Common Problems With Ryobi Leaf Blowers (According To Users)

The patron power tool of the fall season is none other than the trusty leaf blower. It's a great implement for cleaning off loose leaves and debris from your lawn, and Ryobi's 40V leaf blowers in particular also have capture mechanisms that can be used for capturing and mulching dead plant matter. It's a convenient tool to have when your lawn is completely subsumed in leaves, but of course, that's all assuming your leaf blower is actually working properly.

While Ryobi's leaf blowers are generally well-liked by shoppers at chains like Home Depot, they are not without their problems. Users have expressed some concerns with both gas-powered blowers and battery-powered units, particularly in regards to problems with sudden shut-downs and clogged-up mechanisms. 

Ryobi offers some advice on dealing with these problems on its FAQ page, but users on the Ryobi subreddit have more concise descriptions of both problems and solutions they've encountered while using blowers. For more information on how we found these consistent complaints, check out our methodology at the bottom of the page.

Many of Ryobi's tools, leaf blowers included, have various built-in safety features that prevent them from activating if something is physically wrong with the tool. The most common hiccup of this nature is that one of the blower's moveable or removable components isn't properly seated.

A user on the Ryobi subreddit reported that their 40V leaf blower kept shutting down after about half a second of use, even with a freshly-charged battery set. Other users pointed out that the likely culprit here is the blower's main tube; when the tube is properly set, a small safety tab is pushed in, which allows the blower to start up.

Ryobi's FAQ acknowledges this possibility, and suggests that users check whether the tube-locking screw has been wound properly. If it's loose, you should wind it to hand tightness until you hear the small click of the safety system disengaging. One of the Reddit users noted there was a quirk in their particular blower: The tab that holds the tube assembly in place wasn't properly connecting. 

Another user suggested using a small piece of thick paper in the hole where the tab goes in to get everything to properly connect, though if your Ryobi blower has an overt quirk like that, you might want to see if you can get it swapped if it's still under warranty before you try any D.I.Y. solutions.

Several of Ryobi's most powerful 40V leaf blowers also double as vacuums and mulchers, capturing dead leaves and other assorted debris in a rear pack and dicing them all up to make instant mulch. Mulching takes a lot of moving parts, though, with all of the blades and suction mechanisms working in perfect harmony to capture and cut materials. Unfortunately, this is another source of a common problem.

Another user on the Ryobi subreddit reported that, after two uses of the suction and mulching mechanism on their Ryobi blower, the internal rotational components seized up completely, to the point they couldn't be knocked loose by hand.

Ryobi's FAQ says that, in the event the impeller or fan on your blower is jammed or blocked, you should take the battery out for safety, then open up the device to remove debris. This can include things like rocks or large twigs that have jammed up the impeller. 

Users on the subreddit have noted, however, that particularly small, dense debris can get decisively lodged in the internal components, to the point that a quick twig removal may not fix it. The original poster said that they had to completely disassemble the entire device and found a dried, shrunken object that was blocking the mechanism.

Ryobi does its best to offer what assistance it can with its products, but no brand can know absolutely everything that could ever go wrong with what it deals in. This is why, in addition to the common problems with leaf blowers listed on Ryobi's website, we also sourced opinions from users on the Ryobi subreddit for similar, frequently-occurring problems and relevant solutions.