and oil filters, everything we could think of and my warranty is about to expire and they haven't figured out what it wrong. Have anyone else had this issue. I got a new tractor because of power steering. Now I am stuck with a lemon from Lowe's. I shop there regularly.

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      Customer ServiceCoverage

      Reviewed July 27, 2024

      Craftsman T2200 Lawn Tractor. Purchased from Lowe's (Milledgeville Ga) July 10, 2023. Had to charge battery before using, less than 8 hours on mower air filter totally disintegrated on the inside, replaced and winterized it keeping in garage. April I put fresh gas, charged battery and after 10 minutes mower started smoking, engine running rough, stalling out. The spark plug was fouled out by oil, replaced, changed oil and filter, ran about 15 minutes doing same thing. Lowe's sent it off for warranty on April 25, 2024. Service called saying oil was dirty and carb. Was damaged. I don't understand why oil was dirty when I had just changed it. Not covered by warranty 370.54. Finally got thru to Lowe's manager and after heated discussion she finally agreed that Lowe's would pay cost. Asked if they would check battery and starter also.

      I got it back 6/17/24. Repair order stated carb had been replaced, battery and starter working fine. Wrong! Again I had to charge battery, still smoked, got 1 cutting done. 2nd cutting charged battery, after 10 minutes started running rough engine cutting out, check oil, it was dirty, drained. Put fresh oil in. Checked spark plug. It was coated with oil, clean and reinstalled. Got 20 minutes of mowing and same thing. Very, very disappointed. I am 66 years old, have owned 3 Craftsman lawnmowers because my father and son believe in Craftsman (they are the best). Have always cleaned mine after mowing and keep them in garage. I've never had any trouble with them before so I purchased this one and it is definitely a lemon.

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      Craftsman Riding Mowers author review by ConsumerAffairs Research Team

      Craftsman, an 88-year-old tool company, creates quality mowers for residential use. This lawn and garden equipment company, a Sears subsidiary, offers entry-level and mid-range riding mowers and other tools.

      • Quality construction: Craftsman has a reputation for quality parts, winning awards from Popular Mechanics and other organizations.

      • Variety of attachments: These riding mowers have front and back attachments available for more versatility, such as a sweeper that cleans up leaves, clippings and other yard debris.

      • Wide range of deck sizes: Homeowners can choose from multiple deck sizes accommodating up to three acres. The deck size is the length of the cutting blades and dictates the width of the mower's cutting path.

      • Multi-speed transmissions: Seven-speed transmissions give the gardener full control over the mowing experience.

      • Powerful engines: The quality engines provide enough power to handle challenging terrain and slopes.

      The ConsumerAffairs Research Team believes everyone deserves to make smart decisions. We aim to provide readers with the most up-to-date information available about today's consumer products and services.

      Craftsman Riding Mowers Company Information

      Company Name:
      Craftsman Riding Mowers
      Website:
      www.craftsman.com