Honda mower won't roll backwards

[bluefitness]

I brought it in under warranty and the guy said it is considered a maintenance issue. He said dirt gets into the bushing and seizes it to the shaft. He has to remove the bushings and sand down the axle. I remember seeing a TSB on this. I called Honda customer service and opened a claim. I think they just go by whether the repair shop says it is maintenance or not. Having to sand down the shaft doesn't seem like normal maintenance. He said that Honda expects customers to inspect it every two years. I'm a little under that mark, so I shouldn't be having to totally fail already. Does anyone have any information?

 

[gotomow]

Very common problem on the Honda's although more common on the HHR series. Here is a thread:Bearing conversion

 

[gotomow]

And this thread:Tips

 

[gotomow]

And another one:Honda won't roll backwards

 

[gotomow]

And of course this one has a TSB:Technical service bulletin

 

[gotomow]

I had a Honda hrx series that I sold. I replaced it with a Toro Super recycler. Here's one major difference, the Toro has grease-able bearings on all 4 corners.

 

[bluefitness]

Thanks for the info.
I was surprised how poor Honda's customer service is. They pretend like they have barely heard of this issue. There are several Better Business Bureau complaints pertaining to this exact issue.
It looks like they aren't going to cover it under warranty, so I'll have to do the fix myself.

 

[gotomow]

The owners manual says to inspect the bushings every 2 years. It doesn't tell you what you are looking for. In some cases the shaft is rusted so then you're in the sand and repeat mode of never ending repairs.

 

[bluefitness]

What type of grease works best for the bushing? I was thinking about using some marine grade grease I have on hand.

 

[gotomow]

Any quality lithium or synthetic grease. If you have an hrr series and you are going to keep it then consider looking into the bearing conversion thread.