From the day I bought it there was problems. Would definitely stay away from this product,Constant starting problems and goes through line like its going out of fashion. Had to buy a cheap Bunnings one and is 10x better. Unfortunately gives Stihl a bad name. ABSOLUTE RUBBISH!!! STAY AWAY FROM THIS PRODUCT

The Stihl is hard to start, and goes through cord like you would not believe. I got that annoyed that I bought a cheap Chinese line trimmer (Flash) yes it is called Flash. It was half the price, starts easily, runs smoothly, and I use it commercially. I will never buy another Stihl.....I bought the Stihl about March 2017 and it has done about 5 hours work. I bought the a Flash about the end of March 2017 and it would do about 8 hours per week and the only item I have replaced is the shoulder harness. it starts 2nd pull every time. Anyone want a cheap Stihl?...

Bought new 4 years ago. Never had any problems even cutting far north Qld grass! Pushes 2.4mm line no problems at all. Used 2.7mm (probably being a bit hard on it) and worked ok with revs up. Always used Stihl ultra 2 stroke oil and 98 octane fuel (with ultra you’ve got a fuel stabiliser do keeps fresh in tank). Only changed spark plug and air filter once. Follow manual for starting and you won’t have a problem.

Carb floods way to easy - Always a crapshoot trying to get started. If you like blisters, frustration, or the challenge of deciding if its the carb, sparkplug,spark arrestor or the quality of gas causing this equipment to never start, then this trimmer would be the right purchase. My other 2 stroke equipment has never given me any problems (craftsmen blower, echo trimmer)...There is a serious design flaw with this trimmer...

I purchased this piece of crap after deciding the easy start option would be better for my shoulder and back.
It never starts easily even after following the correct convoluted procedure. 'Easy start' is a misnomer. I've just damaged my shoulder again trying to get it started.
There is nothing else about any of it that I can find positives. Paid $450 for rubbish machinery.
For the love of God do not waste money of this.

Ok so this trimmer was great for a couple years. Tell it started flooding up or taking a long to start up or even get it tuned. It's ok. Just the model fs45 is not a good one. Personally ones that are 200+ are better. Because they last. They get the job done. But a good cheap one is the echos. They are good. Stihl has good ones. The fs45 has problems when you really put it the the test. Long grass. Weeds on a weekly usage level.

I thought Stihl was a good brand..... Not any more.
This model is hard to start
Chews through line
Hard to refeed
A waste of good money
Used it twice and cut my finger twice on poorly designed plastic "guard" around exhaust

I wish I had read the review before I purchased. I got this because I was over my last cheaper trimmer. This model is rubbish. Putting up on gumtree, I hope like me they don't read this review.

Shame on you Stihl! I want my money back!

I owned a FS 45 for almost 10 years. It was impossible to start at the best of times. Went to my local Sthil retailer and purchased a brand new Fs45. Guess what... Wouldn't start and flooded every time. Took it back, they told me I don't know how to start one even though I have had one for 10 years, they managed to start it after 10 minutes of mad pulling, the poor guy was so red in face.. Swapped it out for a honda 4 stroke... Magic... Won't buy sthil again... Save yourself the pain and frustration and just buy the 4 stroke Honda... FS45 is compete piece of garbage. Having said that the guys at Beacon Equipment were awesome and I would continue to buy from them as they sell much more than just Sthil.

I hate this machine, it takes longer to start than to do my garden! I plan to take this back to the Stihl dealer if they will not return my money I will drive my car over it. I was told stihl was a good brand, now I just hate them

I had mine for ten years. Always used the Stihl 2 stroke oil and made fresh fuel for each use. That said, it was often frustratingly hard to start, so leave it to next week. Sometimes wanted to take it back to Stihl and "leave it". However, when it did run, it was great. (one star for starting issues and three for operational). Did find that it performed much better with 98 RON, but have been advised to use normal 91 or 95, no E10 or 98, as 98 causes the motor to run too hot (mower dealer comment).

I have had a Stihl 45 for about 5 years....and it has NEVER worked right for me. I can't go more than two minutes without the line breaking or melting with the rest of the line. The automatic feed is a joke. It is strong and powerful. When working, it could probably cut through metal. But nothing is more frustrating than having to feed the line myself. The only reason I have kept it this long is that I am too lazy to go look at new ones....and I am kinda cheap. But a contractor from of mine told me to throw in the towel and go buy an Echo.

Very good machine, had it for about 8 years and still going strong. I hear people complaining about them being hard to start but if you follow correct procedure they start easy.
1. Turn on killswitch
2. Prime machine until bulb is full
3. Switch on the choke
4. Hold throttle at half
5. Pull cord untill machine starts (with mine it is usually 2-3 pulls)
If you follow this they start easy all of the time. I also hear people complaining about them not cutting thick grass, it's a trimmer it's not made to cut thick grass its made to trim light grass. If you want to cut thick grass buy a commercial brushcutter.

And as stated that is the perfect way to start one of these, works every time 100%
I did machine up a new bump knob as the plastic one wore out but other than that it has never failed, works all the time and has handled some extreme weeds at times

I've owned one of these for years now and it's still going strong, the bump feed is working as well as it did on day one.
For those who say they're hard start pay attention.
Turn the kill switch on obviously, then press the primer bulb until you feel that it's full, less pushes if you used it a week ago, more if it's been a month.
Turn the choke on, hold the throttle on full, then give it a couple of pulls until you hear it fire, when you hear it fire don't pull it again..
Turn the choke off, full throttle, then pull and she'll start every time.
Let it idle for 30 seconds or so and you're good to go.