LUBA 3: turns tear up the lawn, and what owners and Mammotion say to change

What owners report

• A LUBA 3 owner says it tore up their yard badly through August and September compared with the start of the year. The lawn is tall fescue cut at 3.5 inches, not sandy or loose soil, and the owner says the damage is done mainly at the turns. They say they spent hours adding dirt, seed and straw, and have to stop mowing for two weeks or more while the edges regrow¹.
• Another owner in that thread, with a LUBA mini LiDAR, says they noticed the same damage on the lawn, and that it now destroys the lawn as well as the flower beds¹. A third says the rear wheels tear and dig¹.
• A LUBA 3 AWD 5000 has been tearing up a few areas for the last few weeks. Its owner wonders about the recent update breaking multi-point turns, and notes it has also been wet³.
• Another owner writes that the all-wheel-drive skid steering tears up the lawn on turns, especially on soft soil or thin turf, and that the current multi-point turn is still too aggressive for it. They ask for a setting to choose how many points a turn takes, and for a random-bounce mode².
• Clogged front wheels. A LUBA 3 owner on 2.3.31.69, who bought it two months earlier, wrote that they had never had this problem before. Cleaning showed the front wheels completely clogged with mud, so the small rollers could not turn⁵.
• Not everyone has it. A LUBA 3 owner on the latest firmware and app, using multi-point turns, says they have no problems¹. Another owner says that with the new firmware and app, 180 degree turns are fine, with almost all of them now zero turns⁴.

Where owners disagree

• Speed. One owner says the most important thing they learned is that lowering the speed increases wear, because with more power the mower turns with much less slip. A second owner who drove it by hand agrees that a turn at higher speed is instant and does not tear the ground¹. The owner whose yard was torn up runs it slowly and says the damage is at the turns¹. No source here measures it.
• What multi-point turn costs. One owner who runs it on a 2,500 square metre lawn with many no-go zones around trees says the mower's extreme precision and the battery drain from frequent starting, stopping and turning greatly increased the mowing time¹². Another owner, who has simplified their layout over four years, prefers the slow back-and-forth to bigger turns and would like a fast and a slow option¹². How it behaves depends on the yard.
• Why it turns that way. One owner asks why Mammotion forces tank turns at all, and blames the twisting for the damage¹. Another says the changelog lists several releases with "turn fixes"¹.

What Mammotion says

• Wet grass and slip. A Mammotion account replied to the 5000 owner that wet grass and tire slippage during turns can affect the lawn, and that it would pass the feedback on³.
• Random angle. To the owner asking for a gentler turn, an account wrote that all-wheel-drive turning may cause turf damage on soft or delicate lawns. It suggested setting the mowing angle to Random so the mower changes its working angle each task, which changes where it turns, and said it would pass both requests to the product team².
• A new version. To the torn-yard owner, an account wrote on 27 September that the technical team is working on improvements, that the new version is being tested and will be released when ready, and asked for a feedback log if it happens again¹.
• Front wheel rollers. On 22 October an account told a LUBA 3 owner on 2.3.31.69, whose log showed nothing wrong with the turning mode, that the omni wheels depend on the small rollers turning freely. If debris stops them, it wrote, the wheels may rub the ground instead of rolling, which could be one reason for lawn wear. It recommended avoiding wet lawns and, if the mower has to run, a lower speed, a different mowing angle and a higher cutting height⁵.
• Turning mode. A Mammotion staff account asked the owner whose yard was torn up to check which turning mode is selected, and said multi-point turning is generally gentler on the lawn¹¹.
• Latest firmware. An account wrote on 30 September that the latest firmware includes further turning and path optimizations, and recommended updating⁴.

What owners changed

• Check the turning mode first. This comes from LUBA 2 owners on 1.30.29.26, not from the LUBA 3 owners above; the sources do not say whether the LUBA 3 has the same setting. It is not on every model either: a Mammotion staff account said in August that the YUKA mini 2 series has universal wheels on the front, which turn very smoothly, and so does not currently offer a turning mode setting¹³. A LUBA 2 owner whose mower began digging up the lawn after an update, though they say they never changed the settings, was told the turning mode is set in the robot's route settings, not in the job⁸, and by a Mammotion staff account that an app update may have reset it to zero turn⁹. A LUBA 2 AWD 3000X owner who asked for the old firmware back, on 1.30.29.26, later checked and found multi-point turn was not enabled¹⁰. The staff account put it as a possibility ("it might be reset"), so this is a likely cause to check, not a Mammotion statement that updates reset the setting.
• Cutting angle. Another owner says to set the cut angle to random so it does not hit the same places each time, and to change the overlap².
• Perimeter laps. One owner changes the number of perimeter laps now and then, which moves where it turns¹.
• Map layout. One owner avoids 90 degree turns where they can and changed their layout to sweeping turns. They extend the map onto concrete and pavers so as many turns as possible are on them⁴.
• Front wheels. One owner says to clean the front wheels now and then so the rollers can rotate freely⁶.
• Width and direction. One owner changes the mowing width daily and cycles four mowing directions through the week, so the mower turns in different places⁷.
• Dry grass. One owner says not to rely on rain detection, and to run later when it is wet, mindful of morning and evening dew¹.

What is not known

Whether any of these stops the damage, and which firmware version carries the improvement Mammotion's accounts describe. Owners report it across LUBA 3 and LUBA mini LiDAR. For the multi-point turn setting itself, see the 2.3.30.39 firmware page. Worn corners on other models are covered in tips and FAQ.