Rheem Water Heaters Reviews

Product does not last. We have had 2 and had issues on both. The replacement last 1 1/2 years. And they said they would replace part and then said no. Do not buy from Home Depot. The other hot water heater brand is this company also from Home Depot.

DO NOT BUY! ABSOLUTE GARBAGE PRODUCT AND TRASH COMPANY! If I could give this zero stars, I would. I am absolutely furious. I bought a Rheem 40-gallon gas water heater expecting a reliable, long-term appliance, but it turned out to be a complete piece of low-quality junk. It completely broke down and started leaking everywhere after just 3.5 years! A standard water heater is supposed to last at least 8 to 12 years, but Rheem is clearly manufacturing cheap, defective garbage and selling it to unsuspecting customers.

We have a 4 yr. old Rheem hybrid water heater. It was professionally installed and did not work correctly immediately. The Rheem customer service experience was a bit frustrating with repeated calls, each time with the representative testing the unit remotely from their end with no solution until the third person confirmed that it was a completely defective unit. Rheem required a specific local company install the replacement under a warranty claim. Rheem and the plumber were on the phone confirming the work. Everything was fine until a month ago. Now Rheem warranty reps have done none of the testing from their end, required the plumber (from the same Rheem authorized company) to go through hours of steps checking even irrelevant things and running up the labor costs.

My heater is a 40 gal. gas water heater that we installed in April of 2020. It is now October of 2026....my warranty expired in April of 2026. I had no problem at all with the heater except it is rusting out at the bottom. Shouldn't a water heater last more than 6 years? I'm afraid to buy another Rheem so guess I'll have to buy a competing brand and pray the longevity exceeds 6 years.

In May we bought a Rheem heater. Not even 5 months later it was leaking out of the bottom element. It took us 2 weeks of nonstop calling and boiling water to shower before finally got a replacement. Not even 30 minutes of installing the new heater it was leaking out of the top element. We did not even get to use any hot water before it was leaking. Absolutely ridiculous. I do not recommend this brand EVER.

We just replaced our 11 year old Rheem with a brand new one because it was leaking slowly at the bottom of the tank. After waiting several days for the delivery we had it delivered and installed - the starter wouldn't work. Our plumber told Rheem warranty it was the starter & they insisted to have their warranty plumber come. This was on a Saturday. Monday they wrote he would come on Tuesday and we asked that he bring a starter replacement. He came and confirmed it was the starter. They ordered it to be delivered to our home. Still waiting... it will be delivered Friday or Monday. A week without hot water on a brand new water heater with a manufacturing defect and defective customer service. Not happy customers. By the way, we have 3 Rheem 2 ton HVAC systems and we've had issues with them also...

I would give this brand a zero. Just been a year and no hot water, their process sucks. How can we leave for days without hot water when the process takes so long, not going to buy this brand ever again and will not recommend to anyone. They are trying to blame our circuit breaker. :-( Not happy at all.

I would give 0 stars if I could. I've spent hours this morning trying to reach Rheem Tier 3 support. After going through countless menus and being transferred, supposedly to Tier 3, the calls drop and I have to start over. Their systems are the most unfriendly I have ever encountered. It's impossible to reach anyone in Tier 3. I've tried their chat assistance to no avail. I've also spoken to several people in Tier 1 and Tier 2, but whenever anyone of them tries to transfer me to Tier 3 (after going through the whole menu processes) the call drops. I'm so frustrated right now that I'm ready to pull the Rheem system and put it in the trash.

I purchased Rheem model # XE38S06ST45U1 water heater Serial # A512115885 02/17/2022. The water heater's tank is leaking beside the top heating element. The heating element is good. The tank itself rusted through. After many attempts trying to speak with the company or with a Rheem dealer in GA I just finally gave up, Rheem products are not worth the price and do not last like they want you to believe, POOR CUSTOMER SERVICE!!!

Worst product EVER! I bought a Rheem tank water heater and it only lasted 4 years before going out. The replacement part, a combustion chamber sensor was out of stock so they said they would replace the complete water heater. I was given a confirmation email for the plumber to provide to the supply store, but the email did not state that the supply store would be reimbursed for the replacement water heater so they wouldn't give the plumber a new water heater. He had to reinstall the broken water heater so I could have running water in my house and I still don't have a working water heater. I spent hundreds of dollars for nothing and will have to spend thousands more to buy a different brand of water heater because Rheem is deceiving and doesn't honor their warranty

We purchased the Performance Plus 50 Gal Medium 5500-Watt Double Element Electric Water Heater in May 2023. We had to replace both upper and lower thermostats and heating elements in August 2025. Now September 2026 the water heater is tripping the breaker. Leaking water at the lower heating element. My plumber talked with people at Rheem Warranty explaining what the problem was and that the area between the glass and medal tank had water and that it was going to rust through. They would only send a lower thermostat and heating element. I will never purchase another Rheem product as they do not stand by their warranty.

We are now on our 4th water heater in 3 years. We just had the heater replaced again yesterday and it didn’t work. I realize that these things happen but to have this problem this many times is ridiculous. It’s a horrible product.

I had to replace my water heater one year ago and the water heater only worked for a few months. I contacted Rheem warranty and was pleased they replace my hot water heater and last month my hotwater heater stopped working. No hot water. Called a plumber and he checked it and venting and relight the heater and charged us 100.00 and a week later it went out again and not able to relight it at all, contacted warranty dept andf they refused to replaced heater even though it still under warranty. We have been without hot water for over one month so we have to buy and new hotwater heater, about 600.00 and spend 700.00 to get it installed. This is a shame. I guess they get bonuses for how many claims are denied.

Purchased and installed Rheem Water Heater, Model #XG40S06EC34U0, June 2, 2025 and it stopped working on August 29, 2026! A water heater is supposed to last for many years! Not almost 15 months!! I am definitely not a Rheem fan right now!!

Bought this Rheem water heater (Model SCG40T03ST34U1) in November 2025. Nine months later it's leaking. Nine months. Rheem's "solution"? Store credit for what I originally paid — $415. Except the same unit now costs $599, and installation ran me another $550. So a water heater that died before its first birthday is costing me $600+ out of pocket to replace. This isn't customer support, it's a money grab dressed up as good faith. You fail early, then profit off the replacement. Absolutely dishonest and unacceptable. Do not buy Rheem.

If there was a zero, that would be more appropriate. Over 7 weeks without consistent hot water, multiple technicians, 2 new water heaters brought in to replace a unit 3 years old. Technicians are rude and condescending. Order multiple parts for NEW units after they are put in only to last a couple days of hot water and then it’s back to cold water. No accountability, difficult to work with. Unresolved.

My properly and professionally installed Proe50 T2 RH95 model heater developed a significant internal leak after only six years of operations that spilled over the properly installed drip pan and caused ceiling and property damage. My claim for warranty damage was denied despite the heater being only 6 years old due to warranty technicalities, and communication with both Rheem and their claims representative (ESIS) was at best misleading and ineffective, at worst dishonest and disrespectful.

I would rate as less than a one if I could. I got the unit to the home and since March have had it go out four times. Now they are telling me I should have gotten a different water heater and their parts don’t go bad. So I am just out $1400 on the water heater and $2500 or so on installs and service. Stay away from all Rheem products.

Very little hot water since 50 gal. electric was installed 15 day ago. In those 15 days 2 heating elements and 2 thermostats installed. Don't know why I can't get a new one.

10 gallon water heater is only two years old and stopped producing hot water. I contacted customer service, and they passed me to the supervisor. He said I needed to install a 25-amp circuit breaker before they would honor warranty claim. However, the specifications for this 2,000-watt water heater states 20 amps, which I have. They are just trying to not honor their warranty, which is strange considering I only need a $25.00 part. This company has no integrity, and I would look at other brands.

8 month old 50 gal gas water heater failed. Finding out online after the fact, many common issues of failing parts of the same.

I purchased my tankless direct 5 years ago. Roughly in the first year it started throwing error codes. I tried several times to make contact, both by phone and by email. I finally reached someone through email because of a bad review I left. The person immediately gave me a runaround on the reason for the error code and said it wasn't the product. After several interactions he got what he wanted and that was for me to just go away. I spent several years running up and down my stairs resetting the system to take a hot shower. I am now 66 doing chemo and can no longer do the shower marathon needed.

Rheem sucks. I just replaced my old Rheem water heater (we had many issues with it too). I purchased another Rheem against my better judgement because plumbers claimed that they were better quality IF bought from a plumbers supply. However- my current plumber did state his poor opinion of Rheem also. But I got one anyway. Guess what! Straight out of the box it was defective. It was leaking gas from the central gas control. So I called Rheem and already started the warranty process. I get the new part and call my plumber. The plumber advised me to just get a new unit because it’s a red flag to have to fix something right out of the box. So I attempt to call Rheem again WITH my plumber. They do not offer a solution for me to replace the entire unit. So now I will have to pay the plumber an additional $300 on top of the price I JUST paid for the brand new unit. Do not buy Rheem!!

Terrible in every way. Water heater is 6 years old, failed as soon as the warranty was up. Ordered a part 9 days ago that still hasn’t been shipped. Customer service is a joke, transferred me 3 times then gave me a different number to call that started the whole process over again. No one could tell me the status of my order.

We had a Rheem electric tankless water heater installed in Feb 2026. July 2026 the heating element busts. Customer service is limited and a waste of time. Our plumber called them and asked for replacement parts. Rheem said they would send 4 elements but only sent 1. Less than a week later more issues and waiting for the plumber to appear with the number 1 heating element. Our plumber thinks it's actually a problem with the flow sensor. Personally I believe this is a defective unit and should be completely replaced. We shouldn't have to keep paying a plumber to come see what's going on with a new water heater.

Reamed by Rheem. Make sure you read the fine print on your Rheem water heater warranty before getting stressed out about it. The company has the worst customer service, and they do not even listen to your side of the problem. The warranty states that to Please have your unit drained, disconnected, and returned to the point of purchase, for a like-model replacement. We also recommend you review their return policies and bring your receipt. So they want the average person with very little plumbing experience to unhook the bad water heater, lift the 200 lb tank into your vehicle and return it to the third party vendor that sold the water heater.

I purchased an expensive Rheem hybrid water heater. Today, after 1.5 years, the compressor stopped working and tripped a code T009 compressor fault. I called their customer service number and was cycled through AI and then put in a queue at position "21". I then spent 6.5 hours in the queue and after 6.5 hrs, when I finally reached "next in queue" the system hung up on me!!

I’ve had this Rheem water heater for a little over a year, and I strongly recommend avoiding their products. I’ve never had to fight with an appliance this much. This water heater has been nothing but trouble, and it’s easily the worst purchase I’ve ever made.

I wish there were negative stars. Exactly 364 days after I bought the water heater the pilot light won't stay lit. Rheem said to call the gas Company to check the gas pressure. The next day PSE&G came and the pressure was ok and said what was bad on it. Rheem's guy came at the same time and agreed and ordered the part from Rheem. Of course Rheem sent a cheaper part that consisted of 1/2 of what was needed and didn't work. Now they closed for the weekend and the HVAC guy gets busy. I'm Without Hot Water For 10 Ten Friggin Days. JimD1. Rheem is NOT like the Rheem of yesteryear!!!!

My RHEEM water heater died again! I say again because it was a replacement for the one that died earlier. The replacement however is not covered under the standard new product warranty. So now I'm spending $1600 on another water heater. I was told by the customer service supervisor “if we honored the full warranty on a replacement, we’d be replacing them ALL THE TIME”. So it’s just a crappy product! So frustrating!

Rheem hot water tank components were defective before we even hooked up the hot water tank. A tech came out and ordered the parts and we waited for two days and still not received the parts. Went and bought a different brand of water heater. So we are left with $1000.00 piece of junk that we can not return, I call that stealing.

Re: Model PROG40 - 38N RH62 40 Gallon Gas Hit Water Heater. How convenient that it has a 6-year warranty! They die the moment they turn 7 years old. What a bummer!! Lesson learned I suppose!! The cheapest option isn’t always the best choice. I am almost 50 years old, and have never heard of a tank going out before 10 years.

Stay away!! Purchased one in late 2022. Many restarts after installation. 3.25 years later and now it will not light. After one hour on the phone, they agreed to send the parts. However labor was out of date and not covered. They told me the parts would ship the next day but was not even packaged then. Had to pay the plumber to come for nothing as no parts. Now will have to pay him again if the parts ever get shipped. In the mean time, we will be at least a week without hot water. They say they are doing their best. NOT GOOD ENOUGH!!!

I am now waiting for my 4th water heater to be installed since December 2025. The first one leaked, the 2nd was so badly damaged it had to be replaced. The 3rd one was also badly damaged when we went to pick it up. Now we are waiting for the 4th. This is totally unacceptable. I would never buy a Richmond brand water heater again.

My experience with Rheem customer service has been nothing short of disgusting. I reached out to Rheem related to a hot water heater not functioning properly, it was determined that I need a relatively small replacement part that would be shipped to me, this is a residential hot water heater that this resident would not have hot water without this part, 8 days later the part was not delivered, thank goodness I had the good sense to look online for the part and received it the next day and repaired the unit, the follow up and product delivery from Rheem was dismal, awful customer service, if it was wasn't for on line my family would have been 8 days and counting of no hot water, completely unacceptable and total failure by Rheem.

My advice if you're looking for a hot water heater or any kind of hot water product do not buy a Rheem! I replaced my first rheem that only lasted 4 years (supposedly 9 yr tank) when it leaked (sprayed) out the side missing the drip pan and collapsing my family room ceiling. Put in a brand new supposedly 9-year hot water tank lasted almost exactly 4 years from the install date and started leaking out of the bottom. Their warranty amounts to you taking the tank out and bringing it back to Home Depot so you can get another worthless piece of crap rheem water heater that won't last half its life. Never EVER buy a rheem!

This is the worst company I’ve ever dealt with when it comes to water heaters. They would not transfer the previous owners Rheem water heater lifetime warranty to my name after I bought the home & having some issues with it. They said even though it was a lifetime warranty I still wasn’t able to have it transferred over to me. I have owned 5 homes before this one & all the other water heaters with their lifetime warranty were transferred over but not this company. They do this intentionally so the new homeowner will buy a new one from them or pay them for their service charge & repairs that’s all.

I owe it to Rheem Manufacturing for a quality product. This is my third one over 25 years. I thought my recent replacement was a bad heater after all the troubleshooting with customer service. Long story short, turns out I had a hot water line leak to my washing machine in a add on room.

Hot water smells like rotten egg, this is due to the magnesium anode rod the water heater comes stock with. Most water heater companies will replace the with zinc or aluminum for free. Not Rheem, they tell you to get lost and go buy one at Home Depot...

I have gone through 4 Rheem Electric Water Heaters in 2.5 years. Each one has leaked and caused floor damage. Rheem has replaced the water heaters after a long complaint process but I have had to pay someone to install 3 times. I would not recommend.