Toro TimeCutter SS5000 (50") 24.5HP Zero Turn Lawn Mower

After doing months of research on both a new lawn mower for 2 acres I recently purchased and am building a house on, and a dealer to purchase from, I decided in May to purchase this Toro mower from Mowers Direct. The experience up until the delivery was exceptional. After my house was delayed, Mowers Direct worked with me to push back the delivery until I was ready. Once delivered, it took me 2 hours to unpack the mower from the crate.

As another reviewer noted, the mower is in a large crate that is on top of a smaller pallet. I had to get a power saw to cut the mower out. Once out, the mower test drove well around my property for about 20 minutes before I put it in the garage to move on to other things.

Now here's where the problem began: The parking brake for this mower is electronically engaged, there is no parking brake handle, etc. While the mower was in my garage, the motor that engages the parking brake began to operate and kept trying to engage the brake, even with the mower cut off and no key in the ignition. It wouldn't stop until I had disconnected the battery.

After asking Mowers Direct and my local service provider some questions, I discovered that this has been a common problem lately with this mower. Apparently, a few bad brake motors made it to the assembly line and I got one of the affected mowers. To resolve, I had to have my local service provider pick up the mower and make the repair. It took 2 weeks for the repair, which wasn’t convenient as I had to mow 2 acres with a push mower.

The repair was under warranty, but the pickup/delivery fee for the service was $55. Thankfully, Toro has offered to reimburse me for this fee. Mowers Direct also offered to cover this if Toro didn’t. In the end, after a rough start, I now have a working mower that, so far, is working fine, and I have now used it a couple of times to mow my yard.

In addition, my local service provider did advise me that this mower was a “good mower” and they would recommend it for someone looking for a mower of this type in my price range and what I needed to use it for.

After doing months of research on both a new lawn mower for 2 acres I recently purchased and am building a house on, and a dealer to purchase from, I decided in May to purchase this Toro mower from Mowers Direct. The experience up until the delivery was exceptional. After my house was delayed, Mowers Direct worked with me to push back the delivery until I was ready. Once delivered, it took me 2 hours to unpack the mower from the crate.

As another reviewer noted, the mower is in a large... more

So far I have learned that Toro Zero Turns have a couple of chronic, known issues. I wish Toro or Mowers Direct would stop selling these or fix the problem before putting them on the market.

1. As you can see by other reviews, the brake box module is known to be faulty on this year/model. There was a bad batch out of China or something. Mine failed after 2 hours of mowing.

2. I was told that Toro batteries are bad right out of the factory, and often fail quickly.

I called Mowers Direct to get some kind of assistance with these chronic, recurring issues. My mower needed repairs/parts twice in 2 months, after about 4 hours of mowing. I called Mowers Direct everyday for a week, leaving messages for product experts, managers, etc, and never once received a call back from anyone at Mowers Direct. I know it's not their fault that the mower seemed to be a lemon right out of the box, but at least do something to assist other than ignore my calls.

So far I have learned that Toro Zero Turns have a couple of chronic, known issues. I wish Toro or Mowers Direct would stop selling these or fix the problem before putting them on the market.

1. As you can see by other reviews, the brake box module is known to be faulty on this year/model. There was a bad batch out of China or something. Mine failed after 2 hours of mowing.

2. I was told that Toro batteries are bad right out of the factory, and often fail quickly.

I called Mowers... more

Typically I never write reviews but I made an exception this time. The mower arrived as promised completely ready to use with a couple of simple items to attach to the mower. Added petrol and decided to use the mower to mow approximately 1.5 acres which the mower performed well though it took time getting accustomed to using a ZTR mower, as this is the first one purchased.

Unfortunately, the mower stopped working and would not start and the battery went dead. Delivered mower to local Toro dealer who determined braking solenoid & battery required replacement after 2.5 hours use. If this is indicative of a premium Toro product, they need to re-engineer problem areas. Time will tell if this becomes my only Toro purchase!

Typically I never write reviews but I made an exception this time. The mower arrived as promised completely ready to use with a couple of simple items to attach to the mower. Added petrol and decided to use the mower to mow approximately 1.5 acres which the mower performed well though it took time getting accustomed to using a ZTR mower, as this is the first one purchased.

Unfortunately, the mower stopped working and would not start and the battery went dead. Delivered mower to local... more

I was told by R&L Carriers that they would be there on a Wed..nope...next wed. nope. Had to drive 5 hours each time to find out they did not deliver 3rd time no problem. Like other reviewers had a hell of a time unpacking the mower, would not have made it without a friends help.

The mower I am not sure about yet, the controls are a little jerky but hope they will smooth out with some use. Everything else seems like it is okay, cuts fine and have not towed with it yet. A lot rougher than the Time Cutter I lost in the flood, but I think that is due to the jerky controls. Price was fine, but the delivery sucks.

I was told by R&L Carriers that they would be there on a Wed..nope...next wed. nope. Had to drive 5 hours each time to find out they did not deliver 3rd time no problem. Like other reviewers had a hell of a time unpacking the mower, would not have made it without a friends help.

The mower I am not sure about yet, the controls are a little jerky but hope they will smooth out with some use. Everything else seems like it is okay, cuts fine and have not towed with it yet. A lot... more

Worst purchase of my life! I have had this mower for 3 months, and is needing repairs for the third time. Toro has known issues with components on this mower, and will do nothing to correct it. Mowers Direct is no help either. I received zero customer service from them. Please do not offer your sorrow for the complete lemon that I now have on my hands. Please only offer a buyback and full refund. If you can't do that, please just post my negative feedback so no other customer is subjected to this ongoing headache!!!!

Worst purchase of my life! I have had this mower for 3 months, and is needing repairs for the third time. Toro has known issues with components on this mower, and will do nothing to correct it. Mowers Direct is no help either. I received zero customer service from them. Please do not offer your sorrow for the complete lemon that I now have on my hands. Please only offer a buyback and full refund. If you can't do that, please just post my negative feedback so no other customer is... more

This is an absolute joy of a machine to own. I took it out of the crate by myself, which was a big pain but i got it done. I dont know why you guys dont use regular phillips or flat head screws for easier dismantling of the crate. I could not get anything that would take the screws out so i had to break them out.

The machine though was pristine and all i had to do was put gas in it. checked oil and everything else, which was all great. I took it out for the first cut out of the box and it did a phenomenal job. A lot of power and speed at a cost. The cost is that if you go as fast as you can all the time, you will drain your gas 10X faster. I learned that if you throttle down a little bit, you get 10X more gas mileage for the same cut.

i bought the mulch kit with this mower and put it on after the first cut. Its awesome and would highly recommend it. no grass clippings shooting out the side, and with the shoot delete you can now trim on both sides without worrying about the big plastic shoot sticking out.
I'm highly impressed with the build quality and i'm sure you would too!

This is an absolute joy of a machine to own. I took it out of the crate by myself, which was a big pain but i got it done. I dont know why you guys dont use regular phillips or flat head screws for easier dismantling of the crate. I could not get anything that would take the screws out so i had to break them out.

The machine though was pristine and all i had to do was put gas in it. checked oil and everything else, which was all great. I took it out for the first cut out of the box... more

Mower broke down the second time I used it. Currently in shop being repaired. Would have expected much more from Toro and for the purchase price. Initial feedback from shop is that it is a brake control box issue, and that they have seen this issue before. Would think Toro and Mowers Direct would fix this known issue before selling the mower.

Just got it out of the shop yesterday. It works well like the ad says.

Took mower out of the crate. It would not start . It has been in the shop from day one. I wish I never got this mower

DO NOT BUY THIS MOWER. You will regret it! I bought this mower last year. The thing already broke down in under 1 full season in Ohio. I have used it less than 15 times. I read the manual and take good care of it and do all the required maintenance. Yet, right now I have half my grass cut and I can't do anything about it.

The dealer is closed for the holiday weekend. My last riding mower lasted 10 years before it broke down. My mower before that lasted 8 years. This is my first Toro and my last. I still have two years of payments and this thing is breaking down. DON'T GET SUCKERED LIKE I DID!

Absolutely unacceptable. I will definitely be filing complaints with the consumer protection bureau. I have had much success with that in the past when dealing with companies that leave you high and dry with a huge bill for a promise they didn't deliver. The bill here is big enough for small claims. My last mower cost less than 1/4 of what I'm paying for this mower. Toro claimed this mower was better to get me to buy it.

That's a lie, don't believe them. The customer service also is incredibly horrible. When I ordered the mulching kit with the mower they sent me the wrong parts twice and didn't believe me when I called to tell them it was wrong the second time. I should have listened to my gut and sent the entire order back when they told me I was just too stupid to put on the part.

I had to go to the dealer before they accepted the fact that they sent the wrong part again and agreed to send a new one.

Dear toro it is possible for someone to put a sticker on a box with the wrong number. You should believe your customers. PLEASE DO NOT BUY THIS MOWER UNLESS YOU LIKE HAVING A VERY EXPENSIVE PIECE OF JUNK YOU CAN'T USE SITTING IN YOUR SHED OR GARAGE.

DO NOT BUY THIS MOWER. You will regret it! I bought this mower last year. The thing already broke down in under 1 full season in Ohio. I have used it less than 15 times. I read the manual and take good care of it and do all the required maintenance. Yet, right now I have half my grass cut and I can't do anything about it.

The dealer is closed for the holiday weekend. My last riding mower lasted 10 years before it broke down. My mower before that lasted 8 years. This is my first Toro and my... more

I purchased mine used about 3 weeks ago. And overall, it's more than I expected it to be with the Kawasaki engine. But the previous owner took off some of the safety switchers after the brake module went bad. It wasn't replaced because the price was so high.

They bypassed the safety switches and sometime the right side brake will lockup and I'll do things to try to unlock it but I it will unlock eventually. how can I fix it ? I don't know where to start and I didn't get an owner's manual with it. Can You Help Me, The model # is 74631 & the serial # is 313007419 Thank You For Your Time!

I purchased mine used about 3 weeks ago. And overall, it's more than I expected it to be with the Kawasaki engine. But the previous owner took off some of the safety switchers after the brake module went bad. It wasn't replaced because the price was so high.

They bypassed the safety switches and sometime the right side brake will lockup and I'll do things to try to unlock it but I it will unlock eventually. how can I fix it ? I don't know where to start and I didn't get an owner's manual... more