KitchenAid Microwave & Range Hood Reviews

When contacted by e-mail, KitchenAid representatives come across as very arrogant and would not stand behind their product. They checked for a product recall and as there was none, they blew me off! The falling vent scratches and dented my range top. I have replaced the grill twice at a cost of $180.00 each time. I anticipate replacing it again in a year or so.

Customer Service has no interest in the customer. I paid $500.00 for a piece of garbage. Two adults have used this item for three years. The grill-vent has fallen off twice. The door handle has cracked in two places with chunks falling off. A call to customer service is a waste of time. This company does not care. They will follow the American car companies with the lack of quality into bankruptcy. This company does not stand behind their products! They are very arrogant and offer no concern to the consumer.

My total rehab of my kitchen looks great except for a microwave that falls apart. I'm sure I'll replace it with a vent hood and stand alone microwave. The cost of both and workers for the project is $1,000 to $1,500. I know it won't be a KitchenAid.

Since Nov. 2008, I have spoken to numerous people at Whirlpool and the extended warranty company. I get one story after another. One person tells me it is going to be replaced, another tells me it has to be repaired. I am at my wit's end with this problem. I think that consumers should be warned about the run around that Whirlpool is giving me over this appliance. This is not a cheap microwave oven at $900.00. I have had $150.00 ovens that have lasted between 5-20 years. I have been without the appliance for two weeks now, and I still don't know what is happening with it.

So today (6/8/09) I had enough, I called a number I found on their website which is their US-Appliance #(877) 628-9913 and when I told the guy my problem, he said, oh, lots of people call here for that same problem all of the time! You've got to call Kitchen Aid at (800) 422-1230. So I did, and spoke with a woman named Susan. She said that it seem like a problem on the electronic component of the microwave which is covered for 5 years. So she gave me a few authorized repair center numbers to call, in which I would have to pay for a diagnostic and labor. You are most likely talking pay as close as a new and less problematic microwave will cost me!

I called the number and just to come to the house is $75 plus the price of labor which you can only imagine how much that would be! I asked Susan from Kitchen Aid, since I read about more people complaining about this same issue, why don't they just recall this item, being that it is absolutely a fire hazard? She said that they do not base themselves on what people write on the consumer affairs site. She said that it is how many people actually get the item repaired or something like that, and then I said to her that most people would just get the item replaced since they are already afraid of it and it is actually cheaper to do than to get a high surprise repair bill, but that is not Kitchen Aid's problem so we got to eat it. There's my two cents, I had to get it off my chest!

So far not much damage has resulted except it is very annoying to have a microwave and not be able to use it effectively, especially when you need it the most.

The entire operating panel has to be replaced on this never-used appliance! Do I have to remind you we paid $3,000 for this one piece! If this is so consistent a problem, why aren't there recalls? Upon reading this forum, I'm afraid to use the self-cleaning feature.

I have to trust there will only be happiness with our appliances from here on out!

On 7 November 2007 the oven shot out bright sparks while on the cleaning cycle and threw the circuit breaker. The short circuit damaged the unit's control panel and the door was locked shut. The lower heating element, the control panel, and a thermal couple had to be replaced. It took 4 trips by the technician to get it repaired on 5 December 2007. The technician said that the connectors were loose on the heating elements and that one vibrated off and caused the short. He found that the connectors were loose on the lower element as well and had to replace those. One would have thought a quality product manufacturer would have made sure the connectors on the upper and lower heating elements would have prevented their working loose and causing a major short.

Fortunately we had an extended service contract through GE Service so the only thing we were out was the inconvenience of not having an oven and microwave for a month.

I did not expect a rash of defective parts and workmanship from a company supposedly having high quality. The cost of the unit was certainly high enough.

I asked if they would give me some concession for this part, considering it is being replaced for the 3rd time. I was told there is no recall on the part so there wasnt a thing they could do. Has anyone had similar problems with this Grill Vent? I thought it might be helpful to also post the following complaint I wrote a few years back on my piece of junk Dishwasher:

We have a Whirlpool dishwasher model GU1500XT that we purchased just 2 years ago. (1/02). We had major problems with it right away. It made horrific noises at various times of the wash cycle and we really got the run around from repair people. (It is supposed to be the Quiet Partner?) I begged Howards Appliance to take the machine back as well as Whirlpool but they did everything short of re-building the thing to avoid this measure. Many mis-diagnosiss and countless hours of waiting for repair people later, the pump and motor assembly, drain pump and other parts were replaced.

Nowjust 2 years old and this machine is taking upwards of 3 1/2 hours to run! When it is finally complete, the dishes are wet and barely warm. After 3 missed (!) appts. by A & E, we finally got someone to come out. He suggested my problem was the temp. of the water going into the machine. I told him I ALWAYS call up the hot water until it is intolerably hot before I push start. He then suggested we increase our water heater from our present 40 gal. tank to a 50 gal. tank and that would mitigate the problem. I am NOT replacing a water heater sufficient for our 1500 sq. ft. home for a dishwasher. Yikes.

He ordered a new control panel for the dishwasher, and suggested this will solve all the problems. I am pleased this part is covered under warranty but I voiced that I believe the heating element is not working. Our dishwasher gets stuck at 76 in our cycle. This is the place where the water is heated to the proper temp. to run. If I open the door at this point, the water is cooler than when it goes into the machine. If I wait 5 min. and check again, it is almost cold. I felt the heating element today at this stage and it was cold.

So in follow up to this, they did in fact replace the heating element, and I paid hundreds to have a plumber run a new line to the dishwasher. But it still took forever to run and the dishes did not come out clean.

You would think after the hoops we jumped through, KitchenAid would say, enough is enough. These poor people definitely got a lemon. But now there response was that we reached the end of the warranty and even though I had had continual problems with the machine all through the warranty period, once it was expired, they said there was nothing they could do. I hope by posting this someone will think twice about buying a KitchenAid appliance. And good for you for being a squeeky wheel.

Months later I called Kitchenaid to request a new microwave since it would seem to save them money to send me another one rather than pay the cost of parts. Of course they couldn't do that. So I just requested the parts before the warranty expired on those. I needed a magnetron and a sub micro-computer. I wanted to find someone to fix it myself. I was informed if I did that it would void the entire warranty. I had to use a factory authorized repairman. Now what good would the warranty do me when I only have a simple reheating problem and that costs $,1286. Any other problem would definately cost more than that. I told her I'd be stupid to call back with any other problems. th labor alone on this first repair was costing $100 short of the price of a brand new microwave. I may as well just buy another microwave. Not from KitchenAid of course.

I am starting to believe that there are not any companies with integrity anymore. Everyone rips you off in the repair department. Believe me had I let him take that microwave it would have been brought back with something else going out in a month or two. Just like when you take your car in and they give you a Courtesy Check. What they do is remove something and replace it with something else and then tell you that they NOTICED something that will probably be a problem in a few weeks. Even when you advise them you don't want a courtesy check they still do it. This is service I get from the noted PARK PLACE MERCEDES. I will never buy another. I had less problems with my Nissan Sentra and my Chevy Camaro. I wish I had never bought a Mercedes but my husband thinks when you pay more money you get a better auto or better appliance. But it is obvious that is a wrong assumption.

KitchenAid reps will act surprised and sympathetic as if they don't know they're ripping you off. IT'S ALL A LIE. DON'T BUY KITCHENAID.

I called them up and they said that they would honour a 3 month repair warranty and here I am now in the middle of March and they did not show up for the repair as scheduled. I called their customer service dept. and other than being apologetic for the error, they state no appointment was scheduled and therefore it must be rescheduled to a later date. This is after several calls including the repair technician calling me back. In conclusion, I would not recommend a company that disregards it's customers. It would have been better off purchasing a cheap microwave oven and replace it every two years than to expect any quality from KitchenAid or it's affiliates.

I am especially concerned since I perceived Kitchenaid as a better quality brand and have all Kitchenaid appliances in my kitchen. Clearly, the company, which is a subsidiary of Whirlpool, does not care about their customers. I will not purchase this brand again and will not recommend Kitchenaid to anyone.

I have a nonworking microwave and have had to miss several days of work to wait for appliance repair people who are rude and incompetent.

A&E factory servoce as been scheduled to my house twice already (once no show, second time to verify that the latch actually was broken). Now I wait for my $2500 oven to be repaired--missed both Christmas and New Year's but no one at KitchenAid cares--they will give 20% off retail on a new one but then I'd be stuck with KitchenAid again.

Not counting the the first 3 years, but since Feb 2001 I have taken 18 days off work for scheduled service by (mostly) A&E. The last service took 5 trips because the tech would call in sick and they would not call to tell me until late afternoon or I had to call them. I think I am going to go back to all the previous servicers and get the records and go to a lawyer.

They arrived on 12/27, removed the old unit, unpacked the new one and it had the same problem, a shattered glass on the microwave door. KitchenAide is sending a second new unit to the installers but I have no confidence that this one will be any better than the last two.

I have seen numerous similar incidents on the internet for KitchenAid microwave oven door glass explosions. This is the latest in a series of repairs to this microwave. Since moving in to the home (in Feb. 2006) we have had it repaired 2 other times (both door problems) and had it checked one additional time when the door would not close (intermittently). This was an expensive upgrade in our home costing $2,850 and is the top of the line KitchenAide oven combination unit. I am very dissatisfied with the product. KitchenAide has a problem with the quality of this product which should be addressed.

Upgrade cost $2,850 from the standard unit in the home. The cost to purchase one is over $3,900. I have had to take off work 5 times to have the unit repaired. I have been without a microwave for weeks and have finally purchased a countertop microwave ($80.) I have been without an oven for 8 days.

I called their 800 customer service number but since it doesn't affect the use of the product the response was a "well that's too bad, now isn't it?" kind of response. I think everyone should pay $600+ plus for a supposedly top-of-the-line microwave so it can look bad.

In mid-September the microwave stopped heating, so I called Kitchenaid and they scheduled a service call with a local contracted repair service (A&E). I made arrangements to stay home on September 24th to meet the service technician. Two technician's arrived and they spent around an hour trying to diagnose the problem and concluded that it was either the magnetron, the capacitor or the diode.

They placed an order for all three parts and scheduled another service call for October 1st. I again rearranged my schedule to meet them and they came and spent almost two hours replacing the above mentioned parts, but still the microwave was not working properly. After some more diagnostics they decided that maybe they had damaged the control panel and proceded to order that part. They then scheduled another service call for October 6th. Again, I made arrangements to be home to meet them. They came on that day and replaced the control panel, but still the microwave was not working. They called STAC (?)and STAC advised replacing the transformer. So again, they ordered the part and scheduled a call for October 8th.

I rearranged my schedule again to meet the technician, thinking for sure it would be fixed now, they've replaced every major part, haven't they? On October 8th, a different technician came (now the fourth service call) and spent three hours in my home, on my kitchen floor, replacing the transformer (which did not correct the problem) and testing nearly every wire and component in that machine.

His conclusion was that there were multiple failures and virtually nothing was working properly, including the control panel (which had already been replaced) and there was definitely a problem with the high-voltage section. This technician also called STAC and was advised to replace the transformer, the magnetron, and the control panel (things that had already been replaced!) on the off chance that none of the replaced parts were any good! He also told me to get on the phone with Kitchenaid customer service and he would talk to them about the problems with this machine and the amount of time and number of service calls that had been put into it. So we got on the phone with Joetta who listened to my complaint and talked to the technician who explained that it appeared that the microwave had multiple failures and that in his opinion the customer (me ) had been more than inconvenienced already. He did say to her also, that the only other thing he could imagine that was wrong was if all the replaced parts had been bad out of the box and he could try replacing them. So then I got back on the phone with her and I told her that I would not at all be happy to have to have a fifth (!) service call when they couldn't even diagnose what the problem was. She said she would investigate the past service records and make a determination by the end of the day as to how to procede. She said she would call me back by 5 pm. She never did. My $400. microwave is now in pieces in my garage and I have no idea whether Kitchenaid is going to replace it as they should, or whether they are going to force me to be inconveienced yet again with a service call that they aren't even sure will take care of the problem. Why do they even bother to call it customer service?

We have three children. We count on having a working microwave. We paid for what we were led to believe was a top-of-the-line model. We didn't even receive the microwave from Kitchenaid for three months and then it only worked for two. From the beginning this has been nothing but a hugely frustrating experience and a huge inconvenience and we still don't have a working microwave.

The current malfunction of the microwave is the second time this particular unit simply died. The first time was in September of 2003 at which time the technician replaced the transformer.

The current unit I have is a replacement model which we received from KitchenAid on May 2, 2002. The original unit was replaced because the plastic on the control unit, handle and vent cover kept cracking, failing and breaking off. The current replacement unit has had the same problem with the plastic parts as the original and new parts were installed on the replacement unit in October 2003. However this new unit has had additional problems with the transformer and a new transformer was installed in September of 2003.

On January 29, 2004 I purchased a 3-year extended service contract sent to me by Kitchen Aid. Today, in trying to obtain service for my dead microwave, I learned that the service contract I purchased was not being honored because it had the model and serial number of the original microwave (that was replaced). This contract was provided to me long after I had received the replacement and I believed that the 3-year contract for which I paid $127.37 was for the replacement model in my possession. I had conversations today with Terry from the Customer Interaction Center and also Veronica of the Contract Department, (1 800 2399-5980) and I was told that that KitchenAid shows receipt of this contract but that it has the original model and serial number (not the replaced unit) and I was told that Kitchenaid's third party extended warranty service company, AON, will not honor my contract until I produce written documentation and a receipt for the replacement unit. This is the case even though KitchenAid has a record of the replacement.

Per request from Veronica, of the Contract Dept., I now have to fax, a copy of the paperwork that was given to me when we received the new microwave. The original receipt is very light and barely readable. However, as further evidence of my ownership of this unit, I am also sending a copy of a repair receipt from A & E in October 2003 which shows correct model and serial number of the microwave I currently have. I trust this will be ample documentation.

I wish to document the serious inconvenience and time this has caused me. Not only do I have to suffer the constant repair and replacement of an obviously poorly designed microwave product, but Kitchen Aid is placing the burden of its own paperwork mistakes on me, the customer.

I contacted Kitchen Aid Customer Interraction Center in Benton Harbor Michigan earlier this morning and spoke to Terry in an attempt to find some long-term solution to my problem with this product. After she could not offer one I asked to speak to a Supervisor and was left on hold for over 15 minutes. No one ever came to the phone. This is shameful.

I have had nothing but problems with this product and am sorely disappointed with the companys failure to provide any long term relief for these repeated equipment breakdowns, stupid administrative mistakes and abysmal customer service.

I WILL NEVER BUY A KITCHENAID OR WHIRLPOOL ANYTHING EVER AGAIN. BUYER BEWARE!

I have lost countless days waiting for repairmen, have not had use of the product I purchased and was defrauded buying a Kitchen Aid extended warranty they won't honor. This company advertises as being higher quality and just doesn't deliver! In fact, the quality seems to be quite inferior.