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Murray Lawn Mowers

Murray Lawn Mowers • Self-propelled models • Belt failure • Riding models • Push models • Gas leaks • Other problems • Murray Defenders ---- • 2003 Lawn tractor recall • 2002 Lawn tractor recall

Few things are as infuriating as a lawn mower that doesn't work. Unfortunately, this seems to be the case with many of the Murray mowers we hear about. Whether it's flimsy plastic gears, poorly-designed belts or gas leaks, the inexpensive Murrays seem to have more than their share of problems, as the complaints in this section indicate.

But wait ... there is another side to the story, and it comes from Ben of Frederick MD (8/19/05):
I am the owner of a small engine business and am not partial to any brand. I work on all small engines as well as sell every name available. I was appalled at the ignorance of your writers in your complaints on Murray lawn equipment. Most of the complaints were not against Murray at all, but more of the individual stores they got them from. If you have a problem with Wal-Mart�s customer service, that is not Murray�s fault, take it up with Wal-Mart.

As far as recalls go, every big name company has them, it is important to check them and know them, if your equipment has been recalled Murray always handles things properly if the CUSTOMER does. If you do what they instruct you to do (such as call them to make an appointment at an authorized shop) they will take care of you -- Murray�s customer service is impeccable compared with some of the others on the market.

The other thing is most of the complaints are direct result of a user failure. If you do not follow your instructions on simple operating procedures you will break something. As far as the woman with the blown motor �squirting oil� I can explain that. I do not even need to see the tractor to tell you what is wrong. This person put too much oil in the motor to start with. Then found it nearly imposable to start. This is because there was oil in places not meant to have that kind of pressure causing it to have back pressure in the crankcase.

Then when the person at the (I believe it was Wal-Mart) store did get it started, it blew oil everywhere, because there was nowhere else for the oil to go. The Wal-Mart man then proceeded to tell her (in his ignorance also) that the motor was �blown.� Then when she took it to a real dealer they set it aside on the basis of �this is an irate person that needs to cool down and doesn�t know anything about this situation.�

The other possibility is, depending on how long it was run with the overfilled oil, the motor could have actually had internal damage caused by the excess oil. This explains the wait, major work takes time. In short, your �consumers� had many complaints yes, but only a few of them were legitimate and even those were often misdirected.

Here are a few of the more recent complaints:

Jimmie of Lagrange, KY August 22, 2008

Jimmie of Lagrange KY (08/22/08)
i have a murray lawn mower,, failing to start,, i found out murray went bankrupt,, now i see why.

Lorna of Owens Cross Road, AL August 9, 2008

Lorna of Owens Cross Road AL (08/09/08)
I was mowing the lawn on the right side of our fence and stopped the mower, put it in neutral so that I could pick up a couple of plastic soda bottles the wind had blown over on my property after the workmen next door discarded them on the ground. I had started to climb off the mower when the leg of my shorts caught on the shift lever and it shifted into gear. The mower started moving forward and caused me to fall onto my left leg. I was dragged across the grass, then hard dirt until the mower was stopped by a brick fence post on my neighbors property. THE MOWER SHOULD HAVE SHUT OFF WHEN IT WENT INTO GEAR BECAUSE I WAS NOT ON THE SEAT! If that brick fence post hadn't stopped me, I would have been dragged right into the lake!

I have cuts, scrapes and bruises along my left leg from the knee down from being dragged by the mower. I was very lucky that no part of my leg, foot or hand got caught by the blades because they were still engaged. I was in a panic and furiously grabbing at grass as I knew I was headed right for the lake! If the pole hadn't stopped me, I undoubtedly would have run with one wheel on the temporary dock that was there and the mower would have flipped over on me in the water! It was a very frightening experience.

George of Freeland, WA July 25, 2008

George of Freeland WA (07/25/08)
I bought this Murray Wide Body lawn tractor in 1999 for 1700. I researched them and learned at the time it was the very best of the low end (meaning no frills) heavy duty riding mowers. It has a solid frame, big wheel stops to keep the steering from braking, big tires, a very wide stance which allows you to safely mow on a steep inclide without rolling. It has 3 blades in the mower deck which really cut the grass. It has enough power to chew through very tall grass. It has been used hard, mowing rough ground, bouncing over the odd rock or branch. I have broken a blade support once but it was replaced for minimal cost.

The lightly built mower deck I realized is in many ways better than the heavy duty stuff you'll get with Simplicity or the like (for twice the money) because it is easily and inexpensivly repairable. The basic tractor, the lectrical system, and the Briggs engine, have been 100% trouble free. The mower deck has had some repair but far less than expected considering the rough use. If I had only been mowing a big yard it would never have had a problem.

My only complaint is the marketing. Here they are sold by Walmart who keeps no parts for them. However, there are mail order places so that isn't an issue really. Today there seem to be more elegant looking machines out there in this price range but I don't know if they're as solid as this thing has been. One last comment. I'm surprised to hear all the complaints about the Briggs engines. I've never had any problem with one that wasn't caused by extreme neglect. By the way, I even run gas mixed 50 to one with 2 stroke oil from my boat engine at the end of the season. The Briggs engine runs just as well with that. I use it in my DR 10 HP chipper too.

Eric of Carrier Mills, IL July 24, 2008

Eric of Carrier Mills IL (07/24/08)
Bought a murray riding mower. Got to use it for one summer. This year went to use it ran fine for a few hours then died. Wouldnt start had to leave it sit for a few hours to cool down then it started ran it for a few minutes then it started to die again but this time shot flames out of the exhaust. I havent used it since.

Harry of Hot Springs, SD July 21, 2008

Harry of Hot Springs SD (07/21/08)
Murrary self propelled 22 runs great but the drive Gear which is made of plastic is wore out and I can not find a replacement part.

Mower now has to be pushed and is very hard to push.

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