Disappointed With My Stihl

[Jon1270]

...the saw should last more than a day.

OP's indicated his saw was about 5 months old when it broke, with 16 hours of runtime. I think that counts for more than a day.

 

[Fins59]

Talking to a friend the other day. He has a Stihl 180 that he won at a car show raffle. He was removing the bar the other day and the whole stud turned out of the housing. Didn't break, but just turned out. He has a tendency to really crank down and over tighten things. He put it back in using thread locker.

Mentioned this stud deal to the local Stihl dealer service guy and he stated that "over tightening" is the culprit. Even on the 2 stud saws he services.

On my 250, it doesn't have a "nut" to tighten bar cover, but has a handle that flips open and you loosen/tighten using that handle. I just tighten mine "hand-tight" and hope that will prevent any problem. Actually with that type of tightening with the handle, you can only tighten it hand-tight. Maybe that's one reason Stihl is using the handle deal instead of the nut.

 

[Osagebndr]

Had to jump in on this one. I was thoroughly disappointed with my ms271. My neighbor has one and loves it. It seems that Stihl has had to change designs due to EPA standards and it has effected some quality issues with some of their products. Not only Stihl but all the saw manufacturers have had to do this. The one stud feature on that saw is really not good for bar tensioning (or any other). Hope you enjoy your 271. And remember homeowner grade means light use only or so it seems.

 

[Osagebndr]

Oh yeah I forgot to mention ms290 new was $325, ms271 new $400. Ms 290 to me was the toughest saw and most reliable saw I ever owned without all the new tech stuff or quality issues( it was built in to that one)

 

[fire_man]

Update:
Stihl-"Thank you for the purchase and use of a STIHL MS 251 Chain Saw. I am sorry to hear of the bar stud issue you are having, STIHL has a 7 Day Satisfaction Guarantee, it is only during that time that you qualify for a refund or exchange on your saw. STIHL has used a polymer housing for years over a range of saws and STIHL is not having a bar stud issue. With a purchase date of 12/13/2013 your saw is still under warranty and can be repaired at any STIHL Dealer. If the dealer has any questions have them contact the Northeast STIHL Technical Service Department"

Where is the emoticon for the "international hand signal" (middle finger) Done with Stihl

The fix is to put an oversize stud in the pulled out hole!! Great so what in 6months I can do this all over again!!??? And then what when the year is up and it's out of warranty I can begin to pay to fix this POS saw No thanks!! I really thought they were a better company than this

Wow, this post almost made me spit out my coffee in anger. Stihl clearly is behaving in a large company arrogant fashion. Stihl is claiming this is not a defect, but any 5th grader could tell you it's a bad design. You should check your state laws, there may be a defective product clause similar to this:

Defective Merchandise:

A store, however, cannot use its disclosed policy to refuse the return of defective merchandise. When the item purchased is defective, you can choose a repair, replacement or refund. This right is contained in the Implied Warranty of Merchantability law. Under that law, merchants cannot limit your remedies. In addition, this means that if a merchant chooses an "All Sales Final" return policy, it must disclose that policy without limiting your rights. For example, the disclosure of the return policy must be similar to a posting which reads:

"All Sales Final, With the Exception of Defective Goods." (940 CMR 6.12)

Reading your later posts, It looks like eventually Stihl came through and is doing the right thing. Now if they would just fix their broken design..

 

[Giles]

It doesn't matter how many bar mounting nuts you have, be it one or "five", any one can break or strip by over tightening!
As far as how many nuts is necessary----In my personal opinion, one of the best, high performance chainsaws ever made is --was ---the Stihl 200t.
It has ONE bar mounting nut. Two bar studs serve as a "key" to hold bar. With One bar stud, the stud is mounted in a raised "keyway" that supports bar.

 

[HybridFyre]

I've been very happy with my 271 so far. I have about 6 tanks of gas through it so far and about 2+ cords so not a ton. The only thing I will say is every few tank fills remove the bar and fully blow out the chain groove (not sure of technical name). It gets gunked up fairly easily and then it won't oil properly. I didn't keep on top of it one time and my bar and chain started smoking a bit. Cleaned her up and she was fine after that.

I'm running an 18" bar. She always cuts well and rarely bogs down unless I really push her. I'm not 100% sure I'd run a 20" bar though I feel like that may be pushing it a bit if you have some tough wood.

 

[Osagebndr]

Get your money back and get the echo CS-590. Supposed to be a very good saw and same money with more ccs

 

[Prof]

Not sure if this was covered yet, but if you paid by credit card, you may have some protection from the credit card company itself. It would at least be worth a call. I'm with the others--this is bad behavior from Stihl. I get that the pro saws are far superior in their build, but a homeowner saw should not be junk or have obvious design flaws. If Stihl would have made this right, there would have been a good chance you would have upgraded at some point--now they lost a customer--bad on them.

 

[fire_man]

If Stihl has a repair kit to fix this problem then they are essentially admitting there is a design defect.

 

[Osagebndr]

A repair kit? Wow, for a $350 saw . I'm a Stihl guy like their older saws a lot, but wow

 

[Bigg_Redd]

A repair kit? Wow, for a $350 saw . I'm a Stihl guy like their older saws a lot, but wow

Deep breathes - Their old home owner saws were sh_t too

 

[BrotherBart]

Every time I see posts about Stihl saws I think about the guy that hasn't been around for three years now but had the best nym on the site. "stihltheone".

 

[rkusek]

I just bought a ms250 last month after reading several favorable posts by 5 cord a year folks like me. It has 2 bar nuts and ran well the one time I used it. My 7 year old $100 Harbor Freight mcculloch requires constant tinkering and when I fixed one issue something else breaks. I did buy the 6.pack of oil which extends the warranty to 2 years but reading crap like this makes me wish I had gone another route.

 

[missedbass]

Had to jump in on this one. I was thoroughly disappointed with my ms271. My neighbor has one and loves it. It seems that Stihl has had to change designs due to EPA standards and it has effected some quality issues with some of their products. Not only Stihl but all the saw manufacturers have had to do this. The one stud feature on that saw is really not good for bar tensioning (or any other). Hope you enjoy your 271. And remember homeowner grade means light use only or so it seems.

why were you disappointed ?

 

[Osagebndr]

Had oiler issues the first week I had it. Took 6wks. 3 burnt chains and a ruined bar to finally get it fixed. Every te I use I have to tinker with it or put the chain back on after it falls off or the nose on my 18" bar plugs up( something new) and I have to tear it down and clean it before I have 1/2 a Rick cut. Very irritating

 

[maple1]

My $60 Kijiji MS250 has been flawless in the short one year or so I have run it. I'm no lumberjack but I did run 3 tanks of fuel through it in less than 2 hours in one session last weekend - so it does get used.

 

[Pennsyltucky Chris]

I suppose I agree but it's not like Stihl hid the fact that he bought a low end saw. It's right on their web site: "homeowner."

Stihl built it's reputation on it's pro saws. The fact that they can build, market and sell cheap-o saws on the coat tails of it's pro saws says more about the consumer than it does Stihl. If you want a pro saw, buy a pro saw. The End.

I agree, although I like my 250. It's light weight and great for re-sizing splits that came from rounds that were to large. I've even fell a few trees that were under 2 feet in diameter, It just took a sharp chain and some muscle. That said, I think My next saw is going to be 70+, and I'm thinking Husqy.

 

[Bigg_Redd]

That said, I think My next saw is going to be 70+, and I'm thinking Husqy.

I'm actually a fan of the pre autotune 372s, but don't fool yourself into thinking that Husqvarna makes better low end saws

 

[BrotherBart]

but don't fool yourself into thinking that Husqvarna makes better low end saws

They do.

 

[Bigg_Redd]

They do.

No they don't

 

[fire_man]

They do too.

 

[Osagebndr]

So does echo, but lets not start a war here. Homeowner doesn't mean junk it just means for meanial tasks or light work

 

[Osagebndr]

So does echo, but lets not start a war here. Homeowner doesn't mean junk it just means for meanial tasks or light work

 

[Osagebndr]

Oops didnt post rite