I had used Consumer Reports for years and then abandoned them after two expensive items I bot which they recommended which turned into poor and very poor purchases. I have recently, again employed them in evaluating various items - but now follow them with much caution.They recommended the Honda HRX217K5VKAA Lawnmower at a cost of $630.35. It is an adequate mower except for several major flaws. It is very difficult to adjust the cutting height of the rear wheels and it is too heavy. One must use a pry-bar to raise or lower the rear wheels. Front wheels are easily adjustable as any other lawn mower. Also, as the mower is used the force required to pull the mower backwards is exhausting (requiring 30 to 50 pounds of force and is no way solvable without a major overhaul). The mower is heavier than average but powerful and self-propelling. It is not suited for the average female because of the forces needed to operate. At best it is tiring for the average man to mow a quarter acre unless the lawn is flat and without shrubs and other impediments. The second, and more costly item Consumer Reports recommended is the LGWT1001CW washing machine. Its poor cleaning abilities and overall damage expense that can be caused by the machine's operation resulted in LG withdrawing this model from its LG washing machine line after the first year of introduction on the market (with no damage compensation or returns to the consumer) . It was carelessly evaluated by Consumer Reports as superior but as far as I, an electrical engineer with 25 years of clothes washing experience see it, there are two major and costly flaws. 1. Adding bleach, as directed is obviously damaging the washed clothing. It stripped the color from expensive shirts, pants, towels and other costly and old, favorite and valued articles. The remedy is to dilute the bleach before adding as LG directed.2. In addition, in spite of the excess and wrongly applied bleach - the whites came out dingy. After many disasters, I finally developed the correct procedures and operation of the machine. I finally can get an acceptable, undamaged wash-load from this poorly engineered device. But this “LG” machine is definitely an expensive lemon - foisted on me and the public which Consumer Reports should have caught if not for their repetitive “assembly line” evaluating procedures. They didn’t deliver the service I paid them for but they are the only and best evaluators out there!
