Stihl FS38 Strimmer

I purchased this trimmer to replace my Husqvarna and I am sorry that I did. The line feed mechanism will not feed consistently. I have already had the head replaced at the dealer and even used the different nylon line recommended (Oregon 2mm). It will feed when bumped for a while, and then jam. That means taking the head apart to refeed the line through the holes. Too much of a PITA to keep.

Poorly designed carburetor, carb is not compatible with modern gasoline, you must use premium gasoline but modern gasoline has ethanol in it which is not compatible with these carbs . Carb doesn’t drain properly, so the ethanol plays havoc with the carb in storage ,you may get two yrs out of one if you use gasoline stabilizer if you are extremely lucky other wise you will need a new carb every year . It’s a throw away unit , sorry to say that their MM55 rototiller is the same crappy carburetor so if you need a small rototiller buy a Honda save yourself the grief. To bad they both work well when running but totally unreliable units!.

this is the worst stihl product i've ever used, and worse than some other brands i've used. i used their commercial trimmers and chain saws in landscape maintenance with few problems so i bought this one for around the house. nothing but aggravation. had to replace starter cord and get carburetor serviced after first year. worst of all, had to remove trim line head to advance trimmer line nearly every time. do not buy a Stihl FS 38!

Stihl FS 38 trimmer review

It starts easily and runs dependably. Unfortunately that's the best I can say for it. The bump string head is the most useless of any I owned over the years. Essentially does not work. To advance the string you need to stop the machine and pull string out by hand. Complaining about this to the dealer that sold it to me, Crop Productions Services, Inc in Fallbrook CA, was useless. They said well I couldn't expect much from a light duty unit. They talked me into buying more of the special green string it originally came with but it still did not feed out. That's bad enough but the string end of this machine gets so hot it smokes if it's run at full power any length of time more than about a minute. It gets so hot it melted the scatter shield onto the shaft housing. Used in brief bursts it still gets hot but is usable. Unfortunately because it was rarely used at first, these defects were not obvious until too late to return it or get service under warranty.

I bought this machine because of the Stihl name. Similar machines of other brands are available for less money. Other machines I own are unreliable but at least when they do run they are usable. Because of this I no longer respect the Stihl name and I regard Stihl as having deteriorated into cheap Chinese products. Buying from Crop Production Services has unfortunately been no safer or better in any way than dealing with a big box store. Just more expensive.

bouhgt my trimmer in june 2010.to cut grass at cottage.it did a very good

job on grass that was always tall when we got there.the last two yeras i

have used it at my home and never had an issue until today.need to get a

couple of parts for cutter head.still a very good trimmer and served me

well.i have never had a starting issue even after storage for winter

Bought about 2 years ago and has had issues with starting it up, keeping it on even with fresh gas. Took to place

Where I bought and had serviced twice with same result , and same issues . Money down the drain. I will not buy on name alone

I bought this trimmer four years ago and have only used it once for about 5 hours in total. I always use fresh gas and this year I had trouble getting it started and when it did start it wouldn't keep running. I took it in and they tell me that it needs a new carb and spark plug. Total repair cost is $110.00 and a new one costs $139.99. After 5 hours of use this is clearly just junk and a rip off by Stihl. Bought it based on the good name of Stihl. What a joke!

First season was ok,but always hard to start.

From then on it was downhill,Fast.

Broken Pull Cord,broken recoil spool.carb constantly needs attention.

Last year the cutting line broke,so i switched it off and re filled the line.

To date this pile has never started since that moment,and is now getting split up and going on ebay,bit by bit till its gone.

Looks like it needs a coil and i can get an entire strimmer for what that is going to cost.

I bought the FS38 a bit over a year ago. Usage is only once a week for a few hours. It worked fine for the frist year. Then the string trimmer hub/housing wore out. Replaced that for $30. Three weeks into the new season, the motor refused to run more than 30-40 seconds and developed no power. The Stihl service shop where I bought it says the the carb needs to be replaced at a cost of $124.00. A check valve is said to be bad inside the carb but no service parts are offered for those bits. I'm on my way to buy a cheap replacement for about the cost of the two (would be) service charges. Given the service requirements of the Stihl, I can buy one of the cheap trimmers each year and come our ahead. I will sell the Stihl on Craig's List for junk parts.

Just bought the FS 38 trimmer couple of weeks ago from a reputable dealer who sells mostly Stiel products.Had a bit of trouble getting it started until I read the manual,always read the manual first.My problem was to forget to click in the little "Tongue"on the bottom.Ended up holding the throttle with one hand and pulling the cord with the other,totally uneccesary if you do it by the book.This machine has more power than I`m used to from my old electric,i`m totally satisfied contrary to some negative reviews I`ve read.My only beef is with the choke symbols got them backwards could be just me.Maybe color coding would be easier for novices like me.It works just fine even under trees or bushes witin reason,you have to adjust the D handle to get the proper flat cutiing level depending on the lenght of your arms,kind of important, otherwise a great tool,no problems.I also like the light weight, easy on the arms,good on gas and no more extension cords, what a relief.Seems like everyone is using Stiel these days homeowners and pros alike. JLR Vancouver Island BC