2.5 year old STIHL engine housing cracked - never dropped - STIHL not helping

[chrislb]

I have a 2.5 year old STIHL - used 15 times - never dropped it. I am facing a $275.00 repair on an MS-211 that I bought for $250. I called STIHL and asked how an engine housing can crack when the plastic body surrounding the entire chainsaw was completely fine / not broken. I asked if they would stand by their product. They said "something cracked the engine housing." I said, that I'm telling as many people as I can about my experience and Kelly at STIHL tech services hung up on me. That is all FACT. I'm not a happy customer of STIHL. I will never buy their products again and I'm telling as many people as I can about this.

 

[KenJax Tree]

opcorn:

 

[homelitejim]

Last I checked the warranty on consumer Stihl saws is 2 years and I think you have to buy a case of their oil. Since you are out of warranty it would be much cheaper to fix the saw your self or even buy a different saw. I would not fault Stihl, plastic home owner saws are what they are if they last longer than the warranty it is a bonus. Suppose you could get a Poulan\Husqvarna or some other Poulan variation, good luck.

 

[ohio andy]

I guess i see it this way. You purchased a saw with a warranty that covered it for a specified period of time. had the issue occurred during that time, they woyuld have gladly repaired the saw. However, you are now outside of the specified time period and you still want them to fix it? Really?


Try that with your vehicle and see where you get. I had an $800 antilock brake pump go out on my truck at 37,100 miles. Yes i paid the bill in full, even though the 3 years on the 3 yr/36,000mile warranty had not expired.

Can't please everyone all the time. Sorry for your issues, but i probably would have hung up on you too.

 

[WoodBoss83]

I have a 2.5 year old STIHL - used 15 times - never dropped it. I am facing a $275.00 repair on an MS-211 that I bought for $250. I called STIHL and asked how an engine housing can crack when the plastic body surrounding the entire chainsaw was completely fine / not broken. I asked if they would stand by their product. They said "something cracked the engine housing." I said, that I'm telling as many people as I can about my experience and Kelly at STIHL tech services hung up on me. That is all FACT. I'm not a happy customer of STIHL. I will never buy their products again and I'm telling as many people as I can about this.

Gotta see some pics of the cracked housing. Without seeing pics, I have to agree with Stihl.

 

[Adirondackstihl]

 

[Mike from Maine]

I guess i see it this way. You purchased a saw with a warranty that covered it for a specified period of time. had the issue occurred during that time, they woyuld have gladly repaired the saw. However, you are now outside of the specified time period and you still want them to fix it? Really?


Try that with your vehicle and see where you get. I had an $800 antilock brake pump go out on my truck at 37,100 miles. Yes i paid the bill in full, even though the 3 years on the 3 yr/36,000mile warranty had not expired.

Can't please everyone all the time. Sorry for your issues, but i probably would have hung up on you too.

Well I agree with you but... I had a transmission let go at 36,800 on my F350. I calmly asked the general manager of the dealership if there was anything he could do for me. He said to give him a few days. Within the week he had gotten Ford to give me a new transmission and a free extended warranty to 80k miles . I had to pay the dealership 3-400 to swap the transmissions.

 

[SawTroll]

Well I agree with you but... I had a transmission let go at 36,800 on my F350. I calmly asked the general manager of the dealership if there was anything he could do for me. He said to give him a few days. Within the week he had gotten Ford to give me a new transmission and a free extended warranty to 80k miles . I had to pay the dealership 3-400 to swap the transmissions.

That is very good service - but you can't expect all dealers to handle it that way.
How the unlucky owner act regarding the issue may of course make a difference, as well as the attitude of the dealer and brand....

 

[svk]

Well I agree with you but... I had a transmission let go at 36,800 on my F350. I calmly asked the general manager of the dealership if there was anything he could do for me. He said to give him a few days. Within the week he had gotten Ford to give me a new transmission and a free extended warranty to 80k miles . I had to pay the dealership 3-400 to swap the transmissions.

My dad had the same thing with a GM vehicle several years ago... dead transmission at 46K miles with a 36K warranty but the service manager came through for us and the replacement only cost us a few hundred.

OP: Can you work with your original dealer to perhaps get his/her shoulder behind your cause? May go a long way.

If no luck I would go with a new saw from a different brand, I would never pay more to repair a used saw than a new one costs.

Steve

 

[Mike from Maine]

That is very good service - but you can't expect all dealers to handle it that way.
How the unlucky owner act regarding the issue may of course make a difference, as well as the attitude of the dealer and brand....

That dealership had earned all my future business, unfortunately they are now out of business. Still a fan of Ford though.

 

[KenJax Tree]

My dad had an F-250 powerstroke that blew 3 transmissions within 45k miles pulling a 5th wheel camper after the 3rd one Ford took the truck back and reimbursed him his money he had paid for payments but they only offered this deal if he bought another Ford truck.

 

[showrguy]

stihl chainsaws are not combustable...
they don't crack, brake, or blow up all by themselves !!

jus sayin....

 

[MRCo.]

Ford truck? Oh dear, chocolate fireguards last longer... :msp_biggrin:

OP, very sorry for your disappointment. But the fact is you buy a warranty for an allotted amount of calendar time, not hours on the clock. I agree that failure in this manner is very disappointing, but you're beyond warranty period. Sorry...

 

[Karl Robbers]

There is a middle ground. I don't know how the OP approached the issue with Stihl. I do however know that if I had a saw, low hours, with no sign of physical damage that had a cracked crankcase and the manufacturer displayed the attitude described, I too would not be a happy camper. A far smarter response would have been to listen to the OP and then examine the saw, (local dealer to examine), then decide on a course of action. If there was a manufacturing issue, offer a compromise - we pay parts, you pay labour or similar. If no manufacturing issue, then the manufacturer has a good reason to decline plus as a manufacturer, you want to know of all issues with your product and investigate them.
I n any case, I should imagine hat a fair degree of physical damage would be required to crack the engine case of one of these saws, suggesting further investigation required.

 

[memory]

The way I see it is if this happened under normal use, I wouldn't be very happy either being a major issue. I think the dealer should help out or at least try being the warranty just barely expired. If the saw was quite a bit older, then no the dealer shouldn't be required to help out. I understand the dealer not wanting to help out since it is out of warranty. If it was a minor issue, no big deal, just pay to get it fixed and move on. But this is no minor issue. And if the saw was physically abused, do you think he will tell that to the dealer?

The manufacturers know how long of a warranty to put on their machines. That is why something always breaks the day after the warranty expires. It's almost like they program it for that too happen.

 

[Brushwacker]

I have a 2.5 year old STIHL - used 15 times - never dropped it. I am facing a $275.00 repair on an MS-211 that I bought for $250. I called STIHL and asked how an engine housing can crack when the plastic body surrounding the entire chainsaw was completely fine / not broken. I asked if they would stand by their product. They said "something cracked the engine housing." I said, that I'm telling as many people as I can about my experience and Kelly at STIHL tech services hung up on me. That is all FACT. I'm not a happy customer of STIHL. I will never buy their products again and I'm telling as many people as I can about this.

I'm sure their right "something cracked the engine housing". May be you never dropped it, may be someone else did and didn't bother to tell you or who knows. I am sure you haven't watched it non stop since you had it. The cause should be determined by a qualified technician though. It would be to their benifit to help you out if it was determined defective after their qualified personel diagonoised it. I imagine excessive engine rpms, lack of quality lubrication and the sort could of caused it to. Heat causes expansion and with the high rpm's pounding away ...

 

[exSW]

They should fix it but they won't.All those people that DO game the warranty ruin it for those who don't.My policy with new tools and power equipment is don't buy it untill you need it and then use the pi$$ out of it.

 

[Karl Robbers]

Exactly, calling Stihl, Husqvarna, Makita or any other manufacturer can really deal with issues such as failure to read manual and other generic type enquiries. Any greater degree of difficulty should see the service center line become a contact point that refers the caller to the nearest dealer for them to inspect/rectify the fault. Any other course of action will only lead to a substandard outcome for at least one of the parties, somewhat like trying to perform heart surgery over the phone.

 

[Jed1124]

Just a little clarification. What do you mean by engine housing? Is it the head or bottom end. Is it effecting the way it runs or is not running at all. I agree that if the saw was not dropped or run over there is a major defect in the casting somewhere. Try a different dealer. I have one dealer in town that gives anybody who brings anything back a lot of crap for warranty work and I always recommend bringing it to the dealer on the other side of town who will do warranty work on equipment regardless of where it was purchased. They have earned most of the business around here.

 

[fatboymoe]

On my 2009 Cadillac CTS-V, exactly 1 day after the initial 4 year, 50k Bumper to Bumper warranty was up, my battery quit. No warning, no nothing. My extended service policy has a $100 deductible. I swear that these manufactures have a secret signal that is sent out when the time or mileage is up. They did, however, meet me half way. The charged me $50 instead of the $100. Stuff happens...