Weed Eater One Riding Lawn Mower - WE261 Hot

The plastic steering mechanism (adapter, steering wheel - part 23) that is attached to the shaft steering (part 22) is a dangerous part. I was cutting my lawn when it stripped; from easy steering, and flat terrain. Ran into my fence, injured both my neck and knee when brake also failed to engage. Be extremely careful after using for more than two seasons. Unbelievable that a product with defective components is sold as safe for normal use. It should be bolted at the top and the bottom of the steering shaft as a minimal precaution.

I purchased this for $650 at my local wal-mart. Used it about 6 times before the transmission wheel failed. It literally came apart in pieces and the machines started shaking me to death. After finally finding one of their warranty repair shops (it was 50 miles away) I was without a lawn mower for right around 2 months, in the middle of summer. I got my mower back and had to pay shop fees and freight on the parts ect... after having it back for 2 weeks the clutch cable broke, and another trip to the repair shop and another wait and another bill. Long story short. spend more for a better mower or do what I ended up doing and get a spare mower for when this turd is in for repair.

For my small yard without hills, it's okay. The small tires causes it to get saddlebagged in most places the lawn is uneven like around tree roots. It feels like it will tip on the smallest slope. That's stuff doesn't bother me, but what does is that it loses it tune up or something and either runs rough or quits running at all. It may run disengaged, but engaging then kills the engine. Near the beginning of its 2nd summer it quit running and I took it in for a repair. I had them check it out, give it an oil change and a tune up. They couldn't put their finger on the problem, but it ran fine after that. Here 4 months later, it would run engaged again. This time I took of the air filter housing and played with the carbureator linkage. I also where the filter hose seems lose possibly getting too much air in, so I fooled with that. I put it back together and it ran fine. I mowed once fine. Then at the beginning of the next time, it isn't running engaged again. So it seems that the carb linkage gets out of whack or there is too much air getting into the mixture. I'm not sure what's up, but not feeling inclined to go through the trouble of running it to the repair store and paying $100 too many more times. I came to this site to see if others were experiencing this problem keeping it running.

The brake/clutch canle end came off and there is no way to put it back on. After 8 weeks of run around by Weedeater, Poulan and Husqvarna I finally fixed it myself. Frankly I don't think Weedeater Service cares whether it works or no.
8 Warranty Centers listed as being within0 25 miles of where I live but none, NONE,of them will do warranty work. One 60 miles away agreed to look at it but
would not commit to doing repairs. The WE 261 might be the worst purchase Iever made. I would been way ahead of the game to have paid the additional and gotten a Snapper.

I purchased the riding mower because I have a very small yard. Had to replace the plastic steering hub with a metal one after a few months. Then the front tire went flat and the side walls was brittle and all cracked. Could not find a 10" tire and had to buy two 11" tire and replace both front wheel. Now the back tire is flat with the same side wall cracking and have no idea if the 13" size needed is avaliable. Wish I had never purchased this brand and will not buy their brand in any yard equipment again. I think they need to replace this product or give us our money back. Surly the company knows this product is unreliable and poorly made. This is what happen when we outsourse products, the quality is not there.

I have a small area to cut and it's flat so the mower works well.My gripe is routine maintenance,#1 is that you have to siphon the oil out of it and good luck with that #2 is the removal and replacement of the battery for storage because that ain't easy either,it's a mechanics dream come true!

Bought in May, 2010. Worked great first year. Next door neighbor uses it on his back yard; I use it on my front. I knicknamed it "Teddy" because it is one rough riding son-of-a-gun (my yard is neither flat nor a table top). A few weeks into season two, the steering wheel adaptor hub (cheap plastic) wore out. Local service center for warranty said they didn't keep parts in stock and ordered as needed. Probably take a few weeks. Ordered two of them from distributor. They were metal and probably good for the life of the mower. Last week, the brake cable snapped. Called the distributor who said they were out of stock and wouldn't have them for about three weeks. Took it to a local Mr. Fixit. Won't buy another one.

I'm only getting into my second season with this mower but for the 650 dollars that I spent for it, I'd have to say that it is thus far, well worth the price. It cuts grass well. They even sent me a free mulching attachment free of charge. Now I don't even have to rake up grass even when I don't cut grass for two weeks.

As one can see, It's not a large mower. I weigh 220 lbs. and if I weighed anymore I might have a problem using it. If you have less than an acre of relatively flat ground to mow than I'd have to say that it is a good buy.

I'm happy with the mower. Keep it maintained and it should do well.

Unit went down after only @ 3 months. My yard is not that large, but I do have an incline going down to the water. Not a lot of power on the incline. Mower doesn't handle going up the incline very well. But it does a great job on flat lawns.
I live in Slidell, la. This is in outside of New Orleans. My problem is trying to get warranty service. They do not have a good repair place for warranty service anywhere in my area. Plus, try to get a phone number for the manufacturer. GOOD LUCK!!!!!!! I was sent to Sears for service But, since I did not buy the unit from Sears I would have to pay for the warranty service.
I have spoken to Husquavarna, Briggs and Stratton, Magneto Svcs in Dallas, no information. Every one of them gave me the same list of repair companies. Called most of them but , but still can't find anyone who will do the warranty work. What do you have to do to get service on this unit. I definitely would not recommend this riding mower to anyone because of the service.

Will not start due to the shut off switch on seat and steering is not working properly. Tried to tighten the steering wheel, but that doesn't work.

2nd mowing of 3000 sq ft manacured lawn the left front tire collapsed & ruined the tube-$65 for a new solid tire. 4th mowing steering failed plastic gear against a metal one $15 & I fixed it with a metal replacement. 5th mowing larger yard uneven terrain broke steering somehow. Just going to junk my $700.00 experience & say goodby to a 30 year relationship with what used to be a quality manufacturer!

DO NOT buy this piece of junk! Cost me over $180.00 per mowing.

I have repaired lawn mower for over 30 years. I have seen them come and go. Strictly from a repairman's experience, I am surprised Weed Eater put it's name on this piece of equipment. The whole machine looks and acts as if a high school student, that has never mowed a blade of grass, designed this mower. It should of at least been tried out before being put on the market. This is the first Weed Eater product that I will not recommend to my customers. It will not climb any grade, the smallest obstruction, like an ant mound , will jerk the wheels to the side and hurt your wrist, and will come to a complete stop. Weed Eater needs to explain better that this mower is not made for anything but a golf green type yard. It is an accident waiting to happen.

Clutch(friction wheel) malfunctioned after two cuttings. I called manufacturer for replacement part and was informed that it had been discontinued. I found another clutch from a Snapper mower that would fit up!The unit performed okay for several more cuttings, now it will not reverse and makes
a very harsh grinding noise as if chains in trans-axle are misaligned. I would advise any prospective buyer to consider another brand or possibly a used mower if cost is the issue, rather than purchasing a Weedeater One mower!!

1) first thing I changed was the steering, front tires grabbed and lost alignment, I replaced the steering wheel with a handle type steering to maintain leverage, a bicycle type handle works best.

2)second, the support frame was not sufficiently welded to the engine casing
therefore,many transmission problems showed. After bolting the parts together
transmission problems decreased