Craftsman YT 4500 54" Kohler 26 hp Gas Powered Riding Lawn Tractor Reviews

This is a great mower, but be prepared to baby the belt drive system. The blade engagement process is VERY twitchy, the belt will come off the guide wheels if you just suddenly turn off the tractor without disengaging the belt drive. You must stop the mower, slow the engine, disengage the blade drive, then shut off the engine. Otherwise you run the risk of the belt flying off. I removed the belt drive covers on the top of the deck to facilitate rethreading of the belt. It doesn't happen often to me anymore, but with the covers off it makes it MUCH easier to rethread the belt without tools in the...

My husband wants to "try" to help out.   So we got the Craftsman riding lawnmower.  Have you ever seen an 84 year old man, acting like a 4 year old?   Well, that's him on the lawn mower.   He rides it around the 2 1/2 acre yard and keeps the grass manicured to perfection.   It is very maneuverable allowing him to go around the trees with ease.   Sometimes, he takes the granddaughter for a ride.   She loves sitting on his lap, turning the wheel.   It's so easy to operate. 

I've spent the last four years mowing 4 acres of virginia rocks and clay with this monster. I have to say that I've been terrible about maintenance (never have changed the oil) and this thing just keeps going. I clean the air filter occasionally because the dust is so bad, but the only issues I've had were due to the huge rocks I've hit: I go through blades quickly, and I broke two mandrels on a big stone. Maintenance has been easy. The only thing they could have done better, is made the deck easier to remove and reassemble. It's difficult to get it on by yourself.

Just took delivery and mowed my 5 acre yard in half the time.  As mentioned elsewhere, you need to do a little prep when you first take delivery.  I checked the air pressure in the tires and they were all HIGH for shipping. (They were all set at 20 psi, but should be front 14 psi and rear at 10 psi). 

Anyhow, checked the oil did the once over for nuts, bolts screws etc.  Then started mowing.  Very nice cut, level and clean.  I found the engine has plenty of power and does not get bogged down when mowing heavy grass.  Handling and traction was great (correct air pressure in tires).  The...

NOTE: WHAT FOLLOWS FIRST IS THE INITIAL REVIEW I WROTE IN MID-JUNE, 2010.  FOLLOWING IS AN UPDATE FROM ONE MONTH LATER.  BE SURE TO READ BOTH.

Did a lot of research before buying this mower for our 4 acre lot.  It was a great value at $2,000 for a 54" deck and 26 hp engine.  Unfortunately, the first lasted just a few months, and less than 25 hours of operation.  We started having problems with the drive belt popping off and fraying.  The initial service call just said we needed a belt for $120 installed -- not covered by warranty because it was a "wear item."  I couldn't understand why a...

Extremely disappointed with this purchase, design is flawed, manufacturing is poor quality and would never buy another tractor or look at one at Sears.  Like many others my husband purchased this tractor after doing research for all brands of tractors, along with reading customer reviews.  We selected this tractor for price and the Kohler engine.  When we got it home my husband checked to make sure the bolts were tightened and did all the adjustments.  The tractor worked for just one hour on flat, even grass and then the pulley system for the deck broke. 

We immediately called the store...

seriously, why can't sears list the compatible attachments for this mower? had it delivered . the brush bar [$90] literally thrown in a box with bolts and parts [NO assembly instructions]... now i can't find them anywhere online... sears customer service sucks. delivery guy sucked [no info & should have been assembled BEFORE it got to my house] then he wouldn't do it once he was there. but for $65 delivery for 5 miles away he wanted to take it back and redeliver and charge me the $65 AGAIN! 

still can't figure out why the mower level goes from 6-1 but you can only really lower it to 4?! i adjusted...

I have yet to get my husband off this lawnmower since we got it home.  It does a great job mowing and with the big lawn we have, it takes so much less time with the big deck.  What a great buy!

The belts have come off both the tractors I own.  It's frustrating to have to stop and put them back on.  Also, this time, the pulleys came off and now I have to wait two weeks for Sears to come and fix a $2000 tractor.  Other than that, the tractor works well for what it is intended for.

So far the tractor is working GREAT!! A little loud to me but what tractor isn't? The large bed is wonderful and cuts the time when mowing my three acrs. There is also a great feature on the bed to help clean the blades just attach a hose turn on the water and the tractor and clean the blades! So far the tractor has everything I need even a cup holder so I don't get thirsty when mowing the lawn in the sun.

This has been the worst lawn mower i have ever purchased . the coil pack went bad the transaxle just sprung a leak and to top it all when I called to set up a tech. to do the warranty work they informed me my warranty was invalid by one day. I have already called them about this once before and the sears tech. told me I had nothing to worry about. thanks sears for making this buying experience with you the last one ever.

I had low expectations so I am not disappointed.  I had a Ford/New Holland with a Kohler 18Hp.  It was what a "tractor" should be. 

The good: Fast, large cut, decent price when its on sale, good horse power and comfortable to drive.  Good turning radius and easy to turn, much better then my old Ford.

The bad:  Not a lot of deck height adjustments.  The safety on the seat is too sensitive.  If you slide just a little bit it shuts off.  That alone makes it difficult to cut on slight inclines and declines.  Gets stuck very easily, needs better tires especially on inclines with sand or some...