Hustler Raptor 2013 Mower Review

by Hank
(Knoxville TN)

I am disgusted with Hustler. I purchased a supposedly new Hustler and got it home and the first problems was a gasoline leak. Called the dealer, and he came, picked it up, and took it to his shop. Could not find the leak and called Hustler. They said it is not a problem and that you cannot fill the gas tank filler line that it will evaporate. Hustler had not informed the dealer of the problem. The dealer returned the mower 4 days later with the problem still there.

Second item: When I went to get the serial number to register the warranty I found the mower was over one year old and was sold as new. I did not even get a discount.

Third problem: I contacted Hustler on their contact us form and they have not even had the courtesy to acknowledge my emails.

DO NOT BUY A HUSTLER! THEY DO NOT STAND BEHIND THEIR EQUIPMENT and they do not support their dealers.

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Jul 10, 2017
Rating

Will never buy Hustler again NEW
by: Anonymous

I bought The Raptor 52" from Lowes in March of 2016. Started out good. around the 5th time using it started noticing loose bolts,nuts, etc.. Left handle for steering control felt loose because nut fell off. Last month I was mowing and the blade drive belt came off, long story short, the rear idler pulley was leaning. It was secured with a carriage bolt going through the deck. The deck is not heavy enough gauge to prevent bolt from distorting the metal and giving so that the pulley leans. Poor engineering IMO. I flattened the metal back out and welded a 1/2" tall spacer that the idler pulley shaft would go through snugly. Now there is approx. 1 3/4" O.D. of support covering more area of the metal of the deck and the precise fit of the shaft against the inside of the spacer also prevents movement by the shaft. You would think the engineers would take in consideration the amount of force that would be against the idler pulleys. Well, last problem happened today. The right spindle pulley broke. Forget warranty, I'll just spend a few bucks and fix it myself and save time.

Jun 05, 2017
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You get what you pay NEW
by: Jim Dickson

I purchased my 42" Raptor Hustler in October 2013 I replaced my Gravely 40" residential mower I wanted to have a new mower and not spend a lot of money. If I remember correctly the Gravley 40 inch was about the same price as this raptor I did have hydraulic system problems with my gravely they took the dealer about six times to figure out and they finally replaced one unit that took care of the problem so I know that there's problems with many of these ZTR hydraulic systems. I just sold my raptor today to an individual I had 150 hours on it used it for approximately three years no problems other than Gray switch is for safety switches which I just bypassed him but I'm sure they just needed adjusted and I didn't adjust them. The mower works great for me I'm all about a little over an acre many trees little bit of slopes clean-cut for the price the reason I bought it is it had a heavy duty deck and I didn't want a deck problem. It would be a better buy if they made it a 3 blade deck. The Gravely at 40" was 3 blade. Of course they discontinued the Gravely 40. Would I recommend Hustler? Yes. Would I buy another one? No. I stepped up and decided to go closer to commercial grade with a Dixie Chopper. I hope this helps ones decide if Hustler is for them. Speed 4 star-
Motor 5 star-cut 4 star-reliability 4 1/2 star-workmanship 5 star-
Fit and finish 5 star. I've read a few other post on here and sounds like a few people are rough riders or just bad luck with mowers.

May 20, 2017
Rating

Anybody notice all the 5 star reviews are not five star? NEW
by: Anonymous

Wtf is hustler doing...rigging their rating system themselves? I know the two posts I put on here about the crappy hustler mower I bought had 1star. Now it has five??? So do a bunch of other bad reviews. I had wished to rate them with zero stars bc that's what I think of them. Some body at hustler has integrity issues. Another reason to avoid this company like the plague!!!

May 20, 2017
Rating

Don't buy a Hustler NEW
by: Anonymous

My new Hustler Raptor has only 46 hours on it and has been nothing but trouble. The belt jumped of several times already. The side fender (cheap plastic) over the tank has a crack that has now spread to over 12 inches over time. The dealer, Munn Tractor in lake Orion, MI says it's not covered and I must have impacted something although I didn't. I called Excel industries any they said the same thing. Even if I had, why would the plastic be so cheaply made that it would crack and continue to split. I suggested that they use better more flexible plastics so customers won't have this problem in the first place. Even if there is an impact. Customer service after the sale, don't expect any. They just make up excuses and stick the customer.

May 20, 2017
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Nov 22, 2016
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Raptor 54 super duty NEW
by: John Phillips

Paid 4300.00 for this mower in 2013 . First angle that supports the hydraulic gear /motor broke off . 3 months for the repair and having to call the company myself to get the part . Just washing it down and found where the battery box fastens to the front cross member , both angles are broken, They must be using steel from China
Would never recommend this mower to anyone ! Definetly not worth the money

Aug 27, 2016
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2013 Hustler Raptor NEW
by: Ardell blanchard

My Wife brought me a 2013 Hustler Raptor brand new. the first thing happen is the deck bolts fell out several times; then the deck spindle housing fell off at the welds,then other parts of the welds came loose. the store where she brought it from want to charge me for a new deck. I will never buy another Hustler Product again.

Jul 05, 2016
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Our "upgrade" has really been a DOWNGRADE NEW
by: Anonymous

When deciding to retire our 10 year old Husqvarna lawn tractor we chose to get a zero turn. We heard mostly great things about Hustler and purchased the 42" Raptor. It does a mighty fine job of cutting the grass... except now, 11 months later the fuel pump has gone out and it doesn't want to run. VERY disappointing for a $2800 purchase at under a year old. Now we have to go through the hassle of repairing it. Wishing we hadn't sold the old reliable Husqy that never needed any repairs aside from tires....

Jun 03, 2016
Rating

THIS GUY IS A WIENER NEW
by: Anonymous

WOW!! You sound like a real wiener!! A Hustler that is 1 year old and never used is still considered NEW!!!

Have a great day, WIENER!!

May 15, 2016
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Three years not one problem. NEW
by: Anonymous

I have three seasons on my Raptor 52 and not one problem
I mow 2.5 acres. Runs straight, mows great, replaced blades and battery once.

Sep 14, 2015
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Deck bolts, belts, and crappy hydrostatic drives NEW
by: Anonymous

One of my deck support bolts also came off also so I gave up on the bolt system they had and devised my own with stainless bolts and lock nuts. I had no faith in my dealer to engineer this themselves. They would have replaced the same OEM stuff and it would have happened again. I'm the guy who's had this mower for 11 months and in for the hydrostatic drive 6 times. Out of 48 weeks of owning it's been in the shop for 9 weeks!! It's still there right now. My dealer is useless and the second shop an hour away has had it twice. They never call to say it's ready. When I first reported the hydrostatic drive issue to him he was very confident and said " yep we know about that issue", He mentioned that there was something internal to the drive hydrostatic pump system. Said it happens right out of the factory. After he had it for theee weeks all he did was adjust linkage link my dealer had done. No parts like he said, They didn't crack it open to investigate like they said. A very unprofessional and inefficient system way of keeping a customer. And belts; been through about four of them plus I lost the spring tensioner anchor the last time one broke. Not a good design.

Sep 14, 2015
Rating

Raptor SD 54 NEW
by: Anonymous

I bought my new Raptor from the dealer in Nashville TN. At four hours, the pumps became air bound and it wouldn't move. Next thing was the deck tensioner spring. It's broken 2 of those so far. The rear hangers for the deck bend causing the through bolt to drop out. And then it mows uneven. Today it bent both twice while trying to mow. It has 19 hours on it. And from day one, it will not drive straight. You constantly have to move the levers to make it drive right. Air pressure is correct in all tires. Was told they all do this. Well this is a bigger piece of junk than the China John Deere it replaced. I have to work on it every time I use it. Save your money and buy anything else other than a Hustler.

Sep 14, 2015
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Aug 24, 2015
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Disgusted? Me too! NEW
by: Anonymous

I have owned a hustler raptor 52" for 11 months and it's been for repair 6 times for the same issue. Hydrostatic drive. The system thru hustler/excel industries is not helpful and I now am asking for a refund. I'm getting a cold "no" from my dealer and am having to pursue legal avenues to get this resolved. Meanwhile, I have grass growing and a mower that wants to drive in circles!! Hustler won't dive into the root cause which I suspect highly is the hydrostatic drive(I'm a mechanical engineer, by the way) and will attempt the cheapest fix first. Adjusting linkage is all they have done( two different hustler repair centers) and I still have a mower that wants to just turn left. They adjust or move the issue around but once it warms up the problem keeps returning. I'm am so sick and tired of dealing with the region reps, factory, and local dealer. I like the mower.... Its just the fact that the company as a whole are being cheap and burning a bridge here is why I'm telling you to Steer clear of hustler.

Jul 22, 2015
Rating

Hustler Raptor very disappointing NEW
by: Anonymous

Bought my new Raptor from my local JD dealership in spring of '13. From day one it has always cut uneven and I felt that the steering was jerky and not smooth. Within the first use a small pin broke that stopped the mower dead in its tracks,and we had to run to dealer to get a replacement. Year '14 no major problems except uneven cutting. This year, '15, it has stopped running full speed, steers crooked, and most recently front pin that holds deck up broke off and Hustler says they are on back order due to a constant problem with this part. It is almost paid for and when it is it will be used only for a back up mower. Buyer beware on this one. On a foot note, I noticed that my JD dealer no longer has them in their showroom.

Oct 28, 2014
Rating

Raptor the Craptor NEW
by: Anonymous

I have owned my Raptor since 8-26-14, within the 1st week the deck broke a bolt and dropped the deck, the steering linkage is off, and it doesn't stay still while arms are out. Two days ago the idler pulley came loose and broke the drive belt. I took it to the dealer, and because I have mowed more than my own lawn with it, they will not honor the warranty. The dealer told me, the raptor is not designed to be used more than once a week. I will never buy another Hustler.

Oct 28, 2014
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Sep 25, 2014
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Money Pit NEW
by: Anonymous

If you want a mower that you spend more time driving up and down the interstate to get repaired, rather than cutting grass, The "Raptor" is for you.
I took a day off work to cut my yard, did the weed eating first, and then started cutting the grass with the mower. A belt broke for the third time; "blade Belt", then the bolts came loose on the deck and butchered up my yard before I could figure out what went wrong.
I called the dealer; they said to bring it on down and they would repair it....AGAIN, AND AGAIN, AND AGAIN.
Ready to take this illegitimate child and run it off a steep hill into the Hustler empire's deluge of worthless junk.
The least they could do would be to let me out of this contract without damaging my credit score.
If they will not do right by me, and take this thing off my hands, I will never buy another Hustler product again, and will post my experiences to Facebook and any other social media I can.
People, do yourself a favor, invest a little more money and get a premium mower that will work for you instead of you for it.

Sep 17, 2014
Rating

Raptor is crap. NEW
by: Anonymous

Got a Raptor 4/19/14.Five months later it's been in the shop three times total of 5 weeks.1st it lost the drive belt,2nd blade pulley came out behind while mowing, 3rd quill came loose. Just got it back and it rattles,
and if grass is over 3" high it leaves two rows of grass it didn't quite cut.Do not fall for the hype these are cheaply made and there are better buys for less money.

Sep 17, 2014
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Jun 28, 2014
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Great first impression NEW
by: Anonymous

I have had my new Raptor for 2 days, and am very impressed. It is my first zero turn, and wow what a difference. I mow about 4 acres, hills, trees, un-even ground, you name it. I expected it would save time over my old ride on Husky, and my previous Craftsman. But did not expect it to cut my time to about 1/3. It goes up and down hills with no problem, cuts tall grass without plugging, is quieter, much more comfortable, and much better built. My Husky was broken, so the grass had got really tall, no problems at all plowing through it.My previous mowers would not have been able to do it without multiple passes. Only issue was the front tire loosing air, hope they resolve that without any hassle.

May 24, 2014
Rating

Junk NEW
by: Anonymous

Hustler makes good mowers but the Raptor ain't one of'm...took mine back after 3 months and several trips to the dealer..problem after problem after problem and got my $$$ back and bought a Fast Trak SD and I love it...the Raptor is NO BETTER than what you can buy at Home Depot or Lowes..if you don't believe me go look the Raptor over then go to one of the box stores and look them over...not any difference as a matter of facto think some of their's are made even better than the Raptor.. Such as the Husqavarna...Raptor is Box Store quality at best sold at a dealer for more money..Don't pull the trigger on one..Step up to a Fastrak or a Fastrak SD..I will say Hustler took care of me and sent me a set of Flex Forks free of charge for my Fastrak SD and if you have rough terrain to now YOU MUST HAVE FLEX FORKS..saves you and the machine a ton of wear and tear.

May 04, 2014
Rating

Much better zero trun NEW
by: Anonymous

I love my raptor and no problems what so ever. It's a go getter and my Nieghbor saw it in operation and went and purchase one just like it,but he the type who wants to keep with the Jones and Smith's. This mower is well built and comes with a 23 hp kawsaki engine. Can't go wrong for the money. $2,999.00. With free delivery and a great warranty. That me I did my home work on these zero trun mowers.
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PS
you can purchase a john deer but your just paying for the green and yellow paint. The hustler Raptor zero turn does the same but better. Just saying

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