windthrown
361 Junkie
OK, so this topic has been floated on several other threads, and on may different global forums. I thought I would add a separate thread just on the 661 C-M recall on the AS forum. If you have any information on this, please feel free to post it here. Stihl has been pretty tight lipped about what the problems are with the production models of the 661. Apparently the problems did not occur in the field and beta testing of the test saws, or the problems were not found in those saws until there were problems found in the production run saws.
What I read in the Google translated German arbor forums is that all the 661C-M saws in Germany were recalled, and loaner 660s were given out to anyone that had bought a 661. In the UK, from reading their forums, there was no complete recall, and it is up to buyers if they want to return the saws or not. Here in the US it seems to be a voluntary recall if you want to return or keep them, but not many 661 C-M saws were actually sold in the US (or in the UK or Germany, for that matter). Most distributors had not gotten or shipped these saws in the US. Most unsold, recalled and returned saws have supposedly been collected and shipped back to Germany. Some are said to still be on shelves for sale in the US and the UK, and some are certainly still in the hands of the people that bought them in the US and UK. It is not well known if all saws are affected, or just some saws in the original production run.
As for what the actual problems are with the new 661 saws: several reports from Germany and the UK are that some saws just stopped running completely after running OK for a while, or they started running poorly all of a sudden, or they ran poorly from the start. One supposition is that there are problems with the ignition modules. Another more likely supposition is that there are problems with the cylinders in the production run. I have talked to several Stihl dealers here in this area about them. Most sales guys at the local shops do not know any more than we do here about these saws. Some are not even aware that the 661 had come out at all, or that there was any problem with them. The most informed dealer told me, "...you do not want any of the current 661s out there, and you want to wait until the problems are resolved in the re-released saws before you buy one". He and other dealers have told me that the 660 is again in production, and they have 660s for sale there on the shelves. I asked when the 661 would be available, and I got several answers. It seems that they will not be available in these parts until at least mid-year. According to the German forums, they have been told that it will likely be Q2 of this year before they re-release 661 there.
What I read in the Google translated German arbor forums is that all the 661C-M saws in Germany were recalled, and loaner 660s were given out to anyone that had bought a 661. In the UK, from reading their forums, there was no complete recall, and it is up to buyers if they want to return the saws or not. Here in the US it seems to be a voluntary recall if you want to return or keep them, but not many 661 C-M saws were actually sold in the US (or in the UK or Germany, for that matter). Most distributors had not gotten or shipped these saws in the US. Most unsold, recalled and returned saws have supposedly been collected and shipped back to Germany. Some are said to still be on shelves for sale in the US and the UK, and some are certainly still in the hands of the people that bought them in the US and UK. It is not well known if all saws are affected, or just some saws in the original production run.
As for what the actual problems are with the new 661 saws: several reports from Germany and the UK are that some saws just stopped running completely after running OK for a while, or they started running poorly all of a sudden, or they ran poorly from the start. One supposition is that there are problems with the ignition modules. Another more likely supposition is that there are problems with the cylinders in the production run. I have talked to several Stihl dealers here in this area about them. Most sales guys at the local shops do not know any more than we do here about these saws. Some are not even aware that the 661 had come out at all, or that there was any problem with them. The most informed dealer told me, "...you do not want any of the current 661s out there, and you want to wait until the problems are resolved in the re-released saws before you buy one". He and other dealers have told me that the 660 is again in production, and they have 660s for sale there on the shelves. I asked when the 661 would be available, and I got several answers. It seems that they will not be available in these parts until at least mid-year. According to the German forums, they have been told that it will likely be Q2 of this year before they re-release 661 there.
