A. O. Smith Water Heaters Reviews

I have a new A.O. Smith hot water tank installed yesterday, March 16, 2015 by H2O Maestro from Lexington, KY. It is a GCV-40 301, serial #1407AO18938. It is VERY loud when heating water. Since the tank is in the middle part of my house, I can't get away from the noise. Can it be adjusted to be quieter?

Would be nice if the CLEANING instruction were on the outside of the unit like the ignition instructions. Next home purchase if it has a AO Smith water heater that POS is getting trashed.. Thanks.

We have a salon with a 75 gallon commercial water heater. We have been in our business for one year as of March 4, 2014. Our water heater was replaced, repaired, and continues to fail with the same problem. Not having hot water in a salon is not only a problem with sending people away because we have no hot water but it is also a state board issue. Our property management blames it on the location of the water heater and wants to move it outdoors. They claim the room is too warm, it is vented, exhaust fanned, and air conditioned with a slatted saloon style door. It is much warmer outside.

First I'd like to say I am an A.O. Smith customer for 30 years and have 7 water heaters in my buildings. We bought a GCV 50 300 gas hot water tank and after 6 months it started shutting off the pilot in the middle of the night due to condensation dripping on the pilot. I called A.O. Smith who had me do a bunch of different things to correct it including calling their service company that charged me 275.00 for no reason some warranty. Then at the end they told me I have to buy a bigger tank or add a mixing valve because their heaters are more efficient now and the condensation is normal. This is the first review I ever wrote about anything and I am disgusted with this company and I will be buying a hot water tank from a different manufacturer. Just didn't want anyone to go through the same headache as me.

I had a Bradford White 60 gallon gas water heater that was about 10 years old and had always performed exceedingly well until it started having a small leak last summer. I was not upset when it started leaking, however, because I figured getting 10 good years out of a gas hot water heater these days was pretty good. I contracted with a local large plumbing company to install a new Bradford White water heater, but after they had unhooked my old water heater, they discovered they had picked up an electric B/W, and that their supplier was out of B/W gas water heaters. The manager of the plumbing company offered to install a 75 gallon AO Smith gas water heater instead at the same cost. He assured me AO Smith was as good as B/W and I agreed to accept his offer.

I built a new house and one of the AO Smith water heaters I put in went out 5 years of living in the house. I called customer service and found out the water heater was insured for 6 years. I was told to send in the certificate of occupancy for the house. I informed them that it was a newly built house and no certificate of occupancy was issued. I sent in the Affidavit of Settlement and was told it wouldn't work even though it had all the information they needed. They would not cover the water heater. I was stuck buying another heater. In my opinion your better off buying a Whirlpool from Lowes or Home Depot.

We had a water heater from A. O. Smith's put in less than two years ago and it started leaking a week ago, and it is still under warranty. Well we are still waiting!!! Unforgivable!!! A whole week without hot water they told us three times they were coming but then called back with some stupid excuse. How are they still in business when they treat people this way?

Had new 50 gallon A. O. Smith gas water heater installed by licensed plumber on 2/2/15 with thermostat setting on hot (120F). OK for 6 days but water temperature then climbed to 140F and stayed there and water was steaming, coming out of faucet upstairs. Turned thermostat to low. Subcontractor for A.O Smith came after a few days and verified the problem. Replaced gas control valve and left setting on hot. Temperature of water still in upper 130s. Trying to get lower temperature by putting control knob between low and hot but response is very slow.

We bought a brand new A.O. Smith Water heater (GPS 75). However it lasts only for a bit over 6 years. First, the surface igniter burned out. It was replaced - cost more than $200 for parts and labor. Second, the control valve unit went out of order, costs another $800 for parts & labor. Our old water heater lasted for more than 20 years. The new one from A. O. Smith lasts for only 6 years. I would strongly recommend for any water heater sold at Home Depot and/or Lowe's, which is very popular, massively produced and cost much low for both parts and labor - I could buy more than two brand new water heater for $1200 at Lowe's or HD.

Installed on 12/27/14 a brand new GCNH-50. 4 days later it quit with 10 flashes. Called installer who came back and contacted customer service, made corrections. Then it worked only for a week. Same problem. Called customer again, this time they said I should clean the burner screen - even though I repeatedly told him it is only 10 days old. The answer was 'sometimes incorrect gas pressure can create clogs on the screen'. Again, I told him this is brand new. They refused to help further. The installer found a service representative who found that the gas nozzle was in fact incorrectly installed. Not to mention of course the burner screen was perfectly clean! It took him 3 hours to get that corrected, because some metal parts were bent. He had to file off some edge to correct it.

Had a new AO Smith gas water heater installed 3 years ago. Now leaking. Called and parts are covered but not labor. Cost over $300 for labor to install new unit. AO Smith says for their product to last, you need to have inner rod replaced EVERY YEAR. Cost...about $150 dollars per year. Never heard of a product that needs yearly maintenance at over $100 per year for it to last. Never had this problem with previous GE water heater products. Will NEVER buy AO Smith in future since they manufacture a substandard product that does not last!

Had a water heater control thermostat go bad, a customer's water heater. Called A O Smith (AKA State Water heater) Customer service who told me to go to one of their suppliers for the part. The supplier would not honor the warranty even though I had a claim number. I called A O Smith again while at the supplier and was told that I could purchase the part and submit the invoice for refund. I followed their instructions but after I waited a few days, I called to check on the progress of the refund. I was told that they only refund to the consumer not the repair company. This is not what I was told on the phone. I now have to go back to the customer and collect from her and she has to submit a claim. This now puts me and my credibility in Question with my client.

We moved into a brand new home that came with an AO Smith water heater (tankless). Within two weeks we had to have someone from AO Smith come and replace a defective pilot. After that we had to replace the pilot every year for five years. By the fifth year there were so many problems with our water heater that someone from A O Smith came and had to replace what they called a "defective pilot system". A new type of pilot system was then installed. It also turned out that our water heater had not been properly attached when the house had first been built. A week later, we had to have the entire water heater replaced by A O Smith.

I purchased my home five months ago and have been experiencing water not hot enough and of very short capacity. It is an A O Smith model ECT 40 200. My home is only five years old and the previous owner indicated that the original water heater failed and was replaced, under warranty and by the contractor/builder, after only one month. This morning the water heater lacked enough hot water for one shower and was making a strange, loud noise. I called A O Smith and they determined that it was "under warranty". I was instructed to remove the upper and lower covers and to disconnect the wires at both levels and to provide a resistance reading for each coil. I'm glad it's not my gall bladder that was acting up!

Installed a new 80-gal electric in Sept 2013. Failed two days ago and had both upper and lower starters replaced. Failed again after one day and had both thermostats replaced this AM. This is my 3 Ed home with an electric water heater. Never had any problems before, but never had this brand either.

Brand new, out of box, installed by licensed plumber - did not ignite. Many hours attempting to follow troubleshooting, no results. Would not accept the product as a return. Would only schedule a technician to visit after we uninstalled the new working water heater purchased after having no success with the AO Smith water heater. They wanted to replace the broken part. DO NOT BUY THEIR PRODUCTS!

We purchased a brand new home 7 days ago. Turn on breaker, water heater took 12 hours to heat up. 2 showers were taken, 1 load of dishes washed in the dishwasher and it popped the breaker. As of this morning still no hot water. This water heater is terrible.

A.O. Smith HSE SAS 25ltrs The product was installed on 6/5/14. It does a pretty good job in heating the water. But if you don't use it for around a month the water stinks real bad. I haven't experienced this at all in any other water heaters. This is the first one that we have used that has this problem. On contacting to service center they send a representative who comes and suggests us to drain the water heater. We end up wasting 25 liters of water. There are other water heaters which on staying idle for months and the water still would not stink.

My water heater failed to ignite and I was told by the installer that I would need to purchase a new gas valve which he said he would install for $326, labor only... I consulted the reviews and was very concerned as I was reading very negative reviews about the company as well as the water heater. I am happy to report that I had a completely satisfactory experience. A.O. Smith recommended that I clean the carbon buildup on the rod...explaining that is most often the cause of the problem. At my insistence they still shipped to me (for only $10 shipping) the new gas valve as I was still under warranty. They expressed concern that I should not pay such a high rate for installation of the gas valve if/when it is necessary to install it. They assured me that they could refer me to authorized repairmen that would do the repair for much less. They were extremely helpful, informative and courteous... This was over three different research phone calls and speaking to three different departments. They also sent me a replacement manual at my request. Too often it seems customers only take the time to complain... I try to follow a different path and share the positive. I am happy in Michigan. :)

We bought 2 geysers of AO Smith while renovating our house. After a month, one of the geysers stopped working. I called up the service cell. They said they will send someone to check. The person came after a week. He said it’s a small problem. A senior technician will come and rectify. After following up for 10 days they committed that the person will come on Saturday (since we could only be available on weekends). We stayed back home waiting for this guy all day but no show. They again committed for next day but no one came.

Have a new (3 months) A. O. Smith 50 gal electric water heater which has an electrical short that was energizing the household electrical system by back feeding through the ground wiring and causing personal shocks when touching metal surfaces of appliances. An electrician was contacted and established that the problem is internal to the water heater. We were advised that only an A. O. Smith tech could make a decision as to what to do. One was contacted several days ago, by the installer, as well as the local A. O. Smith sales rep. The tech is of the opinion that it cannot be the water heater so he has not bothered to look at the unit to verify the problem. I wish he would just come out, hook up the heater and place his hand against the electrical panel box or a furnace air duct and hold it there for a couple of seconds then explain the pulsation he feels.

We bought A.O. Smith 6-liter residential model. After 3 months, we felt shock in the water. Also complained the issue in customer care. No persons came. Since summer started, we didn't use it for six months. While we used it now, a heavy current is passing the hot water. Just a one sec escape from it. Dear people, please don't buy it to save your family.

The heater shuts off when the water gets warm. The pilot cannot be lit until the water is cold again.

An AO Smith new water heater model GNR-40-200 was purchased at a plumbing supply store and installed by our licensed plumber on August 12, 2013. On October 18, 2013 the water heater failed. The household had twin babies age 1 year at the time... so it was difficult to be without hot water for an extended period of time. It was difficult to find a 'warranted' plumber as required by AO Smith. We went through the pressure tests etc. and plumber determined the GAS CONTROL VALVE was faulty. AO Smith sent a new part and on 10-22-13 the water heater worked again. This was 4 DAYS without hot water with two babies in the house.

Very frustrating, A.O.Smith has poor quality control. This is our second hot water heater, the first was replaced under warranty after 3 years for leaks. Now mind you, this is their top of the line Vertex GPHE 50 gallon heater. The problem this time that after 3 and half years the igniter will not light the heater, even after new igniter was installed at a cost of $340.00. If any one has any solutions to this problem please post, thank you.

My 14 year old A.O. Smith Water Heater set itself on fire and almost burned my house down!!!! Model number is PGCG 40. Called them, and they will not do anything about it!!!

On 3/28/13 got new A.O. Smith water heater to replace prior heater of 15 1/2 yrs. Pilot light frequently goes out and have to reset. So no hot water until reheated. Have called & emailed AO Smith - no meaningful response - just general info. DWP verified no gas line problems; they replaced regulator & meter at insistence of local company rep. Plumber installer came several times - changing venting and making adjustments (better flex hose). Local factory rep come 2x to fix - replacing gas valve (2x) and pilot assembly. For brief period seemed okay then problems again. Local rep suggested may need to replace whole unit. Had 15+ yrs.

So the old water heater was 12 yrs old and started leaking water so I decided to get a new one. We purchased the water heater, took it home and we installed it. Upon lighting the pilot light was a LARGE YELLOW flame. However the heater came on heated the water and shut off. My son went to take a shower and it sounded like a jet engine and he heard the water boiling in the tank. I thought maybe this was just the burner so I did not worry, it’s brand new, all should be good. The next day after work I started my dishes and the water scalded my hands. It was on the lowest hot setting but once again it was now 2 days old, surely everything is ok. I went and looked, yep still a large yellow flame. This is a really hot heater but I really started feeling uneasy because the pilot light should not be yellow. By morning it had shut down so I relit the pilot light against all better judgment because the yellow flame kept worrying me and the dummy light was blinking 4 times - ok this is the gas control valve.

My water heater was manufactured in Dec 2006, so about 7 1/2 years old. The gas control valve was replaced around year 4. About six weeks ago, it started tripping off again. Local plumber says the blower and gas control valve need to be replaced. He also found that the internal baffle burned out and fell to the bottom of the unit and would also need to be replaced. Needless to say, all the replacement costs approach the cost of a brand new unit. So I contacted AO Smith for advice and was told to buy a new one. Wow, thanks for the customer service and support. No way I'll be buying another AO Smith unit if their lifespan is so pathetic.

My water heater was 20 yrs old. In January 2007, I contacted my local vendor and told them as preventative, I want to replace my HWH. They installed an AO Smith ProMax GCV 40 100, as advised in the owner's manual I flushed the unit yearly in the month of Sept or thereabouts, please note I have soft water as well. Oct/Nov 2013, the unit started popping which it had never done before. I just came on 6-1-14 to find water on my floor. I called my vendor who advised 1) it is out of warranty, 6 years and 2) the seams are crimped and not welded and over time the heat and expansion the seams start to leak, i.e. what I have now. So much for preventative maintenance, I got 7 years out of this unit what a jip. Don't buy AO Smith they are imported pieces of junk.

Purchased an A.O. Smith water heater from a local plumbing company on 06/12/2012. Water heater had 6-year warranty Model # GCVL 40 300; SN 1219J003175. On 05/23/14, water heater begin leaking from the bottom of the heater. Plumbing company that installed heater was closed for Memorial Day weekend and would not be available to inspect/replace water heater until 05/27/14. Contacted another plumbing company who installed a new Rheem Water Heater that I purchased from the local Home Depot. Because of holiday weekend, total cost for the labor and replacement around $750.00. Not happy or satisfied with A.O. Smith Water Heater and will never allow another one in my residence.

We built a new home and moved in Jun 2013, April 2014 our water heater stopped working. Model GPVH 50 100. Technician came out, replaced the gas valve and the pressure switch. One week later it stopped working again. Waiting on the technician to arrive. I'm demanding that our builder (Drees Homes) replace this unit (we are within our one year warranty) and stop installing these units in their new homes.

We built a large house with 3-50 gal A.O. Smith water heaters. 1 went out in 3 years. The other 2 finally went out at the 5.5 year mark - SERIOUSLY?!?! These were not cheap water heaters!! They are still covered under warranty but we have to pay for installation which was not cheap! Then there is the hassle factor of waiting for the plumber, A.O. Smith, and then the new heaters.... NOT HAPPY! DO NOT GO THERE - STAY AWAY FROM A.O. SMITH!!!

Replaced an older heater with AO Smith 50 gal on Nov. 1, 2012. On Nov 18, 2013 heater not working. Technician told to get new control Valve which cost me $240 in labor. Nov 25, 2013 had to call same technician for same reason. He replaced the same valve at no cost because of the short time between. Today, April 30, 2014 we have no hot water. Same 4 blinks, same valve issue. Waiting for technician to come out AGAIN. Based on previous comments, looks like our Tech purchased the wrong water heater because AO Smith apparently doesn't care about customer service.

Ours was a little over 4 years old when the thermocouple went out. Unlike most water heaters where you can buy a new one at the hardware store and install it yourself, this one had to be special ordered! It took about a week to get it. What should be a $10 part and a DIY job cost me $184 in labor. Fast forward just 3 months later and it started leaking. It developed a leak after only 4 1/2 years! Yes, it is under warranty, but it's costing me almost $300 in labor to install another one. Unfortunately I'm stuck with A.O. Smith. In under 5 years this water heater cost me $500.

The heaters make clinking noises when heating and cooling down... Very irritating if heater is in the house... AO Smith doesn't care... Don't buy AO Smith.

I haven't seen anyone else with the same problem I have, so here goes. My water heater works fine - as long as you keep using it. When you use hot water, the tank fills, the burners kick on, the water heats. But that's where it stops. The water heater never kicks on again to maintain the temperature of the water. If the heater does not cycle within a few hours of me needing hot water, I'm out of luck. If I go on vacation I have to run the hot water until the water heater kicks on, then wait until the water heats up, to take a shower. This does make for a very efficient water heater.

I had house re-piped about 10 years ago and for the last 5 years I have had these black particles in my hot water, of course no longer under warranty (6 years). The company came and installed a new rod in my tank and we didn't notice it for a while, however it came back. It's not present all the time but when it is I can draw a cup of water and sit it on the counter and within minutes this black stuff is floating at top of cup. And when you pour it out, it leaves a ring around the cup that has to be wash good with soap to remove the stain, it's like a rubbery sticky feeling. Can anyone help me to determine what the problem is.

I purchased a AO Smith 40 gal LP heater in Jan 2014. The next day, it ceased functioning. Over the next 10 days, I spent almost $1000 to get this heater working for my tenants. Since the service contractor for AO Smith was not available to do the repair (he was on vacation), they took the opportunity to hang the cost of the repairs on me. Repeated calls to the tech dept., warranty dept., and corporate communication dept. were to no avail. They would only cover $75 "as a courtesy" and otherwise completely put up a brick wall. They would not address any of the issues surrounding the efforts it took to get this junker running. This is the most blatantly dishonest and crooked company I have ever dealt with, and I have been a general contractor for 20 years!

On 8/30/2012, I purchased 1- BTR 500A water heater for $10,947.00 to replace the existing same heater in a customer's location. February 2013, received a call from my customer - heater was not working. Decided to replace control /gas valve from past experience. This repair did not improve condition. Contacted supplier and was directed to a factory direct warranty contractor in my area. Contractor made suggestion of repair to venting system which I paid to complete. Received call next day from my customer the heater was not working.

A.O. Smith water heater replaced a Rheem heater 13 months ago and now the new water heater is leaking. A.O. Smith will not warranty or HELP in any way because of their replacement policy. They will not stand behind their product in any way. NOT a good recommendation of their product or company. Their own website lists under their "values" is making money! Easy to do if you don't stand behind your product and warranty!

I purchased a new AO Smith ProMax GSV50100 50-gallon water heater about two or three years ago. After about one year, the pilot light would just go out for no apparent reason. I contacted AO Smith who stated, as they have told so many others, "That's your problem, we're not covering it under warranty." So I did some research and asked around and found out it was a common problem which AO Smith blamed on everyone but themselves. I vacuumed out the area where the air intake for the combustion chamber is and we got about another year out of it.

I have had an AO Smith gas water heater - res. unit & cannot keep it lit. At least 1x day I have to spend up to 30 min. trying to get the pilot to stay on, then get the main flame on & stay on! The installer told me after the install, "Oh yeah, these have a reputation for this type of issue." I will never buy another.

We have three 100 gal water heaters in the building... One was getting older and need replacing we ordered 1 AO Smith and had it installed... Ordered 2 more to replace older ones....First one installed started have problems. Called customer service.. They sent out replacement vacuum parts. It worked for a couple of months and again it shut down..

I moved into my home in 9/9/2001. The water heater had been installed on 10/20/2000. For the last 13.5 years not one problem. Several weeks ago, it started to Leak though I am still getting hot water. I'm just wondering do I need a new heater or can this one be fixed?

Although the heater performed properly for years heating my floor heating system, I heard a chirping one day from the venter fan. The next day I had no heat. The plastic fan blades inside the housing had melted and stopped the fan, thus no proven draft = no burner flame. After buying another assembly which now has a high temp button limit wired into the fan housing, the fan would only operate for 30-60 seconds until cut out. So my assumption that a worn out bearing allowed the fan blade to stick and then melt was probably in error. And now reading the New bad stories of pilot issues will probably be headed elsewhere.

We have been having trouble with our tankless hot water heater for some time now. It comes on and then after about 30 seconds shuts down. My husband is a third generation Licensed Master Plumber in two states and has spent the past 30 years installing many hot water heaters and said he never would buy an AO Smith Product again! Their service department is useless, this unit has been discontinued and basically we wasted our money and will have to replace this unit and its only seven years old!!!! He installed 12 Rinnai Units in a condo development where the building is 200 years old and never had a single service issue!!!! AO Smith service department is way below par, stay away from them!!!!

I just replaced the second GPSH/GPCR heater on 12/30/2014. Replacing an identical heater installed 11/17/2006. The 2006 installation was to replace the same identical heater installed about 8 years earlier. (NO records left of first heater installation). Both heaters ruptured at about 4 feet off the floor, the tanks simply swelled up and split open. I build boilers for model steam engines for a hobby. We have engines running in our club that are over 50 years old. Does the term "GLASS LINED" give you the impression the tanks are coated with porcelain? I always thought that's what it meant. I'm going to dismantle the last tank and see why it failed. I'm sure very thin meal and NO inside coating is the problem, BUT I GUESS SELLING TANKS IS HOW YOU STAY IN BUSINESS!! Not from me anymore, I just bought a Navien Tankless STAINLESS STEEL heater. This will last and if A O SMITH made their tanks out of Stainless so would theirs. At $1500 bucks a heater I see a whole lot of profit here with all the cheap material going into construction of the tanks. That's all I have to say.

Weatherization a program through Energy Assistance, here in the state of Wisconsin, installed this hot water tank through their program in 3/2010. The warranty expired 3/2011, since the warranty expired (warranty of the actual tank), the parts are still under warranty... but my issue is the water tank has been repaired 4 times since it was installed and each time I am out of at least $200 an hour for repairs. I am on a fixed income and I am without hot water at this time. IS IT POSSIBLE TO GET AN AO SMITH TECHNICIAN to REPAIR or REPLACE IT... I don't mean to be rude, but the previous technician, who repaired it last month, suggested I go on this website and voice my complaint. Model # GPVH4100 / Serial # 1008A007404 AOSmith ProMax

Model GCV40300 installed about 2 years ago, pilot light kept going out every couple of weeks, than be good, then go out. Last week it went out for good. Called a plumber, they got it back on said call AO Smith, see if the part in under warranty. WOW all my part are covered until 2017. They will not ship it out because the plumber did not do a diagnostic test with them. The plumber will not come out or I'll get charged for another service fee and testing fee. My problems are real deep with AO Smith and Mr. Rooter. DO NOT USE EITHER OF THEM.

Had the unit repaired 3 times in 5 years, first time, 9 months after install gas valve and wire harness assembly and parts replaced. One year after that filter valve replaced due to not igniting and now power supply assembly requires replacement unit, won't light, repair costs with service free and labor 500.00 in the past five years while parts under warranty. I've contacted the better business bureau and filed a complaint manufacturing, basically said service fees and labor not covered under warranty and they sent a pdf of the warranty so basically they are not standing behind their product with annual costly repairs.

1.5 year old, professionally installed and inspected tank with two different problems, over $1000 in repairs and Smith says parts are not under warranty. BS.

A.O. Smith provides excellent and prompt service as per the timeline.

Pilot light won't stay on and now won't even light. Looked up new pilot assembly for our A.O. Smith GCV 40 to find it's been discontinued. Seems to me they are well aware of the problems. Why would they not want to fix what they know is a defect in their products?

We installed an A.O. Smith 55 gal., 6 year, hot water tank in June 2007. In Jan.2008, we needed to replace the thermostat at our expense. In May 2010, the heater needed to be replaced under warranty. Now, November 2013, we were told by our plumber that the tank has a leak and needs to be replaced. Because the warranty extends from the original purchase date, less than six and a half years, they will not give any consideration in helping us with a new unit. Two units in less than 6 1/2 years! They claim the fault lies with it being connected to a water softener. We spoke with other plumbing companies and they laughed. The moral of the story is that if you are on a water softener, don't buy an A. O. Smith heater. The idea that a unit won't last more than 3 years under these conditions, and that they will not stand behind their product is ludicrous.

Oct. 16, 2011, after letting my dogs out, the laundry room caught on fire. The electric water heater's smart box shorted out and caught the downstairs in flames and smoke. The sad thing is that A.O. Smith said it wasn't them. Don't buy any water heater from them. They won't take responsibility for the ** product they put out. My son almost died... They suck and I will keep informing Americans of their ** ups.

We have had a repeated over and over problem with this heater. It is now a rental unit and she has for the last two years complained of no hot water repeatedly. I had Premier Plumbing of Fresno out to check it out. They said it needed a new igniter switch so we did that. Now one mo. later, it is still no hot water. Then I was told it was the problem with the wire igniting before it reached the switch, so he charged me again, only half of the reg price. Tonight I got a call from renter, it is worse than ever. It has only warm water, and only a small amount. They should not be able to sell these problem units without a lifetime guarantee, because they have so many problems.

Pop off valve only leaked at end of every heating cycle, replaced T&P valve at a $200 cost. Results=same problem. Was told it was the thermostat next at $121 plus TN sales tax. And I still have same problem. Something told me after reading all bad reviews I should just junk it and get another different name brand. Wonder if A.O.Smith would refund me my parts cost and I can just repair my ceiling myself. That last name "Smith" is close to what it is, i.e... drop the m and move h to its spot and there you have it. I tell you what, I'm in an industry of seeing many people everyday and I definitely will spread the word about this bad product.

I replaced the thermocouple and thermostat. Cleaned out the bottom. AO Smith originally sent me the wrong thermocouple. Had to wait another two days to get the new one. Parts department is not open on weekends. I had to pay for the part and shipping because my water heater is out of warranty.

Had 40 Gallon A.O. Smith Water Heater installed November 25, 2008. Pilot has gone out twice, had one replaced June 16, 2011 and then again April 18, 2012. Now it has happened again for the third time, ready for a new water heater if I have to go through this problem every year. I decided to look to see if anyone else has been having the same problems. In reading the reviews it seems like I really do need to replace instead of trying to have this one fixed.

Our AO Smith water heater element caught fire and ruined our water heater. It was installed in 2007, still under warranty. Six-year warranty, but plumbers refused to install AO Smith because of fire hazards, etc. Called around, no one would install. So we bought a different brand. Speaks volumes when plumbers won't install this brand. Too much liability. Totally inferior products. Buyer be aware... Told neighbors in our development that have them also, same problems...

My 75-gallon ProMax water heater just went out a little less than 9 months after the warranty expired. That is amazing planned obsolescence.

Would not buy at gun point stay away unless you like cold water one year old unit only good for scrap or give to someone you don't like.

Purchased gas tankless water heater on 5/2013 & installed by a licensed plumber. Started having issues within two weeks. Plumber has worked with A.O. Smith technicians to resolve issue but no success.

ProMax gas-fired 75 gallon water heater installed 7/17/07 under crappy 6-year warranty begins leaking 7/18/13. You do the math. Based on all the other negative reviews I've seen on this site, why this company isn't being investigated for fraud (or total incompetence) is beyond me. I just got the latest A.O. Smith model to replace the other one (the mechanical systems contractor that I use swears by Smith and claims Bradford White is an inferior product and would end up costing the same because they'd have to reconfigure vent, etc. to fit) and if it does the same thing I'm going to file a cause of action on many counts, and this may end up as a class-action lawsuit depending on the broad nature of the issue.

We have repaired, then replaced one water heater within 3 years of installation. Now, 5 years after installation, the second one burst, flooding our house and garage.

My A.O. Smith water heater that was installed on Friday is now working on Tuesday, four days later. Yeah! Thanks go to Brandon of Pro-Gas who had the foresight to bring the second part (pilot assembly) he knew was needed to get the water heater working. AO Smith sent out the gas control module. By replacing the two parts, the heater started to work. Also thanks go to Freddie, who installed the heater and spent extra hours trying to get it to work on Friday and coming back to troubleshoot it on Saturday (unfortunately supply houses don't carry all the parts and most are closed on Saturday). My suggestions are to install on a Monday and be ready to be without hot water while technicians troubleshoot and parts are acquired to get the brand new water heater working.

Don't buy it. They won't pay to fix a brand new heater that never worked(!) on a weekend. That is if anyone even carries the part(s) needed which can't be gotten on a weekend.

AO Smith gcxv 50l 100 water heater - Pilot light went out after 2 months and won't re-light. NW Sundance services installed it and they were a struggle to deal with...If any water heater company request the AO Smith deny it and go elsewhere!

I had a to replace the water heater in my house, so the technician brought a brand new water heater to replace my 36-year-old water heater which by the way worked great until it finally gave out. The new AO Smith water heater was installed for 1 day and it's giving me problems already. According to the status light code, I have to replace the gas control valve/thermostat. This is ridiculous. I haven't even had a chance to use it yet since the water won't get hot due to this valve. The quality of this product is horrible. I had a water heater from 1977 and worked great. The technician that installed it told me that this water heater was "top-of-the-line". What a joke!!!

We replace our old water heater to AO Smith water heater on 3/2013. It was fine for 2 months and then we start hearing noise from the water heater every time we turn on the water and especially loud right after we turn off the water. The sound is just like water swirling sound down to a deep hole sound. We call the plumber that installed the water heater. They came 3 times to try to find out what caused that. They change the coming water tube, release the pressure valve. Nothing works. Now when I call them, they do not come any more. We put 2 brick on the top of the water heater. The sound was reduced but only lasted 2 weeks. It came back again. I just did not know what to do. The water heater only 4 months old, how can I tolerated the sound for 6 years that AO Smith promise the warranty. Very sad.

A.O Smith Pro Max water heater with 6 year tank and parts warranty was installed by a licensed plumber 4/20/07. I noticed a small wet spot under it 3 months. At 6 years and 2 months I called A.O. Smith and was told that "too bad, I was past the warranty". Talk about planned obsolescence. Don't buy this cheap piece of junk!

I had a 50-gal. AO Smith power vent water heater installed on January 30, 2012. Today, July 8, 2013, it quit working. It cost me $98 today to find that the gas valve is bad. AO Smith wants $30 to mail me a new one; then it will cost another $200 to replace it. DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH THIS COMPANY! They do not stand behind their product, and after reviewing the many complaints on the internet, they surely know this gas valve is faulty.

My elderly parents purchased an AO Smith water heater back in December of 2011. It was a 6-year gas heater. It has given them nothing but problems. They have had the same part replaced twice in the last month at a cost of $360. The company is aware the part is defective, but all they can tell my folks is they are "working on a new part" and will continue to replace the defective part with another defective part when it breaks. Keep in mind that their warranty does not cover labor.

We installed a 66-gallon water heater made by AO Smith. The water heater was installed on Dec 28, 2009. Three and a half years later, the water heater is corroding and rusting out around the thermostat. AO Smith would not do anything for us. We spent over $800.00 for a water heater that only lasted less than four years. I think AO Smith, being a leader in making water heaters, should stand by their product. They constantly boast about how well their product is built but don't stand behind it. I personally will never buy any more AO Smith product.

AO Smith Water Heater Promax - Sucks - Non standard thermocouple: Other Water Heater Thermocouple, $20 - A.O. Smith does not offer a thermocouple; you have to buy the whole burner assembly! These guys are crooks! NOTE: A.O. SMITH ALSO uses a nonstandard thermocouple fitting so you CANNOT buy one from your local plumbing supply. I would recommend NOT EVER buying an A.O. Smith Water Heater when EVERYONE else uses a universal thermocouple that's easy to obtain and install.

A. O. Smith GNR 50 - It has broken down twice since we bought it 18 months ago. Company honored parts warranty but we had to pay $30 freight and $175 labor to install defective part!

I had 2 ProMax water heaters. The pilot would not stay on on both of them. One of them burst right after the warranty expired. I still have the other one, but I have to light the pilot every morning so my family will have hot water when they get up. I hate these heaters. I am just waiting until I can afford a new heater and it won't be AO Smith.

The only permanent resolution to the problem caused by this poorly-engineered component is to remove the burner assembly, break out the undersized, difficult-to-clean ceramic arrester, and extract the particles using a shop vacuum having a right angle attachment. I replaced the burner assembly and the heater now operates with an open-vented combustion chamber, as all gas waters have for the past 100 years. Never purchase a heater with an undersized or poorly-accessible arrester system!!!

My 83-year old mother qualified for a weatherization program based on her income. She had a perfectly fine hot water heater, yet they insisted on replacing it with the A.O. Smith. It was free and they insisted it be done as part of the program. Two years later, no hot water. Trying to find someone to fix it under warranty was very difficult. They replaced every part possible, but still no hot water. She has gone 2 weeks now with no hot water. What now? She got something for free and now owes lots to repair something that still doesn't work.

I'm a landlord and I have an A.O. Smith 50 gal. water heater in one of my new houses. The house was built in 2008 and is in excellent condition. The tenant called me and said the water heater was leaking out the side near the top and around the bottom, and sent picture so I could have a quick look. I went over today to have a better look and near as I can tell, the inside tank is leaking and coming out of the seam near the top. I didn't think that was possible but the insulation is form fitting so it is possible after all. I have never heard of a tank leaking in my life that wasn't 30 years old but I have one now. I have not replaced it yet. I thought I would check for a warranty first, then I'm going to split that one apart and have a good look. Right now, all I can do is guess. There is no other explanation as nothing else is leaking.

As with all the other complaints I have read, I have had the same problem with my AO Smith water heater. It was installed in 11/2006 when my house was built. It worked well till about 4-5 yrs old. Since then, there has been nothing but problems with it. I have lit the pilot light so many times I can do it with my eyes closed. When problem first started it, I contacted the company and they told me to clean the filter but this didn't work. My solution is to buy another brand and throw this one in the trash where it belongs.

I bought a home that has an AO Smith 40-Gal GPSH Power Shot Gas water heater. This is a power vent model. Recently, I noticed a drip coming from the Temp Pressure Relief Valve (side mount) but not out of the pipe where it is supposed to come out but at the connection point of the valve to the water heater. So basically, it was leaking from inside the water heater because the threads and the area around the connection point were rusted. Ultimately, I had to have the entire water heater replaced as I was told by 2 plumbers that this couldn't be fixed.

I have an A. O. Smith Pro Max 40 gallon natural gas water heater installed in 2006. After 6.5 years, the pilot won't stay lit. I have cleaned the air intake vents, cleaned intake under the flame arrester, cleaned thermocouple, and blown out pilot tube. It will light but then go out anywhere from 1 day to 1 week. This is ridiculous! I do not know for sure if it's the control valve or the burner assembly. What should I replace? It's too expensive to start guessing. I am getting electrical continuity through the sensor on the burner assembly. I think a recall is needed. I think I am just past the warranty period, so this lemon is going to cost me big time. Where are you A. O. Smith? You could do a lot for your reputation if you could step up and recall this bad water heater.

We purchased a water heater A.O. Smith about 3 years ago. Within the first year, we had a problem that we had to keep cleaning the dust or dirt where the igniter is. A few months after calling them and complaining that we shouldn't have to do it 3 or 4 times a week (this is not normal), they sent someone and they replaced that part. Of course I had to pay for part of it, $99 to be exact. Now, for the last two weeks, it’s doing it again. I actually have to baby sit this problem or I get stuck going to take a shower and see I have no hot water. There are two people in my house (my husband and I) that use hot water. I use only cold water to wash clothes so as not to put wear and tear on this hot water tank.

AO Smith water heater gcv 50 300 - I bought an A. O. Smith water heater 1.5 years ago from a plumbing supplier. The water heater shots off 2 times a week, no hot water in the tank, plus the tank is leaking because of bad weld. I called the customer service and explained to them what happens (that is my family and the kids without any hot water). They told me to get a professional, certified A. O Smith plumber technician to check the water heater. I have to pay to the plumber. A. O. Smith won't cover any of my costs, just parts only and I got 6 years warranty. If I knew that's going to happen, I would never have bought the A. O. Smith water heater! Bad customer service. So as A. O. Smith water heaters! It's cheaper for me to throw this water heater away and never deal with A. O. Smith ever again! Too bad, too sad. I'm sorry! They don't care about you. Just their money! PS: Just be careful when you buy it!

Built a new house in 2009 and less than 4 years later, our A. O. Smith water heater sprang a leak. Yes, the water heater was under warranty but A. O. Smith does not extend your warranty on the replacement tank. So this water heater had a six year guarantee and went bad after 4 years, so the new replacement tank only has a two year warranty left on the original. Also, the warranty does not cover the service call which I just got in the mail. It was $97. What a ripoff! If you are building a new house or replacing your water heater, stay away from this junk.

Our house was built and finished in October of 2003. We had two 40-gal A.O. Smith ProMax hot water heaters installed. By the spring of 2009, one of the heaters started leaking and was replaced under warranty; however, we had to pay the installation fees. Less than one year later, now out of warranty, the second heater began to leak and we had to pay have it replaced. Now, less than four years later, the first one, replaced under warranty, is leaking. When I called the A.O. Smith customer service department, they informed me that the warranty on the new one only extended to the warranty on the original one, an additional six months. In the 9 1/2 years since the house was built, three A.O. Smith ProMax hot water heaters have gone bad and their warranty is useless. They obviously know that they make a poor product or they'd stand behind it with a better warranty.

I have over 200 installed in 2008, contacted and met with distributor, servicer and AO Smith rep. I was given two cleaning kits to clean flame arrestors. I wore those kits out. I had over 250 service calls to relight pilots and untold thousands of repair and maintenance costs.

In 2005, we had an A.O. Smith Hot(?) water heater installed. I had to retire due to a health problem in June, and this was where the story begins. My husband was still going to work, so he would get up and take his shower and he had hot water. Well, I would get up and the water in the bathtub was only warm, only on the days that I washed the laundry in cold water. I told my husband I don't get hot water, but he had it, so the problem didn't bother him, and he didn't have the experience. He told me I wasn't giving the heater enough time to recover. I thought over 12 hours would be enough time.

We built our home in 2007. The problems with our ProMax 40 began one week after we moved in. For the first year, we continued to call the contractor to fix the problem, which they weren't really able to determine. Of course, that's what we were thinking until I read all of these reviews. Near the one year mark, we bought the extra appliance insurance from our natural gas supplier. They sent their service techs out a number of times. They've worked and fixed everything from the thermocouple, pilots, screens, to having to replace the electrical line leading from the blower unit to the thermostat twice because of burnt/melted connections.

The pilot assembly on my AO Smith hot water heater - model #GCVX 50 - 100 is not functioning. I was told by an AO Smith technical representation on 1/26/2013 that the pilot assembly was a bad design, but AO Smith is not discounting or paying for the replacement part because it is not defective but rather a poor design. They have redesigned the part but only for newer models. The part I need to purchase will have the same "bad" design. I have left voice messages with Mr. Paul Jones - CEO of AO Smith telling him of my frustration with their management decision to not compensate consumers who have purchased their badly designed product.

Well, in my case, I consider myself lucky compared to others. The plumber picked it out, installed it for us in 2005. It is 6-yr warranty tank, so as of today, it is on its way out. When it comes to water heaters, the manufacturer mathematically calculated the tank will die within these time line presumably if you are lucky. If you are not lucky, you will run into headaches trying to get your money back on the unused warranty period. It's painful and a waste of your time and energy and aggravation. I sincerely appreciate the valuable feedback from others. I will not use A.O. Smith. It is costing more than other brands, but yet, the services stinks. Why bother?

Late this afternoon, I found my water heater wasn't working. The problem is error 6 (reported on the Intelli-Vent control). This is shown in page 35 of the instruction manual I have for the GPH 50 Series 100, printed 0810. The error is that the flame sensor (which detects that the gas is alight) is not reporting that the gas is burning. Obviously, if the controller turns on the gas and it doesn't burn, that is a problem so the controller shuts off the gas. Well, I fixed the problem but not with the help of the manual. Read on for the answer (or jump to #12 if you are impatient!).

My less than 4-year-old 50-gallon A.O. Smith Pro Max recently flooded my basement but only after giving completely mediocre service during its brief existence. Frequently I would have to run the hot water for a couple of minutes and shut it off to get it to heat the tank to a reasonable temperature and then wait 20 minutes to use it for a shower. Okay, bad enough, maybe it was a lemon, maybe it just happens sometime but this pales in comparison to dealing with customer service over the warranty. First off, the supplier who sold the unit to the original installer refused to honor the warranty because I was not using the original installer. I tried other licensed suppliers in area, none of whom stock A.O. Smith's heaters. That's right, they don't stock them but they will order you one. That tells me that no decent plumber wants to install this junk.

I replaced an original water heater with an AO Smith 50-gallon Gas heater. It failed after 3 years. They honored the warranty, but the service call was more than it would have been to get a new water heater from Sears. Then, after another almost 4 years, the replacement leaks. No warranty was offered. I won't be using AO Smith for the new tank.

I bought an A. O. Smith water heater in April 2012 - model #GVR30301. The pilot light won't stay lit. It goes out periodically and there isn't a pattern to this problem. I had the burner assembly replaced twice by a plumbing contractor with A. O. Smith. It still goes out. According to A. O. Smith tech support, it is an environmental issue. Not so according to the plumber. A. O. Smith said they will not call their contractor back to come and resolve the issue, that the contractor must call them. Well, the contractor has yet to be reimbursed by Smith for the last repair; therefore, they will not come back to resolve the problem until they receive a work order from A. O. Smith. This is ridiculous. They know there's a problem, but refuse to honor the warranty and call a plumber to get to the bottom of this. Angry, yes! Do not buy A. O. Smith water heaters. You will not receive the customer service or cooperation you would expect as a consumer.

From the date of installation, this hot water heater (Model GNR 40100) has suffered from a recurring problem - the pilot light goes out intermittently and requires relighting. This problem is particularly vexing because there seems to be no pattern to the failure. It may hold a flame for weeks without interruption, or it may snuff out after every burner cycle.

AO Smith FPSH 50 260 - Professionally installed in late 2004. 4 months following installation, problems started and continue through today (11-24-2012). Installation company came out multiple times following the installation. They called AO multiple times. Each time the unit would restart, and we thought it was fixed and within a couple of months no hot water. I wrote AO several letters but they never responded. I called only to receive canned responses (strangely similar to what the service techs experienced) and can understand why the installers gave up. One time, I called and they asked me if I was running the unit on an extension cord and then told me to see if there were any fluorescent lights on the same circuit. I actually pulled wire for a dedicated circuit. Every idea they provided was literally a wild goose chase. This company is terrible. In the eight years I've had this unit I've installed 2 burner assemblies, 3 Igniters, a gas valve assembly. and several switches - and never had more than 4-6 months without a problem.

I have a 50-gal AO Smith water heater. It's only about 1-2 years old and every 2-3 months, the pilot light would go out. And, I would need to relight it a number of times over the course of 1-2 days, then it would stay lit for a while again. Recently the problem got worse and it would not stay lit for more than 4-8 hours. It appears that others have had same problem too... but I found the solution. After reading various reviews and having my plumber look at it and suggest fixes, I also contacted AO Smith whereby they are sending me a "bulletin" and a "kit" to clean the flame arrestor (= screen underneath heater). AO Smith and others have suggested clogged or dirty flame arrestor is likely the problem. It was not! I cleaned it (it is awkward to try to get to from little filter slots at the bottom of the tank); mine was not at all dirty or clogged and cleaning made no difference.

Gvr 50 200 Water Heater - I live in a new home which is only 3 years old, along with the water heater. The water heater went bad just over 3 years old. I had water all over my garage; it soaked my drywall and the stand it was sitting on. It was under warranty, but it was only sold wholesale and it happened during a weekend, so none of the wholesale distributors happened to be open. I tried to get a hold of A.O. Smith and of course, they were not open either. They said they would replace their faulty product with another, but labor would not be included. Labor was going to be in the range of $450 or more for a new installation. I am very displeased with this product going after 3 years. I would not suggest this product to anyone. There are a lot of better products out there and A.O. Smith warranty is garbage. Bad company, bad product - another reason America is in a financial mess. Buy American, and get screwed by our own companies and products.

I have purchased two of your Geysers 6 months back at Kolkata from Therati market. My address is ** and my phone number is **. From the very first day, the two Geysers are giving the problem. One of the system is still not working from the time of installation and for the other one, the output pipe is bursting once a week. I am totally puzzled as I have bought the world's best company's geyser and until this date, I am facing such problem. I request you to kindly look into this matter at the earliest as your toll-free number is only busy and I am getting no response from the local dealer.

I have a State 75-gallon water heater, and I will never buy one again. My water heater stopped working this morning, and when I called a plumber out to fix it, I found out that there was a recall on my model. More importantly, the entire inside of my water heater is burned because of a manufacturer - State - defect. The burner flashed back into the body of the water heater and burned the inside of the heater, the outside gas control module, and the values. I am very, very lucky that my entire house didn't burn down because of this. Then, when I contacted State about having it fixed, they said it will take 3 business days just to ship me the parts, that I have to have one of their contracted installers install it, and they will not reimburse me for the plumbing costs for the very nice person who came out and figured this all out for me. So now I have no hot water for at least 4-5 days (or more since today is Friday) and then I have to pay the $300-plus to the plumber who was the only person who helped me with this issue. Don't do it. Buy anything else.

Every 6 months or so I have to adjust the hot surface ignitor for FPSH-40/50. Now it has become loose so I have to replace it. This has been going on for the last 10 years almost since it was new. There is a defect and I wish A.O. Smith would get it fixed.

Pilot light won’t stay lit on A.O. Smith water heater (model # GVR 50 101, serial # 0824J005147, built date of 6/11/2008).

Water heater has been nothing but a piece of junk. We have replaced the thermocouple multiple times. After thorough regular cleanings, the pilot light will not stay lit. The temperature control knob has split in half multiple times. Now, the burner assembly is defunct. We placed an order in for a new one on Monday. I'm still waiting today (Thursday) afternoon. I am super angry. This has and is a financial burden. I will definitely not purchase another or recommend it.

The pilot light in our AO SMITH Promax + 50 Gallon water heater continually goes out. I had three plumbers come out to look at it. They had all told me, "What a pile of junk this appliance is." AO Smith will not honor their warranty, because they said I should have cleaned out the flame arrestor. Legally, I don't think that can deny my claim on such a basis. I agree with what some others have said on this site, that we should have a class action lawsuit over possible breach of express warranty and perhaps breach of implied warranty. The FTC will take complaints, and you can call them at 1-877-382-4357. If you call, you can mention my case number, **. Mention that it may be a violation of the Magnussen-Moss Warranty Act.

Their brand new propane water heater started faulting out when it was just a year old. It would fire up but then stop, then try again, etc. Instead of holding them to it, I paid a tech out of pocket. He said the little flame sensor down next to the burner wasn’t working right and it was acting like no flame was there even though there was. That would cause the unit to stop and try again. I have to open up the burner compartment, something a homeowner isn’t really supposed to have to do, to clean that sensor every few weeks. A.O. Smith danced around it and refused to honor the warranty, saying this was routine maintenance. Reaching inside the burner compartment every few weeks to clean sensors is routine? No, it’s not. There is something else wrong; it’s likely a defective part. In the same sentence that they called it routine maintenance, they also called it "defective", so they know it is but refused to honor the warranty! Dirtbags!

My A.O. Smith Water heater was installed 14 months ago. An exhaust valve on the heater failed. It was covered by the warranty. However, the valve was not available from any supplier. A.O. Smith was contacted and promised to send it. It did not come. I now have a nearly new water heater that will not work.

A. O. Smith GPVH 50 100 hot water tank installed in 11-08. This hot water tank has been giving us problems for the last three months. It does not operate by keeping the water hot. The settings malfunction and I have to go down in the basement, turn off the unit and reset to get hot water. I called the installer three times and they stated they knew of no issues or recalls. After pressing them for answers over a three week period, they finally admitted today that there are issues with the A. O. Smith tank and electronics. I paid $1,600.00 for the system including plumbing cost. The installer stated I was covered, but service call and hourly rate was my cost. It does not seem fair since a recall should be made including service calls related to this problem.

This unit was installed new in 2006. I vigilantly keep the air flow screen clean and even vacuum below the pilot and burner assembly to keep the air flow unobstructed. A. O. Smith provided under warranty a pressure control valve and two pilot light and thermocouple assemblies, which I had installed by three different plumbers. After the warranty expired, I purchased a pressure control regulator and a third pilot assembly and had a "master" plumber install them. In 6 years, I have spent more on plumbers and parts for the A. O. Smith GCV 50 gallon gas water heater than the unit originally cost! Now, the pilot again will not stay on.

I love this water heater. I'm using it for both my hot water supply and radiant heating in my basement. I've seen a lot of complaints about the pilot light on this website, but that particular problem will be found with any new water heater. The reason is because of new regulations for preventing explosions around the heaters. Once upon a time in America, some idiot parked a lawn mower next to their water heater; the fumes combusted and one frivolous lawsuit later, we have annoying restrictive covers on the pilot light which is sometimes too restrictive.

It’s the second time in five years to replace parts because the pilot will not stay lit or the gas valve will not allow the heater to work. It’s an expensive water heater and the expensive replacement parts do not work. Obviously, A.O. Smith should have to recall all these water heaters and get out of the business.

Today, 6/6/12, the thermocouple failed on a two year old 50 gallon heater/classic. The plumber charged me again to do repairs that I had done earlier in 12/1/11 for $343.00. It should be covered in warranty. Second time, same problem in 6 months.

I bought the AO Smith ProMAx 40-gallon water heater 5 years ago and I have replaced the thermocouple 5 times. It has nothing to do with too tight of a house or too leaky of a house. I believe it has everything to do with a faulty design. The new screen they provide with a replacement thermocouple is just as effective at starving the pilot light as the first screen. Now, to add insult to injury, the new thermocouple I just installed won't stay lit. I was going to contact AO Smith, but after reading so many people’s complaints about their interactions with the company, I will just be getting a replacement hot water heater from a competitor of AO smith and tell this story to everyone I meet. I can't say it strong enough: don't buy an AO Smith 40-gallon ProMax water heater.

A. O. Smith GPHE 50 gas water heater - This water heater was installed in our new home in October of 2009. It has stopped producing hot water 6 times in less than three years. Once, the Intelli-Vent control had to be replaced. The other 5 times it gives a LED status code that is not even in the manual and I had to turn the power off and on to the unit and it resets and heats. Today, Memorial Day, it quits and a re-cycle will not work. The blower motor smells hot. No repair is available in our area on a holiday so we go until tomorrow with no hot water. The vent pipe assembly #1 has leaked since day one and the plumber can't fix it. If you read the manual, it says this leak can be normal and to place a pan under it. I would not recommend this unit to anyone. If you like to have hot water at the tap when you turn it on, then this is not the hot water heater for you.

A. O. Smith model GCV40: I have been struggling for over 6 months to keep the pilot light lit on the brand-new 40-gallon water tank I purchased about a year ago. We have tried everything under the sun, including cleaning the poorly designed air filter at the bottom. I don't want to hear about how it won't work, because my house is "new" and air-tight. My house is over 50 years old. I would gladly join a class action lawsuit against this company, which obviously won't stop selling garbage to consumers.

I live in San Antonio, worst water west of Plymouth Rock! My contractor-grade AO Smith 40 gallon unit (electric) lasted the entire 15 years since the house was built. We drained it twice over the years, once to flush it, and once to replace the heating element. We get extremely heavy deposits of limestone in and on everything here, and the original did yeoman's service. I replaced it with another contractor-grade AO Smith, and found the new one had been upgraded with a second heating element, and double thermostats. This is a compliment - not a complaint! Attorneys can roll over and go back to sleep.

GVC 50 gallon water heater - The pilot won't stay lit, I have to light it at least every other day. The installer said to back off one of the screws on the glass panel to let more air through, no luck. We have an exact heater in other part of the house, no problems with it. We will never own another piece of junk from A. O. Smith. I think this is a very dangerous appliance and will probably replace both of them soon. These were installed on 12/30/08. Where is that warranty?

We have a ProMax hot water heater. The hot water heater blower never shuts off due to a plugged tube leading to the pressure switch sensor. The error code indicates it remained open longer than 5 seconds after the combustion blower was energized. Ever few months, I need to pull the rubber hose and clean out the tube leading to the pressure switch. It seems to build up a calcium deposit that plugs the tube. I need to know if there is a way to fix the problem so it does not occur again. A plastic tube was connected near the rubber boot to try to remove the condensation, but that has not fixed the problem.

I have an A.O. Smith water heater that was only in use for 1 year and 8 months. Then it leaked. The warranty was not honored because it was a replacement for another leaking water heater. I took the leaking heater apart to see where it was leaking. It turned out that it had been leaking on a seam weld, right at the bottom of the tank. The weld had been leaking for some period of time since there was a great deal of rust build-up around the leaking area. Calls to A.O. Smith were useless since it was a replacement tank which they told me carries no guarantee at all! Needless to say, they have lost another customer.

This unit (A.O. Smith Powershot direct vent water heater) has given me nothing but problems. They should include sand paper with it because you will be sanding the probe every 6 months just to keep the thing lit. The vent fan is loud—unbelievably loud. I had this unit only 7 years (ironic that the warranty was 6 years) and it started leaking from the top of the unit around the anode. I really expected more life out of this, especially considering how expensive they are. I had to replace it, but certainly not with another A.O. Smith. It was a $1450 lesson on a water heater not to purchase. I now own a very nice Rheem direct vent and you cannot believe the difference in sound when the fan comes on.

The house was built in 1997 and an A.O. Smith power vent water heater was installed. In 2004, the water heater failed and began leaking. I had another A.O. Smith 50-gallon water heater installed. It began leaking in 2008. I paid to have another A.O. Smith water heater installed under warranty. I had to pay for labor and another $100.00 for a 6-year warranty because something changed in the design of the water heater. Now in March of 2012, 3 years and 3 months later, I am having the 4th A.O. Smith 50-gallon power vent water heater installed under warranty. I still have to pay for labor. No more warranty after 2014. If I were to install another A.O. Smith 50-gallon water heater, it would cost me around $1500.00. It’s not going to happen. A.O. Smith basically said, “Oh well.” I will be going to Home Depot and buying a GE electric 50-gallon for $280 bucks. Lesson learned.

I am on my second A.O. Hot Water Heater in 3 years! The pilot light goes out several times a year! The thermal couple has been replaced, it has been cleaned several times. This is for a rental unit, so I have to call the plumber every time it goes out! In 2010, I spent $3000 on the new heater for instillation, new vent cut in. And still, in the last 14 months, have had an issue and 5 service calls! I am not happy with this unit and as luck would have it, it always goes on a weekend!

After moving into a new home in 2010, the water heater only lasted 4 years. It was replaced under warranty, but had to pay $350 for installation. It lasted for 8 months but then replaced. I paid installation and it lasted 4 years, but was replaced again. I paid installation, it lasted for 2 years and now no longer under warranty. I had to replace and pay installation at my cost. In addition, in 2009 a leak caused over $7000 in my home when 50 gallons leaked through the wall in the middle of the night. I had to pay $500 insurance deductible. I sent certified letter to AO Smith in Jan 2010, no response. I called twice, including this morning, and was pretty much told "too bad". There must be something we can do as a group with so many issues with their product. Any ideas? I'm calling 3 on your side in Phoenix and making as much noise as I can. I'm out over $2500 because their water heaters failed 5 times in 10 years! I cannot believe, as a consumer, that we just have to take it. Where is consumer affairs groups, etc? Help!

I have 2 50 gallon water heaters in parallel. I have had nothing but trouble on county water with softener. What more can I do? I have it new at home in ‘04. Now, 8 years old and both leak badly. I have had numerous problems; clean screens, manifold sensors, and etc. Wish I could work on their car. It would be pretty funny. Guess I will never ever buy one of these again or should I say 2 of these junk.

Every six months, I have to hire a plumber to come out and clean the igniter. I pay 100.00 dollars twice a year for six years to have hot water. I spoke to corporate and never got any where. What a piece of crap!

I bought a brand new 50-gallon water boiler about 6-7 (January 2012) weeks ago; it started leaking from inside of the tank about 3 weeks later. I received a new replacement tank 5 days later. But the new replacement tank started to leak today. I checked online that the warranty is voided/expired because they gave me a replacement already. What am I supposed to do if they gave me two bad units? Buy another boiler and pay the plumber again for the labor?

I cleaned the air intake screen and my propane water heater has been running ever since. On the very bottom of the water heater, there are slots. Above the slots, inside there is a screen. It fills up with dust and no air will go into the chamber where the pilot light is. No air, no fire, clean the screen.

It is brand new and the pilot light won't stay lit. So all the stories about keeping it clean doesn't work here. It is a piece of **. I don't care why it doesn't work! Buy something else!

My problem is: I put in new water heaters and they do not run correctly. The water heaters put out excessive noise (sounds like a jet plane, unsteady fluctuating flame which causes the pilot lit to go continuously, which causes the burner plate, control valve, and the coupler to become damaged within months.

I've been researching reviews of the AO Smith water heaters and found that almost everyone's complains of the pilot light going out. In most cases, this is because your house it too tight. Many new houses are sealed all too well, so when you open or close your entry doors into the house, the suction created when opening the door draws air down through the vent and extinguishes the pilot; and vice versa when closing the door. This creates a high pressure in the house and forces the high pressure out the vent extinguishing the pilot as well. Although not as often and as easily as opening the door.

My water heater does not stay lit/on. I light it between 6-12 times (sometimes more) per day, just to get hot water. I've had it checked and cleaned by a professional plumber several times throughout the year, and two days later, the same problem begins again. This has been happening since 2006. I bought a newly built home in 2006, and this was a brand new water heater that was installed in 2006. I began having this problem 2 months after moving into my home. Please help.

My Pro Max 40 Gal Propane unit started to not stay lit after 18 months. I called AO Smith and they denied my warranty since it is installed in my bathroom.

We built house in 2005. First, water heater wouldn't stay hot, then leaked. Second one, four years later, leaks all over the floor. A.O. Smith water heaters are junk! Two in seven years. Never own one again!

AO Smith water heater. Built our house new in 06. One year later, nothing but problems. It keeps going on vacation and won't stay lit. I replaced a few parts (not cheap) that they said would fix. It doesn't. This water heater is a joke and will never recommend to anyone ever! In fact I would do the opposite and tell people to not waste their money. For the price that water heater costs new you would think it would need to work longer than their so-called first year warranty. Instead, they make it fall apart. Cheap piece of **. Don't bother!

I bought a Sears Gas Miser 9 Hot water heater. After 3 years, the pilot light keeps going out. This is a piece of crap, in my humble opinion. I'll never buy another Sears product again.

I purchased AO Smith 50 gal natural gas hot water heater in Oct. 2007. I installed it in clean, vented, laundry-room closet. I had the same problem as all other similar complaints filed regarding the pilot light that will not remain lit. AO Smith was highly recommended but became highly disappointing, i.e., no hot water due to pilot light going out. All service recommendations were followed regarding the pilot and controller assembly. In July 2010 and again in 2011, I had the controller unit replaced by AO Smith service representative at $85 per install (AOS provided unit under warranty). The gas pressure checked OK at service line and burner. The inside and screen on bottom are clean, but the pilot would still not remain lit. After spending $170 for repair, I finally became fed up and replaced the unit in Nov. 2012 with different brand that works. I'm requesting a refund of my repair costs, lost time, dissatisfaction, and upset family.

This is the second time in 5 years of having a problem with the pilot light of my AO Smith water heater. It's clean, so I'm guessing it's something else, although I was told this was a fantastic brand and model. What frightens me though is one complaint that included AHS Warranty and that's exactly who I use. I called in my service request this morning and received no call from the plumber 3 hours later. He told me he'd be at my house 15 minutes ago. This is not the first time I've had poor service from AHS providers. I have a feeling they won't get it fixed. Ahhh... the phone is ringing now! He's across town - give him 20 minutes, he says.

Pilot light goes out constantly, leaving me with no hot water. It has happened 35 times at least. Then when you complain, they blame their customer by sending you to hotwaterheaters101.com which treats you like a moron because you don't know how to properly maintenance your water heater. This is a ruse. This is not your fault, this is poor engineering by AO Smith! I have cleaned, cleaned and cleaned this thing over and over again and it does not matter! The pilot light still goes out even after a fresh cleaning. Boycott AO Smith! Spend your money elsewhere and buyer beware!

The pilot light continues to go out. From day one of moving in my new home, I have contacted American Home Shield Insurance for my new home and four plumbers have been out already. No one can fix the problem. The thermocoupler was already replaced, etc. Excuse after excuse. I am afraid of something bad happening. I do not believe based on everyone's comments on this site that this hot water heater can ever be fixed. They are all lemons.

I was instructed by a local plumbing contractor to switch to the A.O.Smith Cyclone water heater in Aug. of 2007 for my small family restaurant. He stated that it was the best out there and would last my lifetime as it was designed for heavy duty operation. Within 3 months, it has already been serviced four times due to a multitude of issues.

I have two pro max water heaters 50 gallon. One is three years old and the pilot light keeps going out. I am a building official for 23 years now and I know about water heaters. I am getting very tired of cleaning combustion air screens, cleaning thermo couplers, etc.. If I had to pay a plumber/heating contractors to keep it running, I would have had to pay over $1,500 dollars in service calls. Its sister pro max installed next to the water heater from hell is same type, only six years old now and has been running fine, no problems. I have done all A. O. has told me to do. I have put in the replacement kit with gasket and it worked for four months and here I go again playing the screen-clean and relight game. I am getting real tired of this. A. O. Smith, get your act together or I may sue you myself.

The problem with A.O. Smith ProMax gas hot water heaters and the pilot going out and not being able to be re-lit/stay lit is because consumers, and obviously some professional plumbers, don't know how to maintain the intake screen that is on the bottom of the ProMax units. Due to federal regulations the combustion area of all gas water heaters has to be closed chamber (so that people are less likely to die). That way if the pilot goes out, the gas is sucked up the exhaust and out of your house instead of drifting around at floor level and blowing your home up like on the old open-bottom models. This leaves one area and one area only for air to get into the closed combustion chamber and it is on the very bottom of the unit with a screen on it.

We have had multiple service calls for our AO Smith water heater. The pilot light goes out at least once a day. We have had pretty much all components replaced and the next day it goes out again. This is a major inconvenience and also probably increases the risk of explosion since most people don't have to relight their water heaters daily. It's totally unacceptable. We have a Bradford White water heater as well in the other part of our house and have never had a single problem with that. This AO Smith is a royal piece of junk.

I had to replace the water heater on December 22, 2011. It cost me $3,000. The installation contractor was awesome and he stayed very late trying to get the thing installed (I'd leave no stars if you'd let me. This has been the most frustrating experience I have ever had as a homeowner). Today, December 26th, I have no hot water. The stupid thing broke. My installation guy has been trying to find parts to replace it but if he can't get parts tonight (it's now 8 pm), we won't get parts from AO Smith until Friday which means we will be without how water for a total of 3 day. I have left a message with AO Smith and hope they contact me otherwise I will seek damages.

I am a home remodeler, builder, and have my own business. In 24 years in business and having installed more than 500 water heaters, I never had experienced problems like I have with an AO Smith 75 gallon direct vent. The unit would not stay lit. I called AO Smith customer service and the rep called a service tech. He came out and said the water heater was junk, took it out, and installed a Bradford White. Then, the supplier would not accept a return on this $1200 water heater which sits in my shop. In my experience, AO Smith water heaters are total junk and I do not recommend this useless product.

I am very dissatisfied with the A.O. Smith water heater. I too have had to replace the complete control unit because the pilot light wouldn't stay lit. I live in a small town and the local plumber was on the phone with them for hours trying to figure out what was wrong. I was lucky that the part was still on warranty but had to pay the plumber. I'll never buy another and sure wouldn't recommend this brand. It's not 6 months later and I'm having the same problem.

Pilot light won't stay lit. It’s costing us a fortune to get it relit, cleaned, etc. We have tried everything the plumber says to do. I don’t know what else to do. I can't afford to replace the unit. A.O Smith should be willing to replace all these defective units at their own cost. I will never buy another.

Our goal is to provide the aquatics lab with a continual flow of hot water at a temperature range between 110 and 130 degrees F These heaters have been in service for 4-1/2 years and we have had to replace the elements at least every six months and on some occasions every month. I am not sure what material the original elements were made of but when we ordered replacements we were told to use incoloy.

For two days now, my 5-year old ProMax's pilot light keeps going out. After reading all the other postings, I'm thinking I might just replace the entire hot water heater. Thank you all for your posts! Hey, A.O. Smith, care to chime in here? Perhaps free replacement parts are in order before a class-action lawsuit is filed.

I had a A.O. Smith gas hot water heater installed four days ago. The next day, it was leaking water all around the base about 12 inches out. The plumber seemed shocked, but gladly replaced it with the same unit (GVC 50 300). Well, after yesterday's new installation, we woke up to another leaking unit. That's it, I will request a different brand. Has anyone had this issue? We haven't had it long enough to wait for a pilot light problem, but I'm definitely changing brands. (I had Sears before and it did actually last 12 years before we encountered a problem).

I am a plumber here in Austin, TX. I did a change-out with a 40 gal. elec. Two days later, I get a call from the homeowner that there was no hot water. I called tech support, I had voltage meter in hand, ohm out, and the voltage was correct. He told me to change out bottom element and after driving 30 miles, I got the correct element. I had it replaced, and hot water was working fine. However, two days later, there was no hot water again. I changed the heater with a new one by G.E. at my expense.

I have had nothing but problems keeping the pilot lit. I took out the burner, cleaned out burner area, blew air through the tubes for the pilot and disk cleaned air chamber. Got any other ideas?

This is about a A.O. Smith GPVR 50 101 Pro max. I installed itl in 2007, had it serviced twice. The first time was in 2008, a fume sensor for $180. It was 5 days without hot water. The 2nd time was in 12/2011, for the fume sensor & valve control; it's 3 weeks with no hot because the valve was on back order and costs $489. I decided to cancel the order and replace this unit with a standing pilot water heater from Sears Kenmore for $429. The aggravation was not worth it . I am very dissatisfied with the brand and will not purchase this brand ever again.

AO Smith Pro Max Plus Model No GPVR 50 101 Built 2/21/07 Installed in a new cabin we were building in about 2008. Worked for a couple of years.

My hot water heater Pro Max 30 was installed in 2004. After a couple of years, I had to replace the thermocouple. It worked for four years. I replaced it again in August 2011, but it wouldn't stay lit. It's driving my wife nuts. There was never any hot water. I always have to be careful to see if I have hot water, before trying to take a shower. The plumber wanted to install a Bradford White in 2004. I insisted on AO Smith. They have a terrible problem with this unit, and the explosion safety value, and thermocouple unit. They are not the same AO Smith like the old times. No more AO Smith products for me. Recall is needed now.

I had an AO Smith gas water heater (model GCV 30 100) installed less than 2 years ago. I am experiencing the exact same problem: pilot light won't stay lit. I have paid for two service calls to have it trouble shot and was told by the last plumber that AO Smith has created a 200 series and a 300 series in those two years in an attempt to correct a faulty product.

I purchased ProMax GCV 40-gallon water heater in Oct. 2007. No problems until around June 2011, and then the same as everyone seems to have, the pilot would not stay lit, going out occasionally. I cleaned the air screen and vacuumed out the unit but the problem got progressively worse, to where it would usually go out multiple times daily. After reading the comments here, it seemed that paying a plumber was going to be throwing money away. I removed the pilot light assembly and burner assembly to clean the inside of the unit and noticed a build up on the thermocouple. I cleaned it with a light grade sandpaper and reassembled the unit. Knock on wood, the pilot has not gone out since! I would never buy another AO Smith product.

We purchased a A.O. Smith Water heater in October 2007. We have had issues with it for the past three years now. We currently have been without a working water heater for 10 weeks! I am waiting yet again for A.O. Smith's parts to arrive--the same parts that they replaced last year. They will only send one part at a time! We have spent $350.00 in plumber fees, and cannot get the pilot light to stay lit. We get about 10 minutes of hot water before the pilot light goes out. Dissatisfied would be an understatement!

We bought the unit in 1993 an we experienced that the polite light would not light and the unit would try to relight a number of times. We spent about $600 in parts and service calls. We replaced the control box, the igniter, and all of the other things they thought that was causing the problem.

I have the same problem everyone else is having. My pilot light won't stay lit. I have a plumber coming to repair it now. I'm so annoyed! I have to pay 200 bucks to get it repaired.

Purchased eight 40 hot water tanks. The pilots will not stay lit. Had contractors clean the units with little success. A.O. Smith said that they needed a repair kit. I paid to have the repair kits installed. It replaced all of the parts except the tank itself. Still have the problem. I have had to scrap two of the tanks. These tanks are defective! I will never buy an another A.O Smith product.

The pilot light would stay lit. It cost me $172 to replace the assembly and according to the plumber, they are having lots of complaints on these water heaters for the same reason.

I have been going around in circles with many people, up and down the AO Smith supply chain regarding a water heater Model No. GPSX50 100 Serial No. A05A091262 for more than a month now. This unit has had several issues and repairs over the last 5 years, with 4 service calls. I want this unit replaced with one that will actually work. There is a lot of information regarding this unit on how much it breaks down, how bad the support is, and the fact that I have 4 neighbors that have/had the same unit. Its either a bad design, or incredibly unreliable.

Clean the air intake and the pilot light will stay on. Look through the air intake slots on the very bottom of the water heater and use a flashlight. The screen gets filled with dust and no air will go to the combustion chamber. No air, no fire.

The pilot light goes off frequently, after light up several times, it won't stay.

I have a new Promax water heater installed after the old one went bad after 5 years! Now after 2 years, it won't stay lit. I have read all the reviews, which I should have done before. I purchased the water heater and realize that the Promax O'Smith water heater is simply a bad water heater - poorly made. Stay away from this company! I wonder how they are able to get away with consistently making such a bad product.

I had an A.O. Smith Gas Water Heater installed 10/2010 and the pilot light keeps going out! After reading all the others having the same problem, I might bite the bullet and just pay to have a different brand installed! I don't want to live like this! I think A.O. Smith should give a refund to anyone who is not satisfied with their product! What kind of business practice is this? My model number is GNR 50 100. It's already 10/22/2011 and I'm still in the middle of this mess.

This electric 48 gallon water heater was purchased in April 2004. This past week, it started to leak with a badly welded knob on front of the unit. It saturated my carpet, and I had to replace it. It is barely off of warranty, and I never expected something like this to happen. Eventually, I had to purchase a new unit for over $700 and I don't know what to do about my ruined carpet in the hallway.

I have an A. O. Smith propane water heater. It's three years old. The pilot light would go out. I thought it was the thermocouple. The closed combustion chamber is a problem when it cannot get air. There are 3 or 4 vents on the bottom. And there is a screen like a screen door. This has to be cleaned so the burner has air. I think it is as simple as that. I cleaned mine and it has been running ever since. Get a flashlight and look.

As with all the other complaints listed here, my warranty expired in July 2011. It's now Oct 2011 and pilot light continually goes out. The pilot/thermocouple by itself can't be replaced as the unit is an assembly. My water heater is model no. GCV50-100

Our A.O. Smith Promax Water Heater was replaced 6 years ago and it is in need of being replaced again. The pilot light has gone bad and will not stay lit. I am told by my plumber that these heaters are defective and do not last. I have had three houses and never had a water heater fail, much less one that is only 6 years old. The average cost per year of an A.O. Smith water heater is extremely high. I will get another brand.

Being a plumber for 13 years, I can honestly confirm almost all the previous complaints. When A.O. Smith started using closed combustion on their heaters, I would have at least 3 return calls of the pilot going out on more than half of the heaters I installed. In my own house I installed a GCV-50 300 Series and gets the same issue.

We, too, have had issues with the A.O. Smith water heater. We purchased one on 3/12/04. On 3/21/06, we had to have it repaired, but after 6 months, it went out completely. We thought perhaps we had gotten a defective one, so we stayed with that brand and put a new one in on 10/5/06. On 1/7/09, we had to replace it again.

I am the unlucky owner of an A.O. Smith Model S. We have had trouble with the pilot light going out!

My husband and I replaced the water heater that was in our house for 4 years, with an A.O. Smith ProMax. Not even six months after we got it, we began to have problems with it staying lit. We had to get up hours earlier to lit it to have hot water. We then called the plumber back which had installed it and he replaced the water heater and not even six months later the same thing happened, it would not stay lit. I then called A.O Smith who said that they could send me the parts that were under warranty, but I would have to pay $50.00 to have it shipped. So my husband and I decided to get the parts from somewhere else and still, the pilot would not lit. So we still have no hot water! I just think that it is not right for this company to get away with doing this to so many people. If there is a class action lawsuit, count us in!

We purchased a new home in 2008 with a water heater installed (A.O. Smith ProMax GCV 50 100). The pilot light began going out every once in a while and I would have to relight it. The problem became much worse a month ago. The pilot light would not stay lit. I had to relight it six times a day. The plumber replaced the entire burner system including the thermo couple ($220) because he said that it was the only way to fix the problem with an A.O. Smith sealed combustion water heater.

This 10-year warrantied A.O. Smith Water Heater has been a disappointment. It developed a slow leak and after 2.5 years of use, it has to be replaced. The total cost the 1st time was $1750.00 and now it is going to be $850.00 for labor, since the tank has to be replaced free. The first A.O. Smith tank I had lasted 5 years and 3 months. It had a warranty of 5 years.

I also have a A. O. Smith piece of junk hot water tank. It is only 1 year old. The pilot light won't light. I have had nothing but trouble with it since having it installed 1 year ago. I'm hoping for a class action lawsuit. This is the very reason why there are class action lawsuits, companies that continue to rip people off.

I have an A. O. Smith gas water heater. After the hurricane Irene, the gas company visited since the pilot light was not lit. I am told that I have to throw away the unit – 50-gallon new – as its ceramic plate got wet and cannot be replaced.

The gas valve which controls the pilot light went out on our brand new A.O. Smith hot water heater after two weeks. When my father (he purchased it as a house warming gift for my husband and I) contacted A.O. Smith, he was told by them that "it worked for two weeks," implying that we did something wrong to have it malfunction after two weeks. All we did was have it installed and light the pilot. My father was told that the shipping for the part was going to be $10.

There is no help. The pilot goes out every other day.

Same as everyone else--pilot won't light on six-year-old GVC 50 100, faced with expensive replacement. Please, someone let us know if there's a class action suit impending.

I have a 4 year old hot water heater. Every year, the heating unit goes out and, under warranty, they replace the part but I pay for the labor. It just went out the 4th time and I know that after I pay labor for the 4th burner to be replaced, in 6 to 8 months I'll be doing it again.

I purchased a new water heater on September 5, 2007. The water heater pilot light will not stay lit. I have had it cleaned and several service calls on it during the time I have had it.

I have a A O Smith hot water heater in one year it leaks and the tanks rusted out i never seen a company not warranty or stand by there product i talk to the manufacture they basically told me where to go i would not recommend anyone to this company no customer care at all.

My complaint is the same as the other 200+. The water heater will not stay lit even though every part was replaced. They just replaced the entire water heater today (the last one was only three years old with numerous problems). It cost me $500 so far in labor charges. The company refuses to pay for this and is looking for any reason to blame me, as the consumer, for it not operating. I wish I had read these complaints before purchasing from AO Smith. This is a lesson well learned. I would love to band together to form a class action law suit. This company should not be allowed to get away with this complete and utter negligence!

OK, I have read a year's worth of complaints, and I have had problems with my AO Smith 38 natural gas sealed water heater for about 6 months now. It was manufactured in 2005, June 6, to be exact (out of warranty as of that date!). I have the problem that the pilot will extinguish and can then be lit again. I had read the manufacturer's literature and noted the part about cleaning the screen filter (if actually installed by the contractor, not installed). So I attempted to clean the round screen (located on the bottom of the combustion chamber).

I gave up and just purchased another unit (Rheem) so that I don't have to put up with that poor (service) attitude from what is obviously a less than desirable company making sub-standard products.

I purchased a brand new PowerVent Water Heater with 6-year warranty. I had the water heater installed. It worked for half a day and then stopped working. I had warranty plumber come out and they said it was the burner. So a part was ordered/shipped free of charge. That was not the problem. Another plumber thought it was the controller. Part was ordered and they wanted to charge me $50 for it to be shipped overnight.

In 2005, we built our house and contracted Port Orchard Plumbing for all our plumbing needs for the house. They chose to install an A.O. Smith Pro Max water heater. The problem started with the water heater about a year or less after we moved in. I called Port Orchard Plumbing to come out to fix it. The problem was that the pilot light kept going out; sometimes it would go months without a problem and then it would start to malfunction, and the pilot would not stay lit. You would have to get up extra early to light it; sometimes three or more times in order to get a hot shower. After many calls to Port Orchard Plumbing, they got fed up. They told me I had to call A.O. Smith myself to take care of the problem. I called A.O. Smith and they sent a part out. I had Port Orchard Plumbing come out and install it.

The pilot light goes out on this water heater regularly. The unit was purchased in 2007, and the pilot light has gone out on it about 15-20 times in the past 3.5 years. The other 200+ complaints below sound much like my experiences. I want you to ask your self something. It's not personal; this is just business.... How many times in the past 3.5 years did you wake up to a cold shower? Most everyone I talk to says they have not taken a cold shower in 3.5 years, and believe me, you will remember it if you do!

When we moved in five years ago, we had an A.O hot water heater in the house. It stopped working so we had a plumber come out, did all kinds of checks on the heater, could not get the pilot to light. I called A.O Smith and they replaced it with a new one.

I built my house in 2000. The local company, McGee Plumbing, which plumbed the whole house, put in the gas water heater. It was made by A O Smith. It lasted ten years before it began leaking. It was replaced with another, same model. Now here it is not quite 3 years and the tank has also burst. We can only get a replacement of the same model. I am now 86 years old. I really don't want to have to deal with this. But did I read someone write about a class action lawsuit? Count me in.

I had four of their water heaters installed seven years ago at my rental property and what a nightmare. Within the first year, I had to change one completely out because it would not stay lit. Then within five years, I could not keep a second one lit and had it worked on twice within the last two years and finally replaced it. I just recently replaced a third one because it will not stay lit.

This water heater is only four years old yet the pilot will not stay lit. I have called two plumbers and they each replaced parts but to no avail. Please do yourself a favor and stay away from AO Smith water heaters. They have serious engineering issues.

I had several calls to A. O. Smith and the replacement parts were sent. All movable parts have been replaced. The pilot light still goes out every 3 days (model GCV 50), still under warranty. A. O. Smith refuses to admit that there is a problem. Consumer Affairs has at least 200 complaints about this company. I would welcome all to join me in a class action suit against A. O. Smith.

I purchased an AO Gas Water Heater Pro Max, model # XCV 50 100 on 03/13/08. Within 1-1/2 year, the pilot light was not staying on and I had no hot water. I called the company, was told to have it cleaned. I call a plumber, paid him $100.00. He told me that this model was causing a lot of problems and to call the company and get a Thermocouples & RTD's and I would have to pay him to install it. I called the company, after a few attempts they send me the parts. The parts were installed in 06/08/10. It lasted on until now 04/22/11, I have the same problem. The company is telling me to get it cleaned again. That is not the problem. This unit should be on a recall with all the complaints on the same problem, I found on the computer. I would like this unit to be replaced with a new one and the company should even pay for the installation.

I have the same problem with my AO Smith water heater. We installed our new AO Smith water heater on Thursday, March 10, 2011. By Saturday, the pilot light went out and we couldn't get it to restart. I had to have a plumber come out and replaced the thermal couple. Sunday night came and the light went out again. I Called AO Smith on Monday, they sent out a technician to diagnose the problem. They ordered a new temperature valve, which didn't come in till Friday afternoon. During the week, while we were waiting for the replacement part to come in, the pilot light went out multiple times.