Same here and mine are almost new. Mine does lots of setting on the shelf because I have other saws. I just dread reaching for the 250. Stihl missed it on this one. (I've accepted the fact and it no longer bothers me. I know I have a backup saw if I want to get a workout pulling the rope. (not yanking and jerking the rope)One solution might be to put it on the tailgate of your truck and take a nice, fast drive down a country road. BTW, I have two of them and they both do the same thing, difficult to pull.