Why I will never buy Stihl again

[fpc310]

Hello,

I have a Stihl MS 290 Farm Boss that is less than 1 year old. All things considered, this saw has been awesome..... until it stopped running.

Let me preface by saying that I am not new to 2-cycle engines and I've been using Stihl saws for at least a decade without any real problems with the equipment itself.

I had this 290 quit on me after cutting into 3 or so cords over a 2 day period. At first, it would only quit at idle. I originally suspected a carb problem on the low side since it would run fine on the high. Naturally I took the saw into the closest Stihl dealer / servicer since I am no intellicarb genius... AND it is still under warranty.

To my surprise, the dealer called back a few days later saying I had a seized valve. I was shocked. I was even more shocked when the dealer suggested this seizure was due to improper lubrication! I am most certainly the guy who has Stihl brand underwear along with my Stihl 2-cycle and bar oil. And wouldn't you know that I also mix 50:1 with always fresh higher octane fuel as well.

This is where I get even more mad. The dude at the dealer even suggested that maybe I used straight gas myself or loaned the saw out to someone who would use straight gas. First... nobody borrows a $400 saw from me. Second I know the difference between my Stihl mixture and other fuels. I asked them to investigate it, test the fuel, do anything at all. They would only suggest that it was improper lubrication and would not attempt to investigate it further. They told me to take it back where I bought it. Sorry, i thought I was at an authorized service center? Yeah.. I was. I told the owner of the shop, respectfully, that I would expect to hear from his Stihl territory manager if I were him. His response was "go ahead... he is a good friend of mine".

Naturally, I am nauseated at this point. My Pulan Pro toy saw lasted longer than this! I called the regional distributor and eventually got them to order a UPS pickup so they could investigate it properly to see if there is a defect of some kind. This is most certainly something I would expect the dealer / servicer to do in the first place, right? I guess not.

I understand there are some people out there who treat their equipment like dog crap. I am honestly not rich enough to treat a $400 saw like it is disposable. I personally don't like people suggesting I do without even an attempt to investigate.

To all of you Stihl service professionals out there: I would be angry that your peers conduct themselves in such a way. To the manufacturer, I would be ashamed that you would allow such people to represent you. If I am, by some crazy chance, running coleman lantern fuel in my saw, then I deserve to buy another one at my own expense. Otherwise, STIHL should be thinking hard about buying me a saw that works. Maybe... a Poulan Pro?

Either way, I will likely never buy another Stihl again after this experience. Even a new or repaired saw would only keep me from driving to the corporate offices to see this guy's dealership revoked and given to someone who is up for the job.

 

[flashpuppy]

I'm not a Stihl guy. But that story is about a bad dealer, not a bad company. If you have Stihl underwear, just find a new dealer....

 

[spike60]

I'm not a Stihl guy. But that story is about a bad dealer, not a bad company. If you have Stihl underwear, just find a new dealer....

I agree 100%.

 

[valekbrothers]

:agree2:

Just because you find one bad apple, doesn't mean you need to chop down the whole tree..................

 

[Rookie1]

Im not going to quote you but you say a stuck valve. I didnt think there were any valves on a 290 or any 2 strokew for that matter. Then the seized part, But it died at idle. Your story sounds funky. Or maybe even downright bull. If by chance all is true the saw should have started acting up and RIGHT AWAY you should have stopped it and figured out what was wrong with it. Come on let me have it.
PS just seen your from Ohio. Your going to give the rest of us Buckeyes a bad name. Im ashamed of you.

 

[Chaz1]

Hello,

I have a Stihl MS 290 Farm Boss that is less than 1 year old. All things considered, this saw has been awesome..... until it stopped running.

Let me preface by saying that I am not new to 2-cycle engines and I've been using Stihl saws for at least a decade without any real problems with the equipment itself.

I had this 290 quit on me after cutting into 3 or so cords over a 2 day period. At first, it would only quit at idle. I originally suspected a carb problem on the low side since it would run fine on the high. Naturally I took the saw into the closest Stihl dealer / servicer since I am no intellicarb genius... AND it is still under warranty.

To my surprise, the dealer called back a few days later saying I had a seized valve. I was shocked. I was even more shocked when the dealer suggested this seizure was due to improper lubrication! I am most certainly the guy who has Stihl brand underwear along with my Stihl 2-cycle and bar oil. And wouldn't you know that I also mix 50:1 with always fresh higher octane fuel as well.

This is where I get even more mad. The dude at the dealer even suggested that maybe I used straight gas myself or loaned the saw out to someone who would use straight gas. First... nobody borrows a $400 saw from me. Second I know the difference between my Stihl mixture and other fuels. I asked them to investigate it, test the fuel, do anything at all. They would only suggest that it was improper lubrication and would not attempt to investigate it further. They told me to take it back where I bought it. Sorry, i thought I was at an authorized service center? Yeah.. I was. I told the owner of the shop, respectfully, that I would expect to hear from his Stihl territory manager if I were him. His response was "go ahead... he is a good friend of mine".

Naturally, I am nauseated at this point. My Pulan Pro toy saw lasted longer than this! I called the regional distributor and eventually got them to order a UPS pickup so they could investigate it properly to see if there is a defect of some kind. This is most certainly something I would expect the dealer / servicer to do in the first place, right? I guess not.

I understand there are some people out there who treat their equipment like dog crap. I am honestly not rich enough to treat a $400 saw like it is disposable. I personally don't like people suggesting I do without even an attempt to investigate.

To all of you Stihl service professionals out there: I would be angry that your peers conduct themselves in such a way. To the manufacturer, I would be ashamed that you would allow such people to represent you. If I am, by some crazy chance, running coleman lantern fuel in my saw, then I deserve to buy another one at my own expense. Otherwise, STIHL should be thinking hard about buying me a saw that works. Maybe... a Poulan Pro?

Either way, I will likely never buy another Stihl again after this experience. Even a new or repaired saw would only keep me from driving to the corporate offices to see this guy's dealership revoked and given to someone who is up for the job.

Wait a minute here. A "seized valve". Unless two stroke motors have changed quite dramatically recently, there are no valves in a two stroke motor. I'd go back and ask the dealer to SHOW YOU the defective valve. You may ahve to "call his bluff". Or go to another dealer and get a second opinion.

 

[ericjeeper]

Sounds to me like one of two possibilities. Stuck canooter valve. Or a bad muffler bearing.

 

[WidowMaker]

I would "Copy" the original post to Stihl Corp from here...

http://www.stihlusa.com/contact.php

 

[Fish]

Not going to hop on the bad dealer bandwagon, just yet.

I am assuming you mean seized piston, not valve.

You just joined the forum to rant and badmouth a company, which is fair
enough.

But you likely were using the original batch of fuel when you bought the saw 9 months ago, and the failure was likely due to bad fuel, but we will never know, so this thread will do nothing but go downhill.

Bryan Equipment may give in to you because you are raising such a stink,
which is sad, but true.

I mean to be in any way fair, you would post pics of the seized "valve",
but no, you joined to carry your war online, and you will likely have
a lot of sympathy, and so on............

 

[Fish]

Im not going to quote you but you say a stuck valve. I didnt think there were any valves on a 290 or any 2 strokew for that matter. Then the seized part, But it died at idle. Your story sounds funky. Or maybe even downright bull. If by chance all is true the saw should have started acting up and RIGHT AWAY you should have stopped it and figured out what was wrong with it. Come on let me have it.
PS just seen your from Ohio. Your going to give the rest of us Buckeyes a bad name. Im ashamed of you.

Sniff......... Rookie, I am PROUD of you!!!!

That's my kind of post!!!

Sniff.......

 

[flashpuppy]

Not going to hop on the bad dealer bandwagon, just yet.

I am assuming you mean seized piston, not valve.

You just joined the forum to rant and badmouth a company, which is fair
enough.

But you likely were using the original batch of fuel when you bought the saw 9 months ago, and the failure was likely due to bad fuel, but we will never know, so this thread will do nothing but go downhill.

Bryan Equipment may give in to you because you are raising such a stink,
which is sad, but true.

I mean to be in any way fair, you would post pics of the seized "valve",
but no, you joined to carry your war online, and you will likely have
a lot of sympathy, and so on............

C'mon Fish.... Sounds like (Paul Harvey Voice) you know the rest of the story (/Paul Harvey Voice). Lay it on us....

 

[pinemartin]

PS just seen your from Ohio. Your going to give the rest of us Buckeyes a bad name. Im ashamed of you.

 

[huskystihl]

I actually have sympathy for the guy. He did the right thing, admitted he wasn't a mechainc and took it to the dealer. I'm sure most of the dealers on here are like mine and will admit that the epa has stihl and all other companies shipping these things out so lean that they stress the importance of fresh mix with good 2 cycle. In the dealers defense if you didn't buy the saw from him he probably figured that you were just like every other half wit that brings in a seized piece of OPE ran on bad or straight gas and probably didn't even really look at it. At least stihl took it upon themselves to investigate the problem so to say you would never buy stihl again is a little extreme, especially when you admitted you had good luck for the last decade with them. Try that with homelite I'm not really up to snuff on the warranty on the homeowner side with their saws but warranty work is warranty work and in this economy he is either a lazy a$$ or truly believed it was operator error. I hope for your sake that the saw and issue is resolved, my brother is a proffessional and grabbed the wrong can at home last year and ran straight gas through his new kombi system, luckily are dealer put his pic on the wall as dumb a$$ of the week and all it needed was a piston. point is it can happen!

 

[Fish]

No, just heard the stories before.............

Ask Thall, then ask the pissed off customer from Thall's last thread, you will
hear two vastly different stories about the same saw/trimmer.

The folks on this thread like to jump on the first wagon.

Believe me, the majority of stuff that is brought in for warranty is due
to the customer's actions, not any defect.
Unfortunately, the really loud and obnoxious pissed off customers usually
get paid off just to shut them up.
The squeakiest wheel thing....

This could be a really good thread, let's wait and see.......

 

[Rookie1]

Ill keep watching Fish but something,no pun intended, sounds fishy. And if its seized Ill bet he had ample warning before locking up,if it is.

 

[Gologit]

Sounds to me like one of two possibilities. Stuck canooter valve. Or a bad muffler bearing.

Naaaaahhh...probably a defective suck back preventer...or maybe those new left handed bar nuts.

And eric...check your PMs.

 

[2000ssm6]

Oh my......

Tommy, Lake, Paul, we need some opinions. Or maybe thats onions.

 

[AOD]

May the lords of Mt. Husqvarna smile upon you always.

Welcome to the dark side, my friend!

 

[howellhandmade]

To be fair, we haven't heard the dealer's side of it, so it's kind of hard to join in the outrage, although I've certainly had plenty of product/dealer experiences that have soured me on brands forever. For what it's worth, here's why I'm buying another Stihl:

http://www.arboristsite.com/showthread.php?t=95274

Jack

 

[huskystihl]

Ill keep watching Fish but something,no pun intended, sounds fishy. And if its seized Ill bet he had ample warning before locking up,if it is.

Thats for sure! When my 026 seized "rip" it was telling me for a week to retire it but she had a good life and I wasn't gonna let her die alone. The one day it idled about 13'000 rpm and klunk, froze solid. So I imbalmed it with that earth frindly oil crap an set it on a shelf in the bedroom. Wife hates it being there but she was like a loyal dog and deserves a good resting place.