Based on the rugged reliability of my Stihl 180 chainsaw and the Stihl whipper-snipper I too bought this larger chainsaw. It hardly runs for than 10 minutes, stalls and is hard/impossible to start. The Stihl dealers give me the run around and you can see that they know its crap. Mates with smaller $300.00 Bunning's saws cuts 10 x as much without fail. Never again.

I bought in early 2017 ran for 3_4 months with only light work started overheating took back to Mansfield sthil dealer not covered under warranty as suspected fuel mix [what crap] had saw cylinder and piston replaced at my cost $800 fix. Used for 2maybe 3 loads of wood then seized
Took back to dealer same thing suspected wrong fuel mix no warranty.. Never ever buy a sthil product again lost me...

Very hard to start now won't start only used twice can't believe it payed $1200 for this crap will never recommend or buy stihl products again I've also got an old stihl 510 about 40 years old never had a problem prefer to use that stihl don't make them like they use to may as well get the Chinese to make them

Did the job for the first few hours then started overheating. took back to dealer and was told the recommended 25:1 was not good for this model had to run it as rich as possible. Fell apart seals disintegrated while cutting dust entered and then ceased after 30 hours, was a very expensive lesson in what not to buy.

Great saw when going but doesn't go often enough. Dealer and spare parts support is absolutely disgraceful. Once they sell you the saw and you return with a problem they don't want to know you. Parts are never available, repair times cant be quoted, they don't know because they don't know if they can get parts or not. Will never buy another Stihl Chainsaw again and probably will never buy a Stihl product ever.

spat the plug clean out of the head under full noise, not overly used, mainly for felling or sectioning larger rounds, sent back under warranty which was not honored

for a 14 month old machine that cost $2000 I would have expected it to last a hell of a lot longer

I have owned husy's,jonsonreds,and several other top dollar saws this saw is amazing my grandfather bought it from a friend and its quite old but i love it.i cut wood burls and they are really hard.This stihl runs through it. I use air compressor to blow it out after and its perfect.for these people that wrote bad reveiws buy a poulan and a box of kleenex. Cause you obviously do not know what your doing. If the saw dis run you would probably hurt yourselfs.lol amazing saw wouldnt trade it for anything else.

Recently upgraded from a ms170 (owned for 5 years without an issue) to a ms 311. So far a fantasic saw, had it out on a few occasions, it starts easy even without using the decomp button, reliable and has plenty of power. Would recommend as a good all rounder.

It is very easy to start once you figure it out,pops off every time like clock work and once warm....one pull every time. It has very good power and I'm running a 20" bar. Love It! quite baffeled with some of the negative responses???? ripped into some old very hard red oak last year, outdid my buddies comparable Husky. Again couldn't be happier. I run none oxy 91 and Steels top of line oil, never even changed plug yet.

Not a bad saw until you roll a 1000lb log over it. Sounds like all the start issues you guys complain about is failure of your local dealer jetting the carburetor for right altitude. I live at 9k feet saw runs great up to 11k so far. But have to say after I destroy saw has never ran the same and getting replacement parts takes ions for Stihl dealers. Has bean a year and still not right from my accident. Parts should not take 3 or more months to get to a authorized dealer

i have a311 as well runs like a dream, would not be without it. works all day long. like l said, if you look after them, they do the jod really well, for a average saw i reckon they are the best in they range bye a stilh any dayRon

My problem with this and all the other Stihl saws, trimmers, and blowers I have is they won't give me a little bit of a break. Every other brand I've owned gave me a break every 30 minutes or so... Usually the break last an hour or more, but no such luck with these. Another problem I've had is replacing fuel caps because of the alcohol blended gases nowadays. I also have one that has been giving me problems and its only 15 years old, I had to spend all kinds of money to buy a plug, filter, and fuel lines.

I am staggered at some of the negative comments here. I wonder how much is operator error?? The 311 is a fantastic mid-range chainsaw. If you learn to operate it properly, use a good quality 2-stroke oil, and do a little basic maintenance on it to keep it (and the air filter) clean, it will give you years of powerful trouble-free operation. I've had mine for over 5 years and have never had it back at a dealer. I have never had a problem starting it - just follow the same basic procedure every time. I have other Stihl products and I would rate them all as good.