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jillybeanbbo

KitchenAid self clean oven Class Action Lawsuit Canada

jillybeanbbo
12 years ago

I am looking for Canadian KitchenAid (Whirpool) customers

who have purchased a KitchenAid Gas Range and have experienced a problem when using the self clean function.

My KA Gas Range is inoperable for the 3rd time now after using the self clean function and I refuse to pay again for

the thermal fuse to be replaced. Replacing the fuse does not fix the problem!

I am aware of a number of class action law suits in the USA for this fault and a similar fault where the self clean function fries the entire front panel. I am in contact with a Canadian law firm with the aim of starting a class action law suit for KA customers in Canada.

Please contact me and I will send you information as it becomes available, I will also post progress updates here.

Thank you.

Comments (17)

  • mojavean
    12 years ago

    I disagree. Not with antss's fatalistic prediction, he's probably right; you will likely end up with a whole lot of doodly-squat. What I disagree with is the notion that you should just roll over and let KA screw you.

    Those ovens are defective. There are FAR too many reports of self-clean cycles ending with thermal cutoff failures.

    So go get 'em. And don't settle for coupons. Make them fix them, replace them, or get your money back.

  • JCWR56
    12 years ago

    I know this might be an extreme long shot, but enough complaints to the Consumer Products Safety Division might nudge KA if the CPSD gets involved.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Saferproducts

  • jillybeanbbo
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Thanks for the encouragement mojavean!

    JCWR56 thanks, that looks like a good idea. The only problem is that I am from Canada, perhaps affected customers in the USA could lobby this grup.

    I received an email from another unhappy KitchenAid customer who did get a resolution
    "They eventually replaced mine with a new model oven after I threatened a lawsuit.....they tried to give me the same model but I refused to accept it, eventually got the new model and made them pay for installation of it also....I have not had any problems with this new model at all...
    I will never buy kitchen aid again, they were well aware of the problems that existed with that oven and that's why they discontinued it and came out with a new model, but they refused to accept responsibility for it and tried to pull the wool over the eyes of so many customers...a lot of people have emailed me saying they had the exact same problems"

  • JCWR56
    12 years ago

    Oops! Not enough coffee this morning. Then perhaps looking to see if there's an equivalent Department in Canada to file with.

  • jillybeanbbo
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Important update!

    After reading the comments here I decided against a Class Action Law Suit and filed a claim in the Small Claims Court.
    It was cheap $100 (it costs more to fix my stove after using the selfclean cycle) and easy.

    I am happy to say the matter was resolved, out of court to my complete satisfaction. The terms of the agreement mean that I must not disclose what the settlement was.

    If anyone in Canada needs any help getting started with the small claims process, please email me. I can help with that :)

  • sandyodelein
    11 years ago

    I am having the smae trouble and would like to know what the process was for you. Please help as I am so frustrated with Kitchenaid I could scream!

  • Momofterrors
    11 years ago

    Oh, how I wish I had found this page sooner. I set my oven to self clean yesterday and the same thing has happened. The oven failed to re-open and switch back on and on reading all the web pages it would appear that we now have a broken oven. it is only two years old and cost $2000 so as you can gather I am not a happy person. I'd welcome any feedback from anyone on the best action to take - we have been told to submit our problem to the safeproducts.gov page which we will do as well look into the small claims court but we would also consider joining any class action case as we just do not want to spend 100's on a repair when they knew this was fault or even worse spend another $2K on a new oven.

  • J Libson
    4 years ago

    Hi jillybeanbo. I don't have your email to ask you about your actions on the kitchenaid, but I'd like to hear more about what you did. Thanks.

  • Kathryn Shannon
    4 years ago
    last modified: 4 years ago

    Hi. I can't believe this is still going on. I am "jillybean" from the original post here.

    In the end, I filed action in the small claims court. To start I had to complete a company search which was a simple process, online and a small cost, which I recovered.

    In summary, I filed the claim stating "the company" knew or should have known that these appliances had a fault which made the self clean function unusable. I requested the company remove the faulty stove and compensate me, I claimed a % of the cost of the stove. I thought this was reasonable as I had used the stove for x many months. The process and forms to complete were all online, very straight forward.


    The company settled with me without going to court, paid what I requested plus expenses for the company search and small claims court filing fee. A clause prevents me from sharing the details of the settlement, hence the vague language.

    It was an easy process and highly satisfying, I recommend anyone with this type of problem take this action.

    Good luck and let me know if I can provide any more information.

    Note, I am in Canada, the process is likely different in USA

  • J Libson
    4 years ago

    I'm also in Canada. I don't know whether the court or Kitchen Aid would consider ours as we bought the house with the stove two years ago. The house was built in 2010, so it's likely out of warranty. I phoned them and the repair line stated that since we have the stove top working we were not considered high priority for a repair person to come out. I don't know if we can repair it ourselves, but their recommendation was to check the display board and electronic control board. If we can repair it, we'll see if I have to take action to reduce the costs. It is frustrating though, especially in a pandemic.

  • Kathryn Shannon
    4 years ago

    It must be very frustrating, one more thing you really don't need during the pandemic.


    If you are handy, you can fix it yourself as it is likely the Thermal Fuse that has blown.

    When I had the problem, I found reports from people who had replaced the fuse themselves and if you do some digging around you should find the information you need.

    Hopefully, the control board won't be fried, and it should be this relatively inexpensive replacement fuse you need. Assuming you can get the part.


    However, don't try the self clean function again! It will blow the fuse and render your stove inoperable.


    Good luck, I share in your frustration!




  • HU-563294453
    3 years ago

    We purchased a KitchenAid wall oven August of 2015. It was expensive! Started using it in our new house in December of 2015. It has been nothing but problems. I think November 2017 I was using the oven to dry chili peppers. My husband turned it off went into his office to do some work in about 5 minutes time our house filled with a very acrid black smoke. Instead of turning off it heated up to the highest temperature and could not be turned off. We had to turn it off using our fuse panel. KitchenAid had to replace the mother board, which they did months later. Luckily we had another oven or we would have had no oven over the holidays or for a couple months. Next the hinges stoped working, we have to use a clip to close the oven door all the way. Hinges can’t be replaced, believe me we tried. They told us to buy a new one (exact same model) they would give us 15%off, its $3,000.00 oven can’t afford that expense every 3 or 4 years. Wait, you are still selling my model but you can’t replace the hinges? That is correct if your oven was under warranty we would replace the whole oven! Last time I used it, a few months ago, my bread started to burn after only being in the oven for 5 minutes, the oven decided the temperature for bread should be at selfclean temperature. Needless to say we have disconnected. They did offer $500.00 off a replacement. my husband did order a replacement we have been waiting months and have now decided forget it. No more crappy whirlpool/kitchenaid appliances/service for us. My advice? Look for a better manufacturer.

  • tryingtounderstand
    3 years ago

    I was looking at Frigidaire wall ovens the salesman strongly suggested I purchase kitchen aid. He insisted better quality blah blah...I’m going with Frigidaire.

  • Meredith Mabee
    2 years ago
    last modified: 2 years ago

    Same problems here...In a 12 month span,I've had a working oven for probably half of that...in a pandemic which does make it worse. It died on Christmas, while cooking a turkey and then again the week before Easter...still have no working oven ..still waiting for parts....I sooo want to sue em!!They KNOW they are producing 'throw away' products ! It's disgusting. For the record my oven is 5 years old ....my mom's is 43 years old and she has never had a problem... anybody seeing a pattern here ? So angry

  • Kathryn Shannon
    2 years ago

    Meredith, sorry to hear this story just keeps on repeating. I was so angry after purchasing and paying for what I thought was a "premium" product. and I was left with a lemon. I don't know where you live but in Canada the Small Claims Court process is easy. It was simple and 100% satisfying.

  • HU-564578805
    last year

    I was really hoping to find a class-action lawsuit I could join - not so much for the money but more to assuage the fury that I feel when I think of how unhappy I am with my "premium" piece of junk Kitchenaid stove.

    In 2018, when we renovated our kitchen, we decided to “go big” on the appliances, and went with Kitchen-Aid. Up until then, we had been using the old same stove and fridge that came with the house 14 years prior. Neither of the old appliances was a premium brand but they had served us well, and neither had even once required a call to the repairman.

    Other than the fact that no amount of levelling will allow the door to properly close, I have been fairly happy with the refrigerator. My greatest anticipation, however, lay with the prospect of a new stove with a self-clean feature. Oh BOY! No more sticking my head in an oven covered in corrosive goo and fumes. No more crouching painfully on my knees to scour away the greasy grime.

    Or so I thought.

    Then I discovered “Aqua-Lift”, the most useless piece of technology ever conceived of, except for perhaps the Rotato. No. I take that back. The Rotato does what it says it will.

    I will not even pursue the fact that the Kitchen-Aid broiler sets fire to everything I put in there before it has a chance to actually broil properly, or that the stovetop elements are so hot on the lowest setting that I can’t properly simmer most dishes. Whirlpool’s Aqua-Lift “self-cleaning” feature alone is enough to convince me to never again buy Kitchen-Aid or any other Whirlpool brand.

    Aqua-Lift, for the uninitiated, is a Whirlpool brainfart that depends on steam to break down the baked-on grease that accumulates inside your oven. If you’ve ever tried the youtube hack where you put a bowl of water in your oven and heat it up so that the steam makes it possible to just wipe it sparkling clean “with NO scrubbing!”, you will know that this method is about as effective as waving a magic wand over the mess.

    The instructions that come with the stove warn most emphatically that you should not use any kind of cleaning spray or foam to clean the stove or door glass as this can impair the cleaning process and/or damage the surface, and nullify the warranty.

    And there it is, your Catch-22 – because no amount of steam can reverse the chemical change that occurs when grease gets baked on to the sides of your oven.

    So, after several earnest tries and and equal number of abysmal failures, I got the big chemical guns out again. I’m back on my hands and knees with my head inside the oven, scrubbing and cursing, and hoping that the cleaner will eat through the grease before it eats through my gloves.

    I fervently pray that this piece of junk stove breaks down soon so that I can pitch it onto the street for delivery to its most appropriate destination – the dump!!!