Your 40V Ryobi mower is dying too fast—Why ‘self-propel’ is killing battery life

If you’ve noticed your Ryobi lawn mower dying before the backyard is finished, the culprit isn’t necessarily a bad or aging battery; it’s probably how you’re using your favorite feature. And if you’ve had the mower for a few years, how and when you use this feature becomes even more important.

Yes, I’m talking about that self-propelled lever on your Ryobi 40V mower that makes yard work feel like a breeze. While it’s an absolute game-changer and saves your arms and back, it’s secretly one of the biggest drains on your runtime.

Can’t finish your yard on a single charge anymore?

The self-propelled dilemma

Tell me if this sounds familiar. You bought a fancy new Ryobi 40V self-propelled lawn mower, and it’s an absolute joy to use. You’re no longer dealing with oil, gas, or a blend of the two, and at one point, you were able to mow the entire yard on a single charge. But not anymore.

Most Ryobi 40V lawn mowers offer around 80 minutes of runtime, which is enough to mow up to 3/4 of an acre, if not more. I can mow my entire yard almost twice on a single charge, and then all it takes is 5 seconds to swap the battery key to the secondary battery, and I’m back at it.

However, when I first bought it, I could get the entire job done twice on a single charge. Like any lithium-ion battery, from the one in your mower, watch, EV, or smartphone, things start to degrade over time. That’s especially true for a high-demand tool like a lawn mower, which is probably always used on a hot day and sits in a hot garage or tool shed.

Naturally, your mower’s battery life will start to take a small hit, which is probably part of the reason you’re unable to finish the backyard before the battery runs out. However, that’s only part of the problem. The other culprit is everyone’s favorite feature, the self-propelled mode.

Either way, it’s always a good idea to get an extra battery or two or upgrade to a bigger 12Ah battery, especially when they’re on sale.

What’s really lowering your Ryobi 40V lawn mower battery life

The self-propelled motor often draws as much current as the blade itself

Just like you, I specifically bought a model that featured a powerful self-propelled system. It works, and it works great, but that doesn’t mean I always need to use it.

See, using self-propelling on your electric lawn mower can reduce battery life by 15–25% compared to manual pushing. And that’s only on flat surfaces. If you’re cutting overly tall grass or navigating up inclines and hills, self-propelled mode can drain the battery by 30–40%. That’s a significant difference, which is why you’ll want to use it more effectively.

With that in mind, here are a few scenarios and how you’ll want to adjust for better battery life:

• Using both motors: Most Ryobi 40V models use independent motors for the blade and the drive wheels. Running both simultaneously is double-dipping on the battery.
• Variable-speed usage: Furthermore, some models feature a variable-speed self-propel system, and if you’re always at max speed, you’re adding even more resistance to the battery, further reducing runtime.
• Thick, tall, or wet grass: Using self-propelled mode on overly tall or wet grass stresses the motors even more, and that’ll impact battery life. Mow often, and mow when the grass is dry.

The best approach is to ditch the “always on” habit. If you have a large yard, inclines, or bumpy spots, use the self-propelled mode to easily navigate them. However, when you’re on flat, easy terrain, release that self-propelling level and push it yourself.

By making this small change and following some battery storage and charging best practices, you’ll likely find you can finish the whole lawn on a single charge.

Then, as mentioned moments ago, the more often you mow, the shorter the grass, making it easier for your mower to slice through those blades of grass. If you’ve ever hit a very tall or thick spot, then heard the motors wind up and get louder, that’s the battery working overtime. Avoid that whenever possible.

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Get the job done

At the end of the day, this will ultimately depend on the Ryobi 40V mower model you have, the battery pack(s) that came with it, and the size of your yard. My model has two 6Ah battery packs, and I can easily switch the key to the second battery when one runs out of juice.

Eventually, as I added more 40V tools to my collection, I upgraded to a 12Ah battery for my mower, and that big battery makes easy work of my smaller yard.