Zero-turn lawnmowers are incredible purchases if you need something for a larger lawn, but these models ranked poorly for reliability with Consumer Reports.
Consumer Reports’ mission as an «independent, nonprofit member organization» makes it unique in today’s profit-driven landscape. That’s why Consumer Reports’ list of «Best and Worst Lawn Mower Brands of 2025» is worthy of our attention.
Consumer Reports uses key criteria to rank lawn mower brands: model and brand performance and reliability. Model performance refers to «the performance of individual models» while performing their «core functions.» These functions can vary between models but include the way they cut grass, and bag or mulch those clippings, depending on how the mower is equipped. Other factors, such as how easy (or difficult) it is to use and the amount of noise the mower makes, also factor into this score. Brand performance scores are not model-specific but provide a baseline of the mower’s value.
Overall, Husqvarna lawn mowers have the lowest predicted reliability rating from Consumer Reports. In 2024, Husqvarna barely escaped the bottom half of SlashGear’s ranking of major lawn mower brands. Bad Boy was the next-worst mower brand according to Consumer Reports, with Ariens rounding out the bottom three lowest-ranked lawn mower brands on the Consumer Reports list.
Consumer Reports issues each lawn mower brand a reliability score derived from surveying «hundreds of thousands of CR members about the products they buy.» From these surveys, Consumer Reports predicts the likelihood that owners of a particular lawn mower brand will experience problems within the first five years of ownership. In addition, reliability scores are adjusted based on extended warranty coverage, service contract status, and product usage as applicable.Are Husqvarna zero-turn mowers really that bad?
Husqvarna has a long history of manufacturing mass-produced goods, starting with producing weapons for war as the Jönköping Rifle Factory in Sweden in the 1600s. Today, Husqvarna makes a variety of «forest and garden» equipment and motorcycles bearing the gun-sight-inspired logo, a callback to the company’s roots.
