Craftsman DYS 4500 riding mower

by Karl MacDougall
(Sable, MO)

both thumbs way up!

both thumbs way up!

Having acreage has it’s drawbacks as well as its benefits. Personally, I think the work needed to maintain the area, is well worth the price of looking out my back door and not seeing anything for miles. The comfort of knowing that your space is your own to me is priceless. What does have its price unfortunately are the proper tools needed to ensure that your space, is in the best shape it can be.


For years I kicked around the idea of purchasing a home with more land, and upon finally doing it, in turn, I had also done all of the research needed in order to fully understand the undertaking I was getting myself, as well as my family into in the way of servicing the property in a proper manner.

I knew that weekly mowing over two and a half acres was no job for a simple push mower. So I began looking into and pricing riding mower equipment. Let me tell you, there are quite a few out there on the market! And after sifting through each one, I can tell you that absolutely without a doubt, my money is on the Craftsman DYS 4500 riding mower. One of the top in its class, this high end beauty more than gets the job done. Craftsman thought of just about everything when designing this mower. Easy single foot pedal that propels both forward and backward, just as aggressive, yet quieter motor. It’s almost able to do the job on its own with the added bonus of the built in cruise control feature!

A sturdy, tough built machine with every imaginable attachment known to man available and the power of a lion but the roar of a cub. This is a great buy for both the inexperienced, as well as expert mower enthusiast out there!

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Jul 13, 2018
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My Craftsman DYS 4500 Lawn Tractor
by: Johnny Pool

I purchased my DYS 4500 from Sears Waco back in May 2009. It has a 42' deck, hydro-static tranny, 24 hp/briggs stratton intek V twin engine. I currently have 600+ hrs logged on it. I HAVE NOT had any engine trouble, no blown head gaskets, miss-firing, and the like. Hit the starter & 3 revolutions she is running without choking it. I did have a carburetor problem with the ethanol clogging up the jets. It was rebuilt and the mech told me to add an ethanol inhibitor and premium fuel. Man this thing is kick-ass. I have 4 acres to mow, with a slope. I can start mowing @ 7am and be done @ 10 to 10:30 am. I have rebuilt the deck, mainly the idlers because they cannot be lubricated. It's a machine, and you have to keep spare parts for it. I keep spare pulleys, idlers, belts, blades(24), deck cables, and anything it needs. There are ant hills in my property, so I try to get atleast 5 cuttings out of a set of blades. I have a grinder and I keep the blades sharp. The bottom line when mowing is you want the mower to "cut" the grass and not "tear" it. Speed is not important to me, but the performance of the mower is.I watch the hour meter to let me know when the oil needs to be changed, because the meter "flashes". When I purchased my mower, my uncle had 4 Zero turns. He said my mower was a toy. Well, guess what, he does not have any of his zero turns any more, and I still have my DYS 4500. It's a great machine if you know how to get in tune to it, take care of it and watch it's characteristics when you operate it. Thanks Guys...

Jul 11, 2016
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Is everyone really reviewing the DYS 4500?
by: Burt

It does not appear that everyone is reviewing the DYS 4500 There is a big difference in a dual blade deck and a triple blade deck. Foot control?

May 16, 2015
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VERY DISSATISIFED!!!
by: Anonymous

Bought new, the first summer the shift plate fell off, was very difficult to re-install, keeps coming off! Also the 1st summer, the lawnmower keeps shutting off, I have approx 3/4 of an acre to mow, each & every single time I use the mower, it shuts off between 6-7 times! I have to get off the mower, remove the fuel line going to the gas tank, blow air into the tube, then put it back to the fuel filter connector! This thing is a piece of junk! I will NEVER buy anything from Sears again, NEVER!!

Aug 26, 2013
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no reverse power
by: Anonymous

no reverse speed or power how do you adjust it been like that since I bought it help.

Aug 28, 2011
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star
Three Years and Three Hydraulic Axles!!
by: Anonymous

I can't even drag a little Sears Dethatcher around without the transmission getting hot, slows down and won't move.

Wait an hour and it cools down and can go for another 45 minutes or so.

Repairmen say it is not too much yard for the tractor (1 1/2acres), but something is up.

Finally had to get a lawn service as it was taking too long to even mow! If I had known how little a lawn service cost, I'd never had bought the tractor. Now will never buy another SEARS, that's for sure.

Jun 03, 2011
Rating
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Piece of junk
by: Jeff

I have never been able to get a good cut with this thing. Tried 2 different servicemen, adjusting the platform, changing blades, adjusting tire pressure, and I still get an uneven cut. There is always a strip of grass right down the middle. This is my first and last Craftsman. And it's not very powerful. I can only cut the grass in 2nd. There is a significant difference in poorness of quality from 2nd to 3rd.

It says Precision Cut, but don't let the name fool you.

Nov 16, 2010
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satisfied with performance and functionality
by: Anonymous

Pros
- The outer body is sturdy.
- The controls provided are very easy to learn.
- Comfortable and it runs without much noise.

Cons
- The speed in which it runs is somewhat slower than other mowers.
- Its engine is underpowered.

I own this Craftsman DYS 4500 riding mower for the past one year and it is quite good among its kind. This Craftsman DYS 4500 has satisfied me with its performance and functionality. The key feature of this riding mower is its large 54-inch cutting deck. The controls provided in this machine are also easy to handle.

This Craftsman DYS 4500 riding mower comes with a 2 years limited warranty and it cost around $1350 while I bought it. The DYS 4500 has a 26-hp Kohler Pro engine which gives the power for its strong performance on flat lawns, though we run on slow speed. It is also capable of riding over small hills and slopes, that too without much noise, even if we are using its cutting deck.

This DYS 4500 can be easily operated. It has a single foot pedal which propels and reverses the machine in a logical fashion. There is also a Cruise control mechanism which helps in mowing the harder parts of the lawn. It features a turning radius of 16 inches, which is wider when compared to other riding mowers and this feature makes this mower to cover larger area with its large cutting deck. There are six different settings provided in the cutting deck for the adjustment of cutting heights from 1 to 4 inches. The powerful body of this DYS 4500 makes it suitable to handle residential yards of varying growth. I will always recommend this Craftsman DYS 4500 riding mower to anyone who wants high performance at low cost.

Nov 16, 2010
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good example of an above average and convenient mower
by: Anonymous

It is always better to have a riding lawn mower as compared to a push lawn mower. Craftsman DYS 4500 riding mower is good example of an above average and convenient lawn mower.

Craftsman is one of the top brands in the market. A good feature of this model is that it comes with a 2 year warrantee on the tractor and a 5 year warrantee on the frameworks. It weighs around 561lbs and is quite fast as it has a 54 inches cutting deck which can be adjusted at six setting between the range of 1 and 4 inches. Riding this machine is a smooth experience even if your lawn is a bit bumpy. Due to being a sturdy model, it can be used on all average landscapes. With one single foot pedal you can move it forward as well as backward.

A very interesting thing about this model is that it can double as snow remover if you attach a blade and snow thrower to it. However, it has a 26 horsepower engine which is not as powerful as you would want it to be. The engine is comparatively quite but still makes some noise. Another problem with it is that while it allows for setting the machine between 1 to 4 inches, any setting above three inches leads to uneven mowing. However, it is generally a good investment and does not even cost too much compared to other models with same features.

Nov 16, 2010
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Thumbs up to Craftsman
by: Anonymous

I am the proud owner of a Crafstman DYS 4500 riding lawn mower. I purchased the mower about a month ago and it has been amazing. I have a large 2 acre lot, so a riding mower makes it much easier to take care of my lawn.

One of the pros about the Craftsman DYS 4500 is that is has a very large and sturdy cutting deck. It makes for a nice, even mow, and with six different settings, no job is out of the realm of possibilities. Of course, such large size (over 50 inches) means there are a few drawbacks. One of these cons is that above the third lowest setting, the cutting deck tends to wobble when the ground is slightly uneven. There is an uneven patch of ground at the back of my property and I don't think it has been evenly cut once when I've gone above the middle setting, which is about 2 and a half inches. Another pro of the Craftsman DYS 4500 is the power. This mower has got some juice! The mower can easily roll right up hills and travels at a decent pace. The engine is also quieter than most riding mowers I have ridden on before. The power and comparative lack of noise make this mower a thing of beauty.

Unfortunately another con does come with the engine. Despite being fairly powerful, it does not have sufficient juice to do certain heavy duty jobs. I sometimes like to use my riding mower to tow things around, and the Craftsman DYS 4500 can't carry some of the heavier loads, such as tree stumps. Thumbs up to Craftsman for making such a superb ride.

Nov 16, 2010
Rating
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Everyone in the family got it going smoothly
by: Anonymous

Pros
• Easy to use right from day one.
• Has lots of attachments available making it a good multi-purpose lawn tracter

Cons
• Kind of slow compared to others I tried this size.
• Has problems making a smooth cut on rough ground.

I have used Craftsman tools most of my life and have always had really good experiences with them. When I started looking for a riding mower I wanted one that would last, had the ability to do more than just cut grass, and was easy to use so my teenagers could drive it. I tried several models and did not care for the zero turn radius styles as they were to hard to control. Conversely, the Craftsman model was like driving a car. It even has cruise control! Everyone in the family got it going smoothly after just a few minutes. Now I don’t have to force the issue of getting someone to mow the lawn, in fact the kids fight over who gets to do it.

The other big selling point for me was the wide range of extra attachments that the Craftsman model could handle, the best by far is the snow remover attachment. We have a long double-wide driveway that used to take several hours to clear. Now we can do it in about 45 minutes. Like all Craftsman tools the tractor is built to last and needs very little maintenance to keep it running smoothly. There are a lot of lawn mowers that are cheaper, but few if any can match the quality of the Craftsman models.

Nov 05, 2010
Rating
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clogs up and shuts down
by: robert

because of the way the deck is designed even if you try different blades it will clog up to the point it will shut down when trying to cut damp or slightly wet grass,the old murry mower i had for 20 years never had this problem.

Nov 20, 2009
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Great for medium duty lawn maintenance
by: Douglas

Pros
- sturdy
- great settings and accessories

Cons
- underpowered engine

Rating
4 out of 5

The Craftsman DYS 4500 is one of the best riding lawn mowers with regard to performance and ease of use. It has a large 54” cutting deck for faster performance. The cutting deck is adjustable between a height of 1 and 4 inches with six different settings. Lower settings offer a consistent cut even on rugged terrain while settings above three inches the deck wobbles giving an uneven cut.

It has a wide turning radius of sixteen inches mainly due to its large cutting deck. The Craftsman DYS 4500 is run by a 26 horsepower Kohler pro engine achieving an average top speed and is in fact much more quiet than other riding lawn mowers. A single foot pedal moves the machine both forward and reverse and the automatic transmission makes the mowing experience smooth. If you are mowing a lawn with fewer obstacles, cruise control is most appropriate.

The Craftsman DYS 4500 has a sturdy framework enabling it to handle residential yards. It can handle both large thickets as well as normally manicured lawns with ease. It can also work as a snow remover and hauler, this is done by simply attaching an additional blade and snow thrower.
Other useful accessories for the craftsman DYS 4500 are easy to attach poly carts for hauling, two different bagging systems and a mulching blade. This makes it both versatile and reliable for light to medium duty lawn maintenance.

The main setback of this machine is a slightly underpowered engine that gives it a low maximum speed and power.

Nov 20, 2009
Rating
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Well worth the price
by: Ruth Schwan

Pros
- automatic
- nice cup holder

Cons
- quiet, but my neighbors think it could be quieter!

Rating
5 out of 5

I bought this gorgeous red and black tractor to make short work of a larger back yard in the city. My old used craftsman had died and left me stranded, even though the older one was over 12 years of age, the brand has been dependable. This one offered a 2 year warrantee on the tractor and a 5 year warrantee on the frame. Didn't know these things had frames!

One of the best things I like about it is no more shifting from speed to speed or reverse, this bad boy is an automatic. According to the manual it also has something called hydrostatic, something to do with the cooling of the engine if I read it right. I would imagine that means the engine should last a long time, maybe longer than the 12 years I had the other one!

It cuts a path of 46" which means to me the back yard is done in about 30 swipes going one way. Less time than the 30" or so cut on the last one. Its engine noise is a lot quieter, but my night driving with this is still a bit of a sore subject with certain nearby residents.

The deck has spring deck lift, not sure what that really is, but its easier to move it up or down with out straining as I did on the other one. The head lights actually work too, I was impressed. And how often do you find a tractor with a cup holder? Never have I seen this, just the right size for my soda, though grass does fly in the can on occasion.

Now the price, right around $1340.00 on sale and with tax here in Ohio. Not to shabby considering the prices on tractors, and I've looked at a lot of them before I chose this one. This has adjustments to height on the tires also, but I haven't gotten that far to make any changes, as it seems to be doing just fine the way it came, which was assembled thank heavens. I believe well worth the cost or I wouldn't have bought it.

Nov 12, 2009
Rating
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Too many factory and warranty failures
by: Dennis

I bought it because it was on sale. Do yourself a favor; they are not worth the trouble even if they are on sale.

At 10 hours on the clock the ignition went out. When I took it in to get it fixed the guy at the Sears store said that this was a common problem from the factory. The fuse for the ignition is too small. I would not have been so aggravated if I had not been out of town mowing on a three-acre lot I own.

At about 50 hours on the clock the transaxle shift link broke. Mower stuck in 6th gear and would not stop when the brakes were applied. It tried to run up one of the post on my deck and threw me off. After quite a time waiting on delivery, no one keeps it in stock, replaced the link and an hour later it broke again.

This time Service Tech. came to the house under the warranty to fix it. It seems the problem was that the bolt the factory installed to connect the transaxle to the frame was too small. This allowed the transaxle to shift and break the linkage. The Tech put in a larger bolt and said the only permanent fix was to replace the transaxle because the smaller bolt had allowed it to be damaged.

My warranty was going to run out in a couple of months so I requested that Sears replace the transaxle. They refused and my warranty ran out before I could get them to do anything. I have had about ten conversations with Sears and various others. At 70 hours on the clock I have a lot that I could say to Sears about standing behind their warranty.

Like they say in the business I’m in, “the warranty is only as good as the Company behind it”. When it came down to a costly repair versus the safety and satisfaction of the customer Sears failed.

Too many factory and warranty failures, buy a Snapper.

Oct 03, 2009
Rating
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If you like JUNK you will like this mower!
by: Todd

Never again will I waste money on a craftsman that only last a few years. Spending the extra couple of thousand for a REAL John Deere from a JD Dealer that will last 20 years is the best thing!
I now own a John Deere.

Jun 14, 2009
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Problem since new
by: Jim

I have the 24 h.p. 42-inch model. Since new it has mowed unevenly. Three calls later, three different servicemen, and the cut is still badly uneven. It has just gone out of warranty, so I am on my own. Since they can't fix it I'm not interested in paying for Sears' overpriced warranty.

Apr 20, 2009
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Quietest mower I've ever been on
by: Adam

The Craftsman DYS riding lawn mower is the best that I have ever owned. Even a person who is not that familiar with riding mowers can understand it very easily. They can also familiarize themselves with it very easy. If you have the type of yard that is large with very few things that get in your way then you have cruise control. This is great for those Saturday afternoons where you might have a tasty beverage and just want to enjoy yourself while doing yard work at the same time.

The deck has 6 different settings that allows you to cut anywhere from one to four inches off of the ground. I find it to be a better cut though the lower you go. This is good because most people want to cut there lawn the these amount of time necessarily possible. My yard is huge so I enjoy it because it has different setting, the cruise control, and it can also be used as a hauling device. Another reason why I love it is because my fiancee works nights and she sleeps a good portion of the day.

The mower is the most quiet mower that I think I have ever been on and does not wake her, which would get me in a lot of trouble. Now with all the pros there are cons involved. The biggest to me is that it does not go super fast like some other mowers I have seen, but I wouldn't want to go that fast anyway because I like a nice clean cut on my yard with no room for much error.

Also, like I said before the highest cutting setting can produce a little bit of an uneven cut, but like I said most people like there cut lower to the ground anyway. And I guess you can another con would be the mower is so comfortable that you might fall asleep while drinking your beverage and spill it on yourself. Just kidding.

Apr 15, 2009
Rating
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Comfortable, sturdy and easy to use
by: Anonymous

I had a Honda riding lawn mower for years was satisfied with it but when i needed a replacement I wanted to look at a lower cost riding mower.
I saw an an ad in the newpsper offering a solid 10% discount on the DYS 4500 riding mower made by Craftsman.

It was being sold by Sears and I had confidence in Sears.
I purchased the Craftsman 4500 riding mower and it was delivered to my house but I was surprised that it was not 100% assembled ready for use.
The assembly instructions were ok but of course I was missing some key hardware that Sears was able to get me to me the next day. that was kind of a hassle but that's life.

While I did assemble it the next day without any more problems don't expect to cut your lawn right after the riding lawnmower is delivered.
I especially chose this riding mower as it had a 54 inch wide cutting area. The 54 inch width was larger then my previous mower and I thought it would save some time to my 1 acre lot. However the Craftsman DYS 4500 seemed quite a bit slower then the Honda even though it has a 26 horsepower engine. I just assumed that it would have at least the same power as the smaller old Honda that I had.

Also the distance it took to turn it seemed larger then the Honda but then again it was bigger riding mower as well.
I did like that it had a number of different levels for cutting height that are really easy to adjust..so that's a big plus compared to the Honda.

As far as noise it seemed quieter then the Honda but then again the Honda was 8 years old and most likely anything newer would be more quiet. However it was nice to have noise toned down.
Since I live in the north I was intrigued with the idea of using the DYS 4500 with a snow plow to clean my drive way etc.

Technically it was able to plow a couple of inches of snow but was totally overmatched by any real snow fall..Yet I found it very useful for the majority of snow in my area.

Overall I thought the Craftsman 4500 was a good value for the money it was comfortable to ride , sturdy and most of the controls were easy to use.

Apr 09, 2009
Rating
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A bit of a weak engine
by: Ryan Budding

Hey everyone, I’m here today to simply write a review about my lawn tractor. It is a craftsman DYS 4500. I have been quite happy with it. I was able to talk with the sales guys over at Sears and talk them down a bit on the price, as that was what I heard you should do. It wasn’t too terribly expensive after that.

This mower has a 54 inch cutting deck, which is great for my lawn. I don’t have an overly large lawn, but it makes the job so much easier when you have a rider that I chose to invest in one. I really like the controls on this mower, they aren’t too hard to understand. I don’t really have to read a bunch of manuals simply to get the thing to work.

The things I don’t like aren’t too bad. It is a little slow, but you’re on a rider so what’s the big deal? It also has a bit of a weak engine. Those are my only two complaints as far as this mower goes. Oh yeah, and I forgot to mention that even though the engine is a bit weak, it is especially quiet. This makes for a much more comfortable ride as I don’t like to ride around on an excessively loud mower. Also, some of the cut settings can give you some problems. They can tend to cut unevenly on the high settings, but if you don’t use those all too often they shouldn’t be a problem.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this mower. I would always check out more reviews when buying something of this magnitude. I have had a great experience with this, but it doesn’t mean that you necessarily always will. I hope you have great luck in your mower shopping!!

Apr 08, 2009
Rating
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It does a great job at the smaller tasks
by: Mary

I really liked that this came in plain black. Why do riding mowers need to be painted ugly colors any way. It’s been really easy to use and covers a lot of land quickly. One of the best features is the cruise control when doing large areas. Who ever thought of cruise control for a lawn mower did a good job thinking outside the box. You can easily adjust how high the cut of the lawn is.

The forward and reverse is easy. The steering and turning is pretty good for how big the blade is. It works just as well on a regular lawn as it does on weeds. It can cut right down to size some pretty nasty brambles and such. Obviously if you are cutting down rougher weeds then you may need to sharpen the blade more often but over all the maintenance is relatively light. Sharpen, add oil water and gas.

Get it tuned up once a year. You should try to cut shorter on less even ground because the higher you set it the more it wobbles. The wobbles are not bad and only on land that is uneven already but still could be an issue if you must have an even cut.

A major plus is this can be sure like a normal tractor too. I have used it to remove snow in the winter and clear the drive way. I use the snow thrower option but you can attach a blade to the front too. This is good for any season. You can not tow huge loads with this but you can move quite a bit of stuff with a trailer attached. You can bag with it or use it to mulch the lawn when cut. It could use a more powerful engine for better function but over all it does a great job at the smaller tasks.

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