Homelite Consumer Reviews

NAPLES, FLORIDA -- Homelite Customer Service. I bought a Homelite Power Washer, model #UT80993A, a little over 2 years ago. When I did my research I was told to pay particular attention to the pump and I did. I made sure to lubricate it after every use. This summer I lost pressure and found that the pump had, indeed, gone bad. I called Homelite and the lady I spoke to said I would have to take it to an authorized dealer and that, as long as the issue was a defect and not customer caused, the pump would be under warranty.

I took the washer to the closest authorized dealer and was told by the associate there that it would not be under any warranty. He further stated that Homelite has a reputation for telling customers anything just to get them off the phone and that their actual customer service is terrible. Sure enough, Homelite would not stand behind the pump.

I sent an email to Homelite Customer Service and received an indignant response that Homelite most certainly does stand behind its products: as long as they are under warranty, as long as the customer has a receipt, as long as the issue is a manufacturing defect (to be determined by the service center), as long as the product is taken to an authorized repair center and as long as there was no customer abuse. In other words, no, they would not stand behind my pump.

I checked customer service ratings online and here is what I found: Customer Service Scoreboard gave them (Homelite) 4 negatives and 0 positives. Homelite's own website gave them a rating of 2.9 on a scale of 1 – 5. My3Cents.com gave them a rating of 1 on a scale of 1 – 5. In other words the associate at the service center was correct in telling me their reputation is terrible. I had no choice but to pay for a new pump. I will leave it to the reader to guess if I will ever buy another Homelite product.

I just bought this Homelite chainsaw this week, a 3816C. It is difficult to start. I cannot believe that in this day and age that a gas saw has to be so difficult to start. Most likely, it is going back to the store. Do designers and their companies realize the revenues they miss with such a poor product?

TAUNTON, MASSACHUSETTS -- I bought a Homelite 24v cordless lawn mower last year. In the 1st season I used it, it had a power surge that melted the key to the handle. Seeing it was still under warranty, I returned it & got another one. I should have thought twice before doing that. Now it being the 2nd season, with a new Homelite 24v cordless lawn mower, fresh out of the box, the battery doesn't charge properly.

Seeing that half of my lawn is mowed, I need to go get another lawn mower & NOT a Homelite cordless! It is apparently obvious, that this mower has too many issues and/or bugs that the company needs to work out. It shouldn't be on the market.

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA -- I bought a Homelite Weed Trimmer and after few uses noticed the engine would not start. Called customer service and voila it can only be repaired by dealer. Did some study and found out it needs carburetor adjustment and when tried to adjust carburetor, noticed they had special screws that needed special tool from Homelite. This company is a rip off. Carburetor adjustment by dealer only, special weird screws that can only be tightened by Homelite and dealer, parts only available through Homelite, in the meantime I can't trim and care for my lawn. What a miserable company, product rip off. Extremely dissatisfied.

I purchased a Homelite portable gas generator 6.5 years ago, and have used it approximately 8 hours over that time frame. The carburetor literally fell apart during its most recent use. My local repair shop could not do anything because parts are no longer available for this Chinese mfr'd engine. After 7 phone calls to Homelite, being disconnected or put on hold the first 5 times, I was finally able to speak with a manager who told me the same thing - no parts. Homelite is unwilling to do anything whatsoever - no buyback, no exchange - nothing.

I can purchase parts for just about any piece of machinery or equipment far older than this generator and keep the products in working order for very long periods of time. The fact that this Homelite equipment failed after such little use (it still looks brand new!) and yet repair/replacement parts are no longer mfd. is ludicrous. The lack of ANY compensatory help from Homelite is shameful in this age of customer service.

I would not purchase anything manufactured by Homelite or their other companies for fear of the same thing happening again. A $650 dollar piece of equipment that is of no use whatsoever after such little time and use should make everyone question the quality of Homelite products.

Of all the gasoline lawn mowers and trimmers I have used down through the years, this handheld "weed wacker" is the most difficult to start of all of them and I have not been able to start it this season at all. It is stored indoors and fuel is replaced each year. Yet even with starting fluid the thing will not start. The instructions say to pull the cord 8 times on full choke, then 6 times at half choke BUT NO MORE. It does not say what to do after this if it does not start.

Also, at times it is incredibly difficult to pull the start cord. It feels as though pressure or resistance of some sort builds up in the cylinders as you pull the start cord a few times. Then its gone in the next few pulls and builds up again as you continue to pull the cord.

ANDERSON, SOUTH CAROLINA -- First, I purchased a leaf blower only a couple of years ago. It has always been hard to start and now will not run for more than 30 seconds. When checking on the warranty and service, I find it is probably cheaper to throw it away and purchase another one. Today, I bought a chain saw. I know something about them and knew I needed bar oil. No where on the box indicated that it wasn't already some in the box. Now, I need to go back to the store and purchase some. The Homelite web site does not give a customer a place to lodge a complaint. Therefore, I am using this web site and the BBB for Anderson, South Carolina to file this complaint.

I own three Homelite tools. I have had a Homelite chainsaw for over 15 years and it still works well. I have a Homelite string trimmer (less than a year old) that is very hard to start. If you are lucky enough to get it started, you have to run it on Half Choke. I spent 65 dollars on it but still have the problem. It won't start at all now. I also own a Homelite leaf blower and the starting problems are the same as the trimmer. I have had the blower since July. Needless to say I probably won't purchase any more Homelite tools.

UNKNOWN HOME DEPOT, CALIFORNIA -- We bought this chainsaw from Home Depot in May of 2011. It would not cut anything the second season and so I took it in to a saw repair shop where they told me the oil pump was done AFTER ONE SEASON??? We will never buy any Homelite product again. They are garbage.

SHINGLE SPRINGS, CALIFORNIA -- I bought a vac attack blower from Home Depot. It did not start properly. It took about 15 minutes to get it started. I took it back to Home Depot and they exchanged it for another one. This one is just as bad. Today I spent at least 30 minutes trying to start this blower, but no luck. I threw it in the trash.