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KitchenAid Mixers

Rodney of Springfield OR (01/05/09)
KitchenAid Classic Mixer...I have read a lot of reports dealing with oil leaking from the unit and consumers being told by the company to run the machine periodically to keep the gasket from drying out. The KitchenAid stand-up mixers have a lot of grease in the gear case at the front of the unit. This grease heats up with use and residue from the grease has an oily appearance. There is a gasket inside the front of the unit that could leak if the 5 screws loosen up under the chrome ring on the bottom front of the appliance motor head. This is the ring that en-circles the down attachment shaft.

To permanently correct this problem, the top of the unit should be removed and some of the (over abundance) of grease should be taken out. The gasket should be replaced with a new one and a little silicone gasket adhesive applied to both sides of that gasket. On reassembly the housing body screws need to be securely tightened. This should take care of the oily residue leak when the appliance heats up during use. You may go to Sears.com and in the parts page there enter your appliance model number. They have a complete breakdown of the gear case picture so you can familiarize with what it looks like. If you are not mechanically inclined to do this yourself, let your small appliance repair person know about this. There seems to be a lot of machines getting tossed because of this problem that is relatively simple to fix.

Kim of Tempe, AZ January 4, 2009

Kim of Tempe AZ (01/04/09)
From our less than five year KitchenAid mixer, oil has been leaking from the attachment area. The oil is much more than just a few drips of oil. It is now more than I am comfortable cooking with. My husband and I spent what we considered to be a lot of money with the expectation of the mixer working for decades.

Curt of Buffalo, MN January 3, 2009

Curt of Buffalo MN (01/03/09)
Some follow up information on the complaint I filed with Consumer Affairs on December 17,2008 concerning our Kitchen Aid stand mixer. We were informed by Kitchen Aid customer service that we must run the mixer 2-3 minutes each week to prevent oil from leaking. We went to Target and Kohls department stores and looked at thier Kitchen Aid display models. The display models are leaking oil. According to Kitchen Aid these mixers must be defective because they have not been run 2-3 minutes each week.

Ken of Jamestown, NY December 26, 2008

Ken of Jamestown NY (12/26/08)
We bought a KitchenAid stand mixer 3 years ago. It remained in the unopened box until last year, when we moved to a bigger house with more counter space. When we started using it, it lasted all of 6 months before the speed contol started acting up, with the mixer cutting out on some speeds and working on others. Now it won't work on any other setting except high, and even then only sporadically.

When I called KitchenAid, the mis-named 'Customer Satisfaction Center' person I spoke with could only offer the phone number of the nearest service center, which is 3 hours drive distant. After reading online on Consumeraffairs.com of the travails of fellow KitchenAid mixer owners, and experiencing the lousy quality and customer experience first hand, I will never buy another KitchenAid appliance.

Marlene of Potomac, MD December 26, 2008

Marlene of Potomac MD (12/26/08)
My KitchenAid Artisan mixer is leaking oil and sometimes this drips into the food being prepared. I have followed the suggested fix for this problem which is to run the mixer every week when not in use. I did that for about a year and I still have oil leaking.

I paid a premium price (about 300) to get the best mixer that is advertised to last a lifetime. My old Sunbeam mixer lasted for about 30 years and never leaked oil. The KitchenAid was suppose to be the best but it isn't working that way. I will need to purchase another mixer to be sure my food that is mixed does not have oil in it. After reading all the people with similar complaints about KitchenAid, I think someone should hold the maufacturer responsible for this expensive product.

George of Englewood Cliffs, NJ December 24, 2008

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