I shudder when i see it. BUT, the issues i had with mine have been fixed. That is the exact model my parents installed over the recent holidays. (i shuddered when i saw it) . I was the first to use it and immediately recognized the design change. A fan has been installed below the back electronic panel. Puts out quite a bit of hot air onto the back cooking surface. On my older model the heat with normal cooking destroyed the panel half a dozen times. One time was the day before thanksgiving. The replacement was so backordered that they had an entire new stove delivered within hours. That same day! So i did have good service and did get extended warranties. I gave my older model away when i moved. I would never buy again because of the problems i had. It was working when i donated it but needed a strong flashlight to see the display for temp. (I took it apart and cleaned the display inside but did not really help) . It was well built and solid. Easy to clean. Just like the dishwasher i just gave away a few months ago. It was bought at the same time as my old oven. Still looked brand new but the inside racks kept breaking and falling off their tracks. Worked just ok but sounded like a freight train. And got so tired of rigging the top rack. The bottom rack lost all its wheels...extended warranty was very expensive and not worth it anymore.

It is a nice step up oven for those that were cooking on a vintage elec coil range, harvest gold, from the 80's, like my parents. Oh, Sears delivered the wrong model but let us keep it through the holidays.
So i did not get a chance to fly the griddle insert. Dad seems really happy with it so far.

I did find that hot air blowing on my hands when i reached for a pot handle a bit odd. Not really a deal breaker. I do think people that have had problems should explain and not just be a brand hater. I'm impressed that they addressed the issues i had but i did feel like a 'tester' and suffered for it. It should have been a massive re-call.
A shame it is absolutely necessary to get extended warranties that cost more than the appliance ...

Reminds me of the KA blender in my garage, used 5 times, looks brand new, nice glass pitcher, burned out motor making salad dressing. Will never buy another KA small appliance.
It is out of warranty, i don't want another. It cannot blend water. Others have had the same problem.

They use the cheapest components possible and have a horrible build quality. If you're looking for builder grade, you've found it.

So how come some of their products have very high ratings and low repair rate?

So which brands are not builder grade and I could get a good stove under $1000?

Posted by hollysprings (My Page) on Thu, May 16, 13 at 11:46
They use the cheapest components possible and have a horrible build quality. If you're looking for builder grade, you've found it.

I'm not sure this is the explanation for what you are seeing, but I remember reading that more expensive brands can have a higher reported repair rate than less expensive brands because if someone owns an expensive appliance (SubZero, Wolf, etc.) they are more likely to pay for repairs if something goes wrong, where a less expensive appliance might just be replaced because the repair cost is a higher percentage of the price of buying a new replacement.

A point of clarification for kaysd on the CR survey/reliability reports: it is not about "repair" rates.

Moe specifically, the chart that skuba shows above is reporting reliability/defect rates, not repair rates. CR annually surveys its member on applicances, cars, etc. If you're a member, and you've bought an appliance within the last five years, they ask you if it has had a serious problem. CR does not ask whether the defct was fixed or not. In any given year, CR gets between 80,000 and 100,000 responses on stoves.
Maybe you could call it a "need for repair" rate.

As for "builder grade" and "horrible," well there are stoves out there that fit that description and some of what Frigidaire makes certainly fits that description. As do some of GE and Whirlpool. products. That's where CR's performance testing can be helpful. Sorting the Yugos and Trabants from the Volkswagons, as it were.

Seven years ago I bought all Frigidaire appliances, Lowes had a deal, for our remodeled farmhouse. We were selling our old house moving into the farmhouse, while we build a new house.
I used the stove and fridge for one year, hated them. Stove oven temps never were true and drawer on bottom spring was busted and drawer stuck out. All of the Glass cooktop burners all seemed to be "Low BTU". Fridge froze stuff in the back and crisper drawers and no amount of temp change helped.
I don't remember the exact models but all were SS and mid range in price. Since they were SS I moved the range and fridge to the old house to help sell it. Moving the old house's Maytag Gemini range and fridge to the farmhouse.
The house sold and I still have the Frigidaire dishwasher, hate it, doesn't clean dishes, soap dispenser sticks closed. And the Frigidaire Affinity washer officially died today. Washes but doesn't spin.
I have no problem with buying the old American standby brands I just want appliances that work half way decent. The old Maytag Gemini range still bakes a mean pie and its about 15 years old. I have my MIL's 40 y/o Maytag washer in the barn, works fantastic.