Oh no! I commend you for not blowing a gasket. I'm curious to see what the appliance gurus say. Is it OK to use a cracked surface? Can water go down the crack, and would that be bad?

My friend dropped something on her 15-year-old Thermador electric cooktop and broke it, and her insurance covered it! After the deductible, anyway. But it was a cooktop, so you couldn't really just replace the glass. Still, you might want to call your insurer and see if it's covered.

How much time passed between having it delivered and the crack? You might want to contact the place you bought it from and say "I just noticed this crack in the glass, and we haven't even used it yet, we need to swap the unit out."
If they won't, you can try with GE since it does have a manufacture warranty. If you purchased a,extended warranty, sometimes those cover glass-top breakage. About 12 years ago we got a GE Profile glass-top radiant heat range, and the 5-year extended warranty (from the local store) says that it covers parts & labor even if it's caused by the owner.

Manufacturer's warranty won't cover cracked glass from someone dropping something on it. Nor will an extended warranty. The only time that the warranty would cover that is if the installer from the store cracked it. Once delivered, it's 100% your responsibility to protect it.

You should NOT operate the cooktop with the glass cracked. The heat from the pan can cause more cracking. Once that crack starts spreading, you don't want weight on the top at all.

If you used a credit card to purchase it, there is some chance that it provide coverage. One did for a skydiving camera that came to an untimely end a few years ago.

If you used a credit card to purchase it, there is some chance that it provide coverage. One did for a skydiving camera that came to an untimely end a few years ago. - attofarad

American Express gives purchase protection for up to 90 days, $1000, for theft or accidental damage. With Amex Platinum and the higher-tier cards, the limit is up to $10,000.

(Um, I know this factoid because DH broke his new Kindle when he was pounding on his briefcase's jammed lock and didn't realize he was also pounding on the unprotected Kindle screen. Filed a claim with Amex and we were reimbursed for the purchase of a new Kindle.)

Factoid? I thought I was the only factoid person!
Good to know about the credit card idea.
I wouldn't use insurance for this as too many claims make you uninsurable.
Our insurance policy is supposed to cover 2 false security system alarms per year but the count against you.

hey - on a related vein - i spaced out when ordering my sllide in and the extended top does not fit through our kitchen door opening. does anyone know an easy way to remove the glass cooktop?

I would probably remove the trim from the door than try to dismantle the appliance.

I lived for years - YEARS - with a cracked top that gradually became a more cracked top, that became a top with chunks of ceramic missing. Three or four hundred boil-overs and I long since stopped worrying about it affecting performance or being a fire hazard. I'm in the midst of a remodel and meant to put it on Craig's list for free so someone could replace the top and give it a new life, but I guess I forgot to mention that to my contractor who took it to the dump.

That said, I'd never live with a new appliance like that. Suck it up - $400 hurts, but it's not a nice new range if you're patching it up with tape. I'm not happy with Amex right now but I bought all my appliances with them due to their protection programs.

ps I've mentioned this before on this forum, but my terribly abused cooktop broke but never had more than superficial, barely visible scratches until something scratched it good a few months ago.