stihl ms 180c trouble!!

[hammerboyone]

Hello all, here's what i have... I bought a ms 180c to replace an older stihl 017.. nothing wrong with the 017 just needs to be refreshed so i thought I'd take the chance to buy a new saw.. Ever since i bought the ms 180c i have had trouble with it.. First off was it would not cut straight. never from the day i bought it, always ran right..Took it back to dealer without evan running a half a tank through it. only for him to say it cuts fine... Next and foremost is the problem of the saw cutting out.. it will run just fine then will die and bog if you touch the throttle.This don't happen all the time but has happened enough that the saw has been back to the dealer 6 times ,with the same response each time."nothing wrong with saw".. I am kinda getting the feeling they are waiting for the warranty to run out next month so they can charge me ... i have been reading other post and know that im not alone with this saw trouble... looking for any help ...thanks..

 

[a. palmer jr.]

Possibly the dealer doesn't have the expertise to diagnose the problem for you, or he doesn't want to spend the time on it. And, if it's close to the end of the warranty, he may be stalling. If I were you, I think I'd go over his head and try to contact someone regionally or nationally. Stihl doesn't need any negative advertising so they'll probably help you, just not at that shop.

 

[a. palmer jr.]

You did buy the saw from this dealer, didn't you? If not, that's part of the reason he won't fix it. They're supposed to but sometimes they get mad if you buy from a dealer who offers a lower price then come to them for service.

 

[hammerboyone]

yes.. the saw was bought there.. but nothing else, ever again!!!!

 

[lcso10]

Me being a Stihl dealer, I hate that you are having your troubles. You need to call 1800GOSTIHL and talk with the dist. for that region. This is un called for to have returned a saw this many times. Dealers like that make the rest of us look bad.

 

[JustinM]

Me being a Stihl dealer, I hate that you are having your troubles. You need to call 1800GOSTIHL and talk with the dist. for that region. This is un called for to have returned a saw this many times. Dealers like that make the rest of us look bad.

+1. The good dealers will hate this sort of story as much as the rest of us. Call the number, you'll be satisfied, Im sure.

 

[stevohut]

+1. The good dealers will hate this sort of story as much as the rest of us. Call the number, you'll be satisfied, Im sure.

I agree, the squeeky wheel always gets the grease brother.

steve

 

[webie]

Sorry to hear about your problems . I have 2 MS 180's and I can tell you for the little care I do to them and the tar that gets beat out of them they have been both bullet proof , They were bought for a light limbing saw for the girl friend and one for my dad to use till he couldnt which I just got back , he finally gave up cutting at 87 .

Not sure where you are in wisconsin but I have had a few issues with some of my stihl dealers here and always end up at my very first dealer of 30 + years .
I own 11 stihls mostly bought from him and he has been great for the little bit of service I have had to have .
Call that number I am sure they will get you handled , and as far as whats wrong the cutting is probably just a slight chain sharpening issue along with the acceleration is probably the low jet needs a bit tweaking , which with the wild swings in temp and humidity we have here in the state is understandable .
You have a great saw power wise is lots better then the 170.

 

[Dan_IN_MN]

Hello all, here's what i have... I bought a ms 180c to replace an older stihl 017.. nothing wrong with the 017 just needs to be refreshed so i thought I'd take the chance to buy a new saw.. Ever since i bought the ms 180c i have had trouble with it.. First off was it would not cut straight. never from the day i bought it, always ran right..Took it back to dealer without evan running a half a tank through it. only for him to say it cuts fine... Next and foremost is the problem of the saw cutting out.. it will run just fine then will die and bog if you touch the throttle.This don't happen all the time but has happened enough that the saw has been back to the dealer 6 times ,with the same response each time."nothing wrong with saw".. I am kinda getting the feeling they are waiting for the warranty to run out next month so they can charge me ... i have been reading other post and know that im not alone with this saw trouble... looking for any help ...thanks..

Sorry to hear that you're having trouble with your new saw! Does the dealer have a wood pile that you and him can go to to do some cutting? Do you just drop and pick up the saw?

As to the saw not cutting streight, Ihave friend with a MS170 that had the same problem. It turned out to be a sharpening issue. The chain was sharper on one side than the other. I ran the file on the side it was curving away from and it streightened it out. By chance did you hit something with the chain?



6 times back to the dealer! There's something wrong there! I'd bring it back one more time. This time, take it to the wood pile. You cut with it and show them what it's up to. After this if your problem isn't resolved, tell them you're going to call Stihl.

How long did you own the 017? Do you sill have it?

It doesn't sound like you're "new" to owninig saws. I hope you can get this figured out!

 

[sefh3]

Take the bar/chain off the 017 and put it on the 180 or vise versa and see what happens. I'm betting the chain is bad.

 

[hammerboyone]

the only time t ever dropped the saw and walked was the first time i had trouble with it .. every time since i talked directly with the service manager himself.. the saw has been run at the dealer right in front of me,and have made cuts with it at the store... yesterday when i took the saw back in "again" i told the service manager what was going on and also told him it was the first time the saw was used since the last time it was in.only a few weeks ago..and once again he sais there nothing wrong with it... all he will do now is start it up and run it for a few minutes and hand it back to me....yesterday i told him i started the saw in the morning before i took it in and it once again it ran fine..,yet only two days earlier it ran great for 15-20 mins. and then went to hell.. as it has way to many times since i bought it new from this dealer... the thing that really gets me, is the last couple of times i have taken it in the service manager has not evan written anything up about the saw evan being brought in. he just hands it back and said the same thing ive heard before..... nothing wrong with it- or run it and let us know... well lets see .. ive run it ..and im saying there is something wrong with it......!! and as for it not cutting rite.. well i have changed the bar and chain and it cut fine. yet the point is that either the bar or chain was junk the day i bought it.it cut fine for limbing small stuff but ran the first time i ran it deep.. again the dealer did nothing ... but shake his head..how much can one take... and yes i have been around saws and cutting for many years.... i do own several other stihl saws as i do some others also,and have never had any thing like this.with any of them.... and to make things worse, while i was having trouble with my new 180c on Saturday i had to listen to some jerk running his poulan"wildthing" explain that i must not have a clue:censored: !!! yet i did get the final word when it came to the BIG wood and i broke out the 039 with the 36"bar and ran through that maple like it was butter. and yes i have had my 017 for a while and still do have it.... getting ready to freshen it up..

 

[sefh3]

Do you have another dealer around? I would take it to them and see if they will help you. Does that saw run chain guards? Can't remember. Make sure they are on the right way.

 

[RAMROD48]

.043 chain in an .050 bar?opcorn:opcorn:

 

[hammerboyone]

Update on 180::

Well i took some advice and took the saw into another dealer..First thing was the bar.. it was a factory defective bar..was miss assembled with one side being offset from the other.Simple fix "REPLACED"..Second problem is that the saw has not run right from the day i bought it or has run only for a short time before acting up..Ive been told that this is not a uncommon problem with some of the smaller new saws.. I have been told that rite now this dealer has two more stihl saws with the exact same trouble..I've been told buy the second dealer that there is trouble with some of the factory carburetors .and the only "fix" is replacing the carb.. so now i am waiting for a replacement factory carburetor.