A. O. Smith Water Heaters Reviews

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.

I purchased an A.O. Smith gas water heater in 2005. In the past ten months, I've had three separate plumbing calls, all for the same reason, pilot light would not stay lit. The two main components, the burner assembly and the outside little box with the dial and pilot ignition clicker, have all been replaced each time. Yesterday, I had the plumber over to fix again and last night after he did all the work, with the same thing but now with new parts, pilot light will not stay on.

House was purchased in 2003. This is the fourth time in three years the pilot has gone out. Warranty expired in 2009. Last service was 4 months ago (in paid for). I have used about 5 plumbers to try to fix this heater that obviously has a defect, especially after reading all of the other complaints. On my last conversation with AO four months ago, the representative stated I was the only customer complaining about their product. It caused several days of inconvenience, cold showers and delayed chores that required hot/warm water.

I have the same problem as everyone else. I bought a new home back in 2007. Since then my A.O. Smith 50 gal hot water heater will not stay lit. I have had multiple plumbers come out and take a look at it and all say the same thing. This is so frustrating to me and my family. I was under the impression that this would be a great water heater. Wow, was I wrong. The water heater has not to this day stay lit more than one week at a time. I have had this cleaned and changed everything. I am now to the point where I am looking to buy a new hot water heater—not an A.O. Smith. I am so disappointed in this product. It caused frustration to my self and my family and resulted to constant loss of time and being late to work multiple times because of waiting for hot water.

I have the same problem as everyone else. I bought a new home back in 2007. Since then my A.O. Smith 50 gal hot water heater will not stay lit. I have had multiple plumbers come out and take a look at it and all say the same thing. This is so frustrating to me and my family. I was under the impression that this would be a great water heater. Wow, was I wrong. The water heater has not to this day stay lit more than one week at a time. I have had this cleaned and changed everything. I am now to the point I am looking to buy a new hot water heater—not an A.O. Smith. I am so disappointed in this product. It caused frustration to my self and my family and resulted to constant loss of time and being late to work multiple times related to waiting for hot water.

I moved into a brand new home in 2003 which had an A.O. Smith water heater. About 1 year later, I noticed "dirty" hot water. It looked like sand had gotten into the water line. My plumber friend said maybe it was an installation problem, but the "dirt" should wash out. About a year later, my water heater sprung a leak. I called the local carrier of A.O. Smith and they promptly replaced it, but I had to pay for the installation. Now 1 year later, and again, I have "dirty" hot water. It is even brown when it comes out of the tap! Has anyone else had this problem? I am considering replacing it with a tankless system, but this isn't that old a tank.

A.O. Smith 50 gallon water heater pilot light won’t stay lit. This heater is junk. I bought this junk 2-1/2 years ago. Now I much get the flame arrester cleaned every month and then buy a new flame arrester when I can no longer clean this one. This is a company design flaw, and as far as I am concerned, it should be recalled and replaced at no cost to the consumer. Now I have to buy a new water heater, and eat this one. All my friends and people I know well, be informed about this product and guarantee they wont sell many of there products here. I’m a very disappointed consumer.

I ran across this site looking for the specifications on the unit and was shocked to see all the issues there have been. I will update if I get stuck with the bill. I had an A.O. Smith Model GVC 40 100 build date of 7/2006 that my church installed for me near the same time. The other day I heard running water coming from my basement. I went down to check to see what was going on and found the corner of my basement in 2 to 3 inches of water. The water was gushing out of the top of the water heater by the flu. I contacted an A.O. Smith authorized service company. They said that the tank was bad, but because of the date it was installed, they gave me a new unit model GVC 40 200 (having to install it myself). They are holding my credit card until A.O. Smith reimburses them. If they don't, I eat the bill. I have my fingers crossed as I have been out of work since November 2009 and I really can't afford to pay for it. I'll update if I get stuck with the bill.

We have had 4 A.O. Smith water heaters in the past 6 six years. You read that correctly, 4 in the last 6 years! We purchased a brand new home with 2 40 gallon State Water heaters installed. The first one failed 2 years after we moved in, they replaced it with another one, the second original water heater failed, 2 years later.

My A.O Smith Promax GCV 50 100 will not stay lit. The unit is only 4 years old. I am currently looking into the manufacturer's warranty for replace and repair. However, after reading all the issues with A O Smith products, it may be best to just purchase another unit from a different manufacturer.

I have a two-year-old A.O. Smith 75 gallon water heater and have major problems with a greenish slime or small particles building up on the hot water side. I had a plumber install a spin down filter right out of the water heater but this filter will clog up in one week. No problems with the cold water, just the hot. The hot valves on the tub get clogged, too. Any help out there? The Kinecito water representative told me A.O. Smith are notorious for this. Is the rod inside wrong or what?

I have a two-year-old A.O. Smith 75 gallon water heater and have major problems with a greenish slime or small particles building up on the hot water side. I had a plumber install a spin down filter right out of the water heater but this filter will clog up in one week. No problems with the cold water, just the hot. The hot valves on the tub get clogged, too.

AO Smith water heaters are awful and their customer service is even worse! I had a brand new gas water heater installed to replace the previous AO Smith water heater that was still under warranty and leaking water. The brand new water heater will not stay lit from the first hour it was installed one week ago. The plumber purchased a new thermal coupler and it worked for one day. He said I needed to call the customer service department to have them send me a new gas valve and heat element.

Like so many other people, I, too, am having problems with my water heater. Just like the rest, the pilot light keeps going out. It started around August 2010. At first it was about once in two weeks. It has become much more frequent, sometimes daily or every couple of days and sometimes shortly after you lite it.

I have a new home built in 2008 that has an A.O. Smith Promax water heater. We have had problems with this water heater since the first year with the pilot constantly going out. We, like most of what I have read from everyone here, had to light the pilot daily only to find by night no hot water again.

I bought new central air/furnace/hot water tank (A. O. Smith Promax 50) in august 2008. Around may of this year I woke up for work no hot water! Called the gas company payment not late? Called the installers they came out to look at it told me the burner assembly went out! I ordered a new one the installer told me it was from China and that these don’t really work but sir you are only under a 2 year warrantee on parts and labor and you will have to pay for the service call!

I have had the same problem all the other A.O. Smith water heater purchasers have had. Although, I purchased mine around 8 years ago but have had to deal with the pilot going out constantly. I just have not had the money to buy a new one. It started malfunctioning within two years of buying it but the installers went out of business so I didn't think I had any recourse which apparently I didn't anyway according to the other comments on here.

Model f6v40 100, built 10/29/04. The pilot light will not stay lit. I had replaced 2 time the total burner assembly plus the gas valve. I have had numerous service calls for the pilot light going out. The service people had replaced several times the thermocouple and cleaned the air screen yet the pilot light still continued to go out. The last time all replaceable parts were replaced was 8/20/2010 and at that time with the service person still there, the pilot went out 3 times. I had called a o smith several times and all I was told was there is no problem and all I need to do is clean the flame arrestor or filter screen. On 8/21/2010, I replaced this unsafe defective product with a different brand and my pilot light has not gone out again. There must be a recall and class action suit against this company before there is injury to someone or something.

My Family and i own an A.O. Smith Promax water heater. There have been numerous problems with this inferior product. Barely used for two years, this heater is constantly causing me trouble. The light will not stay lit underneath the heater. It is so frustrating. Many times I have to wake up extra early before I go to work just to turn the heater on (sometimes 3 or 4 in the morning). I have small children and a rather large family and showering under cold water will not do.

I have a very similar story with almost everyone here. Moved in our new house that had a 2 year old A.O.Smith Promax water heater. Never think about it because it looks brand new. Nightmare started about few months later. The light won't stay lit underneath the heater. No help from A.O.Smith. The guy picked the service call basically said it is my liability to maintain it 'every six months,' which is not covered by warranty. I had to light it up every single time when I need the hot water. It stays lit for about 30 minutes and then out. I am ready to file a law suit with anyone here that is willing to take this step. A.O.Smith can't produce a junk like this and get away with the warranty liability.

It is about time that A. O. Smith is made to pay for the inferior product that they are selling to the public. I have no complaint with my plumber who installed this junk, but I have a problem with the A. O. Smith company. The plumber had replaced all the parts, except the tank and still, the pilot light will not stay lit. After talking to the factory rep, the plumber was told they are not having a problem. They better read this website to find out what people are saying about their product. I would be willing to help any lawyer in filing a class action lawsuit to make things right for all the people. A. O. Smith has stuck with an inferior water heater.

I have an AO Smith Promax. What a piece of junk! I light the pilot every other day in the spring, fall, summer, and winter with no issues. I was going to attempt to contact them. But after reading everyone else’s comments, it would be a waste of time. Never again!

I recently had a new electric hot water heater installed. There was a strong smell of rotten eggs from the water and I found out this is due to the fact that the "impurity collection rod" was made of magnesium. It cost me $75.00 to have this rod changed to an aluminum one. I called A.O.Smith customer service and explained my problem and was told I should have "Special Ordered" one with an aluminum rod. When I asked who I was speaking to, they hung up on me.

This is the second AO smith gas water heater we have had installed. The units after awhile started to develop corrosion on the top of the units around the water lines and the vent stack. The first unit was replaced because of this, but we still had to stand the cost of the plumber for installation. This unit is now doing the same thing and I am sure will require replacement. Does anyone else have or had this issue with these units?

In 2006, I purchased a new water heater through a local firm and had it installed. The pilot would not stay lit. In 2009, the local firm (Armstrong Plumbing) replaced the burning pan, telling me that the part was covered by warranty but that the labor would be $115. Now, 18 months later, the water heater pilot doesn't stay lit. This appears to be a full employment for plumbers unit. Throughout my life experience water heaters stay lit. This unit now must be relighted every morning.

I have an Smith Water heater and I am also having a problem with the pilot light. Every day I have to light the water heater. It's a pain. You would think the company would recognize the problem and help people out with their inferior products.

I purchased the unit on 08/23/10 and paid for the unit to be installed only to find out the pilot light wasn't working. I called the company and they said the part will be mailed. Today is 08/27/10 and as of yet I still have no hot water. I asked for the unit to be replaced and unless the unit is leaking, they will not replace it. There’s no hot water and I’m taking in cold water. Now I have a cold.

My water heater is only 4 years old and I am having the same problem as every other complaint I have read. My pilot light keeps going out. This is ridiculous, after only 4 years having this problem is unacceptable. The company A.O. Smith needs to do a recall and make better products.

My complaint is against A.O. Smith Water Heater Co. We completed building our home in May of 2005 in Port Orchard, WA and Port Orchard Plumbing installed a A.O. Smith ProMax Water Heater. During the very first winter that we were there, the pilot light on the heater went out repeatedly; you would get up in the morning to shower and the water would be cold. I had Port Orchard Plumbing out several times to fix the heater, and it would keep happening. Being fed up with having to call the plumbing place over and over, I just gave in and began to light the ** thing myself. It would go out every few days and I would have to light it over and over. Sometimes, it would be lit for a week or two but then it would start acting up again. This has gone on for the last five years.

I purchased my hot water heater in 2003. Now although this was 7 years ago, I have been having problems with it since 2006. My problem is that every 6 months I don't have hot water. My original complaint was still under warranty, so they sent me a new filter. What no one told me when it was purchased was that it needs to be maintained about every 6 months by cleaning out the filter. There is actually a video on-line with directions on how to do the cleaning. The problem is that my recent incident, on July 2010, I followed the directions and still no hot water and, of course, I am no longer covered under any warranty.

A.O. Smith has a six-year warranty on their water heaters. I called the company and notified them that my water heater cracked. They asked for the serial number of the unit and then said it expired 15 days before my call. I told them that we did not move into the house until May 2007. The water heater should be good for 6 years from the date of install. They asked for proof that I moved in when I did. So I provided them tax records showing address change and mortgage interest. They waited three days and then said it was not the paperwork they needed. So then I gave them a copy of the deed. They accepted that, but now I am being told that in order for them to honor the warrantee, I have to remove the tank myself haul it to the warehouse 20 miles away so they can look at it and then I may get a new one of equal value. Haul it back and then hire a plumber to install it.

I have 2 AO Smith hot water heaters in a new house which is less than 3 years old. Last weekend, both heaters stopped working. After lighting the pilot a number of times, they continued to go out. The remedy was to take out the burners. My burners were covered with fine rust particles enough to cover the whole burner. The removal of the debris, which was considerable, solved the problem. My question is where did the debris come from and what about the future? AO Smith did not address this in their manual. It is obviously a problem as my neighbor had the same problem after two years.

After reading all of your complaints, I am still in shock! We put two of these worthless hot water tanks in our newly built home in 2001 and are now having the same problem as all of you. A friend of our family is a plumber and has already told me on the phone that he knows A.O. Smith will do nothing about it. I agree with the person that said we should do a class action law suit against this company. These units are way too expensive to be failing at the rate that they are with. Absolutely no recourse!

We purchased a new AO Smith hot water heater in July of 2007. I have had a plumber out twice to check pilot because it would never stay lit. I contacted AO Smith the first time and I had to send documentation of the parts and labor used to replace pilot assembly. A few months go by and the same thing starts to happen. I call back and they tell me to clean the filter on the bottom of the hot water heater. I am in my mid sixties and my husband has had two hip replacements and neither one of us are really capable of getting on our hands and knees all the time to check to pilot and clean this filter out. Well, when I finally got to the filter it was dusty so I cleaned it and put it back in.

The PVC tube inside the heater that distributes water (dip tube), disintegrated into small pieces and got into the entire plumbing system of my 8-year-old house with 5 bedroom and 5 bathrooms, ruining all faucets, shower heads and cartridges. The diagnosis took over a year and several plumbing appointments. It's very difficult to diagnose at first until damage is done.

We built our house about 3.5 years ago and had an A.O. Smith hot water heater installed and are starting to have the same problems with the pilot light going out and cold water in the morning. It sounds like no one has had a positive response from A.O.Smith. I will start our journey with the warranty issue today.

I have had similar unsavory results with an A.O. Smith ProMax 50 Gallon water heater. The pilot will not stay lit even after all the steps provided in their video were accomplished as directed, even using good vacuum and good compressed air. I too, have gotten little help from A.O. Smith and while their customer service team does respond, they are not world class by any means. They don't care if the problem really gets resolved. I have to light my pilot light multiple times a day and after hearing all the other horror stories about the costs people pay to repair a problem that seems to be consistent on this model, I am frustrated and unsure if spending lots of money with a "professional" is going to net any great results. I am also really unhappy with the quality of the drain spigot on the unit.

My water heater is less than 2 years old and the pilot keeps going out and stays unlit. I am sure this may cause a danger or even an injury. This company is making a fortune at the expense of the consumer. Only a class action lawsuit will put a stop to this company’s unlawful behavior.

I had to have a new hot water heater replaced in 2004. I was told that I needed a Power Vented unit due to chimney flue problems. So fine, I have my HVAC company come out and they install a new 75-gallon power vented A.O. Smith unit. Warranty is 6 years. So the other day I let the guy in to read my water meter, and there's water on the floor of the furnace room. It's the hot water heater. I called my plumber, of course, it's out of warranty with A.O. Smith but guess what, the power vent unit was never installed correctly to begin with from the manufacturer and it's been slowly leaking and corroding the power vent unit the entire time.

The AOSmith Promax water heater in our own house has the same problems that I have just read about. The unit shuts itself down for no apparent reason. I have had a plumber replace the thermocouple, and we still have no hot water due to the unit not running. It is only five years old.

I moved into my new home about 4 years ago, and installed in the basement is an AO Smith ProMax hot water heater. When we purchased the house, we didn't think anything about it. Hot water heater is a hot water heater huh? They generally last about 15 years, so we didn't think much about it. About 7 months ago, we woke up to no hot water. Oh man, did we pay the gas bill? We checked the stove too--yep gas is on. Oh man, I hope the hot water heater didn't spring a leak. I headed to the basement. There was no immediate visible damage. I checked the pilot light and it's out. I figured maybe a gust of wind or something must have blown it out. I re-lit it and went on about my way.

Same thing as all of the other complaints. I went to trouble shoot A.O. Smith water heaters because mine keeps getting cold. The light is flashing green so it is on but the water is cold. I did reset it by turning it off than back on again. I heard the unit start up and my husband was able to take a warm shower. I later on that eve went to shower and it was ice cold.

Our 75 Gallon A.O. Smith Water Heater came with the purchase of your brand new home in 2003. Two months short of the 5 year warranty period, the nipple of the distribution pipe burst and we too had cold water and 75 gallons of water in the basement. The original plumbing company came in and replaced it with an identical unit. A.O. Smith is apparently covering 1/2 of the $1900 cost of replacement but I am still $900 for a water heater less than 5 years old. If I had known of the complaints about A.O. Smith Water Heaters, I would not have allowed the plumber to install an identical unit. Now I am stuck and I only have a 1 year warranty on the replacement.

We have the same problem as everyone else. We have an A.O. Smith hot water heater that is 7 years old and the pilot won't stay lit. We spent $250 for the plumber to clean, replace thermocoupler, filter, and pilot assembly with still no luck. Now that I need another, I will definitely stay away from A.O. Smith. Is anyone ready to sue?

Same as others, the pilot light goes out every couple of hours. I was lasting overnight, but not anymore. The plumber replaced the starter, cleaned the filters, etc.-He is now unable to solve problem. I paid the plumber for 3 service calls and all the said work.

I also have an A.O. Smith 50 gal water heater that I purchased in Feb 2009. The pilot light keeps going out and I continuously have to have a repairman come out and clean the bottom screen. If A.O. Smith is aware of this problem which sounds like they are. they should honor their name brand and either replace the water heater or correct the problem.

We have a 6-year-old water heater Gas Power vent FPSH/FPCR that we purchased from AO Smith. We have had ongoing issues with the unit and it is now out of warranty and not working correctly. AO Smith has not responded to our complaints. We have learned that AO Smith was well-aware that there were issues with this unit (made in Mexico) and yet they refused to replace, even though its only a couple of months past warranty. We have no hot water and the unit consumes more gas and electricity.

My 50-gal A.O. Smith water heater has done the same thing as so many others have reported. Flame out and I go down and reset it and clean off the flame sensor; and it were good for about a week. I wrote A.O.Smith, and still, no reply. I'm just wondering if there is a class action suit pending on A.O.Smith. If so, I want to be on the list! It looks like there are thousands of people complaining about this. And just think of all the people who don't know about this website. I like many others want answers from A.O. Smith. I'm sick and tired of cold water.

2-year old 1285 dollar hot water heater needed to be replaced. I was told by the company that it is out of warranty. I went elsewhere, replaced it with another brand at half the cost and it is better. Never will I buy A.O. junk again.

My AO Smith 38 gal has the problems I have been reading about. Model # fcv 41 100. Serial # alo30011109. I am having my second pilot unit installed in a five year span. The build date on my unit is 11/5/2003. It was installed in 2004. The center point energy tech says it is a sensor on the pilot assm that is bad. It tells the pilot lite to shut down.

We purchased a new home (new construction) 2 years ago. The builder used an A.O Smith hot water heater: Powerhouse Powershot Item 9211810000. Within a few months, we were waking up to cold showers. There is a defect with the flame sensing unit. Even though the flame is lit, the safety sensor thinks it isn't and turns off the gas. Restarting it will sometimes work, as well as cleaning off the sensor. But without fail within a day or so, the same problem crops up.

With reference to the pilot light not staying lit, I refer to the comments of Ken of Kirkland, WA in May 4, 2010. He wrote: "I too was having the same problem with my two-year-old 50-gallon gas tank. After trying everything, including a new thermocouple, I found the real problem. Look inside at the bottom under the tank. You do this by removing the plastic dust shield and shine a light inside. You should see a screen about 5 inches in diameter that is probably coated in white dust. I put a rag around a thin stick and reached in and wiped off the dust then tap-tap the screen. Nothing like a good hot shower.”

My last comments on the A.O. Smith water heater were supposed to be posted, but they haven't yet.

Refer to my notes on May 3 about the Reliance 606 water heater pilot problems. The hardware store I bought the Reliance from had so many complaints that they'd arranged (through Reliance, I believe) to replace the Reliance with a different brand. They gave me an A.O. Smith for replacement. After paying for another plumber, I had hot water again on 5/5/2010. Pilot went out on 5/6/2010 and again on 5/10/2010.

I had plumber put in gas hot water heater in 2008. He chose A. O. Smith tank and in less than a year, pilot light kept going out. They told me to clean under it and sent me brush. The plumber came several times and finally A. O. Smith replaced the hot water heater no problem until now, again pilot light went out and a part malfunctioned. It cost me $100.00 to have fixed. I will never buy another A. O. Smith hot water heater, nothing but problems.

After reporting to the company, my water heater shut down. The CS rep told me the policy: get a license plumber to come in, check with his meter and report back to her (Brandy) before she would issue a reset code which would reset the water heater. I suggested to her to ship out this sensor and I would install it myself. She was demanding that I needed to hire a plumber first to do this before she would ship this sensor. Why make more cost for the home owner, I'll never know. Okay, I called "The Plumber Works". The CS rep there demand I pay half up front prior to completing the job and the other half after. This plumber came in, checked the area, reported back to the company that there was never any chemical compounds in the area of my water heater which would make the sensor go off and ask for the reset code which would reset this sensor! She refused because she stated his equipment was faulty and it was not giving the proper reading. (Long story short)

I too was having the same problem with my two year old 50 gal. gas tank. After trying everything including a new thermocouple, I found the real problem. Look inside at the bottom under the tank. You do this by removing the plastic dust shield and shine a light inside. You should see a screen about 5 inches in diameter that is probably coated in white dust. Tada! I put a rag around a thin stick and reached in and wiped off the dust then tap-tap the screen. Nothing like a good hot shower.

The unit is about 5 years old in a condo that we have just purchased. The pilot light keeps going out and was getting worse. I noticed that the flame pattern seems to lick all over the bottom like it is looking for air. It eventually just flames out. I have an engineering background and have worked with burners in process heaters and recognize when a flame is looking for air.

I purchased and had Rescue Rooter of California install an A.O. Smith water heater model #GNR50 100 serial #L07T006783 on Feb. 8, 2008 in my home. The pilot light will not stay lit as of Apr. 28, 2010. Since I own several rental homes and have never had problems with water heaters that I purchased at Home Depot, I was surprised that the A.O. Smith water heater was defective in just over 2 years and 2 months. My rental water heaters have lasted for over 7 years! When the Rescue Rooter technician came out to troubleshoot the water heater on Feb. 27, 2010, he was going to charge me $224 for replacing the thermocouple.

I had my plumber install a promax by A. O. Smith and they have had to replace it twice. The pilot light will not stay lit. We constantly have to relight this second heater. It has cost more money to keep replacing this unit and I can tell you I would never recommend anything by A. O. Smith.

I have not dealt with anyone other than my builder of this house which was built only 5 years ago, so my hot water heater by A.O.Smith is only 5 years old. I have already had a serviceman here and he put in a new part (thermal coupler).

Promax Water heater will not stay lit. I have had the repairman here 5 times. A.O. Smith says there’s nothing wrong with the unit. The repairman punched a hole through the flame arrester to try to keep it going. It has gone out since. I have no hot water and big repair bills without results.

I purchased 50gal water heater from A. O. Smith Pro Mac for $877.03. Then on May 24, 2007, attempted warranty work on pilot assembly (which was defective) by Extreme Climate, 20 West 210 Belmont Place, Addison (because Bel-Air does not do the six year warranty work). Upon completion, they charged labor and trip cost $140.00! On March 9, 2010, I had ARS Rescue Rooter, 731 District Drive Itasca, IL 6304386900, flushed Heater $29.00. On Mar. 25, 2010, the pilot light would not remain lit (three times went out). I called Extreme Climate (Rose) who said they would have a technician get right back to you. As of March 31, no one has and the pilot light does not remain lit. I think this qualify as a lemon for manufacture and service. I can get no response from any phone number.

A. O. Smith hot water tank model RCV-50-F00L010545. The pilot light does not stay lit. The main burner is violent and blows out the pilot light. Regular cold morning showers and cost to replace with another brand.

I had an AO Smith for 14 years and had no problem. It was still working when I replaced it. I was just getting scared of it at that age. I replaced it with an AO Smith Pro Max, thinking I was buying the best heater. The plumber installed it on 12/22/2007. I have had nothing but trouble from this heater. It will not stay lit! I have come to the conclusion that AO Smith products are junk. Do not buy an AO Smith water heater! You are just asking for trouble.

I have owned an AO Smith FPSH40261 hot water heater "power vent" that the flame sensor will not work consistently. If I do not take it out every month or so and clean it, the heater won't stay lit. I have been told that this is normal. We get a nice cold shower usually on Monday mornings because the heater decides it doesn't want to stay lit. AO has never come up with a solution to the problem. The consequences are cold showers and major frustration with a supposed high end hot water heater.

I had a new Promax installed and in three years the pilot went out and won't relit. The retarded way you clean it didn't help either. What kills me is my 21 year old water heater was still working when I replaced it with the Promax and it had never had a repair and only cost a fraction as much. This is the most worthless piece of crap I've ever had. Why are the AG's filing class actions for their consumer protection division? I hope they lose everything since they don't care about their product. I've been without hot water for 8 days and it's going to cost me money I can afford. I'm on a fixed income. I and my son are too disabled to bathe so I have to borrow a friend's shower. They should be ashamed of themselves.

We had a new A. O. Smith water heater installed in August of 2009. A few days later no hot water. I called the company that installed it and they sent someone out and finally figured out that they were not an authorized A. O. Smith warranty contractor. I had to call the warranty company, another plumber. The valve box was replaced. This is ridiculous for a brand new unit to breakdown so soon. Now 5 months later, I went through the same thing. No hot water. This time, it was the igniter. I had to go through the same ** as the first time, but this time, I am being charged $496 for labor.

I am echoing those who problems with AO Smith gas water heaters. I had mine, a Promax GNR 40 100, installed on emergency on November 16, 2009, at exorbitant weekend prices since my old one was leaking into the condo below. Aquatek, the local plumber, said this was a great product.

I built my house in 2007 and had an A.O. Smith Promax power vent water heater installed. Late in 2008, started having problems with pilot light not staying lit--would power up, flame would come on and then go out within seconds. After three start ups, and failures it puts a code on the control panel.

I am disappointed of A. O. Smith. The water heater has not performed as it should after four years. I discovered the pilot of my water heater was off. I tried to light up the pilot but it wouldn't work. I called in a plumber and found out that the pilot was defected and there was a slow tank leaking at manifold. Most water heaters do last for ten or more years.

My plumber installed an A.O. Smith Promax 50-gallon natural gas water heater in our home when it was built in January 2005. It worked perfectly for 4.5 years and then it began to leak water. Our plumber replaced it under warranty with a like water heater. I paid only for the plumber's labor, which isn't too bad, but even that doesn't seem right. A. O. Smith should pay for the labor. Regardless, within 3 weeks of installation, the new water heater pilot light went out. My plumber came and re-lit it. And thus began the constant problem of the pilot light going out time after time. As others have stated, it might go out twice in one day, it might go out after 3 days, or after 1 week. You never know when, but it always went out. Often we'd not realize it was out until late at night (I got in the habit of checking for hot water before I went to bed each night) or sometimes when I got in the shower in the morning.

I, through a pair of contractors, own three AO Smith electric water heaters. All three produce a horrible sulfur smell. Our cold water is good. Only water heated in these heaters smell. All three are connected to soft water.

Model ECT-55200 - Installed hot water heater in 3/09 and heater failed within 6 months. We found out when we went into the garage and the entire garage was flooded. After close inspection, it was noted that the tank had ruptured/leaked and the water was coming out of the top. We dried out the garage and started our contact process with warranty. We could not get an immediate answer from the plumber other than they stopped using A.O. Smith products because they were failing rapidly. I choose not to use their replacement heater for fear of another failure. My concern now is that I have the same hot water heater in our closet for the other side of the house. I can only hope that it will not fail. We chose to replace it with a Rheem product. Consequences: We had to empty out the garage and dry out the carpet. No lasting concerns exist.

After my previous water heater failed after 31 years, I had a 30-gallon A. O. Smith ProMax gas water heater installed on October 30, 2007. On November 17, after 19 days, the pilot light went out. For the next seven months, the pilot light continued to fail and had to be re-lit. The pilot failed sometimes every few days, sometimes every day, sometimes four times a day or more. Eventually, I had to relight the pilot light every time we needed hot water. The plumber who installed the ProMax returned five separate times to try and fix it, without success. An A. O. Smith authorized technician tried and also failed to fix it. To help find the problem, I installed a camera at the heater viewing window, and videotaped the pilot failing four times. No one looked at the tapes.

I purchased the home hot water heater on 12/31/07 approximately. In October of 2009, the unit would not stay lit and I contacted a professional plumber. He came out and checked the unit and said that the burner unit needed to be replaced and at no cost for the part but a cost of $68 for the house call. This was done. In November of 2009, I once again had to replace the unit at the plumber's advice and was charged $60 for this home visit. Now, as of this Thanksgiving Day 2009, the unit is once again not staying lit. I am getting quite upset with this happening and I am looking for help from you, a company well known for taking care of its customers. I am available for a phone call at your leisure and would appreciate one ASAP. I believe that if the unit is bad that A.O. Smith should, at total cost to you, have your plumber make arrangements to come to my home and inspect and replace the unit with a model that is not having this kind of problem. I also feel that this should be done ASAP.

In 2002, we had a failed water heater in our home in Henryville area. I called Leon Clapper of Stroudsburg. I wanted Home Depot GE water heater. The plumber called them junk and said we should get an AO Smith. Cost of install is around $360 after replacing the other water heater which by the way probably only needed heating elements. It was not leaking but it was not making hot water. That's the water heater my father had installed in the kitchen pantry closet in about the year 1970. The heating elements had been replaced once in all those years for 32 years but that was my fault. I had shut off the water to the house and forgotten to turn off the electric to the water heater.

I bought a 40 gallon power shot water heater and had problems that were eventually resolved. But 6 years and 2 months to the day after installation, it flooded my basement. The warranty is 6 years and they wouldn't even talk to me about a compromise. They must work very hard to design it to fail right after the warranty period. I'm replacing it with a Rheem and keeping my fingers crossed.

I bought as AO Smith water heater (model Promax GVC 40 200) from the Company above in 2006, for approximately $400.00 or more. This was for the cost of the water heater and installation. 4/1/06, the pilot light would not stay lit, so it needed to be replaced. Because it was still under warranty, the unit was replaced and I had to cover the $200.00 cost for installation. On 5/8/08, same problem occurred, and I had to get the water heater replaced again, and pay another $200.00 to have it installed. Now on 11/10/09, the pilot light will not stay lit and they have to replace the unit again. I have now had four water heaters since 2006, and have to pay another $200.00 for the labor.

I have had to replace the A.O. Smith water heater twice in four years. They warranted it, but I had to pay installation costs which are now $822 in total. I am never buying Smith products again.

In Dec. 2006, I purchased for a total $762 a Promax 6-yr. model FVR 40 100. The unit was flooded and replaced by AO Smith in 2008 by a GNR 400 100. From the moment it was installed, I was on the phone with the Warranty dept for AO. First, I would have to fight with them over if it was covered. The pilot keeps going out. First, they say the gas control box was recalled and they sent an authorized guy here who I swear said he replaced, but I am not sure as we kept experiencing the same problem. Did he replace with a recalled control box? We must relight every other day 20 min. before needing hot water.

We are around 60 units with the same A.O. Smith 50-gallon water heater and everyone of us (yes, all 60 homeowners is fed up of this water heater). Stay away. The flame goes off in most of the heaters and all repair work seems to be nothing but just a waste of money. Again, stay away from A.O. Smith.

I purchased A.O. Smith GPCR-50 natural gas power vent water heater in mid-2006. 3-1/2 years has passed and the problem is not resolved yet. Multiple attempts were frequently required to ignite the burner. It appears the flame sensor is not satisfied (hot enough) to keep gas valve open to the burner. The controller times out, I try again to ignite with a preheated flame sensor which generally satisfies the controller and remains lit, till the next time. Apparently, an "air turbulence blows the flame away from the flame sensor causing burner short cycling."

We purchased a new water heater made by A.O. Smith about a year ago (2008). Several times this week, the pilot has gone out. We looked at the manual which mentioned checking the burner for sooting. The manual was not easy to follow and I decided to call the Gas Company. They came out and looked at it. The service man told me that this was the third case this week with this problem. He expressed a concern with the design of these units because the access to the burner and air vent is underneath the water heater and many times the pan makes it difficult to clean the soot.

My 4-year old, 50-gallon water heater from AO Smith model GPCR 50 100 tank came apart rapidly spilling water in our basement. Although it would be nice for the manufacturer to reimburse for the water damage, the really surprising news was that I had to pay $100 for a technology upgrade? Additionally, we had to pay for reinstallation, removal of old heater, etc. I cannot believe it is legal per the warranty to charge for changes the manufacturer have made since they sold us the first heater.

We bought a new house. On Thanksgiving 2007, my wife complained that the water never seemed to get hot enough to suit her, but I blew it off. But now the pilot light will not stay lit. After talking to the A. O. Smith people, they said the parts are under warranty, but not the labor and they would have a tech call us, which they did a day later stating that they charge a flat fee of $150.00 for a job that might take an hour. I told the service company to hold off, I wanted to talk to the A. O. Smith company again. But so far, they have not returned my call. My builder wants to know how it turns out as he may stop using that brand heater in his houses.

Purchased and installed by a licensed plumber an A.O.Smith 30 gallon hot water heater Model ECL30200 late April 2008. August 1, massive flooding occurred in our condo. Upon inspection and removing cabinet covering, it was visible that the outer jacket was bulging at the seam. I immediately called the plumber who installed it. Shut down all water from the main. This unit is but 15 months old! I took plenty of photos.

We purchased a water heater not knowing that our issue at the time wasn't the heater, but a leak. We bought a Power Miser 6 from Sears manufactured by A. O. Smith (model: 153336466, serial no: EO7A154314) that wouldn't stay lit. We had not less than 8 techs out to try and repair the brand new appliance to no avail. After torturing us for more than several months during the winter, they sent out a replacement. The same problem occurred and when I called for assistance, they (Sears/A.O. Smith) told us it was our problem! Considering that we were on the 2nd unit, we didn't think it was our issue. Today, 07/21/09, we are forced to purchase another water heater. We would like all consumers to be aware that both Sears & A. O. Smith do not honor their agreement with consumers to provide what the consumer pays for, that is an appliance that works as it should.

We purchased our house in December of 2006 brand new, with all new appliances and everything. In July of 2009, my husband got up to go to work only to find our garage has been flooded with water. Our water heater blew. I called the number on the water heater and was told that labor is only covered for 1 year for our water heater and they would replace our water heater. I called the independent contractor and was told it would be over $600 for them to replace the water heater and that is just for labor - not to mention another $55 just to get them to come and look at it. We have only lived in the house for 2 and 1/2 years and the water heater went out. I am not a believer of this company and have since decided to buy a Whirlpool with an extended warranty.

This is concerning a State Select water heater that came with our brand new house in 2006. Hot water went out so I called their suggested service providers in our area. One wouldn't answer the phone. The other, Bonded Repair, was expensive and couldn't get to my house for the appointment I had made with them previously. So, I emailed AO Smith to see if I could use another provider. They simply said yes. They didn't mention that some parts (still under warranty) may only be available through their suggested provider and in the end, I had to pay shipping for the non-generic part that I needed.

This is follow-up of a complaint on May 28, 2009. Today, June 13, 2009, the water heater has quit working again. We paid for the pressure valve and installation $54.94. It lasted a few days and now we are again without hot water over the weekend and looking at more money to have another plumber come out to look at it. The water heater is a 6-year warranted model and is only 3 years old. We will have to pay for another plumber to look at it and may have to replace the whole unit. So we lost $55 so far and will be without hot water for several days, having to boil water to bathe and wash dishes.

Water heater lasted only six years. I purchased 40 gallon A.O. Smith, model eest 40t917, hot water heater from McGill Plumbing in Clearwater for $450 including installation on 5/03. Now, we have done the foolish thing and purchased another A.O. Smith heater ($525) because it is all our plumber carries and we can't take more time off from work to deal with this.

We purchased a 50 gallon A.O. Smith Water Heater on 2/10/2006. The pressure valve blew and flooded our basement on 5/21/2009. The installer replaced the pressure valve 3 days later and charged us for the part. Our Series FCV has a 6-year warranty on parts and the tank. When the installer asked the company about the warranty, he was informed that the parts were only under warranty for 1 year. I am the original owner and A.O. Smith has violated its warranty in the middle of my contract with them.

We redid our house and we decided to take out our old waterheater and put a new bigger more effiecent one in. We replaced our water heater sometime between 02-03. We put an AO Smith heater in and after only being in for not only 2.5 years the burner assembly unit went out. AO Smith replaced the unit but shortly there after it went out again.

On October 30, 2007, I replaced my 30-gallon gas water heater with a new A. O. Smith ProMax 30-gallon gas heater. The Promax was properly installed in my basement by Scott C. Plumbing, Watertown CT. On November 17, nineteen days later, the pilot went out. Because the pilot continued to fail, I called Mr. C. to see if he could find the problem. He checked the heater and found nothing wrong. Over the next six months, Mr. C. returned five times, without compensation, trying to get the heater to work properly. By March 7, 2008, the Promax was on its third thermocouple, the last two installed by Mr. C. Each of these thermocouples kept the pilot lit for varying lengths of time, from about 18 days to almost two months. The pilot would then start going out, and once it started failing, would go out with greater frequency, sometimes four or five times a day.