User Reviews: Stihl FS 45 String Trimmer
Worst piece of junk ever
Pros: works well occasionally
Cons: rarely works well
Do not walk, RUN from this trimmer. You know you're in trouble when the manual says you may need to pull the cord 10-20 times. Starting is an absolute nightmare. And I, too, broke a tool trying to get the spark plug out. Plus, the "bump" string feed system is a joke. You have to stop the trimmer, pull the string out manually, and then good luck trying to get it started again. It will be at curbside tomorrow for the garbage truck. Wouldn't wish this piece of junk on anyone. Will never buy Stihl again. Oh, by the way, it was rated at "best buy" by "that consumer rating magazine."
Was this review helpful? Yes - NoDisappointment
Pros: Cheap (for a Stihl)
Cons: Get what you pay for
I've had lots of Stihl products over the years, chainsaws, pole pruners, and trimmers. For some reason I bought Stihl's cheapest trimmer for my house in the suburbs. Bought it in June '08 and it did okay until I got it back out in April '09. I noticed it would "dog out" some when I applied throttle. That got progressively worse until it wouldn't run by June. The trimmer has ridiculous plastic cowling and it is almost impossible to even remove the sparkplug. And, my original sparkplug was installed so tight that I bent my Stihl saw wrench trying to remove it. Soaked it for an hour in WD-40, then took it to my long time dealer (most Stihl dealers are great!) and the mechanic told me that the FS-45 had a bunch of bad carbureators, that the FS-45 was running too lean (in his opinion) in order to meet EPA emission restrictions.
I'm used to working on my Stihl equipment but this FS-45 is user unfriendly.
I should have bought a better quality Stihl. Stihl products are the best (in my opinion) and are priced accordingly. In this case I just had a bad case of the "cheaps" and it's come out just like I should have expected. Anybody who thinks you can get a good gas powered hand tool for $150 is dreaming or deluded.Was this review helpful? Yes - NoStihl FS 45 String Trimmer
Pros: Stihl's 7 Day Satisfaction Guarantee
Cons: Would NOT START
I owned a Stihl FS 36 for nearly 20 years. It worked great.
FS 45 is a huge dissapointment.
Stihl has a unwritten Day Satisfaction Guarantee.
Don't let the dealer tell you that all sales are final and it can't be returned.
Therefore shop at Costco or Home Depot etc.Was this review helpful? Yes - NoAbsolute Junk
Pros: None
Cons: Doesn't Start
Brought this trimmer home from the dealer, used it ONE time and it never started again. Dealer is not open when off of work, so it was a complete waste of hard earned money. Just go to a big box store and save yourself the hassle with this brand name trimmer.
Was this review helpful? Yes - NoStihl FS 45 String Trimmer
Pros: light weight
Cons: hard starting replacing string is confusing at best
Runs great until it stops then it is a throw away, the self feeding head won't work so you are constantly stopping it to pull out the cord with pliers, then spend 15 minutes getting it to run again
Was this review helpful? Yes - Nostihl fs 45-dont waste your money,it truly sucks!!
Pros: none
Cons: 0 reliability,housing burns you,small feeder
this is absolutley the worst thing i have ever bought...worked great for 6 months...now it doesn't start,and thats about 2 months after i got it serviced,because it didn't start...i thought stihl made better products then the masses...i was dead wrong..echo or husq. will get my business now
Was this review helpful? Yes - NoYear old FS 45
Pros: Worked great when it ran
Cons: The most minute amount of bad fuel, buy another.
It worked great when it ran. I cleaned it up for storage, this season I tried to start it up, after cleaning it up from storage, new fuel, she sputtered turned over and promptly died. Repairshop says it had bad fuel, Stihl says they won't fix it. Better off with my old Craftsman, a tune up once in 7 years and she runs like a champ. Same fuel as the much more expensive boat anchor Stihl. Half tempted to just drop on the Factories front door, it is only out in Virginia Beach. What a waste of money for what I thought was going to be a good machine.
Was this review helpful? Yes - NoMost dependable
Pros: For the money best value
Cons: parts list
I've owned 15 different weed eaters, this is the best
light weight great line feed and it starts.
This Stihl fs 45 is the best I have owned it for about 3 years and it works as good as new. lots and lots of used. I'd bys another.Was this review helpful? Yes - NoHousing Gets Too Hot
Pros: Good Power, Easy to Start
Cons: Housing gets hot
After the trimmer is running for a short period, the plastic housing that covers the muffler gets hot. If I had known this was a problem with these trimmers, I would not have bought this model. I have not heard if this is a problem with other Stihl trimmers but it definitely is with this one!
Was this review helpful? Yes - NoOverpriced, underperforming
Pros: Quiet, easy to use
Cons: Extreme reliability issues
I purchased this trimmer expecting to find a high quality piece of equipment that would last me for years. Instead, I ended up with something that had less reliability than I expect from a discount store no name unit.
When it worked, it started easily and cut well. Power was quite good for a low end model, and it was light and easy to haul around. The problem is that it requires constant tinkering and adjustment to keep it running well, and those adjustments are harder to do due to the plastic sheath covering the engine. The cutting head was easy to reload, but the manual that came with the trimmer was incorrect as to the process for reloading (the online manual was correct). It leaks fuel and now, one year after purchase (and out of warranty), it won't run at all.
Stihl asks far too much for this trimmer; it should be priced much closer to $100, since this thing doesn't work any better than a garden variety Sears model. At $150, do yourself a favor and pay a bit more for a better quality unit. This FS 45 claims to be high quality for a reasonable price for the homeowner, but it just doesn't deliver.Was this review helpful? Yes - NoGreat Product
Pros: Stihl Quality
Cons: vibration
This is another great product from stihl it is powerful and is a great product. It does vibrate for it to be a curved shaft.
Was this review helpful? Yes - No
Rate & Write a Review: Stihl FS 45 String Trimmer
Rate & Write a Review: Stihl FS 45 String Trimmer
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