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I stopped in at my Husky dealer's today, & there sat a barely used 550 with many of the recently reported problems. It was a replacement for another brand new one which had fried the P&C. The saw was plagued with "the bog" & sometimes dying at idle & was already on it's 2nd carb! While I was there, the tech hooked it up to the computer & called Husky & got the following info:
There is a new "kit" out for them consisting of a new carb, a new fuel line which is 26mm (slightly more than 1in) shorter than the original, & a new top cover with more room for air circulation to correct engine overheating which they have, apparently, determined to be the cause for some of P&C failures.
There were also some other changes which, I don't think, are part of the "kit". The changes, IIRC, involve a new crank, ball bearings, & needle bearing. I'm just guessing that these changes are part of an updated design.
The "kit" is on backorder & will not be available until June-----they say!!
 
interesting, sure would be a bummer to have a lemon saw. A friend of mine has 2 550's for his tree service and runs the piss out of both and loves em, though he wasnt thrilled after the first 2 or 3 tanks. id be right back at that dealer every day until i got one that ran right.
 
interesting, sure would be a bummer to have a lemon saw. A friend of mine has 2 550's for his tree service and runs the piss out of both and loves em, though he wasnt thrilled after the first 2 or 3 tanks. id be right back at that dealer every day until i got one that ran right.

The dealer who was helping out & who did the legwork is not the one who sold the saw. He is the one from whom I bought my 562. I can't say enough good things about him for the way he handled all the issues I first had. He doesn't take shortcuts!
 
I find it amazing that any manufacture would still be having this kind of trouble this far out from model release.

I completely agree. That just should not be!! From the sound of what I saw & heard today, it seems as though they are understanding & committing to correcting the problems.
 
Wow this sucks. I just dropped off my 550xp at my dealer because it was having the same issues. So there's going to be a rebuild kit coming out June? I'm really disappointed in Husqvarna that they couldn't get it right for like 5 years now. So much for Swedish engineering and quality.
 
5 years is a bit long, but it's also new technology for the saw world. I bet the first fuel injected saws will have just as many problems.

Sent from my SM-G870W using Tapatalk
 
It seems to me as though the 550 did not have carb issues for the first several years, and now they do. I wonder what's up with that?

That is a seriously good question. The dealer looked me in the eye & said, "Maybe they are going to switch to a Walbro"? This is pure speculation, but it says to me that Zama is not in their good graces right now. Saw Troll has been negative about Zama for some time. Maybe he is right!?
 
Well Zama is owned by Stihl, maybe they don't want these carbs to run right lol.

Again we're on a chainsaw forum that is on the internet, because of this you're always going to hear more about failures than anything else. That's just how it is.

The 550 and 562 are still evolving and improving, which is better than just keeping everything the same and saying nothings wrong, which let's be honest is exactly what most companies do.

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Maybe I'll wait until June & see if I can find a new dealer who'll put this carb kit in before I fuel & try the new saw. Statistically, one would think I'd have a good one now after three bad saws in a row. The serial #'s are too close to have any faith this one will be any different though.
 
I stopped in at my Husky dealer's today, & there sat a barely used 550 with many of the recently reported problems. It was a replacement for another brand new one which had fried the P&C. The saw was plagued with "the bog" & sometimes dying at idle & was already on it's 2nd carb! While I was there, the tech hooked it up to the computer & called Husky & got the following info:
There is a new "kit" out for them consisting of a new carb, a new fuel line which is 26mm (slightly more than 1in) shorter than the original, & a new top cover with more room for air circulation to correct engine overheating which they have, apparently, determined to be the cause for some of P&C failures.
There were also some other changes which, I don't think, are part of the "kit". The changes, IIRC, involve a new crank, ball bearings, & needle bearing. I'm just guessing that these changes are part of an updated design.
The "kit" is on backorder & will not be available until June-----they say!!

This is all information from early 2012, clearly documented in the service bulletins issued by Husqvarna. There was never a new top cover design. The carb update was in relation to the addition of the easier to hook up service port for the software connector.
 
Is it just me or have we seen a resurgence in 550 carb problems? Did they perhaps assemble some new saws with an older lot of carbs?
 
That is a seriously good question. The dealer looked me in the eye & said, "Maybe they are going to switch to a Walbro"? This is pure speculation, but it says to me that Zama is not in their good graces right now. Saw Troll has been negative about Zama for some time. Maybe he is right!?

Oh good lord.... don't say THAT..... his head is already swollen enough, ..... don't EVER tell the TROLL he is right, if his head explodes , he'll get messy grey stuff all over those pretty lil 346xp's of his...... :crazy2:;)
 
And my 550xp keeps on working perfect, EVERY time I start it! Like today, when I ripped these oak blocks,

standard.jpg


SR
 
Maybe I'll wait until June & see if I can find a new dealer who'll put this carb kit in before I fuel & try the new saw. Statistically, one would think I'd have a good one now after three bad saws in a row. The serial #'s are too close to have any faith this one will be any different though.

You have more trust and patience than me, I'd be telling them to keep it and find me a 346 someplace.
 

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