Comments about HUSQVARNA 550 XP®:

This little saw is more wicked than Luke Skywalkers light saber! It is my favorite and most used saw. Do not let a rookie use this wood eating beast as it may be dangerous due to its high speed and wear your chaps since it will cut through limbs so fast you will be surprised. It also looks sexy!

Comments about HUSQVARNA 550 XP®:

Hot starts are fussy. Flimsy small parts. Not a pro saw even though it's advertised as one.

Comments about HUSQVARNA 550 XP®:

Our team were issued several 550XP saws (Brand new and used). After spending considerable time running (and maintaining) these units it's is impossible to conclude that Husqvarna quality has not taken a nosedive. Chain brakes, plastic parts, recoil starters, thin stamped parts, bar nut capture clips, etc the list goes on. These "pro" saws have the durability and feel of a homeowners saw from 15 years ago. While the 550 is a great looking, screaming little machine it seems like so much quality and durability have been sacrificed for high revs and light weight. For an occasional user or homeowner these would be fine. But running them daily they just don't have the constitution or engineering needed to be used hard, daily and put up wet. Husqvarna if you are listening, for the next gen of these saws, put some professional users in a locked room with the engineers and cooperate bean counters and DO NOT let them leave until 2 of the 3 groups will agree to bet their careers on the finished product.

Comments about HUSQVARNA 550 XP®:

This is a very powerful little saw. I,m very impressed with the performance of this saw. I don't have any starting issues hot or cold. This I my first husqvarna after owning 4 pro saws. All my pro saws have been very reliable but this 550xp`s performance is incredible. I would not recommend it for a beginner. This is the most dangerous saw I have run do to it`s rpms and power to weight ratio. This is my go to saw for everything up to 18 inches. Larger than 18 inched I might pick up the 15 pound 6 hp saw. It does not do well noodling. The long strands clog the saws sprocket area and bog the saw out. I do not know the durability of this saw yet. Very impressed overall !!

Comments about HUSQVARNA 550 XP®:

I have had this saw for over three years now and finally decided to post a review. Maybe it can help people who have been dissatisfied with this saw. When I first purchased 550XP I had a lot of issues with the saw flooding and not wanting to start. I went through some very frustrating times including several hours of missed productivity in the woods and regretted spending the money for a "professional" chainsaw. All that being said, after a few years and figuring out the quirks of this saw I now love it.

My first mistake was trying to cut before the saw was completely warmed up. My old chainsaw would warm up and be ready to cut within about 20 seconds. This one probably takes closer to 2 minutes (with the throttle lock on following the cold start procedure in the manual). Once it is completely warmed up, it will purr rather than spit and sputter. That is how I know it is ready to cut. If you blip the throttle to disengage the throttle lock too soon it will bog and often die when giving it gas. If that happens, it will usually flood and be a real pain to get started again. I have also found that shutting the chainsaw off between cuts is not worth the risk of it not wanting to start again. Instead of shutting it off, I will just engage the chain lock and set the saw down and let it idle while I position a log or whatever. The saw, between cutting and idling, will usually run for right around an hour on a tank of gas. I find that is is best to let the saw cool down for a while before refueling and then again letting it warm up completely before cutting again.

This may all sound like a hassle, but it honestly hasn't been an inconvenience (especially when compared to having to wait an hour before you can get your flooded chainsaw to start again). The saw cuts very well and is light and maneuverable. It has all the power I will ever need and it doesn't make my hands go numb from vibration. As long as I am careful it works very well.

Comments about HUSQVARNA 550 XP®:

Running it around 8,000ft in Evergreen/Conifer area. Use only HP Ultra at 45:1 using premium ethenol free gas (via Brad's Conoco) or Trufuel premix.

When this saw runs, there is simply no better saw for trees up to 18" or so. It's a light weight limbing weapon. Great AV. Crazy fast acceleration.

However, my 2012 550xp constantly has hot start problems when running in warm temps. I follow the purge>choke>high idle sequence and no dice. This would be a deal breaker for a home owner saw and is unacceptable for a pro saw.

This is one of many known issue with these saws.

Fortunately my backup/big saw is a 15 year old Dolmar 7900 that always starts and always runs.

I'm going to probably sell this saw and try to find a like new 346xp free of any autotune problems.

Also, listen up Husqvarna. Allow the owners an easy way to upgrade the autotune software for free, at home, like any other software controlled device.

Comments about HUSQVARNA 550 XP®:

I bought this saw to replace an old 032. This had a similar feel. The weight and balance was exactly what I was looking for. I use saws very little. I cut some firewood to each year to heat the house. My first saw was 2014. I used it a little and in 2016 with less than 5 hours of run time, the piston burned up. Husqvarna / Dealer did me well and fixed it under warranty. I asked a lot of questions because I really want the saw to last. The first part of 2017, the saw locked up. I took it to the dealer and found it had a stuck piston. They un-stuck the piston, charged me a service fee, and I was off to cutting again. The saw then burned up on the first day I went to use it. I took it back to the dealer. The saw had 1.5 hr's of run time. Now it is a $350-$400 repair. I am getting a second opinion on whether it is a defect or not. I am at a loss. I have used Husqvarna premix and the best answer I can get from the first dealer is I let it idle to much. I personally question the carb / chip combination and whether it is controlling the fuel mixture correctly. I have never had a saw burn up until this one and this one has been in the shop three times now and I have not even passed the break in period.

Service and delivery comments:

Customer service was not helpful. The best answer I could get was that the saw needs to go to a dealer. I was hoping that I could send it in to Husqvarna for a second opinion, but Husqvarna will only talk to the dealers and get their opinions from the dealer. I found a second dealer and have not heard back yet.

Comments about HUSQVARNA 550 XP®:

Used it to cut less than 5 cords of softwood

Comments about HUSQVARNA 550 XP®:

You should burn you money instead of buying such a problem!! Third piston in it over a month, they last about three thank each. If that is a pro chain saw then pro don't work much!

Comments about HUSQVARNA 550 XP®:

Spent all the first day of ownership trying to get it started for the first time. My neighbor, a mechanic, came over and we determined it was flooding. This is an auto tune saw and I was starting it at 8800 feet. We dried it out and finally got it started. I ran it for several minutes at load, per the manual to set the auto tune, per the manual. The next time I went to start it, same thing, flooding. After fiddling and removing the spark plug several times, I finally got it going (30-45 mins).

Now the good news... Once running, it cut great. I had a rather big tree for my area (20" ponderosa pine). The saw is balanced well and easy to handle. It had all the power I needed to drop the big tree and cut about 15 sections.

I stopped the saw and topped off oil and gas. Then tried to start - nothing. A couple of times it tried but after another 30 minutes of yanking on the cord, I called Husqvarna customer service. What a joke. They only do basic troubleshooting. The girl didn't listen to what I told her and launched into her script. When I told her for the third time it was brand new, she told me I should return it to the dealer.

So now back to the dealer who is 3500 ft lower than me.

I just want something that works. I had high hopes for auto tune but it looks like a bust. Does anybody have suggestions on a good saw for 8500-9500 feet?