This Ryobi 40 Volt Mower review was done to help you decide if this mower is going to give you your money’s worth or if you have better options out there.

Initially, I thought this would have been an awful purchase for someone looking for a good cordless electric mower but after considering recent customer experiences, the price drops, and the 5-year warranty, there might be hope for this mower.

Also, the self-propelled model is also available which we reviewed here at C-ELMR. Read the review Here

So, these are the areas we always look at when reviewing cordless electric mowers here at C-ELMR:

Design                                                                             

Power

Performance

Efficiency and Ease of Use

Durability

Ease of locating replacement parts

Customer service from the company

 

Full Review

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Products: Ryobi 40-Volt Brushless Lithium-Ion Cordless Battery Push Mower (20 inches and 16 inches)

Company: Ryobi

General Market Price: USD 450 – $500 with battery and charger

Warranty: 5 years

Where to buy online: Amazon

This Ryobi 40 Volt Mower review is purely based on the assessment of customer reports. I ignored all Website reviews with affiliate links. Let me show you why I did not fancy the Ryobi 40 V mowers…

We will be looking at each of the areas rated above in detail so that you can see why I rated each the way I did.

Design

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The design of this Ryobi mower is good but I do not like that it has plastic decking.

The Good

Start option

Ryobi 40V walk-behind mowers have a push-button option on the handle of the mower. You press the button and press the starter on the handle.

Weight and size

The weight and size of both the 16 inches and the 20 inches are well distributed so that it is easy to maneuver the mower over your lawn without much trouble.

Noise Level

This is a huge plus for Ryobi on this factor. These mowers run very silently.

Cutting options

Both bagging and mulching are available and the bags are easily removed and easily placed back in the mower. There is a mulching plug also.

Height of grass cut

The 16in Ryobi cuts between 3/4 to 2 3/4 inches of grass off the top each time while the 20 in Ryobi cuts between 1 1/2 and 3 3/4  inches. This height is okay for well-kept lawns but if you have fast-growing grass then you might have to go over your lawn twice.

Handle

The handles can be adjusted at two heights as seen in the picture above. They can be folded for easy storage. This is a good feature.

Wheels

The height of the wheels on the 20 inch 40V Ryobi mower is 8 inches for the two front and 10 inches for the two at the back. The wheels on the 16-inch mower are 5.75  inches at the front and 7 inches on the back. Both mowers are very easy to push with these wheels so no complaints there.

The bad

• Plastic material

Power

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The good

• These Ryobi mowers have a massive power of 800 hp on both the 20 inches and the 16 inches with their 40 V battery.
• It revs up whenever it comes in contact with rough patches to get the job done.

This is good compared to other brands.

 

Performance

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If you have a small lawn, the 20-inch Ryobi 40 V mower would do a good job of cutting it but if you have a 16-inch Ryobi 40 V mower then it will take you quite some time and battery recharges to get the job done. Buying an extra battery would be a good idea.

 

The good

 

• Great mulching
• Great bagging
• Great grass cut quality
• The mower cuts tall grass well and does not get stuck while cutting.

 

The bad

• Charging time runs into two hours even though 1 1/2 hours are advertised and it usually lasts approximately 30 minutes even though 45 minutes were advertised. This might vary with the thickness of grass being cut

• Both the Ryobi 20 inch and the Ryobi 16 inch mowers do not handle wet grass well.
• It does not handle thick grass very well.

Here is a video from a satisfied customer showing the 40V mower cutting grass

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Efficiency and Ease of Use

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The Good

• Starting the mowers is as easy as a push of a button as long as the starter is working properly
• Pushing the mower is easy since the mower is light. A self-propelled 40V Ryobi mower is also available.
• Assembling is also pretty simple but blades must be sharpened before use because they arrive very dull (safety precaution).
• Removing the bag, emptying it, and replacing it in the mower is also no hassle
• The grass does not block up the mower while mowing.
• Charging is simple if the battery is actually working. You just need to plug the charger into a power outlet and place the battery in the charging slot.
• The blades can be easily removed to be sharpened by simply loosening the nut holding it in place

The bad

• Great placement of the button and the starter but what would be better is if the mower actually worked on the first, second, or third press of the starter for all customers. Some customers complained that on average it takes up to 10 presses before this thing can startup. Some people do not have this problem so maybe it was a defect in one batch. I Will update with more information (if not, ask in the comment section below).

Durability

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The good

Wheels, motor, blades, handle and other small do not have any complaints from customers.

The blades are okay compared to other brands. As usual, if you avoid rocks, blades last longer. The blades are very thin but this helps with the efficiency of the mower.

The bad

Material

“The material used to make the mowers are plastic” lamented one customer. The material starts to wear after about a year of use.

Battery

40V, 5Ah is great. If the great power of this mower could be delivered all the time that would be perfect. There would be no grass left uncut but this is not the case. After a 1 and a half-hour charging time, the batteries run out faster than the 45 minutes promised by Ryobi. Not only do they run down quickly but after a few months of use, the batteries have to be replaced because they are rendered useless. Each battery costs up to $99 so after your 5-year warranty runs out, by the end of the year, your maintenance costs would lead to a dismal overall experience.

A customer uploaded this short video on YouTube showing what it will look like when you have a defective battery.

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Ease of locating replacements for wearable parts

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Batteries, blades, etc, can be bought online easily but if the mower needs to be sent back to the company for repair it usually takes at least a month to get it back.

Value

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The fact that the batteries die so easily and must be replaced so often reduces the value of the Ryobi 40 Volts mowers being reviewed here.

If you factor in new blades also, you could buy this mower more than three times in a year with the money spent to maintain it. The batteries are readily available for purchase online but they have to be replaced too often.

Unless the battery quality has improved, this would be an absolute waste of money when you consider that there are brands with more durable batteries for a similar price or a bit more expensive.

View more recent customer reviews here.

Customer Service Support

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Overview

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Pros and praises from customer

• Cuts tall grass well
• Easy to maneuver around the lawn
• Bagging does not clog the mower
• Two-handle adjustments available
• Easy to change blades
• The carrying handles on the mower are conveniently placed on the sides of the Ryobi mowers for easy lifting.
• Replacement parts are readily available online

Cons and complaints from buyers

• Battery defects common
• Charging time is longer than advertised
• Performance time is shorter than advertised
• Material is plastic
• The blade is dull out of the box
• Does not perform well on wet grass
• Maximum height adjustments are too limited
• Repair takes too long
• Not waterproof

Final thoughts

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Was………

After price drops……….

This mower would work very well on small lawns. The batteries die on average 30 minutes which should be enough to mow a small lawn but the batteries are not durable.

For medium-sized lawns, I would either buy an extra battery or save my money and buy another cordless electric mower with fewer problems.

You have better options out there but if you already have this mower or other Ryobi 40V tools,  here is a helpful video

If you already have a Ryobi 40V mower and you are singing praises, please feel free to comment and let me know below.