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vivi68

Wolf Wall Oven MDL Error

vivi68
11 years ago

I was about to order a Wolf Series E wall oven after many, many months of research, and anxious reflection and debate considering the super high price of this appliance. I recently purchased a Wolf rangetop which is awaiting the purchase of a wall oven and rangehood for installation. The post by tress21 regarding an MDL error resulting in the oven shutting off by itself, ( ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/appl/msg1113244211243.html?10) has put my decision on hold - especially since this problem has not been resolved according to followup posters, gharborwa and mememeo. It would be most helpful if someone from Wolf would address this issue on this forum. The ovens affected seem to be ones that have been recently purchased. Has there been a design change or a change of supplier of parts? I would like assurance that this issue has been resolved. Does anyone know any more about this?

Comments (5)

  • philwojo
    11 years ago

    You will never get Wolf or any other vendor to post an assurance like you are asking for. You are asking them to publicly state that there is no way that a unit could be bad and that will never happen. There is nothing in this world that is 100% defect free.

    That said we don't know all the details of this issue. That is not to say there may not be an issue, but 3 people having problems does not mean all Wolf E-Series ovens have problems or that there are chronic problems.

    I would not let this small amount of posts deter you from buying that unit as long as you get it from a reputable dealer and have the full warranty you will be covered.

    This of course is just my opinion but as I have always said the internet will hardly ever be a place to find positive reviews of things. People that have good experiences don't tend to post about their products. But people that have problems will tend to post more because they are mad or looking for a fix or for whatever reason. You always will hear the bad but rarely the good in most cases.

    Think about how many units Wolf has to sell of this oven, and if there is a 10% failure rate that would not be out of line in my book. You will not find any brand of oven that will offer you a 100% guarantee that YOU will not have problems when you get their unit, that I can guarantee you for sure!

    Now, just as a bit of background my wife and I are at the start of our kitchen remodel and we are going to be purchasing a Wolf L-series oven shortly and I have no reservations about doing so, even based on things like the post you reference.

    Good luck in your decision.

  • rhome410
    11 years ago

    I can understand that this is concerning for those with the problem and for those who are planning to buy. But from my experience with Wolf, I feel more assured they'll stand behind a problem like this than I would with some of the others. I am a happy E-series owner. Wolf actually replaced my oven, quickly and with no hassle, because of issues with the porcelain interior. I'd say I missed one morning of baking in the process, and no hair-pulling or worrying on my part was required. I have not had the MDL error problem with either the new or the first oven. I had the first one for about 13 months, and the new one for about 6 months, and use high heat baking every week for hours at a time. Wolf's responsiveness and the oven's performance have me firmly sold.

  • sub-zero_wolf
    11 years ago

    Dear vivi68,

    Thank you for your inquiry. This issue was caused by a communications error, which has been corrected and successfully implemented in production E-Series Ovens. Wolf prides itself on exceptional Customer Care and support of its products, so please contact Customer Care with any concerns or questions.

    You can contact us via phone Mon-Fri. 8:00-5:00 CST at 800-222-7820. We can also be reached via email at CustomerService@SubZero.com.

    Thank you,

    Customer Care Team
    Sub-Zero/Wolf Appliances

  • vivi68
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Philwojo, I have to disagree with your opinion that people who have good experiences with their appliances don't tend to report it. I learned of Wolf's superior customer service and the reliability of its products through the posts on this forum of the many satisfied owners, like rhome410, who were willing to communicate their experiences with others. Happy owners of Miele appliances on this forum led to my purchase of both a Miele dishwasher and washing machine (okay, my dishwasher had to have the valve box and hose replaced when it was only one year old, but it was taken care of - it does do a terrific job of cleaning dirty dishes and it's so well designed (will post my experiences as time goes by).

    Also, I was referring to one very specific problem that seemed to have popped up regarding a very recent production of Wolf series E ovens - an MDL error. Never did I suggest that there was a general or chronic problem with this line. And I never suggested that I expected a guarantee that I would never have a problem with a Wolf oven; rather that I wanted to be assured that this very specific problem had been resolved. Consider that, generally, Wolf products are reputed to be quite reliable. Now, all of a sudden, within a short period of time, there are several posts all reporting the same problem - in this case, it sounded like a problem with the motherboards. And if that were the case, most likely, the problem would not be limited to only 3 ovens. So I just wanted to know if that issue had been addressed and fixed.

    Rhome410, I am heartened by your experience of Wolf replacing your oven - a bright blue interior is certainly not my preference. From what I understand, hairline cracks occur if you wipe the porcelain with a damp cloth while it's still warm. At least if the interior is black, it probably wouldn't show.

    And to the Wolf representative, thanks for replying. It validates your customers' comments regarding Wolf's customer service.

  • rhome410
    11 years ago

    I promise that I didn't do anything crazy to cause the problems with my porcelain...:-). It happened in the corners, so maybe just didn't adhere right or there was more stress on it there as the cavity expanded and contracted... I don't know. But I do know that as soon as I emailed pics to Wolf, they declared it excessive and unacceptable, and were in contact with the nearest distributor to arrange the swap for a new oven. I had to wait a little bit for a new one to be delivered from the factory, but that was the only delay, and everyone was quite nice and helpful.

    I was afraid I might be trading an excellent performing oven for one that didn't do as well, but I needn't have worried. The 2nd bakes as well and consistently as the first.