Kohler High-Pressure Toilets

Consumer Complaints & Reviews

Bill of Fountain Hills, AZ on July 25, 2005

I purchased from the Lowe's Scottsdale, Arizona, store a top-of-the-line Kohler bathroom toilet, model name Rialto One Piece, model number K-3386. This unit was purchased and installed in December, 2004. For the past month, the toilet has malfunctioned in that the fill mechanism malfunctions and continually runs over the top of the maximum pipe. Many, many adjustments to the fill mechanism have been unsuccessful in getting the water to stop filling when the tank gets to the proper fill level.

Lowe's contacted your factory representatives and received instructions to check for sediment blockage. The blockage suggestion was not occurring, so the factory was contacted. Two representatives of your service department have indicated no replacement part is available and a replacement part will need to be manufactured. They are informing me as many as 28 days may be required to get the replacement part. I believe this kind of service, if in fact this is all correct, is totally unacceptable. Rest assured I won't need a reminder to steer clear of Kohler products, and Lowe's will also be under considerable stress for my future business.

Julian of Pittsburgh, PA on May 20, 2005

I have a Kohler Wellsworth elongated toilet which is 4-5 years old. After about 3 years I had occasional clogs which cleared with little plunger work. Recently it became more frequent and I have had the plumber here to release the clog twice. Each time he siad there is nothing wrong with the setup. He even took the toilet off its moorings to check the drain and the trap. The problem is the construction of the toilet.

He said he knows of at least 3 other customers with the same problem. I am going to have to purchase a new toilet. Kohler should accept much of the financial responsibility.

Myra of Oceanside, CA on Jan. 27, 2005

My Kohler toilet is not flushing well and I just read the complaints regarding the pressure-tank toilets like mine and I am worried mine will explode.

Gordon of Camden, ME on Aug. 17, 2004

Power flush toilet is 4 yrs. old and requires 3-8 flushes to clear bowl! Inside the tank, which houses the power tank, I see no adjustments to increase volume of water or do anything? I read here the serious problems others have experienced and concerned this malfunction may become more serious e.g. "exploding" or flooding the bathroom.

Joseph of Lynnfield, MA on June 22, 2004

I have a 811n Pressureclean Flushometer Tank System toilet. I have owned it for about three years. It has lost its pressure and is not working. I called Kohler and they informed me that the discontinued that model and do not make repair parts for it. I spent over $800 for this system. I also have read all of the horror complaints about the same system on the internet. I was told by Kohler that for $125 they would ship me a new tank that I could install on the existing bowl.

Although I felt that the should send that along for free and recall all of the systems that were sold I agreed to the deal. They told me it would be shipped in two weeks. It is now over two months and I have not received it. I have made several calls to many of their customer service reps (see contact list). They all have passed the buck and tell me that the supplier from Texas does not respond to their email requests.

Dr. of Verona, NJ on Jan. 8, 2004

We were away on vacacation and I received a call from the manager of our building . He stated that our toilet had overflowe and that there was water damage to our apartment as well as two adjacent units. of our high-rise condominium.They turned off the water to the toilet and cleaned up our apt.I am not sure of the total extent of damages to the other apartments but we sustained damage to carpeting and clothing in an adjacent closet

The carpet has to be replaced. The clothing had to be cleaned and the entire toilet replaced. The culprit is this toilet ,the Kohler 81100 Pressure Clean Tank system. When I checked the internet ,I was shocked to learn that this unit installed about 1994 has a long history of explosive leaks. Our home insurance will not reimburse us for much of the loss sustained in our apartment.

Martin of Mercer Island, WA on Nov. 2, 2003

Kohler Model 81100 Pressure Clean Flushometer tank toilet stopped flushing. Fortunately for me, I checked consumeraffairs.com before attempting home repairs and read about the exploding toilets. I believe you saved me from potential injury and at the very least, a helluva mess.

I'll make sure the dealer is fully aware of the problem with Kohler not standing behind their products and, for sure, will not buy another Kohler product.

Brenda of Winchester, VA on Aug. 18, 2003

We came home from vacation a few days ago to find our Kohler 81100 Pressure Flush toilet literally spraying water out the back. The hardwood floor of the bathroom as well as the bedroom and family room in the basement have been destroyed as well as a treadmill, leather chair, etc. It is obvious to us now, after reading complaints on this website as well as others, that Kohler was well aware of the possibility of these toilets exploding.

They are willing to give us a replacement toilet (only one specific model -- that they are probably trying to get rid of), which is available at the local Home Depot. BUT, we can't get it from there. We can only get it from one place within 100 miles, and they can't get one from Kohler for 5 weeks. We feel that considering the thousands of dollars of damage caused by Kohler's failure to make us aware of a known problem, the least they can do is make arrangements for a replacement sooner than 5 weeks.

Our hardwood floors in three rooms were destroyed. A treadmill was destoryed. The water leaking through the wall shorted out the intercom system and it no longer works. There is unknown damage to the ductwork, which was filled with water. We are going to be forced to make a substantial claim against our homeowner's insurance and no doubt have our premiums raised.

Lewis of Lido Beach, NY on Aug. 26, 2002

We purchased 2 Kohler K-3404 Pressure Flush Toilets when we redid 2 of our bathrooms. We installed toilets, sinks, showers faucets, tile drains, etc. -- all Kohler. That was in the Fall of 1993. Last week first one, than the second started making loud noises, eventually exploding and flooding the bathrooms with water. Fortunately we were home and able to turn the water off.
A call to a plumber than 5-6 plumbing supply stores led us to the Kohler distributor and then Kohler itself. We were told that the model toilets we had were discontinued, the company that made the parts was out of business and repair parts were not available. We were even told by Kohler service rep that these models were discontinued 10 years ago, before they were even ordered from them, oh well!). Eventually we were told that a 50 percent discount would be given off the purchase price of a new one although not the super flush, more expensive model. We have sent letters, e-mail, and phoned. A toilet particularly the "top of the line model" should not have to be replaced rather than repaired.
We are faced with the expense of $1520.06 to replace both these toilets. Not counting plumber fees. We are forced to use the Kohler line and super flush models due to the complete bathroom design we planned around Kohler. We have heard "rumors" of danger from both Kohler dealers and plumbing supply houses of possible injury if a pressure explosion took place. We are afraid that if this were to happen when someone was standing next to it when it exploded serious injury could result. We were lucky we were able to turn off the water before anything more than a water damaged vanity occurred.
A follow-up from Lewis:

This is a follow-up to a comment I placed about 2 weeks ago. Yesterday one of my Kohler High Pressure Toilets EXPLODED, sending shards of Porcelain and four chunks(5x7") of the tank into the wall and floor. The toilet moved about 1/2" over from where it was, the holddown bolts loosened and moved. The bathroom flooded and damaged the floor and sink cabinet.

Thomas of Berkeley, CA on Aug. 8, 2002

We own a Kholer 81100 pressure toilet. A couple of weeks ago it stopped having any pressure. I contacted the company and was told that they are no longer supporting this product and there was nothing to be done other than to replace it. I find it difficult to believe that they expect that I would ever by another Kohler product again. I expected to by replacement parts, not another toilet. I purchased this toilet to save money on my water bill and to help the environment not to replace it completely at my cost in less than three years.

Tom of New York, NY on Nov. 23, 2001

Our Kohler 81100 Pressure Clean Flushometer toilet recently developed a weak, almost non-existent flush. Contacting Kohler I am told that this the company stopped providing parts to this toilet so I my only recourse is to buy a new toilet. Considering that a replacement toilet is more than $800 I find this a shocking position for the company to take.

Normal toilets require but a few dollars of annual maintenance to keep them going for thirty years. How is that a company can market a product for double or triple the average original cost of similar products and then expect its customers to replace the ENTIRE product only a few years later when it needs routine maintenance? I have four other identical toilets operating in my house and do not look forward to what will happen when they too develop problems. If Kohler has put out a defective product that is no longer supported in the market with parts, it should be required to bear the consequences -- not the customer.