I just purchased a 2013 Honda HRX217HZA a couple of weeks ago. It supplants a 2003 Toro 20033 SR push mower here, which still is in mint condition. After recent spine surgery, I decided to finally purchase a self-propelled mower! Here are my thoughts on the HRX217HZA which cost me $849, plus tax (high here in IL (9%) - at a local mower shop. - Versamow System... So far, I exclusively use it in the mulch position, as I always mulch here. This fall I will try it out in the partial mulch and partial discharge when the leaves begin to fall. I never bag, as I have no way to get rid of the clippings. The mower mulches very well on par with the Toro SR. - The 190cc engine starts immediately with either the recoil or electric start. NOTE: With the 2013 HRX217HZA, Honda eliminated the "wall wart" charger for the battery. The battery is now charged from the engine's electrical system when the mower is running. No engine surging is noted, either at partial or full throttle. However, I am using non-Ethanol gasoline provided by the selling dealer. I will see if any surging begins when I start using the 10% Ethanol gas sold at all gas stations in this area. I do use an additive called Star Tron Enzyme Fuel Treatment - I find it superior to Sta-Bil. - Blade Brake... the blade brake feature is very nice, especially when you need to pick up something from the yard which was overlooked prior to mowing. I know this adds to the complexity of the mower, but it's a big plus for me. When the blade brake bail is pushed in which engages the blade, or more specifically, the blades, the mower's dBA noise level increases significantly. The HRX217 is definitely a louder mower than my Toro SR 20033 with the flat-head B&S 6.5HP Quantum engine. - Nexite Deck... The Nexite deck is very nice, and rugged, but it may be more sensitive to spilled gas, fluids, etc. than a cast aluminum or steel deck. This is not confirmed, but it is noted in the HXA's owner's manual. - Ball Bearing Wheels... This mower is heavy (102 lbs.), but I honestly can't tell much of a difference between this mower with the ball bearing wheels and the Toro with sleeve bearing wheels. Granted, the Toro is only 69 lbs., but when I drop the Clutch Bail on the Honda to either trim or go back and forth around obstacles, the Honda is not necessarily easy to maneuver - ball bearing wheels or not. Not that it's hard to maneuver per se, but simply more so than my Toro push mower. - Hydrostatic Drive... The Hydrostatic drive is wonderful in operation. I can set it to its lowest setting, and it will simply crawl at a snail's pace. I will never use it at its highest speed setting, as I don't enjoy jogging when I mow the lawn! It's very nice to be able to change the speed on the go, and when you want to disengage the drive, you simply drop the Clutch Bail. You can also "feather" the drive system by partially dropping the Clutch Bail similar to a single drive or variable drive system. As to potential cost-of-repair, yes, I expect the Hydrostatic drive to be most costly to maintain, and certainly to repair than other systems. I've heard stories here on this site of high repair bills on the Hydrostatic drive, so I am a bit concerned about this myself. I understand the Toro's Personal Pace (originally designed by Lawn-Boy), and the Snapper Disc design is more simple, and thus, less-costly to repair. - Honda Warranty... The HRX comes with a 5 year warranty, but since I purchased the mower on or before May 31, Honda added a Bonus 1 year, so it has a 6 year warranty. I've also read on this site where Honda can be quite picky about some warranty claims, thus this also concerns me a bit. I never had the need to test the Toro 5 year warranty on my 20033 SR, as it never had one single problem in the 10 years I've owned it. The only negatives I've discovered so far are as follows: - When mowing laterally across a slight rise or hill, the mower wants to slide sideways down the incline a bit. This is due to its weight. It's not a significant problem, but it does occur. - The HRX217 is a complex walk-behind mower... from its OHC 190cc engine with a belt-driven cam drive to its Hydrostatic drive, it's likely the most complex walk-behind mower available for residential use. Unlike the Toro 20033 SR with the "old" B&S flat head engine which has only required annual oil changes, annual air filter replacements, and annual spark plug replacements, plus a thorough cleaning after each use, the Honda's maintenance schedule "reads more like an automobile maintenance schedule." The dealer strongly urged me to consider annual check-ups at $69+ per service, and the owner's manual directly addresses this, such as checking the valve clearance on the OHC system, as well as checking the Hydrostatic drive. Thus, this mower will certainly be more costly to maintain than the Toro I own. During the 6 year warranty period, the dealer will pick up the mower and deliver it back to my house for no charge - other than the service fee of course. Just a thought to consider, as I doubt HD would do this for you. One of the benefits of buying from a locally-owned dealer is that they generally provide excellent service. redballoon - I hope this answers some of your questions. I know this is not the exact model you are considering, but I have tried to cover most questions on the mower's features.

I'm glad that you are happy with your purchase. I have a ten year old Honda. My experience: The engine is indestructable. After 10 years, the carb has gotten gummed up and my choke sticks. Not unreasonable. Simple solution was to quit using the choke. It still starts first pull most of the time even without choking it. I will get around to cleaning the carb one of these days. No complaints about the deck. My deck is steel and shows no rust and very little wear. I have the double blade mulch setup and it does a good job mowing. I mulch most of the time and it only leaves cut grass on top of the lawn if I let it get too long before cutting. But...... I have a slight incline in my yard. Slight. I've had to replace the wheels once because they wore smooth and slid on the incline. I'm getting ready to replace them again because the second set it almost smooth. BTW, my lawn is about 1/3 acre, a corner lot in a subdivision. Cables. I have to replace the cable to the self propelled clutch about every other year. There doesn't seem to be anything that is stressing it, it just breaks after a while. I've replaced the safety/blade clutch cable a couple of times as well. The self propelled cable also needs adjusted yearly. The clamp holding it doesn't seem to be as secure as it should be and it slips, causing the self propelled mechanism to be hit or miss. The bagger frame. It fell apart. Three welds just gave up and it fell to pieces. New ones are quite costly and the replacement seems to be constructed exactly the same as the old one. The fabric bag actually lasted longer than the frame! The handle. The paint came off of it after a couple of years where I hold it while mowing. This isn't my first go around with a mower and I've never had this happen with far cheaper models. I had to cover it with electrical tape to keep it from rusting. Also, the plastic bracket on the right holding the two drive levers crumbled after a couple of years. These are all niggling problems to me because I do the repairs myself. I've always managed to figure a way to mow even when it is broken. On the other hand, if I had to take it in for repair every time, I would probably be pretty unahppy. I'm sure I've spent enough to buy a new one and my wife mentions that every time it breaks. I just hate to get rid of it when the engine and deck are working so well. I'll probably consider Toro and Snapper whenever I break down and decide to replace it.

Here is a follow up to my June 28, 09 post: It has been two years since the purchase of my HS724WA. Powerful, quite, smooth, maneuverable, fuel efficient - but not reliable. Back in December I took out the Honda to prep for the coming snow. Filled the tank with fresh gas newly treated with stabilizer. Couldn't start the machine with the choke on. It would start with the choke off after many pulls, but wouldn't run for more than about 30 seconds. The local repair shop suggested it was a dirty carburetor. I doubted that since it is only 2 years old, I use stabilizer, and drain the tank at the end of each season. After forking over the $50 pickup-delivery charge, the shop tried cleaning the carburetor three times to no avail. They offered to tear apart the carburetor to determine the cause, but suggested a new carburetor ($47) plus labor ($50) would be a cheaper and safer route. Furthermore I was infomed that I overfilled the tires, causing the back end to ride high, causing the auger to scrape. Apparently the Honda tires "don't have memory", so once overfilled, they remain enlarged even after letting air out. $200 to replace the tires. So 2 years after spending $2000 on an HS724WA, I have to drop an additional $350 in repairs. Obviously I am a little disillusioned by the whole experience. I'll take the blame for the tires, though I wish Honda was a little more vocal on how finicky they are. I am aware they require 8psi and religiously check the pressure throughout the season, using my bicycle pump to make adjustments. I have an analog VDO pressure gauge that works well for my automobile (32psi) and will register 8-60psi. Apparently it is not accurate at 8psi. I recently purchased a low pressure (0-15psi) gauge for $28. Ironically the Honda receives better care than I ever gave my Yard Machines/MTD blower, which ran reliably without problems for 10 years. I like the machine otherwise, but will no longer be able to speak enthusiastically about "Honda reliability".

I love when I have driven the CRV that a parent drives, its a wonderful vehicle, its old though from 1995 and so don't know what the up to date ones are like to drive and insides of it. My brother got a toyota rav4; love riding in it in the back seat, so comfortable and fancy everything they go in it, the new keyless, the dual heat/air conditioning which again is so awesome so driver and passenger the temepratures they want on them. My brother splurged since he drove through the mountains and one area he couldn't hear the radio and so got the satellite radio put in and wow, you can hear really great stations on it. Its way too small I feel for them right now as they go skiing themselves and sons and their bikes they have too as they bring them out to where they have a condo. And too fancy I felt for what they have used their huge vehicle they had before. I have sat in the back of the cvr and found it find but the only complaint for me is all vehicles the seat belts in the back seats strangle me and tighten and you can't loosen it up in the back seats. I hope those that are talking vehicles do try them all out. I did when I went looking for vehicle in 2010 and I wanted one that I could see when driving as they make dashboards, etc. too high for men and not thinking of women driving. Same with seat belts too, can they be moved down to women height to use. How is the highway noise and can you hear yourselves talking or the radio on? And if you live in a really hot temperatures, then make sure you get the right air conditioning as the bigger vehicles like those you really get good air but the smaller ones like mine, ou don't get it as much. Same with heat, if you live in cold temperatures, make sure too that you check that out. Check the windows as I don't like the back windows in like the subaru forester my dad has as it would come down a bit and so sitting in the back you couldn't get them down like you wanted too. How is the visiblity, if you struggle backing up due to not seeing well if you are short then go to a parking lot when test driving it and back up and see how it works for you. Also are the mirrors good too for bakcin up and using for yourself? What things come with that type of vehicle and do you like it all? I checked for like where can you put things you need in the car, what size is the back trunk area and what do you put and carry, what things do you buy and need space to buy and carry it and bring it home. does it fit your parking that you will park it in, also how easy is it to park it in parking lots as the spaces got smaller to park in then back out of them. How easy it is to turn it around corners,etc. Also where they put the automatic too, on the crv 1995 its way up at the steering wheel and the subaru forestor my dads has it down and mine is at an angle. Check too the pedals as soo many are as they age not stepping on the right pedal, gas instead of brake so check them all out, how fast can you stop it? I found with my many vehicles I wanted to find I didn't have alot of those problems anymore. My one frustration with new ones is the back windows are dinky size, not the nice big ones they used to have so I have to use mirrors and turn and watch and its hard these days due people walking everywhere and behind you and vehicles too and so its alot to watch. Can you safely reach knobs that you must while driving and not stray you from watching the road?????? How do things work, make sure they show you if you aren't sure, don't go home and go, ummm, I can do this but can't. Don't be afraid to keep coming back and trying things out, I did with my matrix. Also asked about this and that too. One guy told me he would throw in the liner in the back trunk area but the guy that sold it to us didn't, said now when he asked someone. Also I consider waiting if your old vehicle is still good to drive and get the colour and seats in it that you want if you drive it until its done for like 10 years. And take care of it too, so many do not but if you take it in regularly and get the work done and check ups, your car will last long time for you. Only you will know what fits well with your life style and if you drive lots and long distances you do what something that is comfortable both back and front seats plus good trunk space too. There isn't anything worse then sitting in the back and the driver doesn't and its so uncomfortable back there.