I got my recall notice yesterday. I have always had trouble with the gas cap on my FS90R trimmer. Many times it looks and feels like you have it on tight but then it will pop back off. I've got in the habit of always double-checking. Usually it takes several tries before I get it on right - but it's hard to tell when you have it on right and when it's not - you have to test it to be sure. It would be very easy for someone to think they had the gas cap secure only to have it pop off and spill gasoline while operating it. I thought the ethanol explanation was interesting. Mine has done this from the very beginning.
Stihl recall on some products for gas caps
- Thread starter Treemonkey1000
- Start date
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avc8130
Platinum Member
There has ALWAYS been something wrong with some of the gas caps design. From day 1 my FS90R was IMPOSSIBLE to deal with. It doesn't come out after the cap is flipped up and it certainly took 5-6 tries to get it to seal right. My MS361 is the complete opposite. I LOVE the flippy caps on it. They work perfect and are much quicker and easier than carrying around the scrench all the time. I hope the recall makes my FS90R like my MS361!
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bigtiller
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FS90R trimmers tank cap:
Line up the dimple on the cap with the dimple on the tank, place the cap on, twist it to the right locking it down.
I got my new cap early last week. I never had a problem with my cap leaking but I have never ran ethanol gas in it.
Line up the dimple on the cap with the dimple on the tank, place the cap on, twist it to the right locking it down.
I got my new cap early last week. I never had a problem with my cap leaking but I have never ran ethanol gas in it.
Just to make sure I wasn't nuts (wouldn't be the first time), I went out this morning to confirm. Following the exact procedure above - line up the dimples, turn right about a quarter turn (it won't go any further), it is seated, feels right - but when you push the flap down to lock in place it pushes the cap back up about a quarter inch and when you check, it is loose. If you are in a hurry and not paying attention, you might think you got it on and start using it. I did this over and over this morning with the same result. This is typical - it takes multiple tries before I can get it to lock down. As far as I know, I've never run ethanol in it - but I can't say I've paid that close attention to it. The station closest to us where I normally fill up the gas cans does not have ethanol in their gas but it is possible I filled up the tank somewhere else that did some time. Evidently, some caps had this problem and some didn't.
At any rate, I'm planning to go and get my replacement cap today - my SN is within the recall range. It'll be nice to not have to hassle with this anymore. It always kind of made me feel like an idiot - like, "can't you even figure out how to put a gas cap on"
bigtiller
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I didn't know about the dimples until this spring when I bought a new chain saw. The dealer showed me. And I have been using Stihl products for a very long time.
Heavy Metal Doctor
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Yeah, I have a Stihl chainsaw and a string trimmer - they are different caps....My saw is older so maybe they switched the design before using the twist / flip down type on saws....
The funny part is, I noticed the exact problem they talk about in the racall notice, though I didn't know that was the case untill I read the notice when i got it last week and thought about how much trouble I had opening / closing the cap on my trimmer recently.
budlite
Silver Member
I had noticed the cap coming off my pole pruner so when I got the recall I took it down. Just remembered I also have a blower that I suspect is covered by the recall as well. Looks like a second trip is necessary, maybe they will just give me a new gas cap?
mxg342
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That's what they did for my string trimmer. I had it with me but they just gave me a cap. They asked if they could install it and I declined. I figured I'll run the old one for a while then change it out.
With my luck, I'll lose the new cap before I change it out.
amigauser
Veteran Member
Yup, I just took the two old caps (one from my backpack and one from my Kombi) and they just swapped them out. I removed and reinstalled them on both units myself as it is very simple. You do not need to bring the whole unit but they do need the serial numbers. In my case I purchased both items from the local dealer so they had the serial number info on file. I also wondered about my chainsaws as the flip caps are pretty similar.