Makita XML08PT1 18V X2 (36V) LXT® Lithium‑Ion Brushless Cordless 21″ Self Propelled Lawn Mower Kit with 4 Batteries (5.0Ah)

Wonderful Mower
I’ve owned battery operated mowers before. But this one surpasses them all. The unit arrived with no damage. It assembled with ease. My first test was to mow wet grass since it is winter. I set the deck height to 4 leaving about 3 inches of grass height after the cut. The lawn was about 6 inches in length to start with. The deck height lever stayed in place even if the terrain got a little rough. I used the rear discharge and bagging feature. There was no clogging at all. In wet grass to boot. Lawn looks awesome. The motor did raise in RPM’s if it hit a patch of dense grass. I was conservative on using the self propel feature to test how long I could go with a single charge on the batteries. After mowing 3,200 square feet, only 1/3 of one battery was used. Incredible! I will try self propel on the whole lawn next time. Also, I intentionally ran the mower up against a bulkhead with the self propel activated. After releasing the lever, the mower pulled back with ease. No tire chatter. When placing or pulling the batteries from the compartment, the lid has no assist and wants to get in your way. It would be nice if they would add a spring. The twin port battery charger works great. It turns off automatically when the batteries are fully charged. If storage space is a constraint, then this mower may not work for you. The handle does not fold down. This mower is heavy. So it may not be for everybody. But the self propel feature works so well I doubt many will care. I also want to say that reaching a customer service rep was excellent. During my research I contacted two other competitor brands and was put in a holding pattern. Not with Makita. A person answered immediately and I had my questions answered in minutes. I have a platform of Makita battery powered tools. Since the batteries used on them also work the lawn mower it makes this purchase much more sweet. Thanks Makita!Update: It’s been a year and this mower is still going strong. We live in the Pacific Northwest and our lawn stays moist pretty much all year. Using the rear discharge, I always worry about clogged grass and a mess under the deck. But that has not happened. Just got done mowing our wet lawn yesterday (February 2021) and to my astonishment the underside of the deck was clean. I don’t let the grass grow more than about 3 inches above desired height before mowing. That may explain it. The suction keeps our lawn free of clippings and very clean in appearance. Battery life is excellent. I use the self propel feature continously on 3,200 sq. ft. and when done, there is normally one bar left showing on the fuel gauge. So far only two batteries are needed. I appreciate the lag in activation of the self propel mechanism. A few times I have nudged the lever while maneuvering the mower. If it had lurched, who knows what could’ve happened. Our lawn is far from smooth and yet the front suspension glides over those humps and leaves a smooth cut of grass. Amazing! There were some leaves that fell late. The mower sucked up about 85% of them. No it’s not perfect. But this mower is head and shoulders above our previous ones. We have not had the troubles others have experienced. The bottom line is we are in love with this mower.

Would give it five stars, but….
This a fine mower, well built and engineered. It runs smoothly and quietly, cutting the grass well. With the bag attached, it vacuums up grass clippings and leaves better than other mowers I have owned. I bought this because I have a garage full of Makita 18V tools and love them all. The only drawback is the cost of the batteries so when this package deal came up with four batteries included, I went for it. I can use the batteries in my other tools, if needed. The only negative to this review is that the self-propelled function did not work when the mower arrived. I tried contacting Makita customer service for help. Then I decided to take a close look under the mower in case something wasn’t hooked up properly. Sure enough, the wiring pigtail sending power to the drive motor was dangling loose. It had never been hooked up during manufacture because the heat shrink rubber sleeve hadn’t been “shrunk.” So somebody on the line was sleepy that day. I fixed it in a couple of minutes and heated the protective tubing so it would keep out dirt. All’s well that ends well, but be aware that things happen at the factory. Other reviewers mentioned a torn shipping box. Mine was punched in and torn and parts were loose inside the box, but everything was there undamaged. The box was well-designed and heavy duty, but shipping with pretty much all carriers is not great these days. If you get this mower and it arrives intact, you should be very happy with it.