Your membership has expired

The payment for your account couldn't be processed or you've canceled your account with us.

Re-activate

Save products you love, products you own and much more!

Save products icon

Other Membership Benefits:

Savings icon Exclusive Deals for Members Best time to buy icon Best Time to Buy Products Recall tracker icon Recall & Safety Alerts TV screen optimizer icon TV Screen Optimizer and more

    Most Reliable Walk-Behind Lawn Mower Brands

    Consumer Reports surveyed members about more than 34,000 walk-behind mowers to find the most reliable and satisfying brands

    When you shop through retailer links on our site, we may earn affiliate commissions. 100% of the fees we collect are used to support our nonprofit mission. Learn more.

    lawn mower
    To help consumers avoid unreliable lawn mower brands, Consumer Reports' experts surveyed tens of thousands of CR members to find out which mowers have the most problems, and what those problems are.
    Photo: iStock

    Like a well-behaved dog, a reliable walk-behind lawn mower is capable and dependable, doing your bidding without fail—as long as the mower has been properly maintained. Unlike a dog, you don’t have to pick up what it leaves behind.

    In this article Arrow link
    More on Lawn Mowers & Tractors

    Consumer Reports’ exclusive survey-based reliability ratings show that several walk-behind lawn mower brands are trustworthy. But a few, like that canine output, kinda stink.

    To help consumers avoid the clunkers, Consumer Reports’ experts surveyed tens of thousands of CR members to find out which mower brands had the most problems, and what those problems were. 

    “Data from our member surveys provides an important complement to the data from our lab tests by giving us the real-world experiences that CR’s members have with their lawn mowers over several years of use,” says Martin Lachter, the research program leader who manages mower surveys.

    Here’s a detailed breakdown of the winners and losers. For our reliability results on riding mowers, check out our guide to the most and least reliable gas riding mower brands.

    Become a member to read the full article and get access to digital ratings.

    We investigate, research, and test so you can choose with confidence.


    Tobie Stanger

    Tobie Stanger

    As a senior editor at Consumer Reports for more than 30 years, Tobie Stanger specialized in helping readers shop wisely, save money, and avoid scams. Her home- and shopping-related beats have included appliance and grocery stores, generators, homeowners and flood insurance, humidifiers, lawn mowers, and luggage. She also covered home improvement products, including flooring, roofing, and siding.