Guido Salvage
Supreme Saw Whoreder
Nothing you post on this forum will change your situation or "fix" your saw. I have had issues with items and dealt with them, never felt the need to complain on the Internet.
Echo Chainsaw - Never again will buy one - poor quality and poor customer service
- Thread starter CJ-8_Jim
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All - Sorry for the confusion on the cover screws and the assumptions I didn't do it myself.
For the record: I did in fact fix it myself and I did not go through a dealer nor file a warranty claim.
I'm just flabbergasted that I'm encountering such stupid problems with residential use of a supposedly "quality" Echo brand product.
I base this on my past professional work experience which includes automotive vehicle engineering & assembly at Ford, diesel engine assembly at a Tier 1 vendor and now process improvement.
These are stupid problems and even a dumber customer care/warranty process that eats away at Echo's financial performance.
It doesn't take a six sigma black belt to realize Echo has "opportunities for improvement to increase profits" in their product assembly, outsourced vendor part quality and post purchase/warranty processes.
Dumbest post I've ever read. Tighten the screws, I think they go into metal inserts on the 520. Someone horsed the oil adjustment screw when it came to the end of its adjustment. Steve
Thank you for your thoughtful reply.
May I suggest you read posts slower before posting your feedback?
The screws fell out (and went missing) during use and oil adjuster srew head broke off.
GrassGuerilla
Olympic Piss-reving wanna be.
Just how old is this saw? Hasn't the cs-520 been out of production for years?
Oh, and the warranty process is remarkably similar to that I experienced with Stihl on a bg-86 blower. They want you to pay the dealer to look at your warrantied product and decide if it's covered or not.
Edit: and most if not all chainsaw and O P E manufacturers give instructions to occasionally check and tighten screws as needed, and are therefor not covered under warranty if lost. Jus sayin...
Oh, and the warranty process is remarkably similar to that I experienced with Stihl on a bg-86 blower. They want you to pay the dealer to look at your warrantied product and decide if it's covered or not.
Edit: and most if not all chainsaw and O P E manufacturers give instructions to occasionally check and tighten screws as needed, and are therefor not covered under warranty if lost. Jus sayin...
Hi Art,
Much thanks for your genuine reply to my question that Stihl has a similar warranty claims process.
To answer your question, both inexcusable screw product quality problems occurred within the Echo 5 year warranty period.
The Echo commercial use warranty period is shorter.
IMHO, if I had a business, I would take any warranty as worthless if the warranty required me (as Echo's does) to let the saw sit on a dealer's bench for 4-6 weeks while paperwork was processed. What viable business can afford to do without a tool needed to run their business?
Perhaps as others indicated it is the fault of my dealer for strictly following Echo's warranty claim process and not simply helping me out so I can return the saw to use quickly.
Just my 2 cents
It was bought new within the Echo 5 year residential warranty period.
Neither Echo's warranty nor manual says owners need to check for loose screws otherwise the warranty is invalid. I have though seen that stipulation regarding owners checking oil on CUTS (Compact Utility Tractors).
It doesn't take a mechnical engineer to know that for the cover bolts, there should be lock washers or Loctite on a product like a chainsaw that vibrates -- just saying.
I treat o p e warranties as irrelevant as a matter of course. Not worth the hassle, even if I didn't routinely modify the equipment right out the box.
GrassGuerilla
Olympic Piss-reving wanna be.
You might want to check the maintenance section of your owners manual. The last line on this image shows the "recommended service interval" for checking screws, nuts, bolts. Pretty standard. It ain't a car. All small engines require an occasional check. Losing a screw on an echo tool is unusual in my experience, but not unheard of. One things for sure though, neither Echo, Stihl or Husqvarna are likely to warranty lost hardware. Husky in particular is known for shedding hardware like no other. As to your assertion that these should have lock washers, I'd wager that most folks would simply lose them in service/maintenance anyway.
Maybe read your manuals recommended maintenance and try applying it. Yes, your going to need to tighten a screw or two from time to time. Nature of small engines in my experience.
I agree... unusual. Hence the reason for my post.
As for regular maintenance, Yep... I do those maintenance things religiously on my Echo chain saw. That's why I found missing and loose screws.
I do on my nearly 50 IC pieces of equipment I have.
Perhaps Echo needs to add a statement that failure to check for the aforementioned loose screws invalidates warranty.
Edit: I still say that OEM body/cover screws should have loctite or lock washer.
The OEM cost difference between a 5x18 screw and one with a star washer is roughly $0.01
You shouldn't be operating a saw if you cant notice the cover screws coming loose or checking for loose screws and as I said before someone horsed the oil screw for it to break. Steve
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Did you take the saw back to the dealer you bought it from?
Just curious.
Just curious.
The feedback on this forum is revealing that chainsaw users find it acceptable that new Echo saws will have screws that become loose or stripped.
Also that the warranty process on a "professional" equipment manufacturer (Echo) is typical to expect it out of service for 4-6 weeks while warranty paperwork is processed. And also that customer service would be unaccomodating when it is cheaper for them to handle with the customer directly.
These low expectations probably explains my experience.
I would expect all this on an MTD product, not an Echo.
My lesson has been learned -- look to another brand next time.
Also that the warranty process on a "professional" equipment manufacturer (Echo) is typical to expect it out of service for 4-6 weeks while warranty paperwork is processed. And also that customer service would be unaccomodating when it is cheaper for them to handle with the customer directly.
These low expectations probably explains my experience.
I would expect all this on an MTD product, not an Echo.
My lesson has been learned -- look to another brand next time.
Yes. Back to the same dealer (not big box store) where purchased.
The feedback here is that my equipment dealer's service department practices is not typical of all dealers.
Sounds like I should not patronize my local dealer down the road.
My BIL is a Case mechanic at a Case dealer. Next time I'll just drive the 90 miles and buy the brands (not Echo) that they carry.
7sleeper
Addicted to ArboristSite
I have/had saws by Hitachi, Dolmar, Efco, Husqvarna, Solo and Stihl and I can't ever remember seeing screws secured with lock washers. But then again with your vast experience of 50 IC pieces of equipment I am bewilderd that you didn't check beforehand and replace immediatly to satisfy your quality criteria.
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So basically your main beef is the oil adjustment screw? Tell us about the failure. Be honest now.
That's your opinion.
You haven't seen the Echo design... huh?
As for the oil screw... I've treated like an ICE carb needle valve... I've been gentle with it... that's a fact, not an opinion
SawTroll
Information Collector
Possibly - but this fits very well with the arrogant behaviour that Echo has been criticized for many times before.
Anyway, it looks like the issues here were minor stuff that could happen to most saws (although they usually don't) - and it likely would have been better to just buy the missing/broken screws, not bothering with a warranty claim? Screws falling out basically is operator error (lack of proper maintenance).
