Mower wont pull backwards-HRR216K9VKA

Iam new to this site,I have owned this mower since April this year,bought from Home Depot,(I know,,) 6 weeks after purchase the mower wouldnt pull backwards after it ran for 1/2 hour of use, took it back to the Depot and they sent it to their service center in Arizona for 5 weeks-it came back as "Nothing wrong", I used it again for the mow-same problem, then took it to Dans mowers in Rialto Ca, that shop stated there is a service bulletin recall for the rear drive problem.Therear wheel bearings or bushings get hot during the forward drive and when pulled backwards sieze-if its a known problem the Home depot service center doesnt seem clued in, I get it any peice of equipment can have issues right out of the box, you fix it and move on thats life.Quite a few of the reviews for this machine state the same condition going back to 2014,
Now the Mower will take another 3 weeks but I bet they actually fix it. So Friday I found an old Snapper that just need wheels and wish I would have bought a Snapper initially.
Live and learn I guess.

If your mower ever gets fixed so that it will back up, you're lucky.
I have a Honda powered Troy Bilt mower mod. 12AV834Q711 that is also rear wheel drive,
and it just locks the rear wheels up when I try to back up.
I find it strange that there is no mention of this in the manual.
I can pivot, and one wheel or the other roll forward just fine, the other remains locked.
The pin clutches (?) that provide the forward drive/ forward coast both engage when I attempt to
back up, causing the transmission to have to turn the input pulley backwards.
It does not seem to want to do that, at least not on grass.
That's why I am not a fan of rear wheel drive. The mower was given to me, so I guess I cannot complain....

Good luck!

Ronno6 said:

If your mower ever gets fixed so that it will back up, you're lucky.
I have a Honda powered Troy Bilt mower mod. 12AV834Q711 that is also rear wheel drive,
and it just locks the rear wheels up when I try to back up.
I find it strange that there is no mention of this in the manual.
I can pivot, and one wheel or the other roll forward just fine, the other remains locked.
The pin clutches (?) that provide the forward drive/ forward coast both engage when I attempt to
back up, causing the transmission to have to turn the input pulley backwards.
It does not seem to want to do that, at least not on grass.
That's why I am not a fan of rear wheel drive. The mower was given to me, so I guess I cannot complain....

Good luck!

Click to expand...

Yep-same here, Honda's cars and outboards seem to get the better engineering my mower, granted not the most expensive one they make but I thought this will be the mower to end all mowers,my grandkids would inherit it one day and reminisce about all the years it ran, not a good use of $400 dollars, I bought an old push snapper and still waiting for the new wheels to show up, I bet that thing out lives me and the Honda hits the next yard sale,
And so it goes with machinery

Bubbles dad said:

Now the Mower will take another 3 weeks but I bet they actually fix it. So Friday I found an old Snapper that just need wheels and wish I would have bought a Snapper initially.
Live and learn I guess.

Click to expand...

Check the serial number on the back of the mower deck (it is in the form of MXXX-1234567) and see if it is in the batch listed in this Service Bulletin (see link below).

Not a hard DIY job if you don't want to wait for the dealer to do it, but Honda will only pay warranty $$ to the dealer, e.g., Honda won't reimburse you for the parts if you DIY.

http://www.lawnmowerforum.com/showthread.php/42592-Honda-HRR-Models-Rear-Wheels-Locking-Up-When-Pulling-Backwards

Update: Shop called and said they cant duplicate the problem, they let the mower run drive engaged for quite awhile, the shop kid drove it up and down the street and it rolls backwards as normal as they say it will
This mower is cursed.I feel like William Shatner in that Twilight Zone episode with the furry goblin on the airplane wing and only he can see it.

That's a very easy fix,pull the rear wheels off and remove the c-clip that holds the pinion gear on,remove the pinion gear and there will be a keyway with a small spring under it,clean the keyway and the slot it rides in with brake cleaner or the best way you have to clean it,then put a few drops of oil in the slot and make sure the keyway works freely in the slot it rides in,note,make sure you put the pinion gear back on the same direction as it come off.....what happens is that the keyway slot gets dirt ect,ect in it....I own a HRR,HRX AND A HRC....Maintenance is very important even if it is just a lawn mower.....

de3 said:

That's a very easy fix,pull the rear wheels off and remove the c-clip that holds the pinion gear on,remove the pinion gear and there will be a keyway with a small spring under it,clean the keyway and the slot it rides in with brake cleaner or the best way you have to clean it,then put a few drops of oil in the slot and make sure the keyway works freely in the slot it rides in,note,make sure you put the pinion gear back on the same direction as it come off.....what happens is that the keyway slot gets dirt ect,ect in it....I own a HRR,HRX AND A HRC....Maintenance is very important even if it is just a lawn mower.....

Click to expand...

So true on the maintenance of any machine, my beef is it only has about 5 hours run time and neither Home Depot's service center or Dans Mowers in Rialto can make the failure happen at the shop, only after I mow for 1/2 hour, so I found a beater snapper walk behind and changed the wheels to the steel ones, cleaned it up and I now get a real workout due to the ruts and bumps but I can actually use the exercise and the snapper brings me back to the early 70's and who doesnt want that.

Update
Mower went to Redlands Honda,they took it apart and loosened up whatever was siezed then contacted Honda tech support and decided if it continued to seize up pulling backwards Honda would send out a new transmission.This model mower was primarily for box store customers/ Home Depot and elsewhere and is NOT a commercial mower with whatever the difference in drive components would end up being.
Looking for at least 3 sheep.Will pay a fair price,
My contact information is on this page
Thank you