Stihl FS 38 Grass Trimmer

I’ve been a loyal and happy Stihl user for well over 20 years. Have bought many of their products and have been extremely happy with all of them as they just work year after year. Well, right up to now. I regrettably bought this line trimmer and I hold concerns that it is not fit for purpose. The other reviews are too similar to mine (apart… Read more

from engine issues). My frustration is a defective line feeding mechanism. It gives continual problems and only delivers frustration.

It all started on the first use. It does one of two things: (1) the entire line feeds through the mechanism during use (est. time = a few minutes) or: (2) the line won’t feed and snaps off resulting in head disassembly and subsequent reloading of the line (which is a PITA). Issue (2) is more common.

The unit is now around 4 months old and the head is clean. The Stihl dealer has already replaced the first head. The second head also gave problems on its first use.

I’m about to go back to the dealer and am happy to take this matter further as an issue of principle.

In summary, I’ve never been so disappointed by a purchase and therefore am unable to recommend this unit. Unfortunately this unit is on ‘death row’ as life is too short to put up with these problems.

Had the original fs38 for 10 years without fail until it did, loved it so bought another this time with a different line feeding head and second cut it jams, god bless the dam engineer who [Content Removed] with a perfect design. Show details

Have been in the lawn care business for 25+ years. Recently purchased an FS38 trimmer to replace my trusty old FS45 which after 1000+ hours of service was starting to get a little rattly and losing a little power. So far as I can see the new trimer is the same as the old but with about 100w less outright power. The light weight of these trimmers… Read more

is a bonus when you cut lawns every day for a living. Most complaints I have read in these reviews have never been an issue for me. I run a lighter 1.6mm square extrusion shape line which for domestic properties has some advantages over the thicker line. It cuts cleaner with less strain on the engine, it feeds far better with just a light tap of the head when required and refilling the spool takes less than a minute. Clean the airfilter and spark arrester gauze (a must) in the muffler regularly, don't overload with heavy cord or excessively heavy grass and it will give many hours of cutting bliss.

Despite the bad reviews, I love mine – I bought this product back in 2012 and have had it for 10 years now, and never had a problem. I live in Queensland Australia, and have always kept it out of the weather, so never had any deterioration. Always starts and never misses a beat. I have never serviced it.... ever, and it always starts after about 5 pulls. I'm sorry about the troubles… Read more

everyone else has had, but I can't be happier with mine. I've done everything from slashing a 450sqm property to just the edges. The handle has just broken after 10 years, but it's been used on average every 2 to 3 weeks for about 30mins.

Tireless workhorse – I've owned mine now for over 7 years and it's never let me down. Easy to start, hot or cold, heaps of power and the bump feed works great. I service mine every season with a new fuel line, fuel filter, air filter, spark plug and I clean the spark arrestor with a blowtorch and wire brush. I only use 98 fuel and Stihl 2 stroke oil. My only regret… Read more

was not buying a straight shaft as I use mine to do edges, which can be cumbersome with a bent shaft as I have to turn it sideways.

The worst strimmer I have ever owned. Line keeps snappping in general usage . Petrol leaks from the cap at times when re-feeding the line. Buy this if you would like to increase your gardening time!! Show details

Absolute trash. Needs a new carb after just over 2 years near the cost of a new one. Still should be a brand of trust but it’s nothing more than disposal rubbish. Has been ordinary to use over the time. Biggest regret Show details

Not the best tool I have purchased – Sorry STIHL, but have to agree with these negative reviews, my just over 12 months old FS38 has gone to whipper snipper heaven. Only had 3-4 tanks of fuel through it, from day one I had starting problems, and bloody thing was either at full revs (when it snaps lines like crazy) or lumping along.  There is no in-between speed, mower guys said… Read more

that's normal - well, never had that issue with my 30-year-old Ryobi.

Even my crappy Homelite hedge trimmer started after one year of no use after using the identical 2 stroke mix it in.

Mower tech said it now has scores in the bore, which should not stop it starting (reason he had it). He now thinks it's the carb but said they don't repair carbs now, install a new one is the way now. So, the whipper snipper is toast - glad to be rid of it. FYI, new carb and service costs well over what I paid for the damn thing.

I did ask about the 2-year warranty (remember only 1 year old), and he said once it has had fuel in it, Stihl will not warranty the engine/carb. *** DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME ***

This battery grass trimmer is well balanced and light to use. Easy for an older gardener. Also low db to reduce the risk of hearing loss. The plastic blades stay on longer than other brands. The inbuilt battery makes the on sale price of $150 very good value! Rotate your work tasks by using with other inbuilt battery appliances. The sound level will please neighbours Show details

Stihl quality deteriorated – Bought a new FS45 to replace the FS38 I've owned and used for 8 years. The FS38 was "ok" to use and although it often had carburettor issues and annoying failures like primer failure, it was a "usable" trimmer and did the job. After owning the FS45 for one day- I believe it's inferior to the previous model and I feel that buying it was a big … Read more

mistake. My main gripe is the "new" cheap and nasty head and spool that delivers the line. What a piece of cheap plastic rubbish! It fails to deliver line at a constant rate, it's cheap and nasty, it ISNT "easier" to load line, it's mechanism is awkward and unsatisfactory. It's rough on the fingers to work with. Constantly stopping machine to fix spool issues means the job is agonisingly long and painful (in comparison to the FS38 older model). I was very disappointed with it and took it back to the STIHL shop to discuss my grievances. They were non receptive, and "overly" defensive of their product- quoting it as their best seller??? Then I came home and read all these negative reviews which confirmed my suspicion. Stihl have made a retrograde step with this new and :easy to use" head/line feeder assembly. It should just go in the bin!! I switched back to the head from my old trimmer (10 years old), and that rectified 95% of the cutting and line feed issues that are prevalent with the new design head. This will be my last Stihl product purchase, as I've seen much better quality products sold by competitive brands. Time to give the competition my hard earned $'s- not a company like Stihl who have grown arrogant with previous quality products- but are now producing cheap and nasty plastic rubbish, throw away junk!

Money wasted – I wish I had read the reviews before buying. I went to the local mower shop who talked me into buying that crap. FS38. Just feed the cord through...tap...tap..tap. It is junk. I just wasted another $50 to buy the head where you cut lengths and even that just snaps off after one or two metres of grass (not even concrete etc edging). Cutting my… Read more

losses (sorry about that LOL) and buying another and binning the Stihl. More like Steal. I had an Echo for many years despite me being really horrible to it and it served me well so might see if I can find another somewhere if they are still around and if they are still good. If you are looking to buy a Stihl and reading these reviews before you commit then I can confirm that the bad reviews are true and warranted. Stay well clear of this product. That is why I am taking the time to write this so others can avoid my mistake.

I would rather a colonoscopy than use this thing again – I hate this thing more than anything in the world. It’s absolutely terrible. Should not be on the market. I have the tiniest yard ever and it can’t even cope with that. DO NOT BUY IT. Show details

Awful equipment, will never ever buy stihl again – Bought an FS38 brand new. Was a problem from the get go. Engine would not Rev up. Dealership replaced the carburetor. Ran well for a few months then failed again. Carb replaced again. Line spool has been replaced 3 times. Line always snaps at the head. Cheap pile of crap Show details

Once a good brand, now not – After my original Stihl from 1996 finally gave up. 21 years I had it never missed a beat or failed in any way. So no hesitation in buying Stihl again. This FS38 was sold to me as a replacement. In the 6 years I had this : -primer bulb deteriorated and split. -carburettor rebuilt as would not idle - constant starting issues since new… Read more

never resolved. - start pull cord broke today . Sick of fighting with this junk so dropped to Stihl dealer to dispose of and left. Stihl are not what they used be , avoid

BUYER BEWARE!!!!! – I repeat, BUYER BEWARE! If you purchase any Stihl product from an ACE HARDWARE store THERE ARE NO REFUNDS! A point that was ONLY shared after purchase. But only when I tried to return it (after 7 minutes of use and 45 minutes of drive time). "It's printed on your receipt." So, if I understand the logic, you find that little fact out AFTER you… Read more

pay for it? Talk about a brilliant scam. Salespeople sure don't share that with while shopping.

Okay now for the yard related quality. It started but seemed to bog down and required coaxing to sustain a functional rpm. So you accept that as maybe it needs tuning. But it is brand new? Next up is the automatic line feed. The theroy is "bump and feed." The reality was more like "bump, no feed." The only way you could get line out was to stop it. Unscrew the spool. Pull more line out. Screw the spool back in. Start it. Work the throttle to get through the engine bogging. Trim for about 18 inches and start over again.

This is not a quality product. Now I see why the salesperson was trying to get me to upgrade to the next level for $100.00 more.

My 7 year Ryobi with a bad battery is better than a brand-new Stihl FS 38

Worst whipper snipper – This the worst whipper snipper I’ve ever owned, (5 whipper snippers over many decades). When it was new the nylon cord kept bonding together. I took it back to dealer who didn’t want to do anything, except sell me a different rotating thingie. I then bought a different head that you feed short pieces of nylon into. I’m constantly stopping to… Read more

feed more cord. I only had the machine a few months with not a lot of work and the motor keeps running out of power. This is apparently due to a blocked carb. All in all a very frustrating machine and would never recommend.

Quite Literally Useless – If you follow the instructions for the trimmer head it unspools itself after 1 second of full throttle. If you thread the trimmer head in a manner which will prevent this, the self spooling features do not work. I have a 40 year old STIHL Chainsaw that works flawlessly. Clearly this brand is not the same symbol of quality anymore, cause this is… Read more

the same Chinese-made trash you find everywhere just with shiny orange packaging.

Do not buy it. If I could afford to I would destroy it just for the satisfaction.

Moreover I will never purchase anything from this company again.

An awful product indeed – Terrible. I have used it twice since I I bought it. I will never use it again. If I was a rich man I would have burned it just for the satisfaction. Show details

Garbage product – Stihl fs38 have alot of problems, first it never starts at first place, u have to struggle hard to get it started, number 2 too much noise like fighter jet. 3rd trimmer ring, u need years to learn this how to upload new trimmer ring in stihl FS38 and last STIHL Company never do any effort to educate their customers about their products, all videos on youtube are from 2011, 2012, 2013 thats it. Never buy stihl Show details

Worst trimmer I've ever owned – I'm nearly 60 years old an bought my first Stihl trimmer (FS38) a few months ago and it is the most frustrating one I've ever owned. The line loading is abysmal; the idea's OK until the line breaks...and it will! Continuously. No wonder they've dropped the price. If you need a trimmer, avoid this one. Show details

Junk, Made in China – The Stihl FS 38 is just another pile of trash made in China. I have had it for 6 weeks, and it has been in the repair shop 4 times. One shop would not even look at it, they said. Get that junk out of our shop. The first thing that happened was the cutting head came apart and a big piece flu into the side of my NEW truck and put a big strache in… Read more

it. At that time I had not even cut anything with it. I took it back, they said I had to buy a new cutting head. I got it home to start using it, but it would not run at all, so off to the repair shop. I have had very good luck with Stihl in the past. I didn't know they were making junk in China. No more Stihl products for this boy .

Stihl 38 line trimmer – Don’t waste your money. The FS38 never starts, even after servicing. Fresh fuel each time, clean spark plug . Save yourself the frustration and heartache. Trust me. Coming from a 25 year Stihl user. If it couldn’t be resold I would probably drive over it with my car just for some satisfaction from the amount of swearing it has caused. Show details

Worst machine i have owned – could not have bought a worse machine from the time i got it home it would not start. took it back supposedly fixed it , it has a massive flat spot that dies out unless i go full throttle. the line head is a joke. it does not feed out and keeps breaking no matter what line i use in it , i just wanted to do my edges not give me a head ache every time i use it .. its bin time for Stihl because its not worth the agro taking it back Show details