There is a drain and fill for a reason. Yes you can service the unit. I would do it every couple seasons. If you clean the area and fill plugs very well and are careful you will have no problems refilling. These things are not filled in a "Clean Room". After two seasons you will be putting in cleaner fluid than was removed. It can only help extend the service life. You will not have to bleed anything and it is not a pressurized system with no bleeder. It is a simple drain and fill. Your dealer can provide the same fluid you take out. I just picked up the same mower and will do this also. The commercial unit uses a similar design except shaft driven. This is also a serviceable unit. This is not a "if it ain't broke donÂt fix it" unit. It is a "if it ainÂt broke keep it that way" unit. Good Luck! I used mine once so farÂ.great mower.

Funny huh! Your owners manual has no listing of the trans under the schedule of maintenance items. Wonder why?

But of coarse you read the manual, didn't you!

Hmm I guess I'll just pray to the LM gods to keep it running well. This just reminds me too much of the "lifetime" fluids that my BMW tranny/rear diff have. I changed them at 30K intervals as until BMW offers a "lifetime" warranty, I won't believe in a "lifetime" fluid. Walrus seems to know these mowers like the back of his hand and just heed his advice and leave it alone. Guess I just wanted to get my most of this >$600 mower.

I've been out of the shop for over a half year but here's the thing. Unless the most recent round of these mowers have had the drain/fill holes relocated they are virtually impossible to get to without removing the trans from the mower. They are serviced prior to installation with no intention of the owner ever needing to attend to them.

Like I said, there are no gears that are meshing and causing potential fluid contamination. Just a fluid valve body that regulates/changes fluid flow and speed. Leakage is the only reason to need any attention. The commercial mowers do have an accessable fill hole because commercial users put so many more hours on their equipment and seal wear causing some minor leakage is a concern. Even at that the commercial units don't have a drain hole, just a fill hole.

I'm not disputing the "feel good" deal with changing once in a while but unless you plan to remove the trans from the mower, to do so just isn't practical.

Interesting, I always thought the hydrostatic tranny had gears with mesh. Your description makes it sound like more a hydraulic pump-like device. In that case oil, changes don't sound like much of a benefit. I'll leave it alone then lol.

Heat, dirt , and water are the enemy of hydros. The oil itself will last but the hydro will fail if it gets contaminated with water and or dirt. Another cause of failure would be overheating. Under "normal" operation this might not ever happen. The real world isn't normal and things happens. A piece of line or rope wraps around the axle somewhere increasing the load by about 300% or a bunch of grass clippings gets packed all around the hydro so it can't cool or owner washes the unit a lot and the hydro gets water and dirt blown through the seals from washing. All these things happen. To prevent failure keep the unit free of debris that affect cooling and check the axle for string, rope, or mono-filament fishing line, etc. Do not wash the unit. Blow it off with your sidewalk blower. Washing mowers, motorcycles, atvs, etc. causes a multitude of failures. If you must wash it be super careful and do not use pressure around sensitive areas like axles and shafts. I say don't wash period. You'll be better off.

Usually a can of wd40 and a pair of gloves is what I use to clean the bottom of my mover. I spray a little simple green and some compressed air to clean the top.

It is a hydro pump, that why the name "hydro" static.
Careful with the compressed air for same reasons rdaystrom mentioned. Don't apply high air force directly at axle and pulley shaft seals.

The string, fishing line etc also mentioned not only can cause excess drag but physically cut into the seals and destroy them. I have always advocated "walking" your lawn prior to mowing to check for things like this including rocks, dog bones, clothes hangers, anything that really don't belong out there that can damage the mower or be thrown out like a bullet when that 200 MPH blade tip whacks it.

I got pantyhose stuck in my lawn mower once. That stuff is hard to get out.

I hope sincerely that you were not wearing those at the time...

Does it state in the owner's manual under maintenance schedule to service or to take mower into a Honda approved service center to have that part serviced? No. It uses hydraulic fluid, dirt and water are the two main enemies and could do more harm then good. I've had my Honda HRX217 going on 2 years and I stick to it's required maintenance. However, I change the engine oil every 25 hours rather the recommended every 50 hr use and change before it's first use at the beginning of every season. I also use 93 octane fuel. All you need as fare as maintenance goes, make sure you change the engine oil, change spark plug, new air filter and clean the mower and bag catcher after each and every use. Just be sure not to let water into the intake, exhaust, controls and starter battery housing. Start mower until engine reaches normal running temp, engage the blades, and engage trany. I turn off fuel valve until it stalls.

I don’t fish much around my yard (damn Grass Carp don’t bite much) , so I don’t have much concern regarding fishing line.