John Deere LA165
The John Deere LA165 lawn mower is the second biggest in the 100 series of lawnmowers that JD produced over a period of 2 years from 2008 until production finished in 2010. The biggest model in the series is the John Deere LA175 garden tractor, while the John Deere LA155 lawnmower is obviously a bit smaller. The JD LA165 gets its power from an 0.724 liter (44 cubic centimeter) Briggs and Stratton engine. This V twin cylinder engine pumps out 24 horsepower that turns the wheels and the blades in the mower deck. The engine is started with a standard 12 volt battery that is recharged using a 16 amp alternator when the engine is running. The engine is designed and built by Briggs and Stratton and is the special Extended Life Series (ELS) engine. This means that many different extras have been built into the engine enabling it to last up to 50% longer than similar engines from other brands.
The John Deere LA165 utilizes the very simple but fantastically functional CargO Mount attachment system. This allows the operator to quickly and effortlessly attach or detach baggers, a sun canopy or other attachments compatible with this lawn mower. As the JD LA165 is a bigger machine that is routinely used by contractors, it usually sees a lot of wear and tears (and some abuse) along with regular use. This is why the team at John Deere have built it with cast iron front axle that will not bend, even under very heavy loading during rougher handling.
The John Deere LA165 has a 15.1 liter (4 US gallon) capacity for the regular models, but for the ‘California’ models, it has a reduced capacity, capable of holding 8.5 liters (2.25 US gallons) of gasoline. The great thing about the fuel tank on the JD LA165 is that it’s translucent so that the operator can easily see how much gas is left in the tank during operation.
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Bought this new in 2009. 12 years and 5 houses later (military) it still goes strong. Pushes snow, box blades gravel drive, mows everything. Used it to landscape two properties. Primer solved cold start problem. Bought it as a disposable box store mower, but it keeps ticking along with regular maintenance.
I have used this tractor to pull trees that have been cut down with large roots. I have been really hard on this tractor, and it still came through for me. I maintain the oil and grease fittings and mow the grass at about half speed to save RPMs. A 48″ mower deck with greased spindles will mow much more quietly…esp. after sharpening the blades enough to shave with. I can mow 7″ inch grass at half throttle with no loss of performance or results.
Durable
Steering gear mechanism is shoddy at best, replaced twice within first 6 years. (I mow a flat yard with very little turning). The paint started peeling before it was two years old, first on the deck and then the tractor itself. Bearings on deck, front wheels are not quality, they will not last. My experience is DON’T BUY JOHN DEERE anymore! If their ag tractors were like this, OLIVER would be the only green tractors….
I LIKE THE TRACTOR…BUT CAN SEE WHERE BAD REVIEWS ARE COMING FROM AFTER ONLY USING IT FOR APPROX 25HRS..DECK COMES OF MUCH EASIER THAN LT155..BUT MAYBE THATS BECAUSE IT WILL HAVE TO!!!?????
I was sick for a couple of yrs. Had other people cut my yard during that time.The other mowers did a super job put the JD to shame. I have had craftsman mowers that I payed $100 to $300 for I should have stuck with used. I have never been so disappointed in a mower!! I make sure to let everyone i see looking at mowers know what I know. JD doesn’t make a good mower. Even when i am in the dealership getting parts. They don’t like that. For the price we paid for that mower you would thank it would be better built. With the money we have spent getting it repaired and time working on it. I could have bought something much bigger and that can handle mowing a yard. Don’t believe there will be another JD in this yard. Oh yeah I had a LA 110 mower I believe it did a better job. In my opinion the LA165 is a waste of money. Maybe that is why they only made them for 2 yrs???
1 more, Why would anyone put a grease fitting where they did on the front axle?
I was proud to purchase my John Deer lawn tractor. I fell for the hype.
I have been totally dissatisfied with the machine, and this will be my first and last purchase.
I purchased this tractor to replace a 1979 Simplicity which I was tired of working on every year. It was used with only 40 hours on it and looked brand new. I have to work on this John Deere LA165 almost every time I mow the lawn. I wash my tractors after every mowing and they are kept in a garage and this tractor has been maintained per JD recommendations with JD Grease & Oil. When I washed this the first time, the Deck Paint began flaking off. The 1st time I mowed with it the mower belt came off. The next time it started making noise when the blades were engaged. This noise gradually got louder. After the 4th mowing I had found that 2 of the 3 blade bearings had gone bad. Before completing the 7th Mowing the engine began to surge, backfire and loose power under load. I haven’t found this problem yet. I wish I had my old Simplicity back.
It’s time to see what the competition has to offer!!!
Overall I am very disappointed in the quality of this product. My wife and I work at John Deere, so we wanted to support the business, but I feel we were really let down. I had 2 mowers (a Craftsman I bought used for $300 and the LA165 I bought for $2700) and used the Craftsman for all the rough sections of the yard (without getting off to pick up and rocks or sticks) and the the John Deere for the flat areas that had been precleaned of sticks and rocks. So to have all the issues on an expensive mower and no issues on one I abused is quite discouraging!
Did not like the cutting performance , and the steering design is simply primative ..