new saws

ehp · November 21, 2024, 09:44:15 AM

I bought 5 saw stihl saws , 3 new 500i and 2 462 arctics , both 462s will not run to save their souls , the mtronic is all over the place trying to set the motor so they are back at Stihl , I have owned alot of mtronic saws and these are the first junk ones I have gotten . Now the 500i , one runs great , the other 2 run great if you can get them primed so I took the primer bulb out to see why it was sucking as much air as fuel , the groove the bulb sits in is a couple thou bigger than the bottom part of the primer bulb so of its going to suck air plain and simple and another thing , why only 2 screws holding the plate to the primer , there should be 4 . the primer bulb fits in between the plate and primer , I just put a shim between the primer bulb and the plate and problem is fixed , make sure shim does not have a sharp edge that will cut the bulb

doc henderson · November 21, 2024, 04:08:39 PM

Wow. That is sad!

Magicman · November 21, 2024, 07:31:04 PM

Both of my newest saws are non MTronic on the advice of my selling dealer. He had MTronic saws on the shelf and special ordered these for me. He knows me and my chainsaw usage and said that there would be no advantage for me since I do not change them out every few years. I keep saws forever and twenty years from now the computer tuning program might not even exist.

ehp · December 01, 2024, 03:24:59 AM

Have not heard back much from stihl other than both saws are junk , will see what they do about if anything , I think the one saw had 1.6 hours on it but never ran any good out of the box , other saw was just under 5 hours . If they do nothing that will cost them alot more in the end . I told stihl to really fix those saws proper or just keep them and I will eat the over 3 grand I got in those 2 saws and carry on running something else

customsawyer · December 01, 2024, 04:55:45 AM

I hate to hear that. Just think of the extra money Stihl is saving, by not putting those two extra screws in primer bulb.

GAB · December 01, 2024, 04:29:31 PM

Someone might of gotten a bonus for value engineering those 2 screws and the holes associated with them saving the company maybe $0.20 canadian/saw.
When doing value engineering many factors need to be factored in to make a sound decision, it appears that was not the case in this decision.
GAB

ehp · December 08, 2024, 10:07:01 PM

It's the 462 arctics that are junk not the 500i's , my fix on the primer bulb has the 500i's working good , no air in the bulb when priming . I heard that the dealer had to order the latest software to check the 462's but that was a week or so ago and I have heard nothing back . It's a shame cause I prefer to run the 462 over the 500i by alot but if that is the way the mtronic is going to be set I will not buy any more and a lot of guys watch what I do and say . So if this goes bad what will i be running , at this point more than likely the 365/372xt ported . Ran those saws for quite a few years and no problems with them and they cut and husky still has lots in their warehouse up here

Woodfarmer · December 09, 2024, 07:15:20 PM

That's just not right Ed, still running that 2159 you ported for me what, 20 years ago.

ehp · December 10, 2024, 10:38:37 AM

If a saw is ported correct it should out last a stock OEM saw in a good person hands , ported will run cooler which is the killer of all 2 strokes , engines blowing up are 99% caused by heat so you need to figure out how to manage that heat . Yesterday I pulled out my old 562 xpg that I cut with for I guess almost 2 1/2 years cutting big timber and its far from stock . I'm going to run it for abit and see how the shoulder handles it

ehp · December 10, 2024, 10:41:03 AM

and the heated handles on the 562 seem to be the hottest I have ran , almost to hot lol , have to turn them off lots until hands get cold then turn back on

ehp · December 27, 2024, 01:20:22 PM

So a update , Stihl has had those saws a long time and yes they agree there is a real problem but has done nothing to fix the problem so today I went to a new husky dealer and bought 2 of the 562s, 2 of the 365s and a new 395 , Pretty sure the plan is all saws ported if I get bored enough lol, Price on huskys are way way less than the stihl , I can buy a 28 inch bar set on a 395 for less than a normal 462

DHansen · December 27, 2024, 03:54:16 PM

Made that dealers day a great one.

Woodfarmer · December 28, 2024, 06:59:59 PM

So would porting a first gen 562 solve all the hot start issues they had?

realzed · December 29, 2024, 07:25:03 PM

I assume someone other than your local dealer is the snag with getting some restitution regarding the 462 issues straightened out..
I bet your dealer (or I would hope) would be thoroughly PO'd at both losing your business here as well as a valued regular customer, who obviously spends as much as you do on saws and accessories!
He's probably caught in the middle and can't do much to help, if Stihl won't assist both yourself and him - its too bad whoever up the chain that can't or won't, can't be held responsible and be made to pay a heavy price for such a loss of business and reputation..
Poor practices such as this, is what kills companies - it takes a while but eventually word travels, and it's not the type of 'word' that any company needs.
The motto:
If you like our products and service
Tell Others..
If you don't or have a problem
Tell Us!..
should apply here..

Old Greenhorn · December 29, 2024, 08:38:43 PM

Your 'new' Husky dealer is a lucky guy, and he has Stihl to thank. Ironic, ain't it? You are lucky too to have a NEW husky dealer, I don't think I have ever seen one. most are closing, not opening.
The problem with many companies these days is that when yo tell them, they either don't listen or don't act on it. They give you a song and dance which is absolutely maddening to a good customer, infuriating actually. Sometimes it's the dealer, but more often it's a district rep or a factory rep that don't want to be bothered. I see this with WM quite a bit. They deny well known problems and try to tell customers "You are the only guy who has that issue" which they have to know is BS. But the guys upstairs are not addressing the engineering issue to support the guys at the customer level let alone communicate they have a known issue.
Its nice that Stihl admitted they have a known issue, but the other part of that is acting, doing SOEMTHIING at least to help out the customer. Maybe they will at some point, but somebody has to be the constant squeaky wheel and that takes effort that you should not have to expend.
I'm a Husky guy, but Stihl makes good saws and they are both good companies. But lately I think they are having a race to the bottom and right now Stihl is ahead. I rest the responsibility for this on the bean counters that are running these outfits now and never did a hard days work in their life.

doc henderson · December 29, 2024, 09:12:12 PM

My dealer is great, but has to go through his regional rep.

barbender · December 30, 2024, 12:33:58 AM

I don't see how either Stihl or Husky are "racing to the bottom". I have had several new saws of both brands in the last few years, and they are quality machines.

It is infuriating when issues aren't resolved quickly, and the likelihood goes up for this to happen the bigger the company gets it seems. There must be a dummy in the command chain at Stihl that they aren't getting Ed taken care of straightaway, with the amount of saws he buys. Maybe he needs to start a YouTube channel, that seems to be the language the new generation of management speaks.

Old Greenhorn · December 30, 2024, 09:05:18 AM

When I said that I wasn't talking about their saw quality, I was referring to their degrading lack of customer service and support, reducing the number of dealers, making it difficult for dealers to carry their products and provide support and those things, which you also point out.
These guys don't seem to realize that the face of their company is represented by how they treat their customers when issues arise.

ehp · December 30, 2024, 09:28:02 AM

Not the dealer , its the head guy for stihl Canada for warranty , I know the man . The head place of stihl is about an hour from here ans when I use to race I was there lots as I built engines for them .

My ported 562 is one of the very first 562's that came to Canada , I figured out how to stop the bog and built I would guess 25 or so 562s , but I have not ported any of the new 562s as I have been running stihls mostly for the last 8 or so years , I built a pile of 365's thou and I mean a pile as they work very well

customsawyer · December 31, 2024, 05:17:31 AM

Ehp, I tip my hat to you. I would hate to think that I had to wear out that many saws. I get tired just reading about them.

SwampDonkey · December 31, 2024, 07:06:09 AM

It's hard to even get Stihl parts on brush saws I know. A smaller diameter limit stop (Brush guard) for a 561 was back order all summer and never did see it. They come stock with a 250 mm guard and a big blade which the saw can't handle in bigger stems very well. The 225 mm I want will take the smaller blades and work with better torque in bigger stems. That stock 250 mm, I split in half in 3 days in hard maple. I actually got a spare front angle gear for a 560 model and blade guard and put it on the 561. They are the exact same saws. No one I know like them bigger front ends, that was a lame brain fart idea to change on them saws.

Spike60 · December 31, 2024, 08:42:01 AM

With all due respect to my friends here, and some of their theories, unless you've actually been part of the industry, you really don't have a clear picture of how things work.

When a product fault begins to emerge, it takes some time to establish a pattern, identify the issue, and then come up with a solution. Fair amount of testing involved before issuing a service bulletin and beginning corrective action. If you're one if the early failures and you can't get answers, it's frustrating as hell. But "we don't know" is often the early, and at that stage, truthful answer.

I've been involved in several of these situations and conversations with both Charlotte and Sweden always showed people pulling their hair out trying to solve these problems. The posts from some of you guys suggest the tech service depts are sitting around doing tequila shots and laughing while the saws blow up.

As a dealer, you can either make things better, or make them worse. Can't just stand behind the counter and shrug your shoulders with a dumb look on your face. Gotta make the effort to contact tech service, (which is entirely different from "customer" service), and get some answers. At least show the customer you are trying. There were times now and then where I would just have to eat the problem for a good customer. And IMO, whenever i did that, it was well worth it. But if you walk into the store with a saw you bought online and a sense of entitlement, well, KMA. Sorry that's reality.

Regarding Tom's comments on the dwindling amount of dealers, that's an industry problem that's only going to get worse. And while the OEM's often make it worse by forcing the dealers to buy what they don't want, (stihl is notorious for that), they are victims of this more than anyone. Tom, I obviously can't mention names here, but in our area, you be shocked at who else around here plans to be out in 5 years or less. Very few of these businesses are saleable. Real estate value vs business volume is one issue. But the changing nature of the OPE biz, and where the industry is going is the big thing. To a very large degree, unless a family member is in place to takeover a business, it's likely destined to close up. Sad, ain't it?

Al_Smith · December 31, 2024, 11:10:41 AM

Regarding issues on some models I have a story.Some time ago Stihl was getting bad reports on the 200T model related to the Z1Q Zama carbs .Edie Anderson (AKA Stihl number one ) on the internet took it right out to the internet he worked at Stihl Va Beach Va.
Now I'm only a collecter / restorer.not a dealer however myself and Adam Clark in California thought we found the problem which we thought was carb internal leaks after the saw had warmed up .I thought I had fixed mine by using red Loc tite on the welch plugs in the fuel chamber and sent that carb to Va Beach where they tested it in their carb lab .I was close but not right on .However they did redesign the carb .Stihl sent me a brand new carb after the redesign which I've never reset the jets and that little saw which is modified has ran great since .
My only point in saying all this to say Stihl really is interested in feed back by those who use their products . What Husqvarna might be doing I have no idea as I only own several and those date back to the 1980's but they are classics ,281 and 2100 .

Woodfarmer · January 01, 2025, 03:21:06 PM

562's. One thing Husqvarna should have done was a recall. Period. Plain and simple.
Wasn't there a fix package customers had to purchase, I don't believe it was given away free.

I'm still PO'ed Husky cancelled Jonsered, so Stihl will have to really screw up before I buy a Husky.

ehp · January 01, 2025, 08:55:31 PM

All it is is the EPA telling the companies to run leaner , I got saws here new and couple years old , the older saws has more fuel which makes more torque . When I run a saw I make it work I donot just hang on and let it kind of cut so I need fuel cause making the saw cut is going to raise the inside cylinder temps alot so it will lean burn the piston on ext side , now the 500i is one saw so far that is not lean and if you run one you know that by how much fuel that saw burns to cut the same number of trees . I'm not the only guy having problems as others are to and on other models from stihl, When I picked up the 5 new huskies the dealer asked do I want a 592 and I flat out told him not a chance and even the dealer told me they were having a hell of a time with that model . But he can still get 395s so everyone is using them