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

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

I have about a 0.75 acre lawn with a boatload of landscaping and trees to navigate around. Nice mower, powerful, smooth cut, much better cut than my 15 year old 42 inch tractor. The smart speed and towing options are a bonus. This baby is quick, going 7 mph on my straight long runs is great. Neighbors have commented how fast it looks like I am going. Grab a sawzall and call a strong buddy to help you uncrate, though my 98 pound wife was able to help.

Great price, this mower was about $300 more than a comparable but smaller model and has the smart speed and towing features. If you purchase the mulch kit, I would suggest installing the baffles in the reverse order than what the instructions state or keep mounting hardware very loose until they are both installed in proper location.

I have about a 0.75 acre lawn with a boatload of landscaping and trees to navigate around. Nice mower, powerful, smooth cut, much better cut than my 15 year old 42 inch tractor. The smart speed and towing options are a bonus. This baby is quick, going 7 mph on my straight long runs is great. Neighbors have commented how fast it looks like I am going. Grab a sawzall and call a strong buddy to help you uncrate, though my 98 pound wife was able to help.

Great price, this mower was about $300... 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

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

And Mowers Direct is definitely a five star company.

The most negative thing about receiving the mower was the difficulty in removing it from the crate, I had to lift the mower with my front loader tractor after cutting all exposed crating, what a chore !!!! I suggested mowers direct include an instruction sheet with customer purchased mowers but I don't think they will , do they care after the sale ????
I have used the mower only once and it stopped running after an hour or so. I had to push it and allow it to rest before starting . I truly hope this is not a reoccurring problem because Itwill be difficult to bring yo a Toro dealer for repair. I would buy from a stocking local dealer next time.

The most negative thing about receiving the mower was the difficulty in removing it from the crate, I had to lift the mower with my front loader tractor after cutting all exposed crating, what a chore !!!! I suggested mowers direct include an instruction sheet with customer purchased mowers but I don't think they will , do they care after the sale ????
I have used the mower only once and it stopped running after an hour or so. I had to push it and allow it to rest before starting . I truly... more

I have used this mower twice now since I got it. My mowing time has been cut in half and this mower is fun to drive. I have to concentrate when driving it around trees so I don't hit the grass chute against the tree since it sticks out more than my riding tractor did. The turning and the speed can get tricky but I just slow down and it gets better with each mow. It is like driving a tank with the steering arms. The ONLY issues I had was with unpacking it and leveling the deck. It was a little tough getting it off of the crate skid because you have to pull the locking rods out from the back of the mower to push it out and I had to look it up in the manual. It tells you on the box to unlock them but you don't know where they are or what they are. The deck was slightly off and I had to level it just a bit but not too bad. Other than that...the oil was already in the mower and filling it up with gas is easy. So far, this is a great mower and I love it.

I have used this mower twice now since I got it. My mowing time has been cut in half and this mower is fun to drive. I have to concentrate when driving it around trees so I don't hit the grass chute against the tree since it sticks out more than my riding tractor did. The turning and the speed can get tricky but I just slow down and it gets better with each mow. It is like driving a tank with the steering arms. The ONLY issues I had was with unpacking it and leveling the deck. It was a little... more