Stihl warranty issues

[slough shark]

Has anyone else had issues getting stihl to honour their warranties? I bought a chainsaw (an ms291) about a year and half ago and it died a few months ago. I brought it in and the clutch was fried and overheated, fuel I used was good, used their specific oil and the tech seems to give me 2 Stories on why it’s gone. On the bill it said it was run with the chain brake on but in person he had told me there was no sign of the brake over heating... either way this makes no sense to me, either the brake didn’t stop the chain from turning or give me any warning the brake was on and it fried the clutch. The other possibility is the clutch was no good and wore out quickly, overheated and it’s done. To me this is a warranty issue, either the one safety feature failed or the machine itself failed, it isn’t a heavily used saw, maybe felled and bucked up 20 trees. I’ve been using chainsaws for years so it’s not like I’m a rookie, ran a poulan for more than 10 years and cut down far more trees without issue.

[ghfalls]

Sounds like a bunch of bs. Go over his head whoever you were talking to. That’s a fairly expensive saw and should be problem free this shortly into ownership.

[Dean2]

You have either an issue with the guy you are dealing with being full of it, or you have a bad dealer. Stihl is usually really good with warranty. If they weren't it would not take long to loose the large following of dedicated Stihl users. Talk to the most senior guy at the dealership, no joy, take it to another dealer or contact Stihl direct.


As far as the line he is giving you, you can't run a saw with the Chain brake on, if you can something isn't working right to start with.

[amosfella]

If you paid for the repair, get the old parts back.

[Jigsalot]

That is surprising to hear. They usually are great to deal with and I have bought many items over the years from them. I would phone the company direct and somehow get ahold of the upper management if you can. Also ask the shop who the local rep is for your area and chat with him.
Whenever I get the run around from a big company I will not let it go and I also mention that they will be slammed on social media. They don’t want that. I’m sure you will get it rectified with a little work.

[slough shark]

Originally Posted by Jigsalot

That is surprising to hear. They usually are great to deal with and I have bought many items over the years from them. I would phone the company direct and somehow get ahold of the upper management if you can. Also ask the shop who the local rep is for your area and chat with him.
Whenever I get the run around from a big company I will not let it go and I also mention that they will be slammed on social media. They don’t want that. I’m sure you will get it rectified with a little work.

I called stihl and they said they don’t cover “user error”, apparently they are under the stance that the chain brake doesn’t need to stop the chain from turning or even give an inkling of It being on...

[slough shark]

Originally Posted by Jigsalot

That is surprising to hear. They usually are great to deal with and I have bought many items over the years from them. I would phone the company direct and somehow get ahold of the upper management if you can. Also ask the shop who the local rep is for your area and chat with him.
Whenever I get the run around from a big company I will not let it go and I also mention that they will be slammed on social media. They don’t want that. I’m sure you will get it rectified with a little work.

I called stihl and they said they don’t cover “user error”, apparently they are under the stance that the chain brake doesn’t need to stop the chain from turning or even give an inkling of It being on...

[slough shark]

Originally Posted by Jigsalot

That is surprising to hear. They usually are great to deal with and I have bought many items over the years from them. I would phone the company direct and somehow get ahold of the upper management if you can. Also ask the shop who the local rep is for your area and chat with him.
Whenever I get the run around from a big company I will not let it go and I also mention that they will be slammed on social media. They don’t want that. I’m sure you will get it rectified with a little work.

Oh they will hear from me, a lot, and I’m far too stubborn to let this go lol!

[slough shark]

Originally Posted by amosfella

If you paid for the repair, get the old parts back.

I haven’t paid for the repair nor will I likely do that, they want to charge almost as much as I purchased the saw for to fix it. I assure you if they aren’t going to honour their warranty I will never be touching a stihl again. It worked fine for a year and a half as one would expect a $700Ish saw to do and didn’t really cause any issues until I was bucking up 1 tree that had fallen and overheated. Didn’t have any inkling that the brake was on or any clutch issues other than bucking it up marginally slower than usual which I though was just because the tree may have been a little green. Went to fill up gas and bar oil (there was still some oil) and it was really hot, I let it cool down and tried restarting it and no joy. Did some inspection and saw the clutch had overheated and had some issues.

[slough shark]

Originally Posted by Dean2

You have either an issue with the guy you are dealing with being full of it, or you have a bad dealer. Stihl is usually really good with warranty. If they weren't it would not take long to loose the large following of dedicated Stihl users. Talk to the most senior guy at the dealership, no joy, take it to another dealer or contact Stihl direct.


As far as the line he is giving you, you can't run a saw with the Chain brake on, if you can something isn't working right to start with.

He agreed that it shouldn’t run with the brake on but said it could wear out and run... on an essentially new saw, load of crap if you ask me.

[straight]

Originally Posted by slough shark

Has anyone else had issues getting stihl to honour their warranties? I bought a chainsaw (an ms291) about a year and half ago and it died a few months ago. I brought it in and the clutch was fried....

Déjà vu
It is exactly my story 2 years ago.

[Dean2]

Originally Posted by straight

Déjà vu
It is exactly my story 2 years ago.

So how did yours turn out in the end? and if you got satisfactory resolution how did you do it.

[straight]

Originally Posted by Dean2

So how did yours turn out in the end? and if you got satisfactory resolution how did you do it.

I brought the saw to dealership. They said:
- OK, will take it and check and call you later.
I'm on acreage in remote area and I need saw every day. The STIHL had ms291 on sale for $495, so, I just bought another one at the same dealership.
Nobody calls me during next week. I decided to call the dealership and check the status of my case. The guy on the other side said:
- You saw was bad and we threw it away, we decided you don't need it if you already got new one.
- No, I need my saw and I'm coming to get it good or bad.
...
I came in an hour and found my saw fixed. My guess, somebody in that dealership decided to get a free saw

[slough shark]

Originally Posted by straight

I brought the saw to dealership. They said:
- OK, will take it and check and call you later.
I'm on acreage in remote area and I need saw every day. The STIHL had ms291 on sale for $495, so, I just bought another one at the same dealership.
Nobody calls me during next week. I decided to call the dealership and check the status of my case. The guy on the other side said:
- You saw was bad and we threw it away, we decided you don't need it if you already got new one.
- No, I need my saw and I coming to get it good or bad.
...
I came in an hour and found my saw fixed. My guess, somebody in that dealership decided to get a free saw

Wow, that’s some pretty shady dealings, if you don’t mind me asking which dealership was that through?
I did go pick up my saw last week, they charged me $115 for diagnosis and gave the saw back to me half disassembled, however the bill said one thing, they told me something different on the cause...

[straight]

Originally Posted by slough shark

Wow, that’s some pretty shady dealings, if you don’t mind me asking which dealership was that through?
I did go pick up my saw last week, they charged me $115 for diagnosis and gave the saw back to me half disassembled, however the bill said one thing, they told me something different on the cause...

One thing I can say it didn't happen in AB, I promised to their manager not to disclose their dealership.

[cody j]

Originally Posted by slough shark

Wow, that’s some pretty shady dealings, if you don’t mind me asking which dealership was that through?
I did go pick up my saw last week, they charged me $115 for diagnosis and gave the saw back to me half disassembled, however the bill said one thing, they told me something different on the cause...

$115 to diagnose? Sounds pretty steep to me, it’s a chainsaw not a new truck

[TreeGuy]

Slough Shark, I’m very sorry to hear about your saw troubles. Unfortunately, I believe you’re probably SOL getting warranty work done on a year and a half old product with a ‘consumable’ part failure.

Given the fact you said the saw was cutting a bit reluctantly, what I think may have happened is that your oiler plugged off. A dry chain gets tight and hot fast. After 10 years of running garbage poulins you likely just continued to push through with the far more powerful machine and cooked it without knowing the better. This would explain why there’s no evidence of heat on the brake spring which is a ridiculous diagnosis.

This is of course pure speculation on my part, but is there a build up of residue on the chain, or is it shiny? Has the paint on the bar near the channel chipped off? Does the sprocket at the tip still turn? (It needs to be greased periodically and there’s ports for that).

Another possibility is that the saw ingested something metallic like hay wire that managed to find its way around the crank sprocket and caused huge resistance between the chain and clutch drum.

The best advice I can give off the top of my head is to pull the cover and bar off and try to start it naked. If there isn’t catastrophic internal failure it should run.

Good luck!

Tree


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[58thecat]

Dam eh....just goes to show you how a dealership can literally blow it on a fine product....bury the buggers.....keep at'em.

[slough shark]

Originally Posted by TreeGuy

Slough Shark, I’m very sorry to hear about your saw troubles. Unfortunately, I believe you’re probably SOL getting warranty work done on a year and a half old product with a ‘consumable’ part failure.

Given the fact you said the saw was cutting a bit reluctantly, what I think may have happened is that your oiler plugged off. A dry chain gets tight and hot fast. After 10 years of running garbage poulins you likely just continued to push through with the far more powerful machine and cooked it without knowing the better. This would explain why there’s no evidence of heat on the brake spring which is a ridiculous diagnosis.

This is of course pure speculation on my part, but is there a build up of residue on the chain, or is it shiny? Has the paint on the bar near the channel chipped off? Does the sprocket at the tip still turn? (It needs to be greased periodically and there’s ports for that).

Another possibility is that the saw ingested something metallic like hay wire that managed to find its way around the crank sprocket and caused huge resistance between the chain and clutch drum.

The best advice I can give off the top of my head is to pull the cover and bar off and try to start it naked. If there isn’t catastrophic internal failure it should run.

Good luck!

Tree


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I just checked the sprocket and it turns freely, As well the paint around the channel is fine, the bar wasn’t pinched. I do recall at least some oil being used, it could possibly have been a less than normal amount to I don’t recall so hard to confirm anything on that, is there a way of knowing if the Oiler is plugged while using it? It all went down on less than a tank of gas and then at oil is always full when I start. Yeah the brake diagnosis is bunk, no sign of heat on the spring, as far as their other possible diagnosis with it being overheated due to using the teeth on front if that does in a saw they need to design a better saw.

[tri777]

Originally Posted by slough shark

".. It all went down on less than a tank of gas and then at oil is always full when I start. Yeah the brake diagnosis is bunk, no sign of heat on the spring, as far as their other possible diagnosis with it being overheated due to using the teeth on front if that does in a saw they need to design a better saw.."

Curious, did you use gas pre-mix 50:1, or those cans stores sell for $9.99 that are mixed?

I ask because I bought one of those premix cans from C.tire in July for my Husky 55, filled tank,

started cutting for approx. 30secs & all of a sudden the engine got hot, heavy sounding and signs of

a piston seizing were present. Shut off, pulled plug, sure enough, plug was very white. I sprayed

WD40 into hole & slowly cycled piston, let it sit & cool. Dumped the premix, mixed up a fresh batch of

regular gas oil, fired right up and has been fine ever since. So i don't buy those premix cans from CT,
only from a authorized Husky dealer now!

[Sooner]

My Sthil is over 20 yrs old and has seen thousands of kms strapped to a quad and cut hundred's of hours of trees. To this day if the brake is on, it wont power through.

I doubt that's the cause of your issues. Sounds like your dealer and Stihl need to step up.

[slough shark]

Originally Posted by tri777

Curious, did you use gas pre-mix 50:1, or those cans stores sell for $9.99 that are mixed?

I ask because I bought one of those premix cans from C.tire in July for my Husky 55, filled tank,

started cutting for approx. 30secs & all of a sudden the engine got hot, heavy sounding and signs of

a piston seizing were present. Shut off, pulled plug, sure enough, plug was very white. I sprayed

WD40 into hole & slowly cycled piston, let it sit & cool. Dumped the premix, mixed up a fresh batch of

regular gas oil, fired right up and has been fine ever since. So i don't buy those premix cans from CT,
only from a authorized Husky dealer now!

I never touch premix gas, all my small engines get premium gas mixed with 2 stroke oil, in this case it was the special stihl 2 stroke oil as per my end of the 2 year warranty. This was fresh gas mixed with the stihl oil, I hadn’t added any fuel stabilizer as I had intended to use most of the gas.

[Au revoir, Gopher]

Originally Posted by slough shark

I never touch premix gas, all my small engines get premium gas mixed with 2 stroke oil, in this case it was the special stihl 2 stroke oil as per my end of the 2 year warranty. This was fresh gas mixed with the stihl oil, I hadn’t added any fuel stabilizer as I had intended to use most of the gas.

I seem to recall that the Stihl 2 stroke oil I bought (same deal as you, buy the oil and get an extra year of warranty) has a fuel stabilizer in it. I will check next time I'm close to the saw.

ARG

[TreeGuy]

224MV, I have an honest question for ya as obviously you know of what you speak.

Given the fact that Slough Shark posted that all the plastic housing surrounding the clutch was melted, do you really think a failing clutch bearing could generate that much heat prior to failure? I’m honestly sceptical.

I’ve burnt out a few clutches over the years. None of which were catastrophic. Just wear and tear. Obviously, the clutch bearing is lost. That’s a no brainer.

I’ll stand by my hypothesis of friction induced heat causing the failure because over many years I’ve almost burnt down a few saws and a couple of chippers. Metallic material and super stringy stuff like caragana tend to get wound up in moving parts and become a colossal PITA. The risk of ignition with the oil soaked crud built up within the entire chamber around the crank most certainly exists.

An external and conductive heat source interacting with the clutch mechanism would explain the melted casing (plastics engineered for high heat applications) and a failed clutch bearing.

If it was the the bearing itself, I’d be extremely concerned that that heat energy transferred down the crank and damaged the internals. It’s not a short trip.

Interesting discussion.

Tree


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[224MV]

Originally Posted by TreeGuy

224MV, I have an honest question for ya as obviously you know of what you speak.

Given the fact that Slough Shark posted that all the plastic housing surrounding the clutch was melted, do you really think a failing clutch bearing could generate that much heat prior to failure? I’m honestly sceptical.

I’ve burnt out a few clutches over the years. None of which were catastrophic. Just wear and tear. Obviously, the clutch bearing is lost. That’s a no brainer.

I’ll stand by my hypothesis of friction induced heat causing the failure because over many years I’ve almost burnt down a few saws and a couple of chippers. Metallic material and super stringy stuff like caragana tend to get wound up in moving parts and become a colossal PITA. The risk of ignition with the oil soaked crud built up within the entire chamber around the crank most certainly exists.

An external and conductive heat source interacting with the clutch mechanism would explain the melted casing (plastics engineered for high heat applications) and a failed clutch bearing.

If it was the the bearing itself, I’d be extremely concerned that that heat energy transferred down the crank and damaged the internals. It’s not a short trip.

Interesting discussion.

Tree


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Tree, I’m not disagreeing with your hypothesis as it is very possible. I’m only providing more possibilities.
I don’t think a failing bearing would cause that much heat to melt the plastic crankcase. But it sounds like there was nothing left of the bearing which I think would cause a lot of heat if you kept running the saw, especially if slough shark was thinking it was just cutting slow due to green wood.
I had a bearing come apart on me on an 044 while cutting some large spruce. The cage was still there but most of the needles were MIA. The oil and sawdust build up on the crankcase was smoking. Probably a good thing it was a magnesium case instead of plastic. I thought my chain oiler had plugged off the way it acted and heated up. I grabbed another saw and finished the job. Didn’t take long to figure out the problem when I got home.

It is quite possible there is damage to the crank bearing and oil seal from the heat if it’s melted that much. The dealership should be able to do a vacuum test to see if the oil seal is still good. If the crank bearing are shot or starting to go you’ll probably hear it when the saw is running(if they are totally shot you probably won’t be able to pull it over)

Definitely an interesting discussion. I would be interested in seeing the pictures of the saw

[ghostguy6]

Check out this guys youtube channel. He has some amazing videos on small engine repair. Most of them you can do with out any special tools.
https://www.youtube.com/user/donyboy73/videos
Check out this video on the chain brake system. Make sure everything is in its right place. It is possible the brand that wraps around the clutch drum was rubbing and could make it overheat.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJRaLngZd_0

clutch drum install
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlQQq210HkM

Installing a new clutch, this video is for a 180 but should basically be the same.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dtyf6uIKPZw

[tirebob]

Man, reading this thread through it leaves me wondering how it is not possible for the dealership to help this guy out in some way and at least show an inkling of compassion and care.

I don't know why customer service has to be so difficult these days.

I get that the OP maybe thinks he really did nothing to cause this and it could very well be a legit warranty claim, but I also totally see what TreeGuy says and it sadly is just something that the average consumer will never experience but it obviously happens often enough in the grand scheme of the chainsaw world that while it doesn't feel nice, it isn't really a warranty problem for the manufacturer.

This all said, how hard is it for the dealership to simply offer to help him in some other way and say offer him replacement parts at cost or cost on a new saw, take back the old one and fix it and sell as a refurb? No, it isn't their fault but if the OP was good enough to spend his money there the first time, chances are if they did a bit to help the guy not take such painful hit, he probably would rave about the help and spend more there over the years and send other people in because they proved they are there for their clients and not just to profit off a bad situation.

As a business owner I learned a long time ago you don't have to lose money but can still make a difference helping someone out of a jam, nor do you have to make money on every deal to make profit overall. Why does just doing a good thing have to be so difficult?

Uggggh I am sometimes so embarrassed for other retail companies.

[TreeGuy]

I was fortunate enough today to have a great conversation with Slough Shark. I’m posting these pics on his behalf. Hopefully everything works out for the best.

Tree








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[224MV]

Well that is quite a mess, which is probably why the dealership doesn’t want to fix it. The picture of the brake band doesn’t show any heat discolouration so obviously their theory is BS. Also if it was the brake the outside of the clutch drum would be very shiny from contact with the brake band.
Looking at the clutch picture it doesn’t have any pieces missing on it at least on the front side of it so I’d guess the pieces you found inside was what was left of the bearing.
It also looks like the oil pump and the oil line took a good beating as well and probably should be replaced.
The marks on the crankcase appear to line up with the clutch drum. When the bearing started to go it would of started wobbling causing those marks I’m guessing.
I’d try and take it back to the dealership and blame it on a faulty clutch drum bearing. I doubt it will work but it’s worth trying.
If they won’t fix it and you don’t want to spend the money on OEM parts try HL Supply out of the states. I buy a lot of parts from them and have had very good luck with their parts. Usually about 1/3 the cost of OEM parts.

[ghostguy6]

Id be taking that to a different authorized repair center to get a second opinion. That definitely looks like the bearing failed or possibly even the crank shaft if somehow out of alignment. Worst case is you post these photos on Stihl's social media sites asking for their opinion directly and let their users decide.