Cub Cadet Z2 54 in. Zero Turn Mower

The mower is great, very well made. The staff at Hart Mi Tractor Supply made the purchase easy.

Several issues. I bought a Cub Cadet Z2 54 from the local TSC in Paducah, KY. I spent about a week researching the mower reviews online and this was the one I chose. I really liked the mower features. I liked the Kawasaki motor, the bigger back tires, the seat, the lever grips, the handling, the overall style of the mower, and the price. I liked everything about it except for the way it cuts the grass. It left very prominent “streaks” in the yard (some people call these “mow-hawks”) where it didn’t cut the grass well, both between blades 1 and 2, and between blades 2 and 3. It also generally didn’t seem to cut evenly all the time. The bigger back tires also smashed down the grass (this is probably common), so the yard initially looked awful right after mowing, but after a day the grass would lift back up and it would look better except for the streaking. Another issue not related to mowing is that the seat didn’t come with seat cables (which is cheap on Cub Cadet’s part), so the first time you lift the seat it will slam over onto the foot deck (I bought a set of cables online for $8, but you have to use your own bolts). I checked online for ways to fix the streaking and I could find nothing that helped. I found several entries online of where people complained that their Cub Cadet mowers were also streaking. I found a few things to check. The mower deck was set up correctly, on the 4.0 setting the front of the deck was 4” on both the right and left sides, and the back of the deck was 4.25” on both sides (this is supposed to be optimal for creating vacuum under the deck). The mower comes with the Cub Cadet lift blades. They were the correct size, and they were installed correctly (not upside down). The blade bolt, spindle, and pulley were all tight, and the belt was tight and installed correctly. The tire pressure in all the tires was the correct pressure, too. I did read that sometimes the paint on the blades can cause uneven cuts at first, but by the fifth time I mowed there was no paint left of the blades and the streaking just seemed to get worse. I didn’t sharpen the blades in case that voided the potential for returning the mower, but I read that mower blades were only supposed to be “butter knife sharp.” When you sharpen the blades, they round over the edge quite a bit after the first mowing, anyway. The blades were fine. It seems like the streaking is a vacuum issue of some kind, maybe with the design of the deck, or that maybe the blades don’t turn fast enough. The 23 HP motor should have been plenty of power. I called the TSC where I purchased the mower, and talked to the manager. He didn’t have any solutions for me, either. I asked about returning the mower, and he said that since I was past the 30-day return window (I was only on day 40 of owning the mower), he wouldn’t take the return for refund. He did give me the name of a local small engine shop that did their warranty work. I called them, and they said that they didn’t do warranty work anymore. I called TSC back and the manager didn’t offer anything else except that he gave me the TSC Customer Solutions number. I called the Customer Solutions and that guy was very helpful. He noticed that the mower was actually purchased by my wife (she wanted the points on her credit card) and that she was a member of the “Neighbor’s Club” with TSC. Members get 90 days to return merchandise, so since I couldn't get it fixed, he recommended that I just return the mower to the store. I highly recommend becoming a member of the Neighbor’s Club before you purchase a mower from TSC. I took the mower back that very day and got a full refund. I’ll never buy another Cub Cadet mower, again, and I’ll likely never buy anything from that TSC store, again, either.

drive belt broke first day

Great product was very impressed with the quality and delivery