The Stihl MS661 C-M recall

[Rockjock]

Cannot list other forums on this one... AS does not allow it. One is the largest in the UK, starts with arb and ends in talk. Another in German is motorsagen... ...portal.

Of interest on the German site is that a dealer there told someone (after he called and raised bloody hell) that he would be able to order a 661 in March... and they would be available soon after. That is the older line that was being spun here... My guys at the more trusty Stihl dealers here tell me it will be Summer.

Some guys are also posting that they have been playing with a demo prototype 661 saw in Bavaria that evidently runs like no other saw anyone has handled. Limited to a one-off of course, and likely the property of Stihl. They did not say if the demo saw was pre or post production. Like the clear model Husky 346 saw that I wanted to buy at the dealer here but could not. That saw was sent back to the factory.

Ok I asked because the dealers I know, have the saw and it runs great. The dealer in Baveria can not keep it in stock and when I asked him about a recall he was perplexed. He said simply if there is a recall why do I have the saws in stock, why is the forst verwaltung ( Forestry Management Service ) is ordering them on mass. Again I find this all very odd. 1 thing he did say was it is a very impressive Motorsäge

 

[windthrown]

You are the only one I know that says that. You can look on these sites and see what they post for yourself. I ain't making this stuff up. The German translations are a bit tough, but they seem to be very similar to what they say in the UK. And yes, its a mixed bag. Some dealers are reported as having sold a lot of 661 here as late as last week, and some are reporting 661s still on the shelves.

On the German site last week one guy there that works in a Stihl shop in Germany said that they got a letter from the factory telling them to stop selling 661 saws. Another dealer in Germany says he is out of 661 stock and was told the week before that the 661 will be available for re-ordering at the end of March. I am not sure when the orders would be filled. I believe that a lot of this information is being filtered to dealers through distributors, like they are here in the states.

My guys here at the local Stihl shops in Oregon say to avoid the existing model 661s, and the revised models will be out sometime this summer. BobOak (GoLogIt) posted that he asked his dealer in NorCal about the 661 and they got all riled up and he could not post what they said in their reply. They are apparently not happy campers.

 

[Rockjock]

You are the only one I know that says that. You can look on these sites and see what they post for yourself. I ain't making this stuff up. The German translations are a bit tough, but they seem to be very similar to what they say in the UK. And yes, its a mixed bag. Some dealers are reported as having sold a lot of 661 here as late as last week, and some are reporting 661s still on the shelves.

On the German site last week one guy there that works in a Stihl shop in Germany said that they got a letter from the factory telling them to stop selling 661 saws. Another dealer in Germany says he is out of 661 stock and was told the week before that the 661 will be available for re-ordering at the end of March. I am not sure when the orders would be filled. I believe that a lot of this information is being filtered to dealers through distributors, like they are here in the states.

My guys here at the local Stihl shops in Oregon say to avoid the existing model 661s, and the revised models will be out sometime this summer. BobOak (GoLogIt) posted that he asked his dealer in NorCal about the 661 and they got all riled up and he could not post what they said in their reply. They are apparently not happy campers.

Sadly I am not the only one. All I have read is there are issues bit no pics and no real proof. For me this is a issue because I have several local tree companies wanting the saw now and I am able to get it for them. So when the talk of the issues came out I made some calls and was told this is news to them. 1 dealer near the German Dutch border said he did not hear anything. The bloke in Bavaria said the same thing. He is also family so I doubt highly he would steer me wrong. For me I like pictures, specifics of what the issue was. Knowing what I know of Stihl if there was a recall not a single dealer would have them on the shelves let alone selling them and taking orders. I am sure there is more to this than meets the eye. My friend Dan always said believe only 1/2 of what you see and none of what you hear.

 

[windthrown]

Well I find it virtually impossible that this is some kind of conspiracy theory, as the story I am hearing at my local Stihl shop is the same as I am reading online, worldwide. Here is a quote from a London, UK Stihl dealer, posted 2/25 on a UK arborist forum:

I'll update you.

661 will be back in about August, the 660 is now back in production and we have stock arriving next week.
The 650 has stopped about 6 months ago.

As soon as we have 660's back on the shelf we will let you all know. We did have 10 come in a week ago but they where all for waiting customers.

Hope this helps.
__________________
Check out our website here:www.frjonesandson.co.uk 020 8676 3010

 

[Mastermind]

WooT WooT

 

[windthrown]

Yes, the now rare early model production 661 MM second porting. They are real... for some people.

 

[Mastermind]

The more I watch that video, the more impressive the saw becomes in my mind. The rakers on that chain are at .040, and it's running an 8 pin rim.

 

[windthrown]

That cherry you be cuttin' thar, is it hard or soft? Green cherry here is pretty soft to cut.

 

[pro94lt]

Boys something is definitely bad bad wrong with the 661 I waited for seems like years on the 562xp and t540xp. Im done waiting. If the reports are August I'm guessing at least another year. After this disastrous roll out they'll have to test for at least a few months. Hold on to your 660s boys and lay the 100s down for 390s the 661 is a long way from reality we know stihl may screw up once but twice?

 

[Mastermind]

It's somewhere between poplar and oak.

 

[windthrown]

Poplar or black cottonwood here can be hard as a frikk'in rock. But softer than oak I can get a feel for.

 

[windthrown]

Boys something is definitely bad bad wrong with the 661 I waited for seems like years on the 562xp and t540xp. Im done waiting. If the reports are August I'm guessing at least another year. After this disastrous roll out they'll have to test for at least a few months. Hold on to your 660s boys and lay the 100s down for 390s the 661 is a long way from reality we know stihl may screw up once but twice?

Well, some of the Germans say that if its a piston issue (thin crown) the turn around time for the factory to crank out new ones is 3 months. Add assembly time and shipping, add another month or two, depending. All supposition that the piston is the main fault, of course. Seemingly in some places you can buy all the 661s that you want now?

 

[pro94lt]

I've never seen my stihl dealer shelf not stocked with a 660 it's been bare for a month or so... it's definitely not a conspiracy

 

[Mastermind]

A guy in Greece just sent me an email hoping to find a MS661. He said they weren't available there either.

 

[windthrown]

A guy in Denmark posted on FF a month ago that they cannot not find a 661 in Denmark either (said they were recalled from there). Another guy in Denmark confirmed that they cannot get 661s on the TH forum and that he got 2 loaner 660s from his dealer in January until the 661s come out.

 

[Rockjock]

Gentlemen please settle down. All I am saying is no one has pinpointed what the issue is. The reports are all over the map. Many had this saw and yet no one took a video of it running, of the broken crank etc. This official letter that no one scanned. I call dealers that I know and they tell me they have the saw, they sell the saw and they have not seen any back for any reason. For the guy in Greece, get the saw from Germany pm his info and I will be more than happy to send him the details. I even got a email from someone claiming the saw blew up. No he took no pics, even when the tech had the saw apart he took no pics. The only fact I do see is that some places have the saw and others do not. Same factory so a bad production is kinda a weak excuse. I read on as Dutch site they often do not get " newly released " equipment so they just drive across the border and buy it from Germany as many of the countries do there. Price is the same warranty as well. My local dear here in Canada has no ETA for it. But is sure he will get it in the spring. Personally I would like to hear from someone who has the saw, had it fail and has some pics of the damage.

 

[lmbrman]

The 661 sold locally was returned to the dealer for warranty when the cylinder came apart, I got to see the saw but the cylinder had been shipped to Germany. Low hours as in a handful of tanks of fuel. Good news is that when stihl offered up a 660 for replacement or repair the 661 the buyer indicated he did not care for a 660 after running the 661.

Dealer said the stihl rep told him they had 17 failures same as that saw. I have no idea what that number means percentage wise of sales and I did not pester the dealer as he was kind enough to call me about the returned saw. I have no reason to doubt the dealer and have known him for years. He called me about the failure when it came in but was directed to not allow pictures or show the cylinder.

He said he is selling a lot more 390xp as a result, he said if he did not have another brand to sell he would be hurting right now as this has dragged on for months.

I am on the list for the 661 but undecided at this point.

 

[Trx250r180]

WooT WooT

i bet a square skip tooth rakers at .025 or .030 would slice through there nice and smooth

 

[chadihman]

I wonder if the 661 jug and slug I sent Randy had any changes from the original one on that 661. I've never had to wait so long for a Stihl part.

 

[windthrown]

Personally I would like to hear from someone who has the saw, had it fail and has some pics of the damage.

Problem with that is that if a saw fails, you take it to the dealer to get resolved under warranty. They ship it back to the factory (as has been stated by all the people that have had saws fail). There is nothing to take pictures of in that process. Quite by design. Stihl will not allow it.

Oh look, someone else posted from WI directly answering your points. Thank you lmbrman. Same story as has been posted in the UK and the EU. Still not satisfied? You still want to be a champion for Stihl here?