Customer Reviews for Honda GCV190 21 in. Variable Speed Walk Behind Gas Self Propelled Mower

Honda's are the best mowers I have owned. The last one I had lasted over 20 years and it does still runs. Just felt it was time for a new one.

We're planning to replace our current 27 year old John Deere self propelled. We also have a 10 year old Honda, which still works just fine but is hard to back up. Are you, Honda, planning to be the frontrunner by putting a reverse feature on your hydrostatic drive mower HRX217HYA? We don't want to purchase the HYA and find out that a day later you've added reverse. We are in our mid and late 70's and we get our exercise by mowing our 1/2 acre+. It is difficult at times to pull the mower back up a steep grade.

I bought this mower because I heard a lot of good things about it. Boy, were they all right. The new transmission that Honda is using is the best. It pushes the mower very well and the dual blade system is excellent. The deck is well made and and I love how the mower isn't super loud. The blade stop is system is a great touch. It's nice that I don't have to stop the engine to stop the blades.

I love this self propelled (hydraulically) with blade stop clutch, and plastic no rust deck! It has been the most Reliable mower these past 17 years I've owned it! So I decided to reward myself with a brand new one and will give my old one to a friend. The blade stop feature allow you to stop the blade, keep the engine running at idle, and power the mower back around the house over gravel and up into the garden ahead! Super convenient feature! Thank you HONDA.

l have only used it two times and it worked really good. Bagged one time and mulched the second time. I had the same model before with the same features and the last one lasted almost 10 years. Hope this one does as well. Much easier to use than the one with thumb controls for me as I have a shaky hand.

I have always been a fan of Honda mowers, but because they were out of my price range , I decided to settle for second best. I had own toro mowers and bragged about them. But now it’s different. The first time I cut my yard with my brand new Honda Hrx mower, I was very impressed. I cut my yard the day before my daughter’s baby shower and every one was impressed with the results. Some thought I had a lawn service. I showed one of my friends my lawn service machine. The Honda hrx, and he loved it and wants to buy one. I wanted to buy one for my wife so that we could have a his and hers Honda mower, but that won’t be possible for now. It cuts tall grass with more ease than toro and I love the blade override feature. Thanks for making such a great mower…

This is the 3rd HRX over 35 years. It does everything very well and the cut is excellent. Doesn’t matter how deep or thick the grass is - perfect result. The new larger engine is noticeably stronger, and little tweaks like the gas cap / tank are very good. Heavy but much more solid than the mowers that are good for 3 years and junk for 3 more years. Excellent design and proud to own it

This is our third one. we love the Root-Stop feature. And it is always easy to start.

I bought the great-grandfather to this machine some 28 years ago. Hydrostatic drive, blade stop wonderful reliability and smoothness of operation were the hallmarks of this ancestor. I've only cut with once so far, but it was if my treasured machine had come back. I hope I can write about the next one I'm gonna need to buy in the next 28 years!

I purchased this lawnmower because the Toro Super Recycler mower was getting to hard to push due to my back and hip problems. This mower is great and easy to use with the speed control.

Only used twice and works as advertised. I'm 80 yrs old and have had shoulder surgery 3 yrs ago and was told not to lift anything over 10 lbs. I have no trouble using this mower. i love the hydrostatic transmission and the being able to shut off the blades from turning without the engine stopping when ever necessary!

I had my old lawn mower for 15 years (craftsman) and had to only change the oil and drive belt. Hope this one will last as long. It starts first pull and cuts like a dream even in high grass. The only issue is that the blades are a little bit too far back from the front of the mower which makes it hard to get close to some areas. I also empty my grass clippings into grass bags to bring to the dump and the grass bags handle is placed in a position which makes it difficult to empty.

I was ready for another self-propelled lawn mower as I have some serious hills on my property. I went to Consumer Reports who recently rated the Honda HRX217HYA at the top of their list. I've owned 3 other mowers since living here and the Honda out-performs them all with more than enough power to get up the hills on my lawn with ease. Also, the dual blade feature makes short work of leaves and small branches on the lawn when I use the bagging option. I've had the mower for 5 years now, and except for oil changes and recommended user maintenance, I've never had a breakdown. I can assure you that Honda will be my brand of choice if I ever need a mower in the future.

I've had a Craftsman mower for the last 20 years, and decided it was time to upgrade. I just bought this new Honda mower, and after the first mowing, I can say it is awesome! It started on the first pull, and all of the operating controls are very easy to use. I used the mower for both mulching and bagging, and compared to other mowers, this Honda is exceptional. When bagging, I can mow at least twice the area of other mowers, prior to having to empty the bag, which saves a lot of time. The blade stop works well, and it is very nice to be able to stop the blade, put the mower at idle throttle speed, and then empty the bagged grass clippings. So far, I give this mower a two thumbs up!

Purchased this new mower after my John Deere push mower needed repairs after 20 years of use. John Deere doesn't make their own push mowers so I bought a Honda because of the reviews. My 20 year old John Deere mows circles around this Honda. Disappointed in the mower for the price I paid.

Great lawn mower, plenty of power, clutch is a great feature. Adjustable handle is nice. Easy to start. Honda lawn mowers are the best!

This new one is exactly the same model we had before ... last one we got 6 year warranty for registering it... this one only 5 year warranty. Last one lasted almost exactly 6 years before both handles broke off at bottom. Mower works well.

You must read Honda manual page 9, as it states "Avoid steep slopes of more than 20°" I live in South Florida where our ground is flat, and I live near a canal with a slope of 10/20° while I cut 4 strips of grass that are parallel to the canal and this mower seized. I had a warranty that was good to 2023 and Honda would not honor the warranty as they state that the slope might have caused the engine to seize up as the oil cannot lubricate mowers on minor slopes. Don't use on any hill

Used to maintain residential lawn. It's a Honda so starts on second pull right out of the box, first pull afterwards. The grass bagging is awesome on this machine.

I bought my first Honda mower 25 year's ago a HRB216HXA. It's worked well all these year till now. The cutter housing failed where the engine mounts it still starts first pull and runs. I am glad Honda still makes this mower it's simple and a solid machine. Best mulch mower. I trim all my hedges and just mulch the clippings right in to the ground

This is a replacement for my old model that was 15 years old.

We started having an issue with the blade control lever popping out. Mower is only three years old. Took unit to Plano Power Equipment and they fixed the problem right away. They covered it under warranty. Tim was very helpful.

I purchased the HYA model mower in March 2022 as I have a large back yard with a hill and needed assistance with a self propelled mower. I wanted the lever instead of the dial to control the throttle. I appreciate the blade stop function which keeps me from pull starting the mower just to empty the bag. The dual blade cut provides a even and this mower is a great vacuum for small debris left in the yard. This mower is a BREAST and not the elderly folks. Its not light to make sharp turns and required some strength. The front does lift up when the bag gets full which just reminds you its time to empty the bag. I don't mind the individual wheel adjustment as I'm not having to adjust my wheels frequently. I installed a hour meter to track the hours for maintenance reasons. Easy to clean and change the oil. Looks nice! Not sure about the white grass bag for grass. maybe black would have been a better choice. This is not a light mower your going to toss around. Love the deck design, material and color scheme. Easy to pull start. Overall, Great Mower!!

My newest Honda Lawn Mower starts up more easily than my previous Hondas, and they were much easier than any other brand I have owned. It runs smoothly and easily. I am very happy with my new purchase. May this one last 15+ years as well.

I have used my HRX217HYA for the third time; I was going to wait until I changed the oil at 5 hours to review but I couldn't wait to brag about my new Honda mower. I love this thing! The engine is so smooth, the hydro drive is great, the blade brake is awesome! A want to send a special thank you to the designers, engineers and the people who built my mower. This mower is worth every penny.

Just purchased the Honda HRX217HYA lawn mower and did my first mowing. Started up on what I will call "half a pull" because it was so easy to start. I purchased this mower because of the dependability and great quality reputation that Honda is known for. Even though I have only used the mower one time, it has impressed me in every direction. I used the mulch setting and it cut my yard, blended with St. Augustine and Bermuda grass, flawlessly! It has every feature on it that I was wanting in a mower... separate engine and self propelled speeds, upgraded hydrostatic transmission and their 'Roto-Stop' blade stop system. This mower is not inexpensive, but for those that recognize and appreciate high quality products, THIS mower checks all of the boxes and is a great investment!

In April of 2021 I bought a 2006 Honda HRX 217 HXA (top of the line no starter motor) I have been using it every single day for 2 full mowing seasons. Keep in mind I bought this mower USED and with 15 years of use on it and it has had 0 problems so far with 2 hours of use every day for 2 mowing seasons. These are the most reliable mowers you could possibly buy!!

This is a great powerful mower. Love the hydrostatic cruise control drive! Does an excellent job cutting. Leaves a perfectly mowed path. It does like gas more than my old Honda 216, but the trade off for power is well worth that vs bogging down in thick grass! Hope this one last as long as the old one! (13 years)

I’ve only used twice so far, but totally impressed with the ease of operation. I usually walk a pretty good pace with a lot of effort when pushing my previous lawn mower up hill but this new Honda was almost effortless, I never used this fastest speed. I used the Bag and Mulch settings with different setting and all operated perfectly, no grass trails behind area cut. Great Lawn Mower, Honda did a Great job with everything in mind from boxing/unboxing, assembly instructions, ease of operation, many options provided to make cutting your lawn easier and storing. Worth The Cost

I just unboxed my Honda HRX217HYA after watching what seems like days' worth of reviews! I wanted a quality mower that could easily climb hills and MAINTAIN the mowing speed, this was important in deciding to get this model over the HRX217VKA which uses the belt slipping to control the speed. Unlike the HRX217HYA which uses the hydrostatic transmission which is able to maintain speed while climbing hills. I unboxed the mower put the oil and gas in, and it started on the first pull! What more can you ask more. The cut is unparoled to any other mower, it is perfectly smooth if you lie down and look at the grass! Can't recommend this mower enough! I was adamant about the price bout after watching many reviews and using the mower myself, I can say with confidence this mower will last at least 20 years with proper militance!!