A. O. Smith Water Heaters Reviews

This review is for customer support. We have a A.O. Smith water heater and the control company said they handle all customer service needs. Called on a weekend and they are only open standard hours midweek. Cold shower weekends... yay!!!

I purchased an AO Smith 40 gallon water heater at Lowe's. I bought it because it was sitting at Lowe's and I figured it was good quality. I smelled a gas leak behind the control module after 5 months. So we talked to AO Smith and they refused to honor a trade in. Apparently, there is a residential model and a mobile home model. According to the model numbers. They are pretty much identical side by side. So we accidentally put in a MH model in a residence. So my anger was at Lowe's for not pointing that out. But what can you really expect from store clerks? Some really know their stuff and some just don't care. So it wasn't entirely their fault.

HORRIBLE SERVICE FROM AO SMITH!! They DO NOT BACK UP THEIR OWN PRODUCTS!!! I purchased my AO Smith heater at Lowe's. The pressure valve was damaged and leaked as soon as water was in the tank. The threads were destroyed, and the valve had clearly already been repaired. AO Smith made me call my own plumber to try and fix it. Now I have to pay the labor to remove their defective heater and to reinstall, out of pocket. They have no appeals process, nor do they have their own technicians to service/repair their own products.. DONT DO IT!! It's costing me $400 out of pocket for their defect. I will NOT EVER buy another AO Smith product!!

I got my water heater when we built our house six years ago. The gas sensor went out yesterday and even though the 6 year warranty should still be good they will not cover the part. It's a $1,000 part that should last much longer than six years. Anyways.... Awful company that will never see any business from me again (and will see my review posted everywhere I can put one). I'm currently buying a new water heater from someone else.

I Purchased a new AO Smith electric water heater from Lowe's and installed it in one of my apartments. It seemed to not be heating but I left it overnight and asked my tenants to let me know if it got hot. It did not heat up! I purchased another new AO Smith water heater to replace the defective one and it worked fine. I was not able to return it to Lowe's because AO Smith customer service said it was believed to be in "fixable condition". I had already purchased and installed the new one. The Lowe's GM was very gracious and took care of the problem. I'm very disappointed in AO Smith, not only because of their poor customer service and return policy, but also the fact that it seems that this poor quality of product seems to be a growing problem for this once high quality company. Sad day for AO Smith as they will be losing a lot of business over these issues.

Bought new gas water heater and paid to have it installed by local handyman. It leaked where rod goes onto tank. Removed and Teflon taped connection and it fixed leak. Need 1 1/17 inch ratchet to remove. Gave no clue how this came out - if factory not taped. Woke up next morning to a puddle under heater. Called handyman back in. Heater was defective! Tech support verified and had us return defective to Lowe's and get new one. Handyman installed again (cost me again!) Tech support said they could reimburse for removal and reinstallation labor cost up to $150. Not sure how they came to that cost as reinstalling, removal, return, get new one and have it installed again costs a lot more than that!

We bought an AOSmith 40-gallon water heater and have an experienced electrician installed it. We waited for 3 days without any hot water. We concluded that the unit was a manufactured defect and decided to get another AOSmith to try. We had the same electrician to install the unit and we got hot water after 15 minutes. We returned the defective unit to Lowe's but were unable to get MRA. AOSmith representative required us to reinstall the defective unit so they can troubleshoot. We cannot wait for AOSmith to fix their quality issue while we cannot get hot water in the early Spring. We are very unhappy with your policy. You can take our money by refusing to allow for return the product this time but you will earn another purchase from us. Lowe's should offer more water heater selection and stand by the product that you sell or risk to lose many, many customers.

Had an A. O. Smith water tank that lasted 5 years. Luckily they replaced their defective product (although I paid over $900 in service fees, etc) because the warranty was 6 years. However my “new” water tank also failed less than 2 years later. This one was not covered because the “original warranty” was 6 years. How does that make sense!?! Did they give me a used one or something? I thought we had a new one installed and it would carry a 6 years warranty but I guess you only get 6 years your whole life with this company.

Water heater was installed at the cost of $350. The Heater was also about the same price. The heating element burned out in less than 3 months. The heater was defective out of the box and A.O. Smith knows about the defect. After running down bills and install paperwork A.O. Smith asked for these documents to be faxed. Two days later A.O. Smith called to say no warranty. They did not want to inspect the unit nor would they repair the same. I'm sorry I did not see the reviews before I purchased this unit. I have talked to Lowe's and they have a no return for A.O. Smith products. PLEASE BEWARE.

AO SMITH HAS THE WORST CUSTOMER SERVICE AND COMPLETELY WORTHLESS PRODUCT WARRANTY. Do not purchase and have their products installed in your home. My AO Smith water heater purchased was still under warranty when the pilot burner and gas valve assembly stopped working and needed to be replaced. After I called and paid a plumber to diagnose the issue, it took 6+ hours of phone calls with the worst customer service I've ever experienced with AO Smith. Their terrible reviews covering the internet from thousands of other disappointed customers share the same experience I did.

Water heater installed 10/14 is still under warranty. Gas valve has failed and needs to be replaced. My plumber spent 1.5 hours on phone to reach someone to go through troubleshooting process. Someone was supposed to call yesterday so that I could pay for overnight shipping. Unfortunately plumber didn't tell me to call. No one called until the next day. I have now waited over an hour to talk to someone in customer service. Today is my third day without hot water and who knows how long it will take to ship the part from Tennessee to California? Lousy customer service. Hire more people to answer phones.

I will never purchase another AO Smith water heater. I had an AO Smith water heater in my home prior to purchasing the home. The water heater was brand new when I purchased the home. The water heater lasted 5 years. It sprung a leak and then caught fire in the middle of the night. Luckily, the fire was localized and the flames did not spread.

I replaced a water heater in 2014 with an A. O. Smith water heater. Less than a year later the water heater burst from the bottom. Since the water heater was still under warranty it was replaced with another A. O. Smith, although it took almost three days to get the company contracted by A. O. Smith to acquire a new water heater. In 2016, the water heater began to leak from a crack at the top of the water heater. Since it was still under warranty, it again took several days to replace the water heater. The company's customer service representatives were helpful, but it seems that the company's policies do not provide the customers for assistance and timely replacements.

I purchased 7 AO SMITH water heaters for my two flats, as only those could fit over false ceiling of the flats' bathrooms. All geysers develop a problem of cathode which results in heated water with very bad foul smell, harmful to your skin. I got the cathode replaced by paying service charges as well as Rs 1200/- and was told now onwards there should be no problem. Within not even six months, the same problem comes up. Hence with their heaters you have to keep replacing their cathode very frequently and budget for min Rs 2500/- annual expense for it.

I purchased a AO Smith hot water heater on 2/23/19. After installation and powering the unit on I get an error code an hour later indicating I have a bad lower heating element. I called technical support but of course there’s no one available till Monday. In the meantime I have their useless product taking up space in my house NOT providing hot water.

I am very disappointed with this product and their customer service. It is being a nightmare since I change my old water heater to A. O. Smith... It doesn’t work and I have called customer service like 5 times and I can’t get anything done. I feel I lost my money. They don’t want to be responsible for anything. I will never buy a product from this company.

Little known secret is A. O. Smith knows who you are if you bought one of their Low NOx water heaters that were recalled back in November 2018. Call and give them the serial number and they confirm your name from their computer systems. So that begs the question, if they knew 600,000+ water heaters were extreme fire hazards and needed to be recalled, why did they not CONTACT THE OWNERS of these units to initiate the repair process? I only found out a few days ago when my unit started roaring like a bonfire spewing flames from the front of the unit.

While pressure testing the anode rod was leaking so it was pulled out to seal the threads and the rod itself was covered in grease. It was cleaned, installed and pressure tested. When the pressure was released through a faucet that same grease spewed out. Tank was brought up to temperature and the grease particles were still present along with an oil film on the water surface. Returned to Lowe's and pulled three additional anode rods and all three had the same issue with grease. Contacted technical support, said the grease was coming from the city water supply. Don't think so.

Purchased water heater 2 months ago for rent house. Tenant complained they didn't have any hot water. Electrical outlet was burned. Changed out the outlet and the water heater cord. Still not work. Called technical help. We wanted to take it back to the store. But they told us not to take it back. Told to change out top heater breaker. Worked for maybe 1 day. Called back. Was told to change the heating element. Worked 1 day. Called back. Was told to change out bottom heating element. Worked about 1 day. We were told they would not replace the water heater - just replace the parts. Lowe's said we need a return number from company in order to return the heater. Hope the company will give us that number. Will tell everyone not to buy this brand A.O.Smith???

I purchased a AO Smith tankless water heater at Lowe's - box said easy installation, Lowe's personnel said you'll have no trouble installing. Brought it home - had to go back and purchase $300 of supplies just to install. Got electrician to install - heater won't come on. Called their technical support next day at 4:00. At 4:45 finally got to correct department. They told me to remove the cover and I asked "how?" They couldn't tell me because they do NOT have a manual for the product they manufactured, however the technician assured me she had been trained on this water heater. Started ABCs of trouble-shooting, hung up on me after a (got my phone number up front to call me back if we got disconnected - still waiting).

I have purchased AO Smith electric water heater of 15l capacity. There is written warranty of 4 years and on a complaint of error no. E4, they are asking for visit charge and pcb replacement cost of 1200. My heater is under their warranty too. They are openly cheating customers and well renowned stores like Croma is supporting these loot. Don't go for this brand ever.

Purchased an AO Smith water heater 1 year ago when building a house. 1 week ago it went out and displayed an error code. Called the company. They agreed to overnight parts to fix it. The catch a technician was available for 4 days. Parts did not arrived as promised but showed up at our door 1 hour before the technician arrived. Technician begins repair only to find out not all parts needed were not sent. So on the day the technician calls and has them overnight the part needed again. Part arrives next day but technician can't come for 3 more days to fix unit.

I am extremely dissatisfied with my ongoing, unresolved hot water tank issue. I purchased a 50-Gal. Electric Hot Water Tank from Lowe's and I had a licensed plumber install it that same day. 24 hours later, the thermostat went out, the wires burned, and it tripped the breaker. The technicians over the phone keep giving me the 'run-around' trying to put cause and blame on the installation. The issue is not the installation, but on a defective unit. I had a licensed plumber install per the manufacturer's instruction book. He advised me to contact the Technical Support Call Center as it wasn't the install, but the unit itself and it's under warranty. The Call Center will not do anything to speed up this process until a technician from their contracted company comes out to inspect it. It's going to take one week for them to come out! The call center said I can use a local vendor if I want to speed up the process, but they will only cover plumbers up to $100.

Do not use this product. They do not stand behind warranty and they install faulty products. We had an A. O. Smith Water Heater installed less than 2 years ago and it has completely rusted out. We also kept up on annual maintenance! Total scam!!!

Installed an A.O. Smith water heater about a year ago for a customer. The unit failed at the dielectric fitting. After speaking to their customer service they issued a full exchange at Lowe's. I was expecting a hassle at Lowe's and it was painless. Great customer service all the way around. Thanks.

BUYER BEWARE. My plumber bought this from Lowe's in 7/17 and after troubleshooting by changing elements it worked for 6 months. Same issue of not enough hot water so he changed them again and now the same issue! Their pop product is horrible but their customer service is worse! Should have returned it in the 1st place!

Almost immediately after my 50 gallon A. O. Smith hot water heater was installed by a local plumbing contractor, it started making a high pitched whine that could be heard through my house. The plumbing contractor replaced the burner assembly which did not resolve the problem and indicated that I would have to contact A. O. Smith directly for warranty service. To the company's credit they provided work order numbers for five service calls for an outside contractor and after replacing just about every part except the tank were not able to fix the problem. After numerous phone calls to the manufacturer they finally agreed to replace the unit but are insisting that they will not pay for the labor because the heater is over a year old. I have explained that the problem (documented) was reported well within the first year and they should not be able to "run out the clock" if they cannot fix the problem within the first year.

Purchased this water heater in September 2014. I had to replace the pilot assembly three years later - almost $200. Today - December 17, 2018 - the burner assembly burst. A.O. Smith could not get someone out to fix my water heater for over a week. Every service provider I spoke with talked about the problems and issues A.O. Smith is having with their water heaters, a recall, that they're overwhelmed. I have talked with their recall department 7x this evening. Long story short: they can't do anything. They can't get a part to me for over a day; their only service provider in my area doesn't know when he can schedule a visit - he says for at least 6-7 days. Other service providers will charge me an out-of-area charge of approximately $400. DO NOT BUY A.O. SMITH WATER HEATERS - they are having recall issues, technical issues.

The hot water heater was installed in 2017 so it is still under warranty. The tech support requires multiple efforts (with different technicians in a call center) on customer's end to trouble shoot - pictures, re-do vent, sent parts 2 times and still no hot water or resolution. I would never buy their product again and could not recommend this company's products to anyone. When a customer's quality of life is impacted by a product's failure, replacement should be immediate. This company has failed to honor a warranty. I cannot recommend this company or their products at all.

Our 22 year old Reliance failed (all over the floor) a few days before Thanksgiving, and we purchased the A.O. Smith replacement water heater that was manufactured 8/2018. Installation was in a small closet in a tight hallway, but everything seemed fine. The water heated up fast, but every time we ran the hot water the house vibrated like a huge UFO had landed and was idling... The installer came back four times over the week, and I spent an extra $285 to have the vent pipe replaced to no avail, when the senior installer who came out that day realized that it was the model of A.O. Smith that had issues with the burner assembly brackets.

Our brand new water heater moans every time it comes on. They sent out a plumber that adjusted this and tweaked that, but it did nothing. I found the exact issue on YouTube and told them I would need a new burner. That was the last I've heard from them. Filed a BBB complaint and they simply ignored it. As far as I can tell, the same factory puts out Whirlpool water heaters, as well. Just put a different badge on it. I will never touch one of these products again.

We had a brand new A. O. Smith 80 gallon water heater (ECT 80 120) professionally installed in September 2014. Just before Thanksgiving 2018 it started leaking. The water looked rusty, so we inferred the bottom of the tank had begun to rust. Our plumber surmised the tank was defective from the start. We contacted A. O. Smith and were told "to feel free to replace the water heater with any other brand", since they no longer make 80 gallon tanks, and "to keep the receipts and the rating sticker on the old tank". No word on how the 6-year warranty on the water heater was going to be honored.

The hybrid heat pump operating mode in my new water heater can only be switched to the all-electric operating mode for a period of 48 hours max. There is no 'winter' operating option that will let you operate in all electric mode for an indefinite period of time. The problem is, in the hybrid mode, this model water heater draws heat out of my attached garage during the winter and makes my garage 10 to 15 degrees colder than its typical wintertime indoor air temperature of 45 degrees.

I bought this 40 gal. electric heater on Black Friday at Lowe's. It has never worked. Lowe's refuses to exchange it without a return authorization. I am still dealing with A. O. Smith and they continue to have me test something else. I am ready to stop any business with Lowe's and A. O. Smith. No way to treat a customer.

Installed a brand new A. O. Smith Water Heater 2 weeks ago, now its burner keeps going out. I was told by A. O. Smith I need to build a separate venting for its water heater. A. O. Smith can't share the venting pipe with my furnace, which goes through Chimney, but my previous water heater has been using the same venting pipe for the last 15 years without any issue. However, A. O. Smith is firm that my venting pipe is the problem. It will be a very costly project to build a separate venting for this water heater. So anyone who consider buying A. O. Smith, be prepared to build a new venting system for A. O. Smith.

I bought 2 within 2 years. Both were red tagged as dangerous by gas man for faulty gas valves. Seems if this is a continuing error on multiple tanks maybe there's an error in how it's built. Warranty only covers part. I bought my heater. After it was installed I saw it was already 2 years old.

I purchased a Vertex high efficiency water heater almost 10 years ago. At the time, I had two conventional water heaters, one for a floor heat system and a second for domestic how water. The Vertex replaced BOTH and has done a fantastic job. We have never ran out of hot water despite multiple showers going with washer, dishwasher, etc and it is 96% efficient! Has more than paid for itself. Wish this product was promoted more by plumbing companies!! I heard about it from a friend.

Eight and a half years after purchase and light use, water heater leaked. This is a scam, fraudulent company. They should be arrested and their entire families should be stripped of all of their possessions and sentenced to hard labor for the rest of their miserable lives. You scum bags! Burn in hell.

I purchased a water heater 6 weeks ago from A O Smith. It has never worked since day one. They had me change out thermostats, and heating elements. It still never worked. They are now saying that it has been too long since we purchased it, and they will not do anything for us. I will never buy their water heater again.

We repiped our home in January, 2017. Since our water heater was more than 18 years old, (we never had an issue with it), the company suggested that a new water heater be installed at the same time. The water heater that was sold to us was an A.O. Smith 50 gallon gas water heater. The model #GUC-50 400. The BTU'S: 40,000. The cost was $850. On the evening of October 23, 2018, we did not have any hot water. My husband attempted to relight the pilot, to no avail. The next morning, we called the re-pipe company to tell them of our problem. We were told that they do not repair the water heater, but it is under warranty. They gave us a name and phone number to call. When we called, they could not come out for at least two days, and gave us the name of another company to call. We called and were told that the tech would be out that day and would call us to let us know that time that they would be at our home.

The guy at Lowe’s steered me wrong, telling me this is a good electric water heater. My hot water developed a strong sulphuric smell. I called my water company and they knew right away it is the anode rod in the water heater. I had the rod removed but it cost $375 because it takes three men to get it out. When I called AO Smith headquarters, they told me it would take three men. They also told me this issue isn’t covered under warranty because it’s the minerals in my water reacting to the aluminum rod. They say it’s environmental and they’ll sell me a rod made out of zinc for $75. Creeps! Make it right before selling it to the public.

I see a lot of negative reviews about A. O. Smith Water Heaters. Well I can say we install A. O. Smith Water Heater in 1994 new home. I have less than good well water but heater has last 24 years and counting. I realize I’m on borrowed time. I also realize no matter what brand I install it won’t last. It’s amazing that in 2018 the reliability of today’s appliance is far worst than years ago but are far more expensive.

Bought a water heater from A. O. Smith. Failed after three yrs. Still under warranty so company replaced, however labor not included. $1200.00. Thermostat failed on new heater after 3.7 yrs. A. O. Smith wouldn't replace thermostat, or discount replacement. This product appears to be defective. Would never buy A. O. Smith again.

I had an Element replaced after being in use 2 MONTHS, now less than a year later still in warranty, no labor covered the thermostat is out - the people (Armour Plumbing of Conroe that AO Smith recommended to use) wanted $350 to drain and put in new one. Didn't use them - found out the heater doesn't have to be drained to put in thermostat. Will not buy another AO Smith.

I have had my AO Smith for ONLY 11 months. Three times the pilot light has went out. Called customer service and they said it was the burner unit that needs to be replaced due to the 6 blinking lights. They sent out a whole new burner unit. Before I installed the new burner unit I wanted to clean the bottom vent that sits below the pilot light of any dust or debris (it's in our laundry room). After cleaning the vent with a shop vac. it fired right up and was good for about 2-3 months. The problem with this unit reminds me of our old Sears Kenmore that did the same thing. So frustrating!!!

I bought an A.O. Smith water heater 2 years or less ago. The gas valve failed. It was warranted, but AOS said the valve would take up to 7 business days to arrive. So I had to pay $50.00 out of my own pocket to ship it so I'd have hot water. That's BS warranty coverage!

I had an A. O. Smith gas water heater installed Nov 2016, still new and under warranty, I had a leak from the pressure release valve, called and they will pay for the part which is $25 but the plumber cost $200. When asked A. O. Smith how the valve broke in less than 2 years, their response was that it was made by a third party. I paid a lot for the higher end water heater and they subcontract someone who is unreliable. I don’t understand how a business can keep going with so much bad reviews and terrible rating.

My hot water heater is 11 months old; I want to take a sledgehammer to the unit! Brand: A.O. Smith Signature propane purchased @ Lowe's last year. The unit worked consistently up to June 2018. We had trouble with the unit; the unit would not re-light itself when it needed to and the water would start to cool down because it would not relight itself.

Bought a A. O. Smith Hot Water Heater exclusive to Lowe's. Brought it Home and installed it where my Old Water Heater was, using the SAME 240V Grounded Wall Plug in the Garage, but did buy a new Power Cord for it. THE NEW WATER HEATER DID NOT WORK. Called A. O. Smith and they said that they would not come out to look at it until I Rewire It to My Junction Box. Also A. O. Smith WILL NOT WARRANTY ANY of their Hot Water Heaters unless it is Wired directly to the Junction Box. No Matter what the States Building Codes are. I'm in Texas and this is not Code Required. So if you really want one of A. O. Smith Water Heaters, you need to figure in the cost of a Certified Electrician.

For years, I have had water heaters with my water softener. Never an issue. Recently, I bought an A.O. Smith HPTU-80N hybrid water heater. Replaced a GE Geospring which failed after a year. Three months after install, the tank developed a thick, milky-white goo-like substance on the bottom of the tank that was getting into the water. Was told by A.O. Smith that the soft water was attacking the aluminum anode rod and producing aluminum hydroxide.

I purchased a well water tank at Lowe's in Union City, Tn. Installed it for 200 dollars labor and two days later the bladder failed in the tank. Lowe's will replace the tank but not sure if the tank they have is any good or one brought back as mine was scratched on the paint on top when I opened it and there was not any packing in the tank to secure it either. They will not pay any money for installation. I asked if I got another one and it happened to go bad again in the five year warranty would they pay any cost and they said no. So, one tank cost me 200, another bad one cost me 200 and then another one cost me 200 if it happened that the other one is bad. A. O. Smith out of Ashland, Tn. would not pay for any installation since they will not accept my degree in plumbing since I do not have a paid state license. So, my advice is to buy only from a company that will pay for your downtime if they have a tank that is defective.

We purchased this water heater from LOWE'S in Feb of 2018. It broke in June of 2018. We replaced both upper & lower elements and it still will not heat water. Had Lowe's to check it out and they say the company is responsible. A.O. Smith says they are not responsible for it because we should have taken it apart & tightened up the components. We are at our wit's end trying to get a credit for this $%00.00 water heater. Very upset with A.O. Smith company & added them to our Consumer Beware website. Poor workmanship & lousy customer service.

I am the manager of a 134 unit apartment complex, each unit has its own water heater in the unit. We have been buying AO Smith water heaters because the property has some units that are 20+ years old and still work so I thought they must be good units. The last three units I have bought all failed in a very short period of time. The most recent one was installed on 3/5/2018 and failed yesterday 8/9/2018. We pulled the electrodes out and they where completely corroded and shorted out. AO Smith said we would have to install water softeners or reverse osmosis filtration on all the units and they will not warranty the units because our water is to hard?

Water heater purchased in 2013 with a 6 year warranty for my tenants in a 2-family duplex. Water heater failed after 5 years, and required over $700 in repairs. However, due to my being a "landlord" rather than the actual homeowner/user, they FAILED to uphold their warranty because it was a "commercial" installation, since I didn't live there. BOGUS!! NEVER trust a company that misleads customers in this fashion. I decided to pay more for a new heater than place any trust in A.O. Smith.

We purchased A. O. Smith (model SAS 10L) geyser unit from a dealer in Chennai on 26/09/2016 and installed the same. In our gated community we get water from nearby bore well/well. Initially the geyser worked ok for a year. Thereafter we started getting a foul smell from the water coming out from the geyser. Since I faced the problem only in the specific restroom, we felt some issue in the water supply (We recirculate STP water for flushing purposes) and hence we were looking in that angle. Also I never experienced this foul smell issue in the last 40 years with any geyser. Finally I contacted the company last month who promptly sent their technician very next day. He opened the geyser, cleaned the heating element (deposits), tank etc and fitted it back.

My father purchased a hot water heater from Lowe’s in 2007 with a lifetime warranty for parts and tank. About 2 weeks ago our hot water heater stopped working. We naturally contacted AO Smith to see about getting it fixed. At first they put it off as an electrical issue. WE had to hire an electrician to prove to them it was their tank... after about a week. Then they come back with wanted proof of purchase. Well we do not have the proof of purchase from 2007. So I spoke to a representative to explain the situation. She then said a deed to the property would be enough. We provided the proof they asked for but the kicker is the house was in my grandfather's name until 2014 when he passed. Then my father inherited the property. They have now told me that the warranty was only valid to my deceased grandfather. Imagine that? How convenient for them!

We bought a new house from the builder with an A.O. Smith 80 gal heat pump hot water heater in 2017. Within the year it stopped working so naturally we called A.O. Smith who stated that the one year labor warranty starts with the certificate of occupancy. Not our purchase date. Needless to say as a consumer we couldn’t care when the builder was finished and the houses are placed on the market. The one year should start when we purchase the house. Leaving that aside they agreed to replace the heater but we would have to pay the $800 or so for the labor.

Purchased Hot water boiler from A. O. Smith 2015. Broke down 3 years later. Replacement, costing me $250. Was delivered in Feb. 2018. Had to pay $500. to install the replacement. June 2018 the replacement stopped working, polite would not stay lit. After going back and forth the A. O. Smith Tech. and repairing what the claim was incorrect venting, they still can't help. It has been two weeks and the four families living in my building have been with no hot water. I have no funds to get a new boiler and A. O. Smith would not give me a refund or honor the warranty!

The plumber installed the gas hot water heater in one of the rental properties my company manages. It worked for three weeks. Then stopped providing hot water. The plumber came back out to check on the tank and found the igniter was no longer working. My wife and I tried to return it to Lowe’s and they told us we needed a RMA number and to call the number on the hot water tank. We did that. Initially they said someone would have to come out and do a repair. Then they said it’s due to improper ventilation and no one would come out. It’s not under warranty. Do Not Ever purchase a hot water tank and have trouble with it from A O Smith brand. We literally have a giant paperweight that we cannot do anything with. This is literally the worst customer service I have ever seen for a company that charges under $600 for the hot water tank. I will get another one from Home Depot next time.

Bought an A. O. Smith Hot Water Heater from Lowe's in October 2017. Water stopped getting hot in May 2018. Called the customer service line and plumber replaced parts suggested, thermostat and heating elements. Worked for that day. Next day, again no hot water. Would not replace the hot water heater. Returned it to Lowe's and they tried to get help from AO Smith customer service with no luck. Left the hot water heater at Lowe's and went to Home Depot to purchase a Rheem Hot Water Heater. Will never buy another A O Smith Hot Water Heater.

This product was installed November 2017 and from inception, without warning, I'll go to take a shower only to find no hot water. At first we thought maybe it was a fluke because it's a new unit. However this has become a pattern occurring almost once every 4 weeks; and of course the installers couldn't come out right away to make a diagnosis. A technician did come out after our home warranty company contacted them, but by the time they were able to see us we of course turned the hot water back on so they couldn't make a good diagnosis since it was worked and the technician asked that we contact them directly the next time (why is there a next time?) it happens. Which it did, and once again the technician wasn't able to come out that same day - so we're back to waiting for it to happen again.

I bought a 40 gallon gas water heater in 2013. Today the valve failed. It was covered under warranty... but the labor was $600. What a rip off. Faulty product - DO NOT Buy the brand. It was highly recommended when I purchased it from Parker and Sons and now they tell me it is a bad product and don't install them anymore. What a scam... I only bought that brand because it was what they recommended when I installed a new one.

Hot water tank failed, called home warranty company. They contacted a local plumber company that installed a gas A. O. Smith hot water tank. 2 years later the unit failed, It's been 4 months later and still once every 3 weeks the unit goes out. Everything has been changed and still failing. Buyer Beware... this product is a joke.

The reps from this company are not trustworthy - Starting from the first call to inquire about the warranty, the rep told me that my water heater was out of warranty, which when I checked their website, it was not so check the website for warranty yourself. What I was then told that it would cost me $25 processing fee for a replacement water heater which was not the case, they charged me series of fees - $125 for upgrade fee, $75 for additional fee, $25 for service fee + taxes, the total came out to around $250 for a product that would cost $600 otherwise. This is a ripoff for an item under warranty.

We bought 2 A. O. Smith 50 gallon hot water heaters in March of 2015. One just failed, and the other is on its last legs. Warranty is for 6 years, however that just covers the tank...installation and misc charges are extra. So, for 1000 bucks each I get hot water for, it looks like 3 years...although some people have reported theirs lasted even less time. If I exercise my warranty, I’m out another 500 bucks each for labor, with the new heaters only warrantied for whatever was left on my original purchase.

If you look at Consumer Reports, EVERY SINGLE WATER HEATER regardless of company or brand is junk and easily breaks. So how you do buy a water heater? Do without a water heater? Boil water instead? Also consider many THOUSANDS of these are sold without problem, so occasionally there is a bad apple. Luck of the draw. I just got a AO Smith but I had one before that lasted for years. I just converted to gas so who knows. Yes I'm nervous... but Rheem also had its share of complaints so it's all luck of the draw. I won't be getting tankless -- the more parts and components, the more can break. I do agree you should get one with the longest warranty possible.

My experience with this company is that they do not listen to their customers when explaining an issue. From the first contact to the highest level in leadership they state a prerecorded speech at you regardless if you are speaking facts. They are all programmed to say the same thing. They will not listen to you as an individual customer. Case in point is with their warranty. Example my electric water heater had a six year warranty and was replaced after four years because of a manufacturing defect. The one that is installed as a replacement has now failed for the same problem but is now out of warranty. The warranty is not reset. You just have the remainder of the first installed. There is no way do they understand why this is unfair practice to the customer.

Bought a new A O Smith 50 gallon electric water heater from Lowe’s. One day after installation no hot water. Contacted Lowe’s and they told me that once it’s installed it is YOURS. Called company they said, "Sorry for your inconvenience." After 2 more calls finally got a RA number for me to call repair technician. Supposedly will be at my house next week. Till then no hot water. Do not buy AO Smith water heater!!!

This AO Smith water heater came with the newly built house by Pulte. We moved-in Jan-2013 and water heater broke on Christmas eve 2016 (just broke and the entire garage was flooded). We called the number which was given and they charged me $400 labor to change to a new unit which was covered under warranty. I paid extra $125 to purchase 7 yrs additional warranty which was a huge mistake. Now the new unit is leaking from the bottom and I have to pay $450 labor to change it again. If you are ready to spend $450~$550 every year labor charge, then you can buy this. Please don't ever buy this product.

I purchased an AO Smith 40 gallon electric water heater June of 2017 and had it installed. It is located in a closet in a hallway next to the master bedroom. After a little while I started to notice that I could hear the heater running with the door to the closet closed. It was even louder when I opened the door. I contacted their customer support folks and explained the problem and that I never heard the previous heater running. They did some checking and said that they didn't know why it was making noise but that they would give me a voucher to go and get two new heating elements to install.

I had an A.O. Smith hot water heater installed in 2012. I have had almost constant trouble. Needed replaced vent motor and gas control in 1/15. Replaced the pressure switch in 6/17. Had to unclog the vacuum port on 10/17 and again today 1/18 the vacuum port needed to be unclogged, again. I talked to customer service and they said there was nothing they can do about the labor charges because no longer under warranty. Seriously. Pretty poor customer service response for a 5 year old machine. I will never get another A.O. Smith product.

Installed a ATI-110 non-condensing unit in a customer's home a year and half ago. All of A.O. Smith's tankless heater have "supposive" freeze protection. This is stated right in their book. Something failed in the unit. I know this because I smelled electrical burning when I went to the home. The heat exchanger froze and split. Called the company, they didn't care. All they said is, "It froze, it's not our problem". Asked if we paid to put a new heat exchanger in and found other problems would they cover the parts under warranty. They said "no". Now me and my customer have to split the cost for a new unit and my free time to install it. My company will never install another A.O.Smith products in any of our projects ever again.

Only 2 years old and gas line already went bad. My plumbing and heating guy says he has to replace these all the time. Not like the older heaters that would last up to 20 years+ with minimal (if any) maintenance. Honeywell supposedly makes these gas lines.

I bought this AO Smith 40 gal hot water heater from Lowe's in October because at the time my other unit was 15 years old. Upon installing it, the heater worked fine until we had some wind from a storm come through. I woke up to find I had no hot water and after doing a little consultation with a rep from Lowe's he said it's very common and told me how to reset the pilot light, which is what went out from the wind. Once it was reset it worked fine again for a couple days and then went out again. Then it started going out several times a day even when there was no wind.

I currently have a 3 year old AO Smith 80 gallon water heater in my home that is still under warranty until 2020. On 12-06-17 this AO Smith water heater would not heat my water. I called AO Smith about getting this water heater serviced. They told me to call my local service company so, then I did. I call our local service company and they had to install 5 parts. This AO Smith water heater needed two thermostats, two heating elements, and one rod, which may I add that in only 3 years of use was severely corroded. I paid the total bill of $513.00 and submitted it to AO Smith as instructed. As of this date (1-08-18) AO SMITH WILL NOT REIMBURSE ME ($513) TO HAVE THEIR WATER HEATER WHICH IS UNDER WARRANTY REPAIRED.

We have had our A.O. Smith 50 gal Electric HW Heater since March of 2013. Today is Jan 5, 2018. After many years of extremely high electric bills, we finally figured out the cause was this faulty HW heater. It surged and spiked our power every 3-5 minutes we deduced after doing extensive breaker testing this week. It was not the wiring. It was the HW heater itself. We have installed a new Rheem 50 gal electric HW heater and our electric usage has returned to normal. This cost us several thousands of dollars over the years before we figured it out. I just want others to know of this problem in case they may have the same issues. Our utility company is working with us to refund NBU "Non Benefit of Use" money and we will be looking into what we can recover from A.O. Smith. Hope this will help someone else.

Hello. I have a A. O. Smith 50 Gal Gas Water Heater. I personally installed it in 1990. The only thing that I had to do is replace the thermocouple once. It has never leaked or had any other problems. This is probably unheard of but true. 27 years and still no problems. I am going to replace it soon only because of its age. True story. I don't know if the new A.O. Smith Water Heaters are as good as the one I have, but I will buy another of the same.

My parents have been visited by a sales company who made initial contact through a phone call during the day. Next a visit and pressure to sign up for a Little Magic Box hot water system. Basically a new boiler and box with a panel outside which will make their hot water – and cost the same as a new car!!I have called and cancelled any orders – at which they tried to offer me a further discount!! This is just high pressure sales at its worst. https://www.magicboxinternational.com/

I bought AO Smith 25l geyser a week back and nobody has come to install it yet. Every day I call up customer care and they guarantee that somebody will come today... but till now nobody has come. I have also mailed my problem but still no response. This is the worst service I have experienced from any company. I could not even imagine that any company can be so pathetic with their service. I feel like returning my product and saving myself from any further torture by this company...

I bought an A. O. 40 gal water heater and have had nothing but problems. During installation the elements went out but were not covered under warranty. They said the tank weren’t filled enough before applying power. Even though the plug didn't arrive until an hour after tank was filled. They have this written in their manual that you can’t see until you leave the store and Lowe’s said once it’s out the door it’s your problem. I’ve installed 5 Rheem 40 gal. elec. water heaters with never a problem and they provide the water lines. Went with this for size, what a mistake. Next time I’ll save time and money and knock out the wall. But every person I see buying this company’s product will hear my story! Obviously Lowe’s has no confidence in this products reliability and I'm sure it because they know the attempted return rate and poor customer support must be making a large profit margin!

I have ordered a water geyser from A.O. Smith website, to which I paid beforehand. It's been a month I haven't received any information related to my product. No tracking details, no response to my calls or messages. How I'm supposed to get my money back from these cheaters. Please let me know if there's a way out.

After only four years my AO Smith (State Water Heater) had a massive leak that caused extensive water damage in my home. Company refused to take responsibility for damage even though the plumber who replaced the water heater spoke with them and confirmed the bottom had rusted out of the unit. They require that the complete unit be shipped back to them which is absurd. Just a way to avoid liability. Many other brands out there with higher quality and more equitable business practices.

Brought 50 gallon water heater in new house in October 27, 2011. October 12, 2017 water heater stopped working. Called Lowe's in Dallas who told us to call A.O. Smith.A. O Smith told us to call one of their contracted plumbers. An old guy from Bartex shows up October 16, 2017 and stays 10 minutes and says he needs to order a part. Same guy from Bartex shows up October 23, 2017 and says the heater is leaking and we need a new unit.

This company's water heaters are garbage. When building a new home do not let the builder put one of these in. It didn't even last 3 years... blew up out the top and water flooded everywhere. It wasn't just mine... 3 neighbors had the same problem... all within a few months of each other.

I would like everyone to know about State Water heaters whose parent company is A. O. Smith. I had to have my third State Water heater replaced in the last 13 years in a house that was new when I bought it. Two were under warranty and I had to pay labor to have them replaced. The last replacement was under warranty but the representative at the company made the plumber cut the lines and put other connections into the heater before they could replace the heater. I had to pay $177 labor for this extra work and State will not pay this bill. They keep saying, "This is protocol."

Installed by professional plumbers in Dec 2014. Heater leaked and was replace July 1 2016. Told by installers that the company 5 yr warranty reverts back to the first installation! It is Sept. 26 2017 today. As I write this the water heater is being replaced again for the same leakage! Again I am told that the warranty reverts back to 2014. 2 water heaters in less than 3 years? Something isn't right! According to the plumbers the company blames the water! I have a functioning water softener.

A customer of our had a defective water A.O. Smith Water heater GCVL 40 300 that was installed in 2013. It was leaking at the bottom and had a defective control valve. I picked the replacement up GCRL 40 400. It is 2 inches larger and very hard to install. We have to take door facing off and get it put in filled up. And the control valve is bad. Spend close to a hour troubleshooting with someone on the phone. And it will not light. There is no control valve in town. A.O. Smith wants the customer to go over a holiday weekend with out hot water. We snatched it out and took it back. When something is defective upon installation no matter what the reason it should be replaced.

I wanted to voice my opinion and dissatisfaction with A.O. Smith. In December 2011 we had an A O Smith hot water heater installed. Fast forward to 8/2017 (5 yrs 8 mo.) The hot water heater is leaking. We have a professional come out and say it needs to be replaced. Since our hot water heater is less than 6 yrs we call A O Smith (it's written on our tank that the hot water heater is under warranty). The 1st rep. gives us a claim # and says we will be reimbursed for the hot water but not labor. Ok cool. Something is better than nothing.

I wrote a negative review about A.O. Smith Water Heater without checking further about the charges. The warranty was covered, however; the charges were from the plumbing company that were passed on to me, not from A. O. Smith. That will teach me to research further information before making a statement about a company. The addition fee was for an exchange of a water heater. Sorry for statements made earlier against A. O. Smith.

We just installed a A.O. Smith hot water heater (40 gal. electric) in our home. It was very easy to install. It only took 20 minutes. No plumber needed. We only paid $219 for it at Lowe's. It was on sale. It works so much better than my last one which is a Whirlpool. The bottom rusted and sprung a leak. It flooded my whole master bathroom! Only had it 4 years. Maybe 5??? Not sure... But the Smith I installed 2 days ago is great. It heated the water up very fast. I'd say about 10 or 15 minutes wow!!! Plus it's a lot hotter than the last one too. I have heard nothing but good comments about A.O. Smith Water Heaters.

I bought 3 A.O. Smith water heaters that were installed in 2006 when I built my home. In December of 2011 one of them rusted out and started leaking out the bottom. Fortunately, I had a custom pan made for them with tall sides and large volume in case of this problem. The leaking unit needed to be replaced. So I called a plumber and had them get a replacement unit. While they did replace the unit under warranty, I had to pay $225 to have a plumber install it.

Built a new home in 2014, builder put in a A. O. Smith hybrid water heater. I noticed rust down at the bottom ring over a year ago. I never noticed water leaking on my garage floor until recently. I called A O Smith who told me to call my Favorite plumber, they had no one in this area. After talking to the person on the phone for a while, he had me shut off the hybrid system to find out where the water is leaking from. I did, now I know the heat pump part of the unit is leaking. Three years old and leaks water. Not sure what I am going to do, it does work in regular mode. I am not paying for a repair not worth it. For those of you considering a hybrid I would think twice or certainly not a AO Smith. The cost difference between a regular and a hybrid is big. Pays for lots of electricity!! The pay back can't be there if you have to repair or replace in three years.

I am writing to your company to express my utmost dissatisfaction with your service and your product. Recently, we purchased a 50-gallon, electric A.O. Smith Signature Series water heater from Lowe's in Brandon, Florida. After properly installing the heater, we soon realized that we did not have hot water. We waited, but no hot water. After speaking with a representative on the phone, we were informed that it was our responsibility to test the heater's electrical voltage and element levels. Consequently, we had to purchase a digital multi-meter at our expense, only to find that the element levels produced no reading. The representative provided an authorization and directed us to retrieve new element gaskets from Lowe's, who informed us that we did not follow the proper procedure, that your company was supposed to call them to confirm the authorization.

It was a bright sunny day. I went to check on my water heater and it works great. It came with the new house I bought. It was installed sometime during construction. I watched the contractors install one in another new house. They first put it on a platform, then hooked the inlet and outlet water lines. An electrician came the next day and completed the wiring. The customer service was great. When it wasn't heating right, they found a bad temperature controller and changed it. This happened 2 days after I moved in. There was no charge as it was under warranty. I have had it for 8 years.

The price of the hot water heater was good but otherwise it was the brand the plumber carried and so we bought it. The plumber installed the water heater and it went well. The old water heater was difficulty to uninstall. Our plumber is no less ne'er in business which is a shame because he was good. The hot water heater is of excellent quality and value and works just fine. It delivered hot water all the time. We like the water heater overall and we've had good luck with it.

Smith water heater was about 12 years old and reliable. It was in our house when we purchased the house. We had a home inspection before we purchased our house and he discovered the noise in the water heater. We waited awhile thinking the noise in the heater would affect the temperature of the water but the heater was not heating the water to our desired temp.

Our A. O. Smith Water Heater works well since we've had it. It has never leaked or given us any problem. The hot water lasts through several things going on at once; i.e. showers, dishwasher, washing machine, etc. and it lasts through several loads of laundry and other sources that it is used for. My husband installed it rather than the company so we would not have to pay installation charges.

I purchased an A O Smith gas water heater 40 gallon on 6/24/17 from Lowe's. To this day (7/10/17) I do not have any hot water in my home. The problem is the pilot WILL NOT STAY LIT. The first day, My home filled with gas. We turned it off. Tried to light it again and the same thing happened. The installers came out 3 times already. Finally they suggested I call the gas company because I could have a gas/carbon monoxide leak. The gas company gave me an all's clear. Now A O Smith wants me to pay to have a technician come out - WHAT!!!

I have had my A. O. Smith Water Heater for 10+ years and have had no problems as of yet, the cost was what I expected and was within reason for a 30 gallon tank. It has worked to heat the water for 10 years and does a fine job, it runs quietly, has a control dial to reduce the temperature of the water that is very convenient, and the 30 gallon tank provides enough water for the house. It is energy-efficient as advertised while our other unit wasn't. The delivery and installation was on time and done in a professional manner. The old unit was removed with no damage to the home and was done at a reasonable cost. We hope our unit continues to work for 10 more years.

The water heater was installed in my home, the home was purchased brand new, and this is the brand all of the homes have installed. Most of neighbors have no complaints about their water heaters either. It seems to have functioned reliably for and we rarely run out of hot water as a small family. This is important to me, as there is nothing like a cold shower. This is due in part to selecting the proper size of water heater. My fifty gallon water heater lasted 10+ years before breaking down in what I consider a little bit early, but the fix was relatively easy. I needed to replace the thermal coupler and now it continues to function flawlessly twelve years later. I am satisfied with the water heater at this point.

The water heater is compact for the capacity. It stays warm a long time and is sufficient to keep up with demand in a 3 bath home and was quick for the installer to install. However, parts take a long time to get and the valve failed the first year we had it causing a major leak that ruined my kitchen ceiling. It is loud and immediately it's too hard to get parts for. The power bill has increased 200% and has been serviced 4 times. The last repair took a month and a half and was quite expensive. The repairmen were able to get it up and running with some patience. Also, the customer service failed to correct any issues or to assist in correcting the issue or with any costs that were associated with the problems. Wasn't informative and no followup.

My experience in purchasing my water heater was an easy one. We just bought one and a day later the guys came and installed it. They told us a few things that we needed to know and they left. I have had it about 5 years. It definitely heats my water up very quickly and we never run out of hot water. I love hot showers so that's a plus. I like the sturdiness and style, and it definitely doesn't take up a lot of space. I also like the quality and the ease of putting in a changing elements and adjusting the temperature is easy too. It has always done its job and has never failed us. We are very very proud to own this brand. I like everything about it. It has all been a positive experience.

Older models I owned had issues with being loud, not generating enough hot water, breaking, or otherwise not lasting for a long time. The new hot water heater has worked better than expected! It has been purchased in the past year to replace an old water heater. It has been very reliable and more energy efficient than the previous model. It takes up less space than an older model and provides more than enough hot water for the whole family. It runs very quietly, to the point where I never even know that it is on or working during the day.

Our A.O. Smith water heater has always functioned perfectly. The recovery rate of the water heater has always been great and the water heater is able to handle our 50-gallon spa bath tub. It's made to very high-quality standards. I have heard about the A.O. Smith brand for many years and am proud to finally own one myself. The insulation contained in the hot water heater keeps the water hot for a very long time. Our experience with the customer service was excellent too. It was first class. The customer service staff was knowledgeable and extremely professional and courteous. The water heater is a bit expensive to purchase, but when all things are considered it was a very wise choice to purchase our A.O. Smith water heater.

I feel that I have the very latest, energy efficient water heater and the pricing is exceptional. I love that the company offers same day repairs. I don't have to worry about being without hot water for long because company offers rapid and reliable service. All NH Ross workmanship is backed by a written guarantee for the customer's peace of mind, and new water heaters come with industry-leading manufacturer warranties. Also, my two repairmen were very friendly and very knowledgeable. I felt that I made a good decision after choosing this company. The company charges by the job rather than by the hour, so I felt that the men were trying to give me the best service and never felt that they were in a rush. However, I don't like to wait for my water to be very warm and neither does my family. The water heats up in about 30 minutes and that takes a little too long. But heater is great.

The installation of this water heater was very easy other than getting it down the steps into the basement. After it was set into place all I had to do is run the cold water line and the hot water line then insulate the pipes. I have had this water heater for 3 years now and it has been flawless to this date. It is a very good system that lets you set programs to different settings, it is very quiet and fast when heating the water.

I have lived in my home for 3 years and the house was built in 2008. Our A. O. Smith Water Heater came with the house and it still works great. It heats the water quickly and it's not noisy. It is a big capacity heater so I don't usually run out of hot water during peak times bath/meals. It came with a tray at the bottom so that if a leak occurred there wouldn't be a mess. The body of the heater is not rusting even after all these years in operation. It's still pretty. I love it!!!

A.O. Smith has generally been fine. It had a leak for a while, but that was caused by a plumbing issue in our home, not the water heater. It does heat the water. I'm happy to have hot water and I'm happy that it doesn't leak. I wish my water stayed hot for longer, and that the tank refilled more quickly. A local plumbing company came and installed it. It took them 45 minutes or so to put it in and get the old one out. It was a quick and painless replacement.

We were renovating the house and was buying and decided that we were going to replace the old water heater with a newer version. We went to Lowe's Home Improvement and carefully selected the one that would work for us. We then decided where we wanted to place it at. My husband has his contractor's license so he done all of the installation by himself.

The water heater was installed by the builder when the house was built. The process must have been smooth. We bought the house later and have been living in this house for over 5 years. The water heater works perfectly and generates heat at the right temperature. The water is warm enough. We are very happy with the water heater and very happy to use it.

Bought this water heater a few weeks ago at Lowe's and noticed a leak already. Upon inspection I found that the leak was coming from the TPV valve. Not out the TPV, but around it. After contacting customer service they told me they could give me a $100 dollar credit to A&E service. After speaking with someone who could barely speak English I was told it would be 3 weeks before someone could come make the repair. As a result I had to fix this brand new product myself. This is not a well assembled product. I will be surprised if it even makes it to its warranty date.

Bought A. O. Smith Vortex Water Heater in 2010. Was told by supply house would have 15 hard of trouble free hot water. Tank was $1700. It's junk 7 years later, tank leaking. I could have done better at Home Depot for $500. I thought I was buying the best. I got taken. Do not buy A.O. Smith products.

I had purchased 2 nos of water heaters and both of them started leaking from the tank base unit within 3 years. Since both units had the leakage problem, I registered a complaint with the AO Smith authorities, submitting my apprehension about the quality of the product. The authorities only said that the warranty is not valid after 2 years and will be replaced only against payment.

Purchased a AO Smith Hybrid water heater (Model # PHPT-80) back in December 2012. At that time the cost of heater and installation was approximately $3000. Spent this type of money figuring it would save on electric, cool the garage (live in South Florida), and help go green. It came with a 10 warranty on parts and 1 year on labor. It worked well till one day it stopped functioning. That was in late January 2017.

Shortly after purchasing our home in 1996 we installed a new AO Smith water heater. In 2009 it exploded while we were away for 3 days; but continued to pump scalding water out. Almost ALL of our walls, flooring, ceilings had to come out; it did over $59,000 in damages. They said it was not under warranty. The Insurance Contractor insisted that we must replace it with another A.O. Smith Water heater. I complained, but he prevailed. We paid extra for the top of the line model. AGAIN, in 2014 the water heater exploded! Thank goodness I was home this time and could turn the water off and stop the steam damage. Again A.O. Smith acted very surprised that it had happened, and stated that they had NO reports of such problems.

I have a gas 40 gallon A. O. Smith unit GPVH 40 100 installed by the builder in our new townhouse. It was installed in April 2012. In April 2014, July 2014, and April 2016, the same blower switch failed. This morning it's broken AGAIN!!! Really? Four times in 5 years? The 25 year warranty does not include the $150 labor costs. This is utterly absurd. There should be a lemon law on this unit. The tank is fine but what good is it if I can't get any hot water?

In 2011 my AO Smith original water heater (Ect -40 200) started to leak and we weren't getting very much hot water since we purchased our 1997 home in 2007. We called a licensed plumber who replaced it in 2011 with a GE water softener and used the Morton Salt that preserves the water heater tank. In 2013 the new water heater was replaced again and I was charged the labor of $200 then 25 months later the new water heater basically blew up in my garage and caused some water damage.

We had an A. O. Smith water heater. Through problems this water heater created it seemed the construction of the water heater is not being reviewed by the manufacturer. Inside the water heater are two rings for lifting the water heater for construction. These rings are welded and when dropped into the outer shell covering the rings can break and not noticed for about two years later after installation. This causes the inner tank leakage. Also another problem in construction is the inner glue that holds a removable spiral chamber. This becomes clogged with buildup from burn off.

Two 40 gallon GS6 40YBR S 300 water heaters were purchased and installed on 02-15-2012. First water heater failed on 11/22/2016. I was charged a $100.00 WARRANTY FEE and the removal and installation of $500.00. Now the second water heater failed on 03/19/2017. I will probably incur the same costs. The heaters failed due to leaking externally. Fortunately I was able shut off the water before damage to the home occurred. Please advise what can be done to recoup these expenses due to poor design and manufacture of these water heaters.

Today I had called AO Smith for the servicing of my geyser which is well within the warranty period (bought on November 2016). The machine pipe is blocked and so we are not getting a proper flow of hot water.The customer care was charging me Rs 400 as service charge. At the time of buying the machine I was told free servicing during warranty period and I hope cleaning of the machine comes under servicing. I will not recommend your products to anyone for such a poor after sale service.

Had new AO Smith GCG-50 installed yesterday and immediately started leaking. Plumber who installed advised he is not allowed to do the warranty work, but that Stan The Hot Water Man is a designated warranty vendor. After waiting overnight for a call from their service tech, I finally get a call back from him and he tells me AO Smith only pays them $100 for warranty service, so all he will do is confirm the product is defective and if so, then deliver a new one, but that the warranty fee doesn't cover re-installation of the replacement unit. So I'm in $950 for a water heater that doesn't work right out of the box and now looking at having to pay to have the replacement for the defective unit installed. How is that even remotely fair to the consumer?

My AO Smith water heater has been the worst water heater I have ever owned. Purchased & installed in Sept. 2014, its model GNR50200. One month after installation I had no hot water - the gas control valve needed replacing. The plumber was kind enough to replace at no cost to me. Six months later, the gas control valve failed again. This time the part was covered but not the labor. Sept 2015 from installation the gas control valve again failed. Here it is Jan 2017, a little more than a year from the last gas control valve failure - it has failed again. I am furious. This water heater is a piece of junk.

I purchased an A.O. Smith hot water heater 2 years 4 months ago and it no longer works. After 3 parts replaced it still does not work. They will not replace it. I am out more money on labor costs than a new water heater costs. They want to continue replacing parts, with me paying labor. The heater has a 6 year warranty, but it is totally useless. I will NEVER purchase another A.O. Smith product.

I am 81 years old and had a few different water heaters. We purchased a A.O. SMITH water heater in March of 2015. It was installed by a local contractor. It lasted 22 months, from what I see it is normal for a AO Smith water heaters. We got a replacement installed today, They charged me 96 dollars for their so called paperwork. My contractor charged me 400 dollars to install the replacement, The new one has a leak. I hope he doesn't charge me again for the new one. AO Smith should pay for the install of the water heater not the consumer. I will never purchase another AO Smith product. Wish I would have read consumer affairs before I let my contractor install that junk water heater. We live on a limited income and can't afford to pay for the poor quality of AO Smith's products.

We live in upstate New York and put in a new A.O. Smith AT340 on demand hot water heater. Several week later it got cold out (-15F) and the unit froze and burst the copper pipes in the unit (in spite of the freeze protection system it is supposed to have). I read the installation manual and realized that for cold climates the exhaust should have a flapper valve installed. Our insurance covered some of the costs, and I replaced it with the same unit except this time putting in the flapper valve and also rerouting the inlet to our furnace to the exterior so it didn't create a suction in the basement. After all of that, last week the unit froze again! Be very wary of installing these units in cold climates.

Started to get very dirty, rusty water. Called a very reputable company to come out and check, flush the water heater. After 3 attempts at emptying and flushing, only dark orange water with particles coming out. I called customer service technical department of A.O. Smith, spent one and one-half hours on the phone with them, having my service technician trying everything they suggested, and they would not take no for answer. I got so frustrated and realized they were in no way going to honor their warranty, I decided to get another water heater and DEFINITELY NOT FROM THEM!

Replaced my water heater 11/14/14 with an A.O. Smith water heater, installed by Ron Kuhn Plumbing, Green Bay WI. Plumber is OK water heater is junk!!! On 12/07/16 water was on the floor, called my plumber, he replaced it in a matter of hours with a new A.O. Smith water heater--then I received a bill for $250 for parts and labor. Checked the "Limited Warranty" and indeed I did have to pay for the parts and labor--maybe every 2 years, if the trend follows.

A. O. water heater model GNR 40 200 (gas). I purchased this water heater less than two years ago and had it installed by professional plumbers. When they installed, all new copper piping. It sprang a leak over the weekend and the only way I knew was due to my dogs barking and I went outside to check out what is going on and there was water flowing from underneath my garage door. Well thank GOD I know people and had a technician friend of mine come and diagnose the problem. Now customer service was very helpful in getting my part number to my technician, but he had to drive 30 miles round trip to go get this and with traffic etc.

A. O. Smith water heater installed by licensed plumber April 2015, total cost $1884. November 1, 2016 water heater is dead, no hot water and no fault codes. Plumber called and working with A. O. Smith determines that gas control valve is faulty. Cannot find the part on the west coast, has to be ordered from back east. Will take 4-5 days or can be overnighted if we pay $108. No charge for part since still under warranty. After our tenants were without water for Tuesday to Friday morning, the part is received and installed by the plumber. Cost for the plumber including shipping of part $598.

We had our hot water heater replaced in 2014. It was original to the house built in 2002 - worked fine, just thought it was getting old and wanted to replace it before we started having problems. The plumber we hired replaced it with a Smith hot water heater. Within 2 years, the Smith unit looked ten times worse than the one they replaced. We called the plumber and found out it was a defect in the unit and they said it was covered under a warranty. The plumber came out and replaced it, but we had to pay for labor and parts!!! Not sure why we should have to pay for the install when the unit was defective. Why isn't Smith paying for the install!! Wish I would have read the reviews on this website before it was replaced. Of course the new unit is also a Smith... when this one goes never again!! How is this company getting away with this? The warranty should cover the cost of the install!

I bought a house in July of 2013. This house was owned and built by the builder. It had 2 AO Smith ECS 40 200 electric hot water heaters. The Builder purchased these tanks on 9/16/2010, as the house was under construction. The builder did not close and move into the house until April 27, 2012. I have had to replace one of these tanks already as it failed. It was covered by warranty. Now I have the second tank failing. But AO Smith will not extend the warranty to cover this tank because it is out of the 6 year warranty period from the date of purchase. It doesn't matter that the tank wasn't put into service until 4/27/2012. They (AO Smith) goes off of purchase date. I find it hard to comprehend why a company wouldn't stand behind their product when it is 2 months out of warranty from its original purchase date and only 4.5 years from date of being place in service.

We are a reputable plumbing company in Florida. My boss has been Master Plumber for 32 years. We have used A.O Smith, Bradford White, and Rheem water heaters. The only one we have had problems with is Smith. One of customer had one installed, went bad, and Smith replaced it. Now less than a year later, this one went bad. Sure they're going to replace the water heater, but will not labor... The gentlemen is a school teacher with not a lot of income. When I take my car in for service, when it's under warranty, do they charge me labor? Big NO on that. Bad, bad business Smith... As for the other two competitors we use, never had an issue. BAD BUSINESS SMITH. A warranty is a warranty.

A. O. Smith GCV 40 300 water heater, built/installed in 2011. In the middle of the night I awoke to the sound of water pouring from the gas/temperature unit at the bottom of the water heater. Waiting until morning to hear from my plumber. Read of similar experiences on this site, including one from nearby Crofton MD. Will update.

We purchased our home from a builder, who had installed an A.O. Smith water heater with a date of 4/2012 on it. On 10/2016, the tank stopped working entirely. Two different plumbers said it was electrical, something wrong with the temperature gauge and its ability to communicate with the ejector pump on the top of the water heater. When I search for the issue online, looks like I'm not the only one with a faulty temperature gauge.

I purchased a A.O. Smith State water heater in April 2012 and installed it myself. Last Friday evening I heard the sound of water running in my office and opened up the water heater closet to find water running out of the bottom of the front gas/temperature unit. I had a plumber come on Monday morning and he said it was not the tank, but the gas/temperature valve unit had failed and that I needed to call on my warranty. I have now called five times. The first time they said that since it was installed inside the home and the door did not have a closer and weather stripping that they would have to flag it as an improper installation. They said I would need to fix these items and send them pictures as I did. As you can guess by now (and I should have been smarter than to fall for their antics) once I sent them pictures, they were not right and then there are other additional issue why they could not honor their warranty.

I purchased a brand new home with an A.O. Smith water heater in it. 4 1/2 years and the heater had split and completely rusted from the inside. Water heater was replaced under warranty but I had to pay for labor. Fast forward 14 months, and I woke up this morning with my garage flooded. The tank was completely rotted and rusted from the inside again. My plumber said his company no longer installs this type of water heater because they are chronically defective. I could have replaced it AGAIN under warranty for free, but I am choosing to spend $800 to buy a new water heater from a different manufacturer rather than risk further damage with an A.O. Smith. Their products are GARBAGE!!! These people should be sued for continuing to produce defective and dangerous products. DO NOT purchase A.O. Smith.

I purchased my house in December of 1995. When I purchased it the A.O. Smith Hot Water heater was already 6 years old (Installation sheet said it was installed in 1989). I finally replaced it on Saturday August 20, 2016. The water heater was at 27 years old. Other than having to light the pilot on occasion I never had an issue. It was a 40 gallon Gas Heater. Personally I think their product is awesome!

Yesterday our hot water heater failed. The gas regulator / thermostat failed and the pressure release valve failed. The melting disfigured pipe can only happen through a thermal event. AO Smith is saying that it happened due to water pressure (that is impossible), even though our pressure measure 60PSI and none of our neighbors have had over-pressure issues. If you have had problems with AO Smith warranty rejection and success in resolution, I'd love to how you resolved. I have 4 plumbers from 2 different organizations and a code enforcement manager that say it was a faulty gas regulator as cause.

We purchased an A. O. Smith hot water heater from Ferguson's Plumbing and had it installed. It NEVER WORKED FROM DAY 1. After dozens of calls to A. O. Smith and replacing numerous parts and reinstalling the way it was vented, it still does not work over 4 weeks later. I have had no hot water in my house for over a month and they don't care. They refuse to give us a new one and Ferguson's refuses to take it back without an authorization number from A. O. Smith. I am so disappointed with their customer service department. They just don't care. I do not know what to do. I have 3 kids and no hot water and no more money to buy another one. I wish I had bought one from Home Depot because they would have never treated me this bad. I thought going to a specialized plumbing store and paying more money that it would be a better product. I am now finding out that is not true. So sad they can take advantage of people like this.

Drain Go installed a brand new hot water heater, a GVC 40 300 model build 09/14/2012 capacity 40.0. Less than two years. No hot water. Started questioning people. When the plumber arrived the tech at AOS started arguing with the plumber. The plumber did as requested from AOS. Apparently the tech knew about the gas valve being defective. The defective piece just cost me 130.00. Class action should be launched on these people.

Had an 80 gallon AO Smith water heater installed at my new construction house. 2.5 years after the problems started happening. First call to the plumber and 2 bad heating elements AND 2 bad thermostats all replaced. Unit was still having issues. I had to reset the unit DAILY to get hot water as it kept shutting itself off. Called Tech Support. They said I was going to have to get a volt meter and go see what the problem was myself (they would walk me through it, oh how nice). I'm no electrician. I refused to do that as it was a liability for me to get shocked. They REFUSED to send a technician because they didn't have anybody within 70 miles of my house.

We have had an A.O. Smith water heater in our home since 1994. Never have had a problem until the June 05, 2016 (22 years old) when it finally sprung a leak underneath and partially flooded the basement. I would recommend this product highly and if I could afford another one, I would be replacing my old one with its new replacement. Very long lived, high quality and always heating efficiently. We had the 40 gallon, 32,000 BTU and 4 people with lots of laundry and a dishwasher utilizing the hot water. A+.

2nd water heater now from A.O. Smith. Both leaked into the electrical contact compartment in just a few years - rotting the wires making the water heater useless. Something is very wrong with the build of their tank. Others have the ability to prevent corrosion/sediment decay but this product evidently is extremely weak. I would never recommend an A.O. Smith electric water heater to anyone.

We purchased a new GPVH 50 100 in 2007 after our hot water heater of 15 years finally failed. This system was supposed to be the Cadillac of hot water heaters... Not so. Now after a second replacement in 2012, 5 service calls costing over $500; AO Smith says we have NO warranty. Wow! Even with repeated failures of the O2 sensor and pressure switch, they claim it's either our fault or that of the installer. On this unit from 2012, the top is already beginning to rust. Going to try and limp by until this GPVH 50 100 fails again... For sure we will never buy another product from AO SMITH, and will warn our friends as well... I suggest you do the same.

I replaced a 40-gallon AO Smith gas HWH in 2012 after only 4 years of use. The replacement unit just went bad after less than 4 years of use but AO Smith will not satisfy the 6-year warranty claiming the warranty is only valid from the installation date of the first unit in 2018. First of all two units with only 4 years of use before leaking is unacceptable. Secondly, not supporting the product you sell is even worse. I will never buy another one because AO Smith makes junk!

This is by far the worst customer service ever... Our water heater is only 3 years old and we have had to jump through hoops to prove that it is in fact the water heater. After 2 plumbers, the city inspector, 600 gallons of water to flush system, a new android, they still refuse to warranty the heater. This is unbelievable... I have no recourse but to purchase another - not a A.O. Smith...

We bought a A.O. Smith gas water heater (5/12/2014) to replace our old A.O. Smith water gas heater (last for 8 yrs. with no issues). We were told that A.O. Smith was the best gas water heater in the market. Not anymore! New A.O. Smith Water is poor build and we constantly having issues with the unit (brand new unit with bad burner screen). We would used the unit for couple days and it would said the unit needs to be cleaned again. We constantly had to reset the unit by shutting it off and turned it back on to get hot water. Otherwise we would constantly have to paid someone to come out and check. ($99 just to come out. Plus labor for whatever they need to do.) DON'T BUY A.O. SMITH UNIT, UNLESS YOU WANT TO KEEP PAID FOR SOMEONE TO COME OUT!!! Plus no hot water!!! Bad warranty!!!

I purchased an A.O. Smith water heater 2 1/2 years ago. It has a 6-year warranty. The water heater stopped heating and the upper panel leaked water in the panel causing a short. It began to smoke and it is fried. The entire utility room filled with smoke and when the door was open it came out and filled the house with smoke. I can't begin to imagine what would have happened if we were not home or the kids were home alone. We had to cut off power to it. I would never buy this product and do not even want a replacement of the same brand! With all the complaints I can't believe they are still in business.

I've had 2 of them. GDFE 50 gallon water heaters. First one bought and installed 1-2-2010. FAILED after 3 years almost to the day. Replaced under warranty, but it still cost me $500 for re-install costs. 2nd one was installed 1-4-2013. I was on vacation last week in California when my father in law called telling me there was a problem. His wife was walking the dog and noticed water spewing out of the exhaust vent on the outside of my house. Father in law was notified and turned off the water ASAP. The heater had failed for the second time, same issue, inner tank had ruptured. It was leaking onto the floor but the drain was keeping up so far. Luckily he was there. If he hadn't been, my basement would have flooded disastrously. This heater also supplied my in floor radiant heat tubes. Well, it had been snowing that week and was down in the 30's temp-wise.

Bought this to replace an oil fired water heater, due to nearing $1000 for a fill up at $4/gallon on oil, ouch. Got right scared and replaced it with this model. Did not take long and running out of hot water after two back to back showers, long showers in the 15-20 minute range, wife and teenager. Happened with oil fired but very few times. At that point lowered pressure to less than 50 psi from 60 psi and elevated tank temperature to 130F from 120F, switched to hybrid mode, flow at about 2.0 gallons per minute from a well so ground water at 45-55 degrees Fahrenheit. Helped but not enough. Raised electrical bill 20-30 dollars per month, savings are there even at $2 per gallon for oil. Had to put a point of use electric water heater in line to make up the extra hot water in high demand so savings are less. Called factory and asked for 5500 watt heater element and they say that was a no go. Still evaluating point of use heater.

This is the second replacement water heater, and it is just junk. After 13months, something keeps making noise, possibly the blower. It turns on and runs for long periods. The technician and company just say that because there is no 'fault' message, they cannot figure it out. The unit is in California, in a hot watershed, outdoors. It was installed to code with permits with all specs complied with. The first unit thermocoupler failed within the first year. Then, the interior imploded. The 2nd unit, a replacement 13 months old, now has a noise that the company and the technician cannot understand. Previous unit lasted nearly over 15 years in the same place. The likely problem is the motherboard is failing, but the company won't honor their parts warranty. This is a $3000 plus piece of junk. The company is worthless.

I am a union plumber and thought highly of A.O. Smith Water Heaters until I started using them. The product is very poorly made. Yes they will send you parts as it breaks and it will, but costly to hire me to fix. So my first experience using the warranty was enough for me. They told me they were back ordered, they would make the part within 24 hours from time I ordered it (thursday a little afternoon pst.). That they would ship it friday. If I pay 30 dollars I can get it Monday, so I did. Told customer bad news. They were fine till monday. Great. Monday comes, no part. Only to be told part won't be ship 'till wed. Morale of story, product is garbage, kvl warranty is garbage, save a lot of money and headaches. Don't buy A.O. SMITH. THEY ARE GARBAGE.

A. O. Smith HWH installed. Made a hissing sound day 1. Plumber returned a few times, said it was defective. I called the A. O. Smith. Said they would replace but had to use their recommended plumber, I did. They don't pay for install, RIDICULOUS!!

In 2009 purchase an OA Smith Water heater - in 2012 water heater leaked and since it was under warranty had the heater replaced with a cost for warranty fee. Had problems with this replacement and had to pay for factory serviceman to come out and replace a part (pilot kept going out). All is well until Feb 2016 when the water heater (replaced in 2012). Again went back to distributor only to find out that the one installed in 2012 was out of warranty. Had to purchase another new water heater - therefore spending over $900. For 2 water heaters in 8 years. Not counting money spent for installation, service and water damage to my finished basement. NEVER AGAIN will I purchase "the top of the line" AO Smith water heater and neither should you. Had gotten no response or help from corporate or consumer affairs.

Had an AO Smith water heater installed 22 months ago. 13 month into the ownership it died. Thermal coupling was replaced under warranty. Not the labor. The labor was another $175. 4 months later it died again. Same part. Same additional $175. Another 5 months and once again, it is dead. They were kind enough to look in their manual and "know exactly what's needed" and send out the part. Which was missing the gas line compression fitting. Which is not available at any local plumbing supply, gas and fireplace supply, or Home Depot. Another $175 plumber visit however was charged. Thankfully this guy pulled out the faulty part. How did the part keep failing? The tank is leaking of course. See the picture with the mold all over it. At this point I am not holding my breath for any warranty coverage as I wouldn't want this POS replaced with the same thing.

My 2013 50 gallon W/H Model #GCV 50300 blew the bottom out last night. A. O. gave me the local dist # & they said it was going to cost a $100 Warranty fee to exchange the W/H AND my plumber has to bring the W/H to them before they will release the new one. This makes labor double & that is not covered under warranty. I asked A. O. to cash me out the remaining worth of the 2-year-old W/H and they refused. A. O. Smith Water Heaters are BAD, BAD, BAD!!! I manage 100 properties & will never buy their products again!!!

Model XCV50100 - My husband and I live in an apartment. Our dryer and furnace are right next to this water heater. We have owned it for less than five years. The pilot light has gone out four different times resulting in no hot water. It takes our plumber three times to get it to stay on. I called and wrote customer service for this. Lo and behold discontinued model. They blamed it on everything else but their horrible lemon of a product. Horrible experience.

I am a Plumber since 1976. I have dealt with AO Smith since I began the trade. Since around the year 2000 they have went downhill on their products, AO Smith also makes Lochinvar, Whirlpool, and American water heaters. They will not admit to their problems. Believe me! The customer help people have no knowledge of the product. Just a guide book they read from, so don't expect help from them.

Hot Water Tank Model #GVC40 100 - Within the last 6 years of having this model installed brand new, I have had to call out the service man 5 times to help with the restarting of the pilot light. Every time it goes out, it will not restart with the normal directions printed on the tank. The service man has replaced a thermocouple, re-terminated the wire on the starter switch, another time took the entire bottom apart and did something else, etc, etc. After trying to look up directions on the internet of troubleshooting myself, I saw that many other consumers were having the same trouble. This product should have been RECALLED for DEFECTS! After spending over $1000 in past repairs, not including the original purchase price and installation, I am now looking into totally replacing the unit and spreading the word of this terrible product. Consumer ALERT: DO NOT BUY THIS PRODUCT!!!

We have a 5 year old, 50-gallon A.O. Smith water heater. It has a broken thermocouple. This is a $10 item and relatively available. And easy to replace, DIY. But because of the design, the A.O. Smith thermocouple can only be replaced by ordering a complete new burner assembly at about $100 and not available except by special order. So it takes several days to arrive. So we are without hot water for several days unless we are willing to buy a whole new water heater for $500. We have opted for the new water heater and we can guarantee that this will never be one made by A.O. Smith.

Hi, I would like to escalate this to the highest management of A. O. Smith. I was not aware that you guys have such unprofessional post sales services and your technicians are highly unskilled and immature as your products are. I have purchased the geyser 1 month back and its creating lot of sound. When I lodged the complaint, the technician which was sent was highly unprofessional . He misbehaved and acted like a Bully and Gunda and said that you have to live with this noisy sound. He was not ready to listen and told to complain to anyone we want. Post sales service is highly unprofessional and of very low standards. When I asked his full name he said, "My name is Ravi and you can complain to anyone about me. You want? I don't care." Technician Name is 'RAVI'. It was not expected from Brand like A. O. Smith. Deeply regretting to choose product of your brand. My Geyser Model is HSE-VAS-015. Date of purchase is 9 Nov 2015.

Water heater stopped working after two months. My plumber and contractor checked it out and AO Gold sent an incompetent plumber that didn't even look at any of the parts, took pictures and sent them to customer service and I never heard back from AO Gold customer service, even though customer service that they would call me back within one hour. It's been two weeks and I still haven't heard back from them. I had to buy a new water heater because they would not cover it under warranty. I have had three water heaters installed by the same person in the same spot and all worked for years.

I had my water heater replaced on February 2014 and the plumber did install an AO Smith one, saying that was "top of the line". What a waste of time and money. The water heater started to leak this weekend and it is under warranty. However I am going to still have to pay $400 out pocket to have it replaced, as home warranty insurance won't pay for it since it is under warranty!! There is a $125 "exchange fee" and the rest is due to water lines that need to be adjusted to the new water heater. Why do I have to pay as a consumer the cost of their incompetency as manufacturers? And the worst part is that now, I am stuck with this brand as they will replace it for another one. I won't buy another AO Smith water heater never again.

My 60 gallon with a 10 year warranty A.O. Smith leaked after 6 years. I got a replacement (New) installed fill the water a new one start leaking from the exhaust wasted $700 to pay the contractor twice. I called A.O. Smith Corporate to complain but it was a waste of time. Horrible customer service and they don't care about their customers. Beware don't buy their heaters it is throwing money in the toilet. I needed three water heaters to get it right. VERY SAD.

We replaced an old water heater with a new AO Smith gas water heater. About 2 weeks later the screens on our faucets were filled with green and white grit which caused low water pressure. We have 2 water heaters. The non-Smith heater does not produce grit. AO Smith had us hire a plumber to come out to tell us what to do. He said that the water heater was producing grit. AO Smith customer service says that we have to pay to replace a part because the grit is caused by our water reacting to their heater part. We have city water which has never produced this problem in any of our other water heaters. Based on the current AO Smith lack of customer service we will probably have to replace the heater at our expense. Believe me it will NOT be with an AO Smith heater.

I bought a hot water heater about a year ago and it started to leak and rust. Customer service would not help me with the labor cost on replacing the unit. Then I got a new one 6 weeks ago and it has already leaked and rusted. They again will not help me with the labor cost to have it installed saying the Warranty carried over from the last water heater and they will not cover it. I am extremely dissatisfied and if I can give them less than one star I would. I will never ever use their services and I recommend anyone to stay away.

I have a 50-gallon water heater which is still under warranty and not hot water. The company is giving me the run around after having the plumber and electric company saying the problem is with the water heater, the elements and other part. Still no hot water. Now AO Smith wants me to call the electric company back out to my house. They are rude and just wanted to get out of replacing the water heater.

We have lived in our new house for 15 years and will now need to buy our 4th, new, hot water heat. I'll give you one guess, what brand was initially installed? Yep, A.O. Smith. The first one failed after 3 years. It was replaced on warranty. The second one failed after 4 years but A.O. Smith wouldn't replace it because it was a warranty replacement so I had to buy a new one. That was also an A.O. Smith and now that one is leaking out the bottom. Never again, A.O.Smith.

I had an A.O.Smith 50 gallon short boy water heater. The unit was approx. 2 years old. There was a loud bang and the water leaked all over my basement. I contacted A.O. Smith about the warranty. My unit did not have a rating plate on it (maybe it was removed by installer, or was never there in the 1st place.). Because the plate was missing, A.O.Smith would not honor the warranty. I sent pictures of the unit showing installation date to company, but this made no difference. I am now forced to buy another water heater. I can guarantee you, it will NOT be A.O.Smith!!!

Purchased an AO Smith hot water tank (40 gals). I installed it myself and was careful to fill the tank with water prior to hooking up the electricity. I've installed numerous tanks in my life so I know the correct procedure. 2 months later the upper element seal blew out and flooded my house. The leak flowed as much as a garden hose would on full pressure. It shot out a foot or so from the tank. We weren't home at the time so the damage was extensive.

DO NOT PURCHASE AN A.O. SMITH WATER HEATER! Be smart and allow our bad experience to help you make a better choice. The unit has REPEATED ISSUES with a variety of its components - the thermostat failed twice in 8 mos, the burner unit failed within 18 mos, making a loud frightening "popping" sound. We had to pay a plumber to repair the components with no reimbursement offered from the company! And we all know how expensive plumbers are. The plumber even stated they have had nothing but problems with A.O. Smith units and refuse to use them any longer, preferring to go with American Standard or Rheem. Steer very clear from this product!

Even being a plumbing contractor, A.O. Smith treats us like what sits in the bottom of the toilet. A.O. Smith representative for this area, Ron **, refuses to pay us when their garbage fails within the 1 year time frame and we have to go out and fix them at all hours. Their cover answer to all questions is, the plumber did something wrong. Why? Yes we did do something wrong. We bought one of your poorly designed units. They make us look bad to our clients, who we always strive to supply the best equipment and service. Never EVER buy a A.O. Smith. Period. Many of us have abandoned what was a good company years ago for Rheem or Bradford White. Good tech lines, answers and help.

Not only is our new water heater garbage, but customer service is even worse. Keep giving me and my plumber the run around. Obnoxious company with a clearly inferior product. After getting nowhere with customer service, I called the company president, hoping someone at a higher level would care what their customer service/parts department was telling people. Hoping for a callback tomorrow.

Our A. O. Smith propane water heater stopped working and the main component that we use to heat the water stopped working. A. O. Smith would not come to repair it. It is my family summer house and they classify us as a business. They refused to give us our warranty. The water heater was installed on 3/4/2014. Our plumber has to order and wait for over a week to get the part needed. The fee for the replacement was $1035, that I had to pay for. I would never recommend this company to anyone.

In 2007 we built our home in Florida. In Dec. 2009 our A. O. Smith Water Heater stopped working. Leaking all over the wash room and garage. We called the company and they installed a new A. O. Smith heater. On August 1, 2015 our water heater broke again. (Less than 6 years old). We were told this second one would last at least 10 years. When we called to our third heater we were told it was not under warranty and we would have to purchase our new heater. We went to Lowe's and ordered a Whirlpool. NEVER a A. O. Smith again.

I bought my water heater 2 years ago and have had to have it fixed twice. I paid $1000.00 for the water heater and after the plumber comes to fix it for the second time, I have spent $800.00 to keep it running. This is by far the worst experience I have ever had with product quality. You can be sure I will never buy another AO Smith water heater again. AO Smith will pay for the part if it breaks, but you have to pay for the labor. It cost me $350.00 to get it fixed the first time, and now I am having to pay another $450 in labor and $30 for rush delivery this time. There is no reason I should have to get a "top of the line" water heater repaired twice in 2 years. DO NOT BUY AO SMITH!!!

I purchased a water heater on 12/7/2010. It has a 6 year warranty. I found it rusted out in June of 2015. My plumber contacted the manufacturer for a replacement. They refused to speak to him and told him I had to call them. When I called they offered me $450 in the form of a check, not a water heater. As I did the research, I found that it was impossible to find a quality water heater for anywhere near that dollar amount. They finally agreed to $700 as I was out of town and argued. Then when I returned I learned it is very difficult to find a quality water heater and certainly harder to find an 80 gallon size.

A. O. Smith had problems with not only their dip tubes. Their 75 gallon tanks had leakers approximately 4" from the top. As a plumbing contractor A. O. Smith fails to take into consideration we plumbers sell is time. And to take a 75 gallon water heater down a flight of stairs, connect the gas and water supply and flue. As you're filling the tank only to hear "hissing" and then water spewing out and take it back to a supply house eats all our possible profits. They offered to give me $125 which did not come close to my employees' labor rate. When their sealed combustion assembly fails they say it's out of warranty.

As I look online, I see that my very bad experience with A.O. SMITH is far from unusual. They refused to honor my warranty. My excellent, patient, experienced plumber (30 years as a plumber) took a long time on the phone talking to a number of people. He explained, as a professional, in great detail why the heater needed to be replaced. They were not interested. They suggested sending out their representative, a MR. RAY **, for a fee of $185. James, from DRAINS UNLIMITED called Mr. ** and was told there must be rust build-up inside the tank. So, therefore, it is not under warranty. Decided this on the phone...

Purchased a new A.O. Smith power vent water heater for my home. The heater was over filled with insulation, which caused the top to bow up and the sides to buckle. Insulation was running down the sides. Contacted A.O. Smith. Company stated that this did not affect the operation. Thus, they would not replace it. Quality control should have caught this at the factory. Like buying a new car, with a few dents and scratches, CHECK BEFORE YOU ACCEPT.

We've had an A. O. Smith SV9570A 2062 propane hot water heater in our seasonal residence (5 months a year) for about 10 years. During this time it has functioned reasonably well, however it typically takes 30 to 45 seconds for the water to heat up. The temperature of water coming from our faucets is generally about 10-15 degrees less than the setting on the tank. Last year we were advised we needed a new thermocouple and the cost for an entire computerized thermocouple unit was $225 (we couldn't simply buy a thermocouple by itself) not counting labors far cry from the $10 it used to cost for us to buy and replace a thermocouple ourselves on older hot water heaters (NOT A. O. Smith.)

Sorry but we bought this house brand new and the Water Heater went out after 6 years. The warranty expired in May and it crapped out in June. Called to see if they could do anything and their customer support won't budge at all. The sad thing is there are friends of ours who have Water Heaters 10-15 years old with no problems. This one craps out after 6 years. If you're looking for a water heater DO NOT BUY this one.

Wish I had read the reviews before I had this water heater installed. Unit broke down less than two months in service. Even though the parts are covered, I have to pay for installing this part and a couple of days without hot water. This unit with the blower cost me over $2,300 for installation. No more AO Smith Water Heaters!!!!!! Bad product!!!

AO Smith water heaters are terrible. We built our home 15 years ago, the first water heater needed replaced after 10 years, ok. We bought a new one. That one failed in less than 3 years. AO Smith warranty replaced it. Current water heater is approx 3 years old and has failed. It is leaking out of the bottom. Water heater states 6 yr warranty however because it was a replacement, company will not honor another 6 year warranty.

My first A.O. Smith Water Heater was replaced after 19 years; was still working so this was planned replacement due to age. I had no problems, so I bought another A.O. Smith. Seven years later, the pilot assembly went out and the repair was estimated at $400 - 500. Really! This is more than half the cost of a new water heater. No more A.O. Smith.

My seven year old A-O Smith Water Heater broke and flooded my basement. Frustrated that a water heater that this would occur I called customer service and was told I should have been checking my Anode rod regularly. Not even plumbers do that!!! The rep was rude, insensitive and when I was told by HR at the home office that someone would reach out to me, no one did!! BAD PRODUCT and even worse customer service!!! Beware!!!

We foolishly let a plumber choose the brand of our new water heater. He installed a 50-gallon A.O. Smith ProMax, and 3-1/2 yrs later, it has gone out and needs to be replaced. When we called the plumbing company, we were told they no longer install A.O. Smith, because of all the problems they have. STAY AWAY from this brand, or you will have no hot water like us. What a waste of money!

AO Smith Water Heater, absolutely worst product I've had the misfortune to buy. It is totally undependable. The White/Riders Intelli-Vent a sensor filled electronic switch installed inline on the water heater randomly stops the water heater from doing its job of heating water. The water heater has been warranty replaced on less three years and has several service calls yearly.

In short, poor performing product, terrible customer service with a warranty department that is either incompetent, poorly trained, or just doesn't care. I'm a property owner (investor) and have been a property manager for 20+ years. During this time I've had numerous problems with water heaters and have resolved numerous issues with Warranty Departments. Dealing with AO Smith warranty department was incredibly frustrating and eventually became ridiculous. As a matter of fact this is the first negative review I have ever written on any products. So for me to take the time to do this, the experience would have to have been terrible. I am writing this a couple of weeks since I've dealt with their warranty department, so I've had time to calm down a bit, but have decided to write a review in hopes of saving consumers the level of frustration I reached.

I needed hot water heater, talked to **. VERY helpful. Got heater at Ferguson, 6712 Kinne st. Syracuse, NY. ** waited on me at counter. VERY helpful. Got everything needed to install. A.O. SMITH heater works great, last one was 14 years old. Thank you.

Second Water Heater in 5 yrs! Stay clear of this product. You will have the inconvenience of no hot water, waiting around for your plumber and PAYING for labor. This hot water heater only has a warranty until this February! AO Smith will not warrant for another 6 yrs. I will be holding my breath. Ridiculous!!

To replace a 30 year old water heater, we purchased an 85 gallon commercial water heater BTR-365A. I mean this water heater costs $8000 plus $2000 to install. Gas powered, electronic ignition, I thought you get what you pay for, so I got something nicer. I should have stuck with heaters from Lowe's. They last longer and I could install them myself.

My problems began with the day of installation (11/22/14) when the unit failed to heat. My installer contacted the company the next day and was successful in getting the water to heat. But the sound of "gravel" in the hot water lines, plus the deposit of powdery, white residue on my dishes in my dishwasher persist.

Bought a brand new house 11 years ago. It came with an A.O. Smith 40 gallon heater. 1st one needed replaced after 5 years. No big deal bought another A.O. smith - 3years - out again. They replaced it under the warranty with no issues. 3 years and 3 months later I come down stairs to find a massive hole in the side of the water heater with water shooting across my basement as if coming from a hose. Thinking it had a 6 year warranty made me feel a little better - nope A.O. Smith will not replace the water heater because I didn't get a 6 year warranty on the replacement, I got a 6 year warranty on the one before. They won't cover a 3 year old water heater - great company!!!

Had water heater installed May 2010. Within months required service, electric starter not working. Next year gas flow indicator needed repair, next year starter again. April 2015, gas flow valve. Just had it replaced, warranty covers parts, not labor. First problem with a water heater, 5 houses, 36 years.

Pilot light will go out at times. Have been told it gets dirty under the burner assy and needs to be cleaned out.. have paid for that a few times. When you re-lite the pilot, it is a very small flame and will not stay lite unless you hold the button in. Then a flame increases flame will stay lite. I keep it clean under the burner assy, but just acts up usually when we have guests. My brother had one put in a unfinished basement and has never cleaned anything and never one problem. I keep telling the tech that something else is wrong. Been nothing but a headache.

I paid $600 to have a new AO Smith Water Heater Installed. 2 years later the tank leaks, water all over the floor. Warranty is useless because no-one has them in stock. I have to pay full price again for a different water heater. Horrible AO service, does not back up their product. BEWARE and STAY AWAY from AO SMITH.

Pardon me, but is this normal to feel your in-basement new gas HW heater sound like a very loud, deep hum that actually vibrates your body while on the main floor of this smaller cape cod home? I've never heard or felt anything like this from a gas HW heater, and this is my 3rd professionally-installed AOS in the last 18 yrs. Heats the water, yes, but causes an initial fright to me every time it starts to heat water, BUT I have not had the experience someone else has of it over-heating water, either. If I were on the phone standing next to it, I'd have a hard time hearing the conversation on the phone. (Purchased from/installed on 3/14 on emergency basis from Gall Plumbing, Saukville, WI)

This A.O. Smith 40 gallon water heater was installed on June 9, 2009 to replace another A.O. Smith tank. It is installed in our garage. Last night it started leaking rusty water. (Of course at midnight on a Sat. night!!) Our plumber stated that they no longer use A.O. Smith products due to customer "dissatisfaction." It is within the 6 year warranty period, and our plumber said they would replace with the same product under the warranty, but the labor charges aren't included & they don't have it in stock. We needed this done the next day, and we elected not to replace with the A.O. Smith tank, which apparently is still being used. I would never buy another A.O. Smith product.

This has been a VERY DIFFICULT experience dealing with this company. My water heater has not worked correctly in months. We have a number of times and spent 400.00 on maybe it's this or maybe it's that, and still are required to do more test that run about another 200.00. Our water heater is under warranty until 2017. I'm tired of throwing away good money. DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY unless you want a lot of PROBLEMS.