Hayter Harrier 41

purchased a Hayter as they are supposed to be quality-NOT.Allways hard to start,the starter blows fuses regulary, the handle is made from poor quality tubing and breaks, the height adjustment is a joke and difficult to ajust.The throttle mechanism is flimsy and over complicated causing lumpy running, my mower has wooden wedge fitted by me to keep it running properly. The motor is weak and will stall if you hit some tough patches of grass.Hayter were good once, they are probably made in china now and badged up as Hayter,and of course they are not cheap and not worth the money at all now.

This is a great little mower WITH ONE BIG WEAKNESS. The rear roller brackets are made of aluminium and fracture very easily and are fiddly to replace. I try very hard not to handle the mower roughly but I'm now on my 6th bracket. Why can't the brackets be made of steel?

Brought a Hayter 41 push 2 & half years ago, wish I haven't.

List of issues,

Rear roller fell off = £23 parts

Front wheel snapped in half = £30 replace

Gasket between fuel tank and carb gave up = £10 part

Under deck broke and left a massive hole = £15 fibreglass

Handles came loose = £7 parts

2 x service kits and 2 x blades = £110 from dealer in parts ( fitted myself ) now found out voids warranty

And yesterday whole under deck has snapped in half which also ment front wheels fell off and into bits, now for the dump I think.

Hayter won't do anything as I serviced it so warranty is void.

My Dad had and has a Hayter 56 which he's had for 10 plus years, well made in Germany, Hayter 41 made in China.

Now going for a Honda or a Mountfield with a Honda engine.

Hayter has really lost its quality build, such a shame. Defo won't buy another.

The forward motion speed control lever is a great idea - pity mine has had to be repaired twice and still doesn't work, in fact it's never worked properly in the ten years I've had it. Two plastic covers have fallen off - cheap and nasty fixings and I have just left them off. The throttle control cable got kinked by the fold down handles the first time I used it and why aren't there quick release levers on the handle hinges? Also, why does the rear roller keep jamming?

On the plus side, it does start easily, the height adjustment works well and the cut is reasonable.

I've had my Harrier 41 for about ten years. The cut and finish are great, but the mower needs some better quality parts. Some of the plastic bits that form the chute/blade enclosure are easily damaged by stones or sticks. The most annoying part though is the left roller support bracket. I have replaced two of these for exactly the same failure. Metal fatigue next to one of the anchoring bolts. This requires at least a couple of hours work for a competent DIY "enthusiast". Cheap parts that are not fit for purpose.

I bought an electric start self propelling harrier41 and will not recommend it to anyone. It has cost me four hundred pounds in maintance in 5 years. The hayter people in Cambridge have ruined my machine. They charge one hundred pounds every year to service 25 percent of the cost of the machine, I will by a home base mover in future and run it until it packs up and then buy a new one again . All I can say is that hayter is only a name and their service engineers are not very well trained to put the machine back together again. I will never again recommend it or buy a hayter again ever.

A good push lawn mower and built well made but its useless for cutting wet grass as the cuttings get stuck in the tunnel that takes the grass into the grass box. The mower then just leaves grass on the lawn or cuts out. The grass only has to be damp for this to happen.would of thought the hayter design team would find a way of getting more suction into the grass boxwood

This is a fairly heavy mower and my problem with it is that the power roller at the back, while it clearly works and merrily spins away if you hold it off the ground, the second you put it down on the ground it stops and won't pull the mower at all. So I have ended up with a push mower instead of an electric start power driven model that I expected!

my mower is the alloy deck one before the plastic deck units...the roller supports are shocking...the drive has come out and jammed the chain....its a very poor cheep design

I have owned a Hayter Harrier 41 412C with electric start and is self propelled. The major issue with this model is the strength of the rear roller support brackets which are made of cast aluminium. In 7 years , I have replaced the right hand bracket three times. It is not a difficult job to replace the right hand bracket yourself but practice makes it easier and I have had plenty of practice. This bracket is just not strong enough to take lateral stresses for any great period of time. My lawn is not shaped so I can go up and down so if you have to negotiate obstacles such as trees this puts a strain on the brackets. The fact that the local agent has these parts in stock virtually all the time speaks volumes for how may other owners must have experienced this.The brackets break just below the fixing points.

Now the left hand rear roller bracket has broken. This is a first so I am contemplating having a go at replacing it myself. Wish me luck!!.

I will not be buying another Hayter lawn mower till they stop using aluminium for these brackets.