Husqvarna YTH2348 3.60 star(s) (5)

Husqvarna YTH 2348 Poor Deck Bracket Welds
Model Year: 2012

I decided to buy a new riding mower to mow my 2 acre yard so I went and looked at a few and ended up buying a Husqvarna YTH 2348 with a bagger. I took delivery of it May 27-28th when it got delivered I went over the normal things: oil, tire pressure, made sure the deck was level, etc. No issues at all. Here it is May 2014 I'm mowing my lawn for the 2nd time this year, going into a left turn and I hear a metallic noise. I stop and look, 3/4 of the mower deck is hanging out of the right-hand side. I set the parking brake, went to get off and belt flew off and whacked my foot, did the chicken dance for a few, took the mower into the garage and noticed the deck brackets broke off the mower deck. After closer inspection, I noticed cold welds they didn't even penetrate the mower deck, I also noticed there was no belt guard in the mower. It's missing pt#532 19 43-20, they call it belt keeper engine. Call Sears, they say call Husqvarna, I did, sent them pics and also I went to the hosp. due to my left foot x-rays shows fractured foot now I'm in a cast for 6-8 weeks. Husqvarna agrees that the welds are bad and want to refund my money for the mower. Okay, what about medical expenses? Nope they want me to sign a liability form excusing them and Sears from any liability. To me, this is poor customer relations. I've owned Husqvarna products for over 25 years and never had any issues what so ever. Seems to me, now they have cheapened their products and have no quality control on inspection. Never again will I buy another one of there products. After doing some research, there is over 200 complaints on their mowers, between axles breaking, hydro no longer works, axle mounts breaking off, the frame mower deck brackets breaking off etc., etc.

Pros: Strong running Briggs engine.
Cons: Poor quality, poor construction and welds.

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Added Features
Model Year: 2011

This tractor is now dedicated to a 40" Bercomac snowblower. With my added features, the performance is very good. The traction still needs attention, I have about 200 lbs. of weight plus my 250 lbs. I have powered the chute rotation and the diverter (see photos). Steering was a problem, now solved by wrapping a # 40 roller chain around the front tires (see photo).

Pros: Plenty of power.
Cons: Not enough of leg room for a six footer to operate foot controls.

Satisfactory
Model Year: 2012

I've had this thing home for a few months and about 15 hours on it. It's still basically brand new, but there's a few items of note: 1. Straight away, I was not impressed with quality control. One of the clips for the plastic vent in the top of the hood was missing, causing a rattle when running. Additionally, one of the headlights was blown on delivery. While not a big deal in the totality of the situation, it reflects poorly on the brand. 2. As mentioned by the other reviewer, the mowing blades are soft. After encountering a half dozen hidden gopher mounds, I observed a significant decrease in cutting quality. While the mower isn't exactly for mowing dirt, I wouldn't have expected the quality to drop so quickly. 3. Parts seem to be a pain in the butt to get a hold of and owner support are nearly non-existent from Husqvarna. Once you buy it, it's your problem. I bought mine through Lowe's, which obviously has no technical support for these things. Local parts seem to be difficult to locate in my area. 4. I don't know if this is just the way of newer garden tractors, but I don't like that the throttle and choke are tied into the same control. Overall, I'm satisfied but I'm not overly impressed. I guess I shouldn't expect so much for $1,800. Hopefully it wears well.

Pros: Easy to clean, pulls implements well.
Cons: Throttle controls, soft mower blades.

2006 YTH2348
Model Year: 2006

I bought my 2006 YTH2348 in 2007 as a model year closeout so I saved a hundred dollars for the first 150 hours I had no problems except the factory blades were very soft metal and required what I thought was excessive sharpening to keep a decent cutting performance. This year, 2013, I noticed a very big decrease in performance of the hydro-static transmission (TuffTorq KV46) after 2 hours of mowing (my yard takes about 3 1/2 hours) the mower would hardly move turning was enough drag to stop the mower. Researching I found this hydro is considered a 'throw-away', but I removed it and changed the oil to 5w40 full synthetic oil and the hydro-stat now preforms just like it did when new it will climb hills and turn without losing power so if I had to do it over again I would research more about the mower but I would still go with Husqvarva everything else about the mower I really like, changing the oil in the transmission was easy and solved my issues for $15.00 worth of oil.

Pros: Cutting power, strongly built.
Cons: Soft metal blades, suspect transmission depending on model.

It's Not a Bulldozer! YTH2146XP
Model Year: 2009

That's what the owner of the dealership told me when he personally delivered my (new) tractor. After he noticed the 120 tonne of pit run that was setting in my yard. My reply was, "I know, a dozer would level this quicker". I also bought a 10 cubic foot wagon and a 48" Berco blade at the time of purchase. Almost two years had passed since I bought this amazing machine. With less than a month left on warranty I noticed the tranny was slipping a little after it was worked hard. After calling the dealer for info about rebuilding the tranny, he informed me that model (K45) same as the K46 wasn't serviceable. So he sent his mechanic to my place with a new one. No Charge. Free labor. After which I went and bought a lottery ticket. If you are mechanically inclined, you can buy parts and service it yourself. The Kawasaki engine has more torque than any engine in it's class. It handles the 48" Berco two stage northeast snow blower I have with power to spare. Use the best synthetic fluids and grease you can buy throughout the machine and it will last for many years. The only reason reason I gave it four stars for dealer experience was because the parts manager is never wrong. He couldn't find a part in his stockroom even if he tripped over it.

Pros: Kawasaki engine, quiet and lost of power, plenty options.
Cons: For the money! None.