Shanks5, are you saying BlueStar is a quasi brand? Please explain what you mean.

Perhaps my experience was a fluke, but in the research and study I've done, it seems that Viking does have an inherent problem with their products, and the lack of customer support left me seething with frustration. A friend of mine who has a Thermador range also reported problems with her oven, though that really has nothing to do with this discussion, but as I previously mentioned, some of us who own/owned pro-style ranges seem terribly disappointed in the results.

Also, according to Consumer Reports, Viking had the HIGHEST repair rate of all major brands. Nearly 40% of Viking ranges presented a serious problem within the first 5 years. Getting service was next to impossible, and repairs were often difficult to diagnose and tended to recur. It's important to note that the gas ranges today do seem to be "dumbed down" from the ones I remember using growing up. Even the oven on my Viking left a lot to be desired. Wild temperature swings left my food either undercooked or overdone, no matter where I set the control!

Still, I think we're missing one crucial point, one that I'm also guilty of: BOTH electric and gas ranges can cook a meal and cook it well. Yes, electric takes some getting used to if you've used gas, and those of us who are used to electric probably took some time adjusting to gas... It all boils down to personal preference, the type of hookup available, and your cooking style. I have noticed that a lot of newer homes no longer feature gas hook-ups for the kitchen. You can have it piped to your range, but it's cost prohibitive and really not worth the expense or effort...

Cheers!
Bruce

Just ran across this site and thought I'd pass it along...

Mort...Quasi meaning almost. Bluestar was an offshoot of the old Garland. It is unclear to us who actually owns the brand and support.

To Bruces point, service in the appliance industry is just plain bad. We do not allow any outside delivery and service people interfacing with our customers ever, because these awful experiences continue to happen by people not invested with the sale of the product.

If you buy a product over the internet out of your market, these bad engagements will be your expectation. Unfortunately, this will also be your expectation if the local person does not have a decent service department.

You should also not be raked over the coals by a company that does service the product(if you can still find one). Just be informed of the inherent risks to buying high end appliances and decide accordingly. In other words, know your risks

One last factoid: If you are a Bluestar dealer, identify yourself as such....I see alot of these stilted conversations

After a number of other problems with our 4 year old Viking refrigerator, the door just broke on our full width deli tray in a way that I think will require the shelf above it to be replaced as well - the whole lower unit of the refrigerated section. Have not had time to research repair options yet. We love the layout, but I wish we had gone with another brand. Too bad we bought custom cabinet panels for it, or I would think about replacing it.

I am very pleased with the Viking 30" dual Fuel sealed burner range that I purchased last year. The burners have high power for my stir frying and a very low setting as well, which the Kitchen Aid model I was considering did not have. The burners always fire instantly and cleanup of the black porcelain surface is a vast improvement over my previous stainless-topped range. The oven heats to precisely the called-for temperature; I placed a thermometer inside to check it when new. The unit is ruggedly made with virtually no plastic anywhere, and it has a precise, machined feel that is not shared by tinny pro-look mass produced brands. I believe you can easily see where the money went; I would not hestitate to buy it again. I do wish that it had an oven timer, however.

Hypocrisy abounds! Bruce gets called a troll with no one to his defense and then is slapped around for a harse but well deserved comeback. Then shanks 5 comes along, admits to being a trolling dealer peddling everything but Bluestar and calls Bluestar quasi without challenge. BTW - lets all remember Wolf's beginnings before SZ bought them out and put them on a mass marketing effort over the last several years. The only thing transparent about shanks is admitting to being a dealer. However, it is certainly no secret that Prizer Painter is the parent company for and owner of Bluestar.

bruce_allen123 I 100% agree with you! I thought that I wanted Viking appliances, until I had to cook on them (at a place that we volunteer at). The stove took forever to heat up, I don't like the layout of the burners and the oven took even longer. Also, the oven was difficult to get things in and out of. The knobs on the stove are cheesy. And this is their professional line! I could go on--but I will stop. When we remodel, I think that I will stick with GE Monogram. We have GE Profile ovens and they are great!

I have the 48" open burner all gas Viking range (I don't remember the model number-it does not self clean) for the past four years and I LOVE it. It has the 24" griddle in the center. I cook on it daily. I'm a big baker, and the baked goods and roasts the the convection oven turn out are to die for. It looks like they came from a restaurant or bakery. I simply don't believe those appliance salesmen who tell you you need dual fuel. This gas oven ROCKS! I prefer the larger of the two ovens though, because the small oven doesn't have the convection. I wish it did.
I'm also heavily into using the wok on it. If you use a heavy cast iron wok (Bodum makes a good one), you won't have any problem keeping the heat up. The thermostat on the griddle is a little odd (it gets very hot at first, then settles in to the proper temp-you just have to bring the heat up gradually). The appliance repairman who came to look at the thermostat on the griddle (and replaced it- although he thought it was probably fine) said that was characteristic of the Viking griddles. He said he hardly ever got calls on the Viking ranges and that he himself was a long term Viking owner.

I love the fact that whole range comes apart in pieces for cleaning. Easy Off really gets the oven, burner rings and griddle fantastically clean. No chiseling required! I recently took the entire griddle into the yard, put it in a plastic garbage bag and cleaned it with Easy Off. The griddle almost looks like new (be sure to reseason). I am a big griddle user, with three kids who love their bacon and pancakes. I'm not sure you could do that with any other range.
We will be moving soon, and unfortunately we won't be able to afford a Viking in our new home. I'm not kidding you when I tell you I'm tearing up at the thought of leaving my beloved Viking. It honestly makes me sad. Contrary to what others have said, there are NO electronic parts in the ALL GAS open burner version of the range. Get yourself one. I'm sure you will love yours as much as I truely love mine.

BS alert! LMAO

Having paged thru this entire listing, I am struck by a couple of things. I love to cook and have worked on dozens of different cooktops and grills over the years, both professionally and personally so I have had a lot of experience over 30 years on gas cooktops.

First, forget the looks and the comments just for a moment. The most important thing is to know how you cook and the type of heat and output you need to have. Looking at the comments, less has been said about that and it makes a difference. Just having lots of options means nothing if the basic cooking style of your cooktop doesn't meet the needs of your cooking. For instance, I cook asian and that means that anything less than 15,000 btus is inadequate for the perfect flash frying that you need to do. 18,000 is the better range and 20,000-30,000 is best with a deep wok ring. If you are into sauces and other "low heat" cooking for desserts, gravies, etc., the 500 btu output on some stoves is what you are looking for to keep it warm but not "cooking". So, go back to your basics, just like in personal computers, what are you looking for, not what are you looking at. The worst thing to do is to buy a good looking cooktop that doesn't do the job when you need the range of flame or level of heat. Even little things such as the size of grating makes a difference. If you're a pastry person, have you ever tried to put a butter melter on a large open grate, good luck - some stoves come with a griddle or burner covering that supports very small "sauce" or melting cups that would spill on a larger grating that is "too open".

Second, look at the position of the controls and the "order of the burners" - are you a lefty or righty? I happen to be a righty and want the biggest burner in the 5 o'clock position because that is where my "prep counter" is positioned on my cooking island just to the right. In asian cooking, you have to be quick to add many ingredients separately one at a time as you go and on some stoves, the big burner is in the 8 o'clock position. What that means is that I would have to schlep stuff over the stove dripping whatever is dripping over the controls if they are in the center which is no fun regarding cleanup and also spillage. I'm not about to become a lefty in the near future which would be the other choice.

Another detail - the surface. From glass to stainless steel to pellet dimpled, etc. You have to make sure the way you clean the stove is not something that you are not familiar with. Many people with stainless steel accidentally use a plastic or semi-rough scrubbing pad and accidentally damage the nice clean surface. On glass, (rarer nowadays on high end cooktops) you can scrub away without much concern. You have to use a sponge on stainless steel to preserve the sheen and that means "less scrubbing" power which means it takes longer to get really clean. Open grates with deep bowls for spillage notwithstanding, most professional cooks don't care about some burn marks in the bowls from boilovers, etc. crusting on the bowls hance why you don't have any of them complaining about the looks - all they care about is flame consistency and output, not cleaning and looks. In fact, because they don't care, steel wool and other abrasives are they way they get the burned on crust off, things that you would never use on a more delicate surface.

Oh, one thing about range hoods and fan outputs - don't chintz here. If you don't get enough air throughput, the kitchen will totally heat up with multiple burners going on high. Almost every residential homeowner doesn't get the right size because the higher output fans are louder and also the hoods are bigger. At a certain size of heat output of the stove, you actually would want better fire suppression too which is more than just one of those little home depot fire extinguishers. If you've ever been in a real kitchen fire with 2-3 20,000 btu burners involved, those smaller extinguishers are just toys. Also, its not just the stove top that needs to be put out in a fire, over the years the hood accumulates grease and the hood fire is actually the more dangerous because the flame goes up where you can't fight it easily. This is something that most home kitchens totally overlook using near professional level heat output stoves. Again, if you do a lot of frying and deep frying, the grease accumulation will happen and the cleaning and fire concerns need to be considered.

About the igniters, one thing that I have noticed is that if the igniter is not shielded, there tends to be a higher chance that either dirt or damage from constant cleaning and then rusting or detachment is something to worry about. I am in the middle of replacing our older Thermador and that tended to be a point of failure that I didn't like from time to time. In our new stove, we are trying to get the igniter to be "internal" so that dripping doesn't get on it, hence you won't need to clean it and therefore it won't fail. Just a thought.

Other than that, I tend to think that most people don't "use" their stoves or cooktops up to the level that they are designed for and tend to overbuy the features, etc. Sometimes, it is best to scale down just a little and get exactly the level that you need. The more parts and options that you get can sometimes lead to more chance for error of failure of a feature that is rarely if ever used.

As you can see, it's more than just the look or a couple of service calls. If you buy the right stove even a couple of service calls are worth it because the stove is doing what you want it to do and you will want to repair or take care of it because you will love the food that you prepare with it. Go back to your notepad and prioritize what you want and look at the aesthetics as one of the lower ranked things. At the level of cooktop you are talking about, its the luck of the draw of how it was manufactured and whether you got a lemon or not but size it to what you really need, not the "pretend cooking" that you have never done before but want to do because you have a couple of recipe books. Make sure the burner placement, flame height and size of the output is at the right level and that you properly assess the "amount" of cooking you are really going to do. It doesn't help to have every bell and whistle if all you are doing is casual cooking - you will have paid way too much for the looks and frankly, you will be frustrated that the stove isn't working with you (wrong burners in the wrong place, not enough space between burners for big pots, etc.). Think about the way you cook and get the stove that fits your style. You'll be a lot happier with whatever brand you buy.

Amen! I think that is why I find the cooktops with the large right front burner appealing. Also, I don't really need 2 30" ovens, so the GE Profile double oven electric range with the 12" front burner & bridge element seems just right. I just wish they made it in a slide-in.

We've had our 48" gas Viking Rangetop with 4 burners (17.5 btu) plus griddle/grill, and 24" Wok Burner (27.5 btu) for 4 1/2 years now and just love them. No problems. My husband and I both cook extensively, so it's not unusual for the entire length of cooking space to be used over a weekend, sometimes all at once. We chose this over Wolf because the wok burner matched and could be installed right next to the rangetop. We use the wok burner all the time for making stock, boiling big pots of pasta (and an occasional lobster or two), and when we're using the really large fry pan. We have a custom 6' vent-a-hood mounted very high because my husband is very tall. The whole setup is terrific.

We chose GE Monogram for the warming drawer and electric double convection ovens because they were well rated and we loved their look. The warming drawer has worked fine although it is NOT water tight so our one attempt at a bain marie was a bit of a joke. But in reality, we use it to keep dinner warm or I proof bread. I love having a warming drawer. The ovens are great as well. I use the proof setting for breads a lot.

Avignon, what did you choose?

I have a Viking rangetop and a stove. The functionality is ok... although I have had problems with the oven temp. but the cleaning is a nightmare. Within one week of using my stove, it looked like it was 10 years old. I can't seem to find any products to clean around burners which has brown stains all over it due to the flame(I am told).I have tried Bar keepers friend which Viking recommended but that doesn't do anything. I have been using the corning ware cleaner which has helped a little bit. I can't seem to clean the black enamel surface which has lost the shine and lustre and looks really smudgy. We paid lot of money for these appliances and also was very expensive to install.We bought it because we both loved the look of the Viking. I have talked to Viking directly and their only advice has been for me to speak to the service people. And basically, they don't care..they will tell you anything I won't buy another Viking again!!

-----------------JUNK-----------------

Don't buy Viking !!! I bought a 36" Viking range cooktop and downdraft and have had nothing but problems... I contacts the company and was told basically "Too Bad" it is out of warrenty.

So now I am looking to replace both with Wolf..

It's so interesting to read all these opinions about Viking and Wolf. I have a unique perspective as I bought a Wolf 30" gas range recently, but after six service calls, ended up asking to return it. Wolf obliged, which was decent of them. Excellent customer service, despite all the problems.

Oven thermostat was changed twice because it was out by about 50 degrees, and that could be either hotter or colder depending on the setting. Burners would not light reliably when you went from low back to medium resulting in unburned gas, so you have to lift the pan to make sure the burner has been lit properly. This made me nervous. It's because it has two rings.

They were aware of this problem and had a kit to fix it which took weeks to be sent. It did improve the problem, but didn't resolve it completely. Door was slightly crooked as well. I really had enough of Wolf and was also unhappy that they were selling a unit they knew had an issue.

So I replaced it with the Viking gas range. The newest model with sealed burners. I've only had it a few days now, but I am impressed. The oven temperature is accurate and the burners work properly, which is really what you would expect for a unit that costs this much.

More over, the Viking build quality is clearly superior to the Wolf. I know that might shock a lot of people to hear, but it feels far more solid. On the Wolf, when you press and turn the knobs the entire back plate pushes back because the steel behind it is so flimsy. On the Viking it's rock solid.

On the Wolf, the rear vent riser is flimsy and light while the Viking riser is super solid and weighs much more.

The Wolf knobs are nice and red, but they are plastic and when the oven is on, they do not turn that smoothly. I guess the heat expands them or something. On the Viking, this does not happen. The Viking knobs are steel.

I love the way the new Viking looks and so far, it is performing great and feels way more solid. I have not had any problem with heat distribution on the burners either. There is no apparent cool spot in the centre of the pan. Not that I have been able to detect anyway.

I also did the Viking paper test. Turned simmer way down and put a sheet of normal white paper on the burner. The paper got very warm, but did not burn. That's how low the simmer will go. On the Wolf, the simmer is good, but it is limited to the tiny centre ring only.

Only complaint so far is that the Viking oven is a bit smaller than the Wolf oven.

That's my experience. I will update on the Viking as I use it more.

I just wanted to thank everyone for their posts on this thread. I have intentionally avoided reading it for a while, mainly out of fear!! I started it back in my research days. Despite that the negative comments outweighed the positive ones. I still chose to order a 36 inch 6 burner gas unsealed VIKING rangetop! I don't know why. I'm really a very conservative person and don't like taking chances, yet I really do feel like I am in this case. But I can't help it. I placed my appliance order in June. I ordered another ????? of a product, a side by side built in Ge MONO Fridge. Also on my list was the GE MONO Advantium and single oven (in the wall next to the fridge)_. A Thermador single oven under the counter and an ASKO dishwasher. SInce I placed the order I moved on to other renovating headaches ( since we are doing our entire house) Choosing everything from siding to windows, to bathtub, to tiles, flooring, carpets. It has been overwhelming and I can't thank all the wonderful gardenweb users who have helped me tile my bathroom, pick my countertops... etc.... the list goes on. Could not have done it without your help and support. I hope to have the kitchen cabinets in by mid march. Around a year from this original post. So, I think if I wanted to I could still change my appliance order. I still think I will go with the VIking, if I were to change it would probably me to the GeMOno. Thanks again for all your wonderful words of wisdom!

A friend of mine has a Viking range. She's had a few issues with it--the latest being that the hinges have sheared on the oven door. That's one heavy door and it's close to falling off--hanging on by a thread. She's having a tough time getting someone out to replace the hinges. I did some googling for her and found it's not an uncommon problem with Viking. Amazing.

I think its just like anything you buy. If you search, you will find someone that has had issues. There have been many studaies comparing various rnages and burners, etc. I have been to numerous housewares shows and I am surrounded by all brands. Personally, I like Viking ranges. I know many dealers, and several reps at Viking. When you do have a problem with a large appliance, be it a refrigerator, range, etc. It is important to know who your local dealer is, and who they use for servicing the appliances. That seems to be the biggest issue. For example, a dealer has to contract out the repair/service and those people may be unreliable, inexperienced, etc. (This holds true for all appliances). Sometimes a dealer has in-house service, usually at an attempt to improve the level of service and satisfaction, as a poor service experience has a tremendous impact on what we as the consumer feel about the product. Regardless of whether you are thinking of purchasing a Viking appliance, Dacor, Wolf, Aga, etc. be sure to know the background of the company you are planning to buy from. Have they been in business long? Get a list of Viking, etc customers that have had their appliances for at least three years. Be sure to ask for some that have had to ask for a servicer to come out. If it was good or bad, you'll hear it!
If they don't give you some clients to call, or if they have never had a servicer go out, well.. you better find someone else to buy from. Can you buy from an internet company and get good results? I am interested in many of them that advertise free white glove delivery ,etc. I am aware that the dealers can only sell (large appliances in specific states that are in their distrct/region and pricing is often based in these distrcits/regions.. not sure for all the mfg's, but just about positive this is the case with Viking. So if/when you buy online, but sure you check that they are authorized resellers for what ever product they are selling, and if they say they can sell a Viking range in any state in the US... stay away, as they can not at least not be in compliance with Viking Range. But they are definate benefits with free shipping ( or low cost/resonable shipping) and buying large appliances from tax free states.. as you do not have to immediately fork over your taxes.. I think you are suppose to pay, its just the resellers don't charge thus the "No taxes charged".. Just as it is true for local dealers, the same is true for any online retailer.. check out the references, and go ahead.. ask about servicing them.. (they will have to contract out the servicers.. but ask who they would use.. and do the same as what you did with your local dealers, find out the success of the servicers they use.

A lot of choosing an appliance is going to come down with what you like, what fits with your kitchen, tastes, and lifestyle.

Oh, I almost forgot.. don't waste your time searching for wholesalers for Viking Appliances.. nor should you find their prices any cheaper online versus local, this is controlled by Viking and again somewhat differs based on region. So can you find cheaper prices online? (Actually yes,.. sometimes) should you buy from them if its a lot cheaper than anyone else? I wouldn't as the person that is selling is most likely not an authorized dealer, and if they are they likely won't be for long... which gets you stuck when you need service. If you see a price that seems too good to be true (and it's a Viking product).. . simply pickup the phone or go to vikingrange.com and contact them and ask them is that's the right price, or if something underhanded is going on.
Last thing(s).. prices on appliances are all going up, (they went up a couple times last year and in a few days/weeks they are all going up again)! If you are thinking of buying, well its a buyers market right now... dealers are hurting, don't believe me? call any of them and try to make a deal or see when they are going to have their next special. So if your thinking of buying, don't wait! I could give a link to a new site that sells viking appliances.. with good shipping and they don't charge taxes, but I think that would taint my message here. I hope this helps and really if your planning to buy an appliance this year, (any mfg).. their inventory is stagnating appliance sales across the board I think were down 40% last year. (Ouch).. and prices have to go up due to the cost of materials, shipping all have been increasing.. anyway hopes that helps.

We had owned a 30" inch Viking gas range for eighteen years and there are some good things to say about it:
15,000 open burners cook very well with excellent control. Burners are sometimes reluctant to ignite, so I just use a match or BBQ starter.
Oven bakes very well and is only on the third ignitor.
The range is quite simple in design, so an owner can replace ignitors himself at very considerable cost saving.
NEGATIVE: Losts of rust in interior parts which appear to be quite thin in gauge and of poor quality.
INFRARED BROILER only worked for three years before failing, accompanied by little explosions that blew the oven door open. Repairs were very expensive and short-lived. We broiler either on the outside Weber BBQ or on an ancient RIVAL electric portable broiler.
We would not buy another VIKING, but there are so many negative comments posted about today's pro-ranges (ignitor problems, faulty thermostats, complex and unreliable electronic controls) that we contemplate the purchase of a new range with anything but enthusiasm).

I'm looking at a Viking wall oven (VEDO527 or VEDO5271) and wonder if anyone has one or knows someone that does and whether they like it. I like it better than others in its class partly because it has real knobs instead of an electronic control panel (which broke quickly on a JennAir years ago after which we have been living without a display because the integrated dispay and controls is so expensive to replace). I have a 6-burner Viking gas cooktop and do like but will admit it too has a problem we have been living with. The electronic auto-pilot will not turn over so I wired a switch in line with the power cord. We have been using that switch to spark it and then turning the power back off for years. We like the range of burner sizes and the burners work despite many spills.

We've had our 48" Viking Rangetop (12" griddle + six unsealed burners) for (I can hardly believe it) ten years. It's been an absolutely fabulous kitchen appliance. Sorry to hear that others have had issues with their Viking appliances, but ours performs beautifully, perfect simmer + great heat for stir-frying (we got the wok burner grate).

We no longer use the griddle much with the kids (and their hungry friends) no longer around, but it works really well for pancakes and, surprisingly, for bacon. The heavy griddle (weighs like 25 #) does an excellent job of holding temperature. If you want to cook bacon at 360', it'll hold 360'.

One other issue I've noticed while browsing this forum is that some have had problems with pots tipping on their Rangetops (Capital(?)). This hasn't been a problem on our Viking, and we've varied from really huge stock pots to small sauce pans. Thought about getting Viking's V Grate, which would eliminate any issue with stability for different sized pots, but really hadn't seen the need.

I chose the Vik dbls because of the knobs as well. I really like it, and it looks great in my kitchen, especially when the lights are on. I say lights, but there is only one switch for both ovens. I don't like that part because I'm lighting both ovens while only using one - seems like a waste. It does have a pretty long cool-down period, even when I cheat and open the oven door after I've finished cooking. Most of the time that doesn't bother me, but every once in a while I go through the "I wish it would hurry up and cool down", syndrome. If you are looking for bells and whistles, don't do it. I replaced a perfectly good Harvest-Gold-OLD GE dble with this one because I didn't like the color. Since I was changing everything else I decided to switch out as well. That was a great choice because it stuck out like a very sore thumb afte everything else had been finished. That said, I find no difference between the old GE and this one, except that it does get awfully hot. I find that I really have to watch my time and temps now. It has a huge blower factor for getting rid of the smoke, which is good because I no longer have an exhaust fan( still trying to figure that one out-LOL). I have gotten used to it though. I haven't used the clean-cycle yet (I really hope it works, and with all the horror stories here, with other ovens, I'm almost afraid. All-in-all though, I'm glad I made the choice. Sometimes I wish I had opted for more features, considering the cost. For a few bucks more, or even less, I would like to have had a better timer system, and a few other things. I will say, the major reason I chose the Vik (outside of the fact that I bought the VIK hybrid induction and wanted to match), was the fact that the racks seemed so much more sturdy than most others I had seen. I REALLY wanted the Electrolux, but didn't wasn't impressed. I also had a size issue - a very tight 27" already built cabinet. The racks in most of the other ovens seems to have more give than the Vik. In a nutshell, it cooks very well, it looks great, it is pretty tough and it has the knobs. I have found that the SS is difficult to keep "clean". Everyone has given suggestions for this, but the best so far has been dish soap for greasy prints, or plain water, with a micro-fiber cloth. The SS treatments appear to attract grease, etc.

I hope all of this isn't too confusing. It's a great oven IMHO, and other than bells and whistles, I wouldn't hesitate to make the same choice.

gneegirl

I put in a complete Viking kitchen 6 years ago, 48" stove, 48" side by side refrigerator, hood and blower and dishwasher. I have had to replace the oven burner tubes and igniter. I have also had an ongoing problem with the refrigerator. It was installed without the evaporation fan connected. When the humidity goes up my kitchen is covered with water. I had to have a service call to have the fan wire connected. Nowhere in the installation manuals did Viking mention the fact that the evaporation fans are shipped disconnected. After arguing with Viking they agreed to pay half the service call fee. The problem is that the fan is not large enough to evaporate the water and my kitchen still floods. I called another company to come service the refrigerator and they said that there is a design flaw in the refrigerators and the newer ones have a heater built into the drip pan. When I called Viking they basically told me 'too bad'. All the overflowing of the drip pan in summer has damaged my cabinet bases and I still have to monitor the drip pan daily. Today I found out that my refrigerator has been recalled. I had to find an article online about this. What burns me more is that 30 minutes before I found this article I was on the phone with Viking customer service complaining about my refrigerator, I gave them the make and serial number and they did NOT inform me of the recall. I have never had a good experience with Viking customer service. I spent $15,000 on my Viking appliances and they could not care less about the design flaws in the products they sold or their customer service/satisfaction.

There is a thread here on the recall. It will take another 2-3 weeks for my door replacement as they had to get a servicer from more than an hour away.

Several years ago someone on this forum had the same issue with the freezer and her cabinets were damaged. They paid to have them replaced when the fridge was fairly new -- tougher proposition as time goes on.

Since 2005 we have had a Viking 36" gas range, built in fridge, hood, external exhauster, and garbage dispsoser. Everything has worked fine, except for the fridge needing a new controller board - that took them 5 attemps to fix.

I would not rely on Consumer Reports. IMO, it's not possible to rate high end items and everyday retail stuff. Also I don't believe in the idea that there is a "best" appliance / auto / etc.

Obviously, these manufacturers are in a very competitive situation, and nobody wants to make junk. Design mistakes are made, products are sourced from an unreliable supplier. A company with good management will accept / track the problems and fix them. Look at GM and Chry - trying to sell the same car under different nameplates.
Too bad the gov didn't let them die a natural death.

Once you've cooked on a high-end/resturant range you can't begin to compare it to any GE or KA product.

I love Viking, I have had 3 Viking 48" with griddle and grill and with one house they talked me into Capital, nothing but issues, my new house I purchased another VIKING. It is clearly the ultimate in temp control and love it.

I have an older Viking 6-burner rangetop that's never had any issues (I think we've had one service call in 13 years). It's done exactly what's been asked of it (and what we expected). It's the only Viking appliance that we've ever owned, but I would consider them again if I were replacing a range/rangetop.

I have owned 3 vikings in new houses I have put in. I love them, tried Capital but oven temp always and issue. I love viking, keep those burners clean on top and it will take care of you. Never would I change. Most folks who have problems find it due to the burners on top so keep those cleaned out and you will be fine. My self cleaning oven on this dual range is amazing. Put it on, leave it, come back and oven is so clean. Don't listen to folks who don't own dual range, my griddle, grill comb is amazing. Keep it clean and you will be fine, just like anything else. Enjoy Viking 48" Range Dual.

I think the negative items are on the D3 series not professional series, like anything else you buy it is the price of the unit. My dual range was over 12,000.00 just for the range so I doubt the D3 owners stating they paid 15,000 for the whole kitchen are speaking of professional series. D3 is a cheaper line.

I know this is an old thread, but I have a 60" dual fuel Viking professional range with 6 burners, griddle, and grill, and ovens have infrared broilers. I've had it only a bit over a year, but I have a large family and cook a lot so use it more than an average household. (We also have the matching hood) and I haven't had any problems so far. We had one very minor cosmetic issue during installation, Viking took a while (several months) to replace the oven door (the solution wasn't available without replacing the door... a trim piece had come loose was all, didn't affect function and I was still able to use the oven while I waited for the new door) but they came through without me having to pay a dime... and I bought a floor model range for a great deal. (I.e., as is) I've been nothing but pleased with my range so far. I'd only owned mid range appliances prior to this range, but I have to say I like it better than anything else I've ever owned in the last couple of decades. Caveat: I refuse to try out the self cleaning cycles on the ovens... I've had too many exploding glass scenarios with multiple brands of ovens and I'm no longer even remotely willing to risk using it with any brand.

Our 25 year old Viking is still working. Stainless steel finish looks great. Four 15K open burners are very effective; wish we had a simmer burner, but they were not around in those early models. We did have a long term problem with the broiler. It was out of service for 10 years! By chance we came across an appliance repair man who actually knew how to fix things, not simply change parts. He fixed the infrared broiler for $200 and it now works like new. Broils like a restaurant. Oven still bakes very good breads and cakes. The stove top grates unfortunately have chipped porcelain and rust. New grates are $180 each!!! We also had several ignitors fail quickly, but that was years ago. Perhaps the current ones are more reliable.

Overall, any stove that still does a fine job at 25 years has proven its worth.

Do not buy Viking Appliances! Our stove and refrigerator have both needed service of major parts from day one. Viking customer service was helpful with my stove with 3 issues in the last 5 years. Now our refrigerator doesn't work. No repair place will work on Viking and guarantee parts. Reaching out to Viking for a certified Viking repair place, it's taken 6 days with follow-up every day on my part for them to finally refer me to a company that wants $200 just to come out to look for the first 1/2 hour and charging additional per half hour. This does not include repairs or parts. If it takes a second trip, I pay another $200 trip charge. Viking has such poor products and you the customer will be paying for it with your time, money, and inconvenience...very disappointed.

I love my VIKING Range, I have the 48" and would not live without it. This is my second one and if you keep it clean the burners DONOT have issues. If you purchase the D3 lower series they are the ones having issues, not the upper ones, I love my Viking ranges - spend the extra and get the higher quality not D3 lower Viking. Our range was 14, 500.00..so if you love to cook, spend the money..my brother spent 12,000 on his Wolf 36" and loved it. No issues, again only lower costs ones.

Worst Cook top ever! And the customer service is a waste of
time.

The grates, burner caps and lighter all packed in less than
one year of use.

Viking cannot stand by their products rather they try to frustrate
the client.

Don’t waste your money!

During our kitchen remodel I bought the four major appliances from Viking. I gave my KitchenAid appliances to my mother. I'm  happy for my mom. The Kitchen Aids are still going strong!!
My Viking Appliances are cheap in performance! My dishwasher is leaking and I cannot get anyone to repair it for two reasons. One is they don't want to touch a Viking Appliance. The other reason is there are no  certified Viking repairmen in my area!! This is so disappointing!! I would not touch another Viking Appliance. I miss my Kitchen Aids! And just for the record I've not experienced this trouble with any of the appliances that I have purchased from Lowes Department Store over my 40 years of being a homeowner! Shame on you Viking!

We loved our old Viking 6-burner stove and cook often, but the stove was becoming worn out. Instead of buying a new range and stove, we decided to repair our Viking by replacing a number of parts to the cost of almost $2000. Among the parts we bought, we purchased new 6 new stove-top grates. When we received the grates there was some bubbling on the surface enamel which we assumed was a minor defect. But now, less than 2 years later, the enamel coating has burned off in sections and we have horrible-looking rust spots on the grates. When I called Viking direct, they said I waited too long and that they would not replace the grates, but would sell me new ones for another $750. What a poor response to a loyal Viking user.

I have a Viking Double Oven, Cooktop and microwave... still going strong and no issues 8 years later!

Better check out Wolf before you pull the trigger...

Awful appliances. Have had an awful experience with the stove, oven and dishwasher. Horrible customer service. Will NEVER buy this brand again.

I've owned two Viking Range. Both were manufactured by the original manufacturer. Absolutely the best I've ever owned. I will continue to buying older, reliable models!!! I've been lucky and my newest home had a 20 year old Viking Range!! I cleaned it up and it's 25 years old and still going strong!! I love my original Viking!

SAVE YOUR MONEY ABSOLUTELY NO CUSTOMER SERVICE I AM OUT $1400 for the secondtime cannot get any meanigful responce expensyve profess range

how do l get a hold of Rick wilson

I have a Viking Double Oven, Cooktop and microwave... still going strong and no issues now 9 years later!

We have a Viking range, dishwasher and refrigerator which aren't even 4 years old. I can't discourage you enough from this brand. The products are horrible. We've required repairs 7 times. We've spent over $4000 repairing the refrigerator. I have no idea how this company is still in business. DO NOT PURCHASE ANY VIKING APPLIANCE.

We bought entire suite of Viking Appliances 4 years ago. 36" dual fuel range replaced 3 times under warranty. Built in panal ready fridge replaced once. Built in dishwasher just had a pump replaced. Only 2 people live in the home. So glad I had extended warranty. Almost forgot the convection microwave replaced once and broke twice. I have no idea how reliable the other "premium brands" are. Appliances in the old kitchen were 25 years old still running.

I'm so confused with the amount of negative comments here. Viking has a much higher satisfaction rating from consumers than Wolf and Thermador on the consumer affairs site:

VIKING>> https://www.consumeraffairs.com/homeowners/viking.html?#sort=recent&filter=none

THERMADOR>> https://www.consumeraffairs.com/homeowners/thermador-ovens.html

WOLF>> https://www.consumeraffairs.com/homeowners/wolf-cooking-appliances.html

My entire kitchen is high-end Viking. It is GARBAGE. (1) The warranty is way too short. (2) Parts break far to often. (3) Parts and Service expense is way too high. (4) Parts are no longer made for recent equipment and Viking takes ONE FULL YEAR to inform me of that fact. It is GARBAGE. Do not buy Viking. You will be sorry.