Greenworks 40V 16″ Brushless Cordless Lawn Mower 4.0Ah Review: The Ultimate Lightweight Lawn Warrior?

I still remember the Sunday morning ritual of my youth: the smell of gasoline, the frustrating yanking of a pull-cord, and the deafening roar of our old gas mower sputtering to life. It was a chore my dad, and later I, dreaded. Fast forward a few years, and I thought I’d found salvation in a corded electric mower. The quiet hum was a blessing, but the constant battle with the extension cord—getting it tangled on trees, running over it by accident, realizing it was just five feet too short—was a new kind of frustration. Mowing the lawn felt less like cultivating a beautiful yard and more like wrestling a mechanical beast. This endless cycle of noise, maintenance, and logistical nightmares is why so many of us delay lawn care until the yard looks like an overgrown jungle, making the job even harder.

What to Consider Before Buying a Cordless Push Lawn Mower

A cordless walk-behind lawn mower is more than just a tool; it’s a key solution for reclaiming your weekend and enjoying your outdoor space. It represents a fundamental shift away from the hassles of traditional mowers. The primary benefits are freedom and simplicity. There’s no gas to buy, no oil to change, no spark plugs to clean, and no cord to manage. You simply slide in a battery, push a button, and go. This convenience transforms mowing from a dreaded task into a quick, quiet, and almost therapeutic activity, allowing you to maintain a pristine lawn with minimal effort and environmental impact.

The ideal customer for this type of product is someone with a small to medium-sized yard, typically up to half an acre, who values ease of use, low maintenance, and quiet operation. It’s perfect for new homeowners, older individuals, or anyone with physical limitations who finds heavy gas mowers difficult to manage. One user, a 74-year-old female, noted how she could mow her entire lawn with just a “slight push effort,” a testament to the design’s accessibility. Conversely, this type of mower might not be suitable for those with very large properties (over an acre) or yards with extremely thick, tough, or constantly wet grass that requires the brute force of a high-powered gas engine. For those users, a larger gas-powered push mower or a riding mower might be a more practical investment.

Before investing, consider these crucial points in detail:

• Deck Width & Storage: The cutting deck width, like the 16 inches on this Greenworks model, directly impacts how many passes you’ll need to make. A smaller deck is fantastic for maneuverability, easily navigating around flower beds, trees, and tight corners. However, it means more walking on a wide-open lawn. Consider your yard’s layout and your storage space; this mower’s compact design and folding handle make it easy to store vertically in a garage or shed.
• Battery Power & Runtime: This is the heart of any cordless mower. Look at the voltage (V) for power and the amp-hours (Ah) for runtime. A 40V system with a 4.0Ah battery, like the one included here, is a solid middle ground for small to medium lawns. Greenworks advertises up to 45 minutes, but real-world runtime depends on grass height and thickness. Having other tools in the same battery ecosystem is a massive plus for flexibility.
• Materials & Durability: Most cordless mowers use a combination of a steel blade and a durable plastic or composite deck. This keeps the weight down significantly, a major advantage for pushing. While a plastic deck won’t rust, it may be more susceptible to cracks from major impacts than a steel one. For its intended use on residential lawns, the high-quality polymer deck on the Greenworks 40V 16″ Brushless Cordless Lawn Mower 4.0Ah is more than adequate and contributes to its fantastic lightweight feel.
• Ease of Use & Maintenance: Look for features that simplify your life. A single-lever height adjustment is far superior to changing each wheel individually. A push-button start is non-negotiable for convenience. Long-term care for a cordless mower is minimal: keep the underside clean, sharpen the blade once a season, and store the battery indoors in extreme temperatures. It’s a world away from the maintenance schedule of a gas engine.

While the Greenworks 40V 16″ Brushless Cordless Lawn Mower 4.0Ah is an excellent choice, it’s always wise to see how it stacks up against the competition. For a broader look at all the top models, especially if you have challenging terrain, we highly recommend checking out our complete, in-depth guide:

First Impressions: Unboxing Simplicity and Intelligent Design

Pulling the Greenworks 40V 16″ Brushless Cordless Lawn Mower 4.0Ah from its box was a breath of fresh air. My immediate thought was, “Is that it?” The main unit was practically fully assembled. The only tasks were to unfold the handle and lock it into place with the cam locks—a process that took less than two minutes and required no tools. The mower felt shockingly light at just 33.5 pounds. I could easily lift it with one hand, a feat unimaginable with any gas mower. The build quality feels solid despite its weight; the plastic deck is thick and sturdy, and the metal handle provides a confident grip. Included in the box were the mower itself, the grass collection bag, the crucial 40V 4.0Ah battery, and the charger. The battery slid into its compartment with a satisfying click. Everything about the initial setup screamed user-friendliness, a design philosophy that clearly targets users who want to get the job done with zero fuss. This mower makes a strong first impression as a thoughtfully engineered tool built for real-world convenience, and you can see its full feature set and user reviews to confirm this widespread sentiment.

A Deep Dive into the Greenworks 40V Mower’s Performance

A simple unboxing is one thing, but the real test is how a mower performs out on the lawn. We put the Greenworks 40V 16″ Brushless Cordless Lawn Mower 4.0Ah through its paces on a variety of grasses, from well-manicured sections to some shamefully overgrown patches, to see if its real-world performance lived up to its promising specs.

Assembly and Ergonomics: Mowing Without the Muscle

From the moment we started, the standout feature was the mower’s astonishingly low weight. At 33.5 pounds, it feels less like pushing a heavy piece of machinery and more like guiding a large vacuum cleaner. This is a game-changer. We found ourselves effortlessly navigating tight turns and weaving between garden obstacles that would have required a three-point turn with a heavier gas model. This experience was echoed by a user with a back injury and fibromyalgia, who specifically chose this model for its narrower width and easy maneuverability. For anyone who dreads the physical exertion of lawn care, this featherlight design is its single greatest selling point.

The ergonomics are equally impressive. The push-button start is instantaneous and reliable—no priming, no choking, no yanking. You simply hold the safety bail lever and press the button. The single-lever height adjustment system allows you to change the cutting height across all four wheels simultaneously through 5 positions, from a low 1.25 inches to a healthier 3.38 inches. This is a premium feature that we loved, as it saved us the time and annoyance of adjusting each wheel one by one. The handle is comfortable, and its ability to fold down completely makes storage incredibly simple. We were able to stand it up against a wall in the garage, taking up a minimal footprint. For those in homes with limited storage, this is a significant advantage. The entire design prioritizes removing every possible point of friction from the mowing process, which you can explore in more detail on its product page.

Brushless Motor Power and Cutting Quality

We were initially skeptical that such a lightweight, battery-powered unit could deliver a quality cut, especially in taller grass. The brushless motor quickly put those doubts to rest. Brushless technology provides more torque and efficiency than older brushed motors, and it was immediately apparent. The mower hummed along with a quiet confidence, slicing cleanly through standard-height grass without any issue. The cut quality was even and professional, leaving behind a manicured look.

The true test came in a neglected corner of the yard where the grass was approaching a foot tall. While a larger gas mower might power through without a second thought, we had to approach it more strategically. As one user noted, the mower can sometimes knock over very tall grass instead of cutting it on the first pass. We found that by moving a bit slower and making overlapping passes, the mower chewed through the tall stuff without ever bogging down or shutting off. It never stalled. This is a testament to the motor’s ability to intelligently draw power when it senses a heavier load. The 16-inch cutting deck, while smaller than many gas models, proved to be an asset for precision work, allowing us to get closer to fences and garden edges. The 2-in-1 functionality for mulching and rear bagging works well. The bag is easy to attach and empty, and the mulching performance is good, though we did notice, as one reviewer mentioned, that the mulch plug doesn’t fit perfectly snug, leading to some grass clippings accumulating around it. This is a minor annoyance rather than a major flaw, but it’s worth noting for perfectionists.

The 40V Battery Ecosystem: Runtime, Reality, and Recharge

The battery is the fuel tank of a cordless mower, and its performance is paramount. The included 4.0Ah battery and the mower’s brushless efficiency are rated for up to 45 minutes of runtime on yards up to half an acre. In our testing, this proved to be a realistic, if slightly optimistic, estimate. On a standard, well-maintained 1/4-acre suburban lawn, we finished the entire job with one bar of battery life still remaining, taking about 35 minutes. This aligns perfectly with a user who reported mowing and trimming their 1/3-acre yard on a single 4.0Ah battery charge. This is a fantastic result for the target user.

However, user experiences and our own tests show that runtime is highly variable. When we tackled the very tall, thick grass, the battery drained noticeably faster, lasting closer to 30 minutes as the motor worked harder. This explains the discrepancy in user reports, where some get over an hour (likely on very light, dry grass) and one frustrated user got less than 35 minutes before the battery died and registered an overheat warning during charging. It’s crucial to have realistic expectations: if your lawn is a dense jungle, the runtime will be shorter. The included charger replenishes the 4.0Ah battery in about 120 minutes, which we found to be accurate. For those with larger properties who want to mow in one session, investing in a second battery from the Greenworks 40V platform is a smart move. The ability to swap batteries between a mower, trimmer, and blower is a huge advantage of the Greenworks ecosystem, and a major reason to commit to this excellent platform.

What Other Users Are Saying

After our own extensive testing, we dug into feedback from dozens of other users to see how our experience compared. The consensus is overwhelmingly positive, particularly regarding the mower’s core strengths. A recurring theme is the sheer relief of switching from gas or corded models. One new 25-year-old homeowner, who had never heard of the brand before, called it the “best discovery” and was shocked at how well it handled his overgrown first lawn. This sentiment was shared by a 74-year-old user who praised its ease of setup and use, stating she was “really happy” she got it.

The most common point of praise is its lightweight design, which makes it accessible to a wide range of people. On the critical side, the battery life is the most frequently cited issue. One user, who expected 120 minutes of performance (a likely misreading of the 120-minute charge time), was disappointed to get less than 35 minutes and encountered an overheating error when trying to recharge. This highlights the importance of matching the mower’s capabilities to your yard size and condition. A few other minor complaints surfaced, such as the slightly loose-fitting mulch plug and isolated incidents of receiving products with missing parts or signs of previous use, which are more related to fulfillment than the product’s design itself.

How Does the Greenworks Mower Compare to the Alternatives?

The Greenworks 40V 16″ Brushless Cordless Lawn Mower 4.0Ah occupies a fantastic sweet spot of convenience and performance, but it exists in a diverse market. To understand where it fits, let’s compare it to three distinct alternatives.

1. LawnMaster GVB1316 16-Inch Electric Dethatcher

It’s crucial to understand that the LawnMaster GVB1316 is not a lawn mower; it’s a dethatcher and scarifier. This tool is designed for seasonal lawn maintenance, not weekly cutting. It uses tines to rake up the layer of dead grass and debris (thatch) that can choke your lawn’s roots, or blades to scarify (make small cuts in) the soil to improve aeration and nutrient absorption. While it shares a 16-inch width with the Greenworks, its purpose is entirely different. Someone would choose the LawnMaster to improve the health of an existing lawn, often in the spring or fall. It’s a companion to a mower, not a replacement. The Greenworks cuts the grass; the LawnMaster helps it breathe.

2. Scotts 2000-20S 20-Inch Push Reel Lawn Mower

The Scotts Reel Mower represents a completely different philosophy of lawn care. It’s fully manual, with no motor, no gas, and no battery. Its five blades spin as you push, snipping the grass like a pair of scissors for a very clean, healthy cut. The ideal user for the Scotts mower is someone with a small, flat lawn who enjoys the exercise and the near-silent operation. It’s the most eco-friendly option available. However, it requires more physical effort and struggles with tall, tough weeds or uneven terrain. The Greenworks 40V 16″ Brushless Cordless Lawn Mower 4.0Ah is the perfect compromise, offering quiet, emission-free operation without demanding the physical exertion of a reel mower, making it far more versatile for the average homeowner.

3. PowerSmart 21-Inch 144cc 2-in-1 Push Lawn Mower

The PowerSmart model is a traditional gas-powered push mower and a direct competitor in terms of function, but not technology. Its primary advantages are raw power and a wider 21-inch cutting deck. The 144cc engine will muscle through the thickest, tallest grass without hesitation, and the wider deck means fewer passes and faster mowing on large, open lawns. There’s no battery to charge or runtime to worry about. However, this power comes with significant trade-offs: it’s much heavier, incredibly loud, requires ongoing maintenance (oil, gas, filters), and produces emissions. The Greenworks mower is for those who have consciously decided to leave those hassles behind in favor of a simpler, quieter, and cleaner mowing experience.

Final Verdict: Is the Greenworks 40V Mower Right for You?

After extensive hands-on testing and analysis, our verdict is clear: the Greenworks 40V 16″ Brushless Cordless Lawn Mower 4.0Ah is an outstanding machine for its intended audience. It excels in delivering a user-friendly, low-maintenance, and pleasant mowing experience for homeowners with small to medium-sized lawns. Its featherlight construction is a revelation, making it incredibly easy to handle for people of all ages and physical abilities. The brushless motor provides ample power for typical residential grass, and the convenience of the push-button start and single-lever height adjust cannot be overstated. While the battery life can be a limitation for very large or overgrown properties, it is perfectly adequate for its target yard size.

If you have a lawn of a half-acre or less and you’re ready to ditch the noise, fumes, and maintenance of gas mowers for good, this mower is one of the best investments you can make for your home. It transforms a chore into a simple, quiet task. For its combination of intelligent design, user-focused features, and reliable performance, it earns our enthusiastic recommendation. If this sounds like the solution you’ve been looking for, we encourage you to check the latest price and secure one for your lawn today.