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I bought a HRN216VKA in Sept 2021 at The Home Depot. Used it a couple of times last year and it worked fine. I tried to start it yesterday and could not. Drained the fuel and put new fuel. Mad sure Spark Plug is clean. It was a new unit when I bought it last year (not a returned/markdown, etc.). Filter is CLEAN. Blades are are not stuck.

Any thoughts on what else I could try before calling Honda?

Is your fuel shut-off valve open?

Pauljp said:

Is your fuel shut-off valve open?

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Yes it is!

Open your air filter and verify that your choke is closed all the way when cold.
If you spray a bit of starter fluid into the intake will it briefly fire up?

I am not sure how to tell if the choke is closed all the way. Here's a picture with the filter removed. Is

Undo the to nuts and pull the filter housing off
Note there will be a tube at the back that needs to be disconnected as well
The choke butterfly s directly in front of you
IT should touch the sides of the carb if it is fully closed

Here is a picture of mine when cold.
You can see the butterfly valve is closed so you can't see down the carburetor throat.
It pivots on the vertical black pin near the right side.
If yours is open when cold you will never be able to start it as it is letting too much air in.
The probable cause could be your auto-chock system.
As @bertsmobile1 said, it is easier to see and work on with the breather housing removed.
It appears in your photo that the butterfly valve is open, but I can't really tell.
Does yours look like mine?

I removed the filter housing and took a picture. This is how it looks closed, doesn't it? I also sprayed some Engine starter fluid (with the filter off and housing back on) and tried to start it. It seems like it is about to start for a second and then stops. I am at a loss -- brand new unit!!!!

squirt a little fuel into the carb or spark plug hole and see if it starts. Try gently bouncing the wheels on the ground a couple times, the float and needle may be stuck.

If you call Honda ask if this unit has ever been registered with Honda as being sold . Pay attention to when it was registered if they say , yes, it's been registered and they will have the information of who registered it and when .

SeniorCitizen said:

If you call Honda ask if this unit has ever been registered with Honda as being sold . Pay attention to when it was registered if they say , yes, it's been registered and they will have the information of who registered it and when .

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I bought it from The Home Depot. I opened the brand new box in first week of Sept last year.

ironv said:

I removed the filter housing and took a picture. This is how it looks closed, doesn't it? I also sprayed some Engine starter fluid (with the filter off and housing back on) and tried to start it. It seems like it is about to start for a second and then stops. I am at a loss -- brand new unit!!!!

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Yes, that is closed. Exactly how it should be.
So you are either missing fuel or spark. An easy way to find out which is to remove the spark plug and squirt a little bit of fuel in the hole and put the plug back in. DO NOT USE STARTER FLUID it is much too strong for a small engine and could damage it. Once your plug is back in and connected, pull the cord. If the motor starts for a few seconds and dies it is telling you that you have good spark and you are missing a steady supply of fuel. If the motor doesn't kick over then you most likely are missing a good spark.
Try this and tell us what happens.

Also, the fuel in the bowl and line will be old. Just because the fuel in the tank is new doesn't mean it has made it thru the carb yet. Put a quarter teaspoon of so of new fuel in thru the spark plug hole and try again. I find that mine starts easier if I pull the handle until I feel firm resistance then pull hard. If the cord is too far out I let it in at that point and pull. What used to take 6 or 7 pulls starts the first time each time now.

Did you solve the problem?

Pauljp said:

Yes, that is closed. Exactly how it should be.
So you are either missing fuel or spark. An easy way to find out which is to remove the spark plug and squirt a little bit of fuel in the hole and put the plug back in. DO NOT USE STARTER FLUID it is much too strong for a small engine and could damage it. Once your plug is back in and connected, pull the cord. If the motor starts for a few seconds and dies it is telling you that you have good spark and you are missing a steady supply of fuel. If the motor doesn't kick over then you most likely are missing a good spark.
Try this and tell us what happens.

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Motor starts for a few seconds and dies.

sgkent said:

Also, the fuel in the bowl and line will be old. Just because the fuel in the tank is new doesn't mean it has made it thru the carb yet. Put a quarter teaspoon of so of new fuel in thru the spark plug hole and try again. I find that mine starts easier if I pull the handle until I feel firm resistance then pull hard. If the cord is too far out I let it in at that point and pull. What used to take 6 or 7 pulls starts the first time each time now.

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I tired with a 1/4 tsp of new fuel, and pulled the handle till I felt firm resistance. Motor starts for a few seconds and dies.
I have seen YouTube videos and even a sticky post on this site on how to clean a Honda Lawnmower carburetor. Given this has only been used twice, is there a possible shortcut to that which does not involve remove the entire unit, the two screws to access the ignition, etc.? I removed the filter housing again and sprayed compressed air into the carburetor (without taking it apart). No luck.

Carb is dirty as long as the fuel shut-off valve is open. Remove carb bowl and clean the little guy out. Needle might be stuck closed too.

ironv said:

Motor starts for a few seconds and dies.

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Excellent. This tells us the carburetor is clogged and the motor is not getting fuel. We are almost there. If you want to go a bit further you can clean the carb and you will be happily cutting grass again.
Unfortunately the carb is very close to the mower deck thus making it difficult to work on while still attached. It doesn't need to be completely removed, just enough to tilt it to access the main jet inside.
Maybe first take some pictures or a video of the carb and all the stuff connected to it so you have a good reference on how it all fits together.
Maybe the first thing to try is to see if in fact you have fuel in the bowl. You can do this without removing the carb. Take a thin marker and make a line from the top of the bowl up to the carb. This marks the position of the bowl in relation to the carb. The bowl is fairly uniform on this carb so it probably won't make much difference but I always like to put things back exactly as it came off.
Turn off the fuel supply valve. Take a shallow small container that can fit between the bowl and the mower deck, perhaps a small pie plate and undo the screw on the bottom of the bowl and see if fuel comes out. If it does then chances are the needle valve on the float is working properly. To test this further open the fuel shut-off valve to see if more fuel comes out, then close it again.
If all is working to this point then the carb is getting lots of fuel from the tank, it is just not sending any to the motor, chances are you probably have a clogged main jet and you will have to loosen the carb to angle it to get a screw driver inside.
We are almost at the end and I am not sure if you are comfortable going further. The only issue we might have is that you need the proper screw driver. It is a regular flat head one but you may need to grind/file the shoulders off of it so it fits up inside where the jet is.
Try testing up to this point, let us know if the fuel supply is good and if you want to continue.
We are all here for you and will help you through this if you want. Let us know.

Pauljp said:

Unfortunately the carb is very close to the mower deck thus making it difficult to work on while still attached.

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I lift push mowers on top of our city plastic garbage cans. Makes a perfect work bench for free. Perfect height too for carb work. Don't forget, cleaning the cooling fins on the block.

Pauljp said:

Maybe the first thing to try is to see if in fact you have fuel in the bowl. You can do this without removing the carb. Take a thin marker and make a line from the top of the bowl up to the carb. This marks the position of the bowl in relation to the carb. The bowl is fairly uniform on this carb so it probably won't make much difference but I always like to put things back exactly as it came off.
Turn off the fuel supply valve. Take a shallow small container that can fit between the bowl and the mower deck, perhaps a small pie plate and undo the screw on the bottom of the bowl and see if fuel comes out. If it does then chances are the needle valve on the float is working properly. To test this further open the fuel shut-off valve to see if more fuel comes out, then close it again.
If all is working to this point then the carb is getting lots of fuel from the tank, it is just not sending any to the motor, chances are you probably have a clogged main jet and you will have to loosen the carb to angle it to get a screw driver inside.

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I was able to empty the bowl. The moment I loosened the bolt at the bottom, fuel started dripping till what was in the bowl came out. First I did that with the fuel line closed. Then I opened up the valve and more fuel started dripping.

Based on your post looks like the next step is main jet. Would a product like this https://www.homedepot.com/p/Gumout-14-oz-Jet-Spray-Carb-Choke-and-Parts-Cleaner-800002231/204802432 help in "unclogging" the jet? That combined with compressed air can to dry things out? And where would I spray this? Sorry complete idiot here. Thanks for your help.

ironv said:

Would a product like this https://www.homedepot.com/p/Gumout-14-oz-Jet-Spray-Carb-Choke-and-Parts-Cleaner-800002231/204802432 help in "unclogging" the jet?

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Yes and WEAR EYE PROTECTION WHEN SPRAYING THAT EVIL CRAP. If you get that in your eyes, you will feel it LOL.

Take a bread tie and remove the plastic cover. Use the small wire to rod out any jets or some fishing line. 20-30lb fishing line works great.

ironv said:

I was able to empty the bowl. The moment I loosened the bolt at the bottom, fuel started dripping till what was in the bowl came out. First I did that with the fuel line closed. Then I opened up the valve and more fuel started dripping.

Based on your post looks like the next step is main jet. Would a product like this https://www.homedepot.com/p/Gumout-14-oz-Jet-Spray-Carb-Choke-and-Parts-Cleaner-800002231/204802432 help in "unclogging" the jet? That combined with compressed air can to dry things out? And where would I spray this? Sorry complete idiot here. Thanks for your help.

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Exactly what @ironv said.
Carb cleaner is always good to have on hand. Make sure to use all the safety measures to protect yourself.
Since we know fuel is easily getting into the carb bowl the next thing to do is clean the main jet.
Shut off the fuel valve. Drain and remove the bowl. Put a line on it first like I mentioned earlier. After removing the bolt at the bottom the bowl might seem stuck to the carb, its got a gasket between them, just wiggle and push down, it will come apart.
Normally you would remove the jet and clean it but we could try what @ironv said. The jet size is #68 (at least it is on mine) that means the center hole is .68mm in diameter, that is less than 1/16" so we need something really thin to clean it. A little wire from a twist tie with the paper/plastic covering removed is perfect. You would probably need about 2-3" or so. It would be easier access if you also removed the float but not necessary, just watch the float pivot pin as it slides out easily. Once the bowl is removed take the wire and feed it up the center hole of the carb at the bottom, you are trying to locate the small hole in the middle of the jet, you can use a mirror to see better. Just poke the wire through the jet, it is only about 1/4" thick and it probably won't be much resistance. Don't force anything, we don't want to damage it. I have found once a tiny sand grain was enough to stop the fuel. Wiggle the wire around a bit to make sure it is clear then stick the carb cleaner straw up it into the center and give it a couple of shots to rinse it out. Put everything back together and hopefully that will solve the problem.
Let us know how it goes.
Paul

Hey @ironv what finally happened with your mower?

@Pauljp

I don't know how this worked out for the OP, but I had the very same problem, and this thread helped me get it fixed.

I'd used my new Honda twice, and then it wouldn't start. Following the advice here, I verified the choke was closed. I pulled the fuel line to confirm that gas was getting to the carb. I took out the spark plug (which looked good) and checked the gap (which was right). Put 1/4 teaspoon of gasoline in the combustion chamber and gave it a pull; it ran for about one second.

I removed the paper/plastic from a twist tie, made sure the fine wire was clean and inserted it through the carburetor jet. The clogged jet must have been the problem, because I put things back together and it fired right up!

Many thanks for the excellent suggestions here.