A. O. Smith Water Heaters

A. O. Smith Water Heaters Reviews

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Overall Rating2.9 out of 5
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A. O. Smith Water Heaters Reviews

ConsumerAffairs has collected 584 reviews and 1,089 ratings.

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Customer Service

Reviewed Sept. 17, 2023

Bought a water heater 4 days ago at Lowe’s, plumber said it won't work properly. Came to return it, 5 hours later, several calls and they won't give me an RA number. 350.00 unit that has no use, brand new. They won't take it back. No help whatsoever, they give you extra hard time to return a new item. Stay away. Worst experience ever. I’ve never had any issue returning anything anywhere. Lowe’s needs to stop selling this item or only sell it to license specialist.

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Customer ServiceInstallation & Setup

Reviewed Aug. 19, 2023

I bought this A.O. Smith water heater and it was a nightmare. It didn't work at all after installing it. I was going to return it at Lowe's and they dodged me and told me I couldn't unless I had a "Reference Number" from A.O Smith.. So I had to call A.O Smith and they dodged me as well and referred me to a plumbing company that is 345 miles away in Houston TX when I live in McAllen TX. I managed to get a plumber locally eventually and they kept postponing the repair because we had to wait for the parts over and over from AO Smith. This happened 2 times... Finally we just ended up buying a water heater from Rheem in Home Depot and it worked like a charm! In the First time!! While the brand new AO smith water never worked..

In other words the A.O. smith water heater was "garbage in and garbage out". We never used it because it never functioned being a brand new product. I finally managed to get my refund after so many disputes. NOTE: I normally don't post reviews but I'm just doing this out of the best interest for others. I had to create an account in this website to post the review.

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    Customer ServiceInstallation & SetupPriceStaff

    Reviewed July 14, 2023

    WORSE Company with support, first you are treated like you are stupid, then when you show that you actually know what is going on, they find every excuse to not support you or provide technical support, I bought a Hybrid Water Heater, the unit will ALWAYS use one of the elements, regardless of the settings (support basically quoted me the manual, yet, still uses one element even on heat pump setting) then they basically told me there is no way I would know... Like I don't have a home energy meter that monitors circuits... It is 2023, anyone with solar knows we can monitor energy usage.... Then I told them that the "time of use" is useless as the whole point someone will use it is so the heater only works during low rate hours, well....it does not, it will turn in ANYTIME...

    Here, I was told again, to read the manual and that there was an "error" in the marketing, yeah, the main reason to buy this heater... Then I was told to put the heater on vacation mode or just use a timer (like the one I had with my previous heater that cost 1/3 of the price), so this "smart" unit will be render useless with a timer. At this point since they refuse to actually acknowledge the issues I send them an email with a line full of sarcasm....

    "I bet the next CSR will ask me to make sure my Heater is plugged in the wall." There the magic happened, next email ignored my issues and I was told that I am REQUIRED to submit a picture of my heater (that was installed by a professional from Mr Rooter) to ensure it was installed properly and MUST show that it does not have a plug going into the wall... Really!!! If I do not comply, my technical support will not be honored.... Yup, they did not read all my requests, but used a sarcasm line to find a loophole to not admit that the unit does not work as advertised!!! Save your money, buy a Rheem as these people could have had a great unit, but they literally do not care for their customers.

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    Customer ServiceStaff

    Reviewed June 20, 2023

    I bought this water heater, and immediately had issues with the water temperature being scalding hot despite the thermostat being set to the lowest level. I called about the warranty, and was given a plumber to call but they said if I can't get that plumber, then I need to call a local plumber and they will reimburse me. The recommended plumber doesn't operate in my state, so I called a local plumber.

    Long story short, they had to replace several parts and it ended up costing $400. The warranty only reimbursed $100 of this. When I called back to question this, the operator told me "I wish you would have talked to me first. I would have walked you through troubleshooting steps and showed you how to get reimbursed for parts to do it yourself. I'm not sure why the first person you talked to didn't do that." Thought I appreciate the sentiment of the 2nd operator, I am still out $300. I will not be buying from this brand again, and do not recommend it to anyone else.

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    Customer Service

    Reviewed June 7, 2023

    Be advised potential A.O. Smith hot water heater customers, our $1000, A. O. Smith GCRL 40 400 residential hot water heater failed just 14 months outside of the 6 year warranty period. The leaking heater tank trickled 120 gallons of water to our basement floor before it was discovered. Speaking with a ground level customer service, and a manager, each stated A. O. Smith would offer no relief in the matter repeatedly stating "we abide by our warranty period", and, "there's nothing we can do". A. O. Smith is not the premium, reliable durable goods/appliance manufacturer to spend your money on in our experience, because their product failed far prior to a reasonable life expectancy, and they offered zero empathy, consideration, or flexibility toward offering any type of relief or support in our case.

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    Customer ServiceInstallation & Setup

    Reviewed May 11, 2023

    Have a hot water heater installed less than 4 years ago w/ 10 year warranty. When it craps out, not only do you wait on the phone for 40+ minutes, but it's near impossible to find a plumber who will actually service their hybrid water heaters. They offered to ship a part using ground shipping based off a guess that this part was the issue, so we would be without hot water for a week and mentioned that if that doesn't work they can work to replace it. Paid $70 to have it delivered next day... Once installed the unit still does not receive power. Call back, now they say they need a plumber on site to call them and describe a bunch of tests etc. I will never purchase another one of their products if they cannot have the decency to resolve these situations in a reasonable and timely manner! I urge everyone to stay clear, they do not back their products!!!!

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    Reviewed April 25, 2023

    Stay away from this company. Don't not buy. Worst customer service, doesn't provide any help. If I could give zero stars I will. Company will not replace water heater that is less than 3 years old. Hot water keeps shutting off when you taking a shower. They keep saying it's venting issue when everything has been checked by a plumber. I've spent over $1500 trying to verify the issue. Still not resolved. Horrible nightmare.

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    Reviewed Feb. 4, 2023

    Defective unit from day 1. A. O. Smith representative had strong negative attitude. I will be placing this unit in the garbage where it belongs. Over $1,000.00 wasted. I do not want to speak to this company in the future.

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    Reviewed Jan. 19, 2023

    Brand new gas hot water tank with professional install 7-17 & 5 yrs later, the nipple & dip tube corroded & leaking. Call for warranty part and was told part going out next day air. No part yet, reps say part in stock & next day air for Ups. Nobody know when it's shipping or have a tracking number. Been lied to that 2 different supervisors would call me back. Reps are telling me nothing they can do & I have their junk hot water tank with no part!!! Can't even buy replacement parts at the store the tank was purchased thru!!!!

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    Reviewed Dec. 29, 2022

    Purchased (2) new 40 gallon electric hot water heaters for our home. Within a month the water started smelling like rotten eggs. Called the company and they said to turn up the temp to maximum for 24hrs and flush and then turn back down. I have done that twice and the smell still comes back. Then I purchased 2 aluminum sacrificial anodes and when I tried to remove the new ones that came with the heater they were installed so tight that even with a 3 foot pipe on the wrench I cannot break it free. So Frustrated!! Don't buy this brand!!

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    A. O. Smith author review by ConsumerAffairs Research Team

    Sold exclusively by plumbing wholesalers and plumbing contractors, A. O. Smith offers a broad range of residential and commercial water heaters, boilers and storage tanks. They have delivered hot water solutions to consumers for over 70 years.

    • Types: A. O. Smith offers a wide range of residential and commercial water heaters. People looking for a residential water heater can choose from multiple options including gas, electric, tankless, hybrid or solar. The gas units range in capacity from 30-98 gallons while electric units range in capacity from 19.9-80 gallons.

    • Remote monitoring: iCOMM Elite is A. O. Smith’s remote monitoring technology for commercial water heaters. It allows them to interact with, monitor and manage commercial water heaters. This minimizes down time for repairs which lessens the time a business is without hot water.

    • Vertex water heater: The Vertex water heater was designed by A. O. Smith to have a lower manufacturing cost and save consumers a significant amount of money in energy costs. It comes in a 50-gallon power-direct vent model and a 75-gallon power-direct vent model. It has improved thermal efficiency and is easily installed.

    • Product selector tool: For consumers unsure of which water heater to buy, A. O. Smith provides an interactive tool to help consumers pick the right unit. By answering a few simple questions, a list of units with prices is generated.

    • Product support: Consumers can find a product support tool online in case they need product manuals, spec sheets or catalogs. If the product name or model number is unknown, there is a pre-made list of types that will guide consumers to the right model.

    The ConsumerAffairs Research Team believes everyone deserves to make smart decisions. We aim to provide readers with the most up-to-date information available about today's consumer products and services.

    A. O. Smith Water Heaters Company Information

    Company Name:
    A. O. Smith
    Website:
    www.aosmith.com