Thank you.... that really helps me decide. I was going back and forth between Thermador and Blue Star, but now I am 99% into the BS

This is a widely-reported and known issue with a clear fix that resulted in changes in later production models. This should, by any reasonable company, be covered by a recall; even if that recall applies only to units that suffer the issue and, thus, be an extra-warranty issue. I think that they haven't done this very simple thing, speaks volumes about the company.

This post was edited by applnut on Thu, Jul 11, 13 at 14:25

Now , let's be "fair and impartial" appinut.

You are familiar with the porcelain problems with the wolf ovens and ranges.

There has been no recall of those ovens.

It also IS a safety problem. Rhome got a porcelain shard stuck in her finger, and I doubt many folks would be too crazy about eating anything baked that is seasoned with porcelain shards.

I believe it is Wekick that has a Wolf range with porcelain flaking.

Wolf will not replace his oven, and I think "Wekick would be thrilled", if Wolf only wanted $125 to fix the porcelain> Ya Thinks?

Gary

Huh? How is it "unfair" to expect a company to stand behind their products, especially regarding known manufacturing defects?

As for Wolf, I absolutely believe, and have stated quite clearly, that the company SHOULD replace ovens that suffer from the known porcelain issues. And my pre-purchase research showed that they had, for the most part, done that, even in out-of-warranty cases.

In the most recent Wolf porcelain mention here, which I assume is what you're referencing, where Wolf did NOT offer to do that, I posted regarding my disturbance with that occurrence, and was vocal in saying the consumer in question should NOT accept that outcome. My feelings are in no way brand-related.

Unless you mean in that as an owner of products from both brands--Wolf and Bluestar--I've got skin in the game, and therefore really WANT these companies to stand behind their products. Something that, solely in my very limited experience, Wolf has done, while Bluestar has not.

We had a Mitsibushi television, at least two years out of warranty, that suffered what looked to be basically a color failure, with everyone on screen blown out and rather neon. After doing some quick searches online I found this was a known issue called "collapsing light tunnel" not uncommon on this particular model. Ours hadn't occurred as early as many, thus being well out of warranty, but I decided to try and a call to the company, not really expecting much, BUT, without even my mentioning having seen the issue online, they offered a free fix, with no muss at all. It was their policy to provide gratis parts and labor to correct the issue with updated parts for ANYONE who called in, because it was a known defect corrected in later models. IMO, that's how a company should do business.

This post was edited by applnut on Thu, Jul 11, 13 at 16:17

I agree, that's how they should do business.

I missed your comment on Wekick's range sorry, but I was just looking at the content of this particular thread.

Course I wish you the best of luck with your Wolf, I know how much research you did, before buying it!

Gary

My 48" BS is now 10 years old, with the old oven hinges. I too, had a problem with the sticking left sided oven door. I contacted BS, and received from them a plastic bottle of high temperature grease.
Applying the grease once a year to both hinges solved the problem, and has not ever recurred.
I'm very pleased with the range, and 10 yr. repair history consists of replacing two cracked ignitors.

I'm the next customer to have a stuck door on my Blue Star range. My 48" double oven was bought in 2006. A year ago the right side oven door began to get harder and harder to open. Finally it reached the point where I was afraid I would wrench the handle and I gave up using that oven. (I have used this smaller oven about 95% of the time.)

I contacted Blue Star, and I wish I could say they have given me the kind of prompt assistance that some of the rest of you report. First thing to note: "Kacie" is no longer on this assignment (too nice?). In the preceding messages I see that other helpful Blue Star reps have also been mentioned and quoted. However, the new person to contact at Blue Star is John Ditizio (jditizio@bluestarcooking.com). My case was referred to him by Kacie, but I have yet to hear from him. I guess I would be happy to be offered a replacement door at cost, as reported in some previous posts.

But I am wondering if they intend to stonewall me--possibly just too many of these complaints are rolling in and they're not willing to be Mr. Nice Guy anymore. Any lawyers out there? What is their legal obligation to replace admittedly defective, potentially hazardous, products? As someone above observed, if this were an automotive failure, they would be calling in those products as fast as they can, if only to avoid lawsuits. I'd appreciate some input from others on this.

Perhaps the excessive heat on the outside of the stove is the real problem with the hinges.

See post titled: "Oven door too hot? Agency facts and an easy test."

I have a Blue Star stove and noticed that the oven door was jamming shut during baking in high heat. In an attempt to open the stuck door, I noticed after opening that the inside door panel was warped and bent. It doesn't close exactly flush as it did before the door jamming. Thank you all for your comments. I thought I was the only one with this problem.

Those of you are correct in that it is a defect in workmanship and the company should be picking up the cost of replacement since it should be a recall. These posts should inform the Blue Star company that it is a problem with many owners.

I will post this issue and problem about the Blue Star ovens in all my postings in various social media.

Thank you all for your postings.

flee - would you please post your model number and when it was purchased? That might help other Bluestar owners - or potential ones.

Bluestar accepted this as a problem about 3 years ago and gave away free doors to customs with this problem. They changed / redesigned the door and hinges to correct the problem. Instead to post on social media why not call the factory and get a new door ?

Just to update my own comment (read "rant") of 3 years ago: Yes, BlueStar does acknowledge the defect, but I wasn't able to get results until I sent a personal letter to the president of the company (it does pay to go directly to the top in these matters). Then results happened rapidly and both defective doors were replaced gratis. But, unless things have changed, they aren't handing out free doors like candy. It's a design change, but the manufacturer can (and will, if nudged) correct it for you. Be ready with complete documentation of model and purchase.

Same issue here! Thanks for the heads up. Bought in 09, installed in 2012, and now its beginning of 2017 and door is stuck. I do not even have the self clean function. Bluestar said $300 USD plus $70 USD shipping. This puts me at over $450 CDN for a known issue! I will call Bluestar myself tomorrow, as this is what they quoted the appliance guy. This should be a recall item. Luckily i had my 90% cooked chicken out when it locked or that would have been a long week waiting for the repairman. (There is only one company who services these in my area.) The repairman has never seen a stove door lock shut like this in his 40 years as a repairman servicing all brands. Also, the oven door is HOT when cooking and my toddler burned her hand on the side of the door.

We bought our BS 11 years ago and the door has been sticking for years, but can still be opened if you pull it just right. That is until last week when it seized up again and would not open. The family was hungry, we needed to get the food out, so yanked on it and it bent the frame. We called CS and they quoted us $300+ and shipping. We called back saying this was a known issue, to which they replied that it is not a known issue. They then offered to send us one for $296 plus shipping. Frustrating to read this thread with such a known issue and that they continue to not do the right thing.

My 48" BS range is the same vintage as yours, Amanda. I had issues with both doors, and (if you can follow this thread way back, for years) you will see that it took some active complaining on my part to get the replacement doors cheaply. Then, about 2 years ago as I remember, the smaller door started sticking AGAIN. But this time I lucked out: I spoke to the parts dept. and was told they could provide that new door for $100. I had not been able to use this oven for a full year. But the replacement door came quickly and I popped it in immediately. Complete success, and working perfectly ever since. Yes, OF COURSE this is a "known issue" at Blue Star--has been for years, ever since they acquired the rights to the Garland range of which it's an exact copy. There's a long online history that you can read if you Google Blue Star complaints. The response you get at BS depends on you to talk to. I suggest you address your complaint to John Ditzio, who has some authority in the company. The fact that this problem has been ironed out in later models is not much consolation to those of us who are stuck with earlier models. Have all your information, model numbers, etc., ready when you write or call.

For newer doors, you can buy the hinges separately and replace them yourself. It'll probably take about 30min of work with a Philips screwdriver to do this task, if you are handy.

Unfortunately, if you had a newer door, you probably wouldn't have this problem in the first place. And for older doors, Bluestar can't guarantee that the modern hinges will fit the old doors. You are certainly welcome and can order parts from www.guaranteedparts.com or from www.letstalkparts.com, but you might end up with expensive hinges that won't help you fix your problem.

So, instead, I do suggest you replace the entire door. We had to do that recently, when our door failed after 10 years of heavy use. I am not excited that it failed, but I also don't feel too bad after this many years. I did have to call Bluestar a couple of times though before they agreed to give me a partial discount. With the discount, I felt I was treated fairly. Some wear and tear is expected after ~10 years. And if I can repair the range for a few hundred dollars and get another 10 years before the next repair, then that's still a very good track record.

As far as I can tell, there are two problems with the old hinges.

1. there is a fancy slide mechanism that redirects forces so that they compress a spring that is mounted parallel to the plane of the door. This slide is hidden inside the door and isn't user serviceable. But gradually small amounts of material wear off and clog the mechanism. Eventually, the slide can't move at all. If that's the only problem, disassembly and a thorough cleaning of the hinge mechanism is probably going to put you back into business. Please use common sense, though. Those are powerful springs; they could injure you, if you try to disassemble the hinge mechanism.
2. the slide has to move over a metal pin that guides the direction that it moves. To reduce friction, this metal pin has a plastic roller. Unfortunately, the roller can shatter and fall into the bottom of the door. The user normally doesn't notice. But when that happens, the slide moves directly against the metal pin and eventually cuts through it. When that happens, the slide no longer moves in the correct direction and the door is stuck.

I haven't verified whether this flaw is fixed with the new design, but I suspect it would be. It's pretty obvious when you see it. And while it won't fail right away, the old design will inevitably fail given enough time.

I had the same oven door problem on my 48" range. I bought the new door with the new hinges but their youtube video instructions for installation are for the old hinges and the door didn't come with any instructions and I can't figure out how to get the door to close and I don't want to force it! because of the pandemic I can't reach a human to help me solve my problem. Can anyone give me some direction to find online help or explain it to me? PLEASE and THANK YOU!

HU-73596983:

Here's a set of videos created by Bluestar employee Matthew Schutte:

https://vimeo.com/user56581692

The one for removing and reinstalling the door is here:

https://vimeo.com/260045433

This one shows how to take the door apart to clean the inside surfaces of the window and to get access to the hinges:

https://vimeo.com/259944251

I was sent a new door replacement and the company referred me to an installer who came to my house to install the door free of charge. Blue Star should pay for the installation because it is a known defect.

Installing the doors is easy, if you can lock the hinges in the open position. If you don't do that, it'll literally take you an hour per door, as the hinges always snap back at he last moment and you'll never get them seated correctly.

If you post a picture of the hinges that you have, we can probably tell you what the trick is to lock them into position. Then, it only takes 1 min to install the door.

I've never seen this particular hinge mechanism but it looks like the hex head screw would serve the same function as the pull down latch shown in the video:

https://vimeo.com/260045433

I would guess that you would insert the door and pull it down so that it is horizontal (demonstrated in the video starting at time 00:50). Then, instead of flipping up the latch on each hinge, completely remove the locking screw from each hinge. Then close the door.

You will need to be very sure that both hinge hooks are fully engaged on their respective hinge pins inside the range before removing those screws. If they aren't, the hinge hooks will violently slam back onto the inner surface of the door in a destructive way!

You should definitely get a second opinion before doing this since I only have experience with the latch type hinges shown in the video.

John is correct. If both hinges are engaged before lifting the door up, it will snap into place with no problem.

I am pretty sure I have installed a door like this before. Yes, those screws are what holds the hinges open. Try not to lose them, as you might want to service your door and then it's nice to have suitable screws at hand. But if you do lose them, a nail, a pin or even just a bit of 14 gauge electrical wire will do the same job in a pinch. Essentially any strong object that fits into that hole will do.

See the slot cut into the bottom side of the hinge closest to the door panel. That's the critical part. It's what the door rests on and what holds the hinge in the correct position. This slot has to point straight down, when you install the door into the range. If you do it right, it should nicely rest on the slot and not wobble.

Also, you should have received two metal cover plates. They screw into the body of the range immediately above the hinge. They prevent you from accidentally lifting the door out of the oven (not that you should ever pull up on the door handle anyway). I didn't have these plates on my 10 year old range, but they are really nice, as they also tell you if the hinge is installed correctly. If the cover plates don't fit, then you know that the hinge is not yet resting on the slot.

Once the door is in place, remove the two black screws. Contrary to what others have said, it's not the end of the world if the hinges snap back into the door. With some elbow grease (and careful placement of fingers), you can make them come out again and reinstall the locking screws.

Hi John - Those videos are super helpful. My issue is I've got grease buildup in the 'air gap' that Matthew states 'cannot be accessed'. He states that around the 1:20 mark of https://vimeo.com/259944251

Has anyone encountered / conquered? Please message me if yes!

I am about to get one of the BlueStar range RNB304BV2 and stumbled upon this thread, does anyone knows if this RNB moldle has been updated with the new door design？Thanks in advance!

The RNB304BV2 has the new door design. The redesigned door was introduced on all of the RNC and RNB v2 models about 5 years ago.

Thank you John, it's good to know!

Hi. I have a RNB304B bought over 10 years ago for a weekend home. The oven has rarely been used. 4 months ago while cooking for guests, the oven door locked shut. I had to call Bluestar for emergency advice and was told to use a crowbar wrapped in a towel and pry the door open. I did, it worked, but it also warped the interior of the door around the window. Now the door doesn’t close properly and it still locks shut at the left hinge.

After contacting Bluestar they responded by informing me it will cost $862.50 to send me a new door. I explained this was a known problem and they have replaced these defective doors in the past for free or at a deep discount. I even copied a link to this thread. The second response said this website wasn’t an approved “recall“ website and there is no company remedy, except to pay $863.50.

So, I will look for a replacement door for less and do all I can to warn any potential new BlueStar customers to avoid them at all costs. Their lack of accountability on a problem this serious and dangerous is shocking. No doubt they will eventually have a serious lawsuit when someone gets hurt or a house burns down.

The door on Blue Star Ovens are defective and should have been replaced by recall. i had the same problem. I called Blue Star to complain and threatened to inform everyone on social media not to purchase their product.s. The door is a fire hazard. They promptly replaced door and installation without charge. Inform Blue Star that you know other owners with the same door defect and it is a fire hazard and you will report them.

@Franklin Lee Thank you!

@Franklin Lee Just an update. I spoke with customer service and did my best to escalate this problem. They will not take responsibility nor acknowledge where was ever an issue with the hinge. I explained my scary experience and expressed concern that this is a known issue. They won’t admit that it has happened to many people and rhat they are aware of it. Unfortunately, this will eventually lead to serious damage or someone getting hurt. It’s really unbelievable that would put an insignificant profit over their reputation and the safety of their customer. This is no longer about my oven and getting it repaired. It about their failure in being a responsible manufacturer and dealing honestly with a problem.

@Dan L and @Franklin Lee Thank you for your info. Seeing the potential fire harzard and the after sale customer service, l think I will skip Blue Star altogether.

This is a fantastic thread! I have been having trouble with my 12 years old oven door like everyone else here. BS is willing to sell me a whole door with a partial discount. It is my second option. My first choice is see if I can get the door fixed with some adjustments. I was able to take the door off and rebend the inner metal liner back in shape. But now I am having trouble getting the door back on the oven. The hinge always seem to spring back before I have a chance to lock it down. The stopper does not hold its position. Any suggestions as to how I can have the hinge locked around the ideal 45 degree angle for the hinge to get back into the slot?

It is almost impossible to put the door back on until you lock the hinges in place. Then it is really easy. Depending on the hinge design on your particular door, there should either be a lever that flips over or a hole that you can put a nail/pin/toothpick through.

My range is about the same age as yours and the door started to fail at some point. When I opened it, I could tell that the plastic rollers that guide the hinge mechanism had become brittle and shattered. Unfortunately, that meant I now had metal slide against metal. And over time, it had cut a deep groove into the material. Even if I realigned everything, it was only a matter of time before the hinges would fail permanently.

I opted to buy the discounted replacement door instead. Seemed a fair deal overall. I had many years of heavy use out of this appliances, and an occasional item that fails from wear and tear is to be expected. Full price would have been disappointing, but with the discount I was OK.

Also, it gave me the opportunity to upgrade from stainless steel to one of the colored doors. The incremental price difference wasn't all that bad. And the range now matches the black and stainless look of my Miele CSO. That's a surprising fringe benefit.

I also paid for a painted kickplate. That one was a little harder to install as the hole pattern had changed in those 10 odd years and I had to drill two new holes. So, just a heads-up in case this is something you are considering.

Thanks for the pointers M. The discount is reasonable which shows BlueStar is working with its customers. They cannot give away the door for free since there is no recall. The new door probably will take sometime to get here shipping to Canada. Meanwhile, I still like to at least get the door back on the oven. I have tried a number of things to hold the hinge in place while trying to remount the door. But nothing worked so far. Here is a picture of the hinge. You can see I even drilled a hole and put a screw there trying to hold it in place. No luck so far. :(

From personal experience, once the hinge gets damaged by snapping down hard or bent slightly from uneven removal from the range, it needs to be replaced. The tolerances for the latching mechanism to work are pretty tight, making it almost impossible to reinsert the hinge into the range without it flipping into the wrong position. I think there's more than one hinge latch design, but yours looks like the one that I had.

The only reason Blue Star replaced and installed my defective door when I complained was I told them I was going to call “Seven on your side” a consumer advocate program on channel 7 news and inform the public about their defective door and lack of cooperation and customer service.

Franklin you are lucky to have received a free door. I wonder how many other people got that deal recently. I have not had such luck in talking to two separate reps at BlueStar. One rep told me the employee who was offering free doors is now no longer working for the company. I know about 10 years ago, they were providing the doors at their cost - $125. I have actually been considering getting rid of this stove all together because of such grief with the door! I absolutely love the open burners though! I am still working on the hinges. I thought M might have some tricks to hold the hinge when installing the door. I am a bit discouraged by John's comment. I am now thinking perhaps fabricate a wood piece to jam between the hinge and the lock latch so the hinges stay in place when I try to remount the door.

It's unfortunate that BlueStar will not address this issue like any other responsible company. It has been clear for years that there is a defect with the hing. They know this. The issue isn't due to wear and tear. My oven was hardly ever used and it just about caused a fire due to the door locking shut with a very hot, full oven of food. It's not suprising to me that their story seems to keep changing. I was told that they never offered a replacement door to any customer. They also made sure to tell me, without me even asking, that they changed the design of the hing as a matter of course, not because there was a problem. I was quoted $862.50 for a replacement door which I think is unreasonable. I will eventually buy a new oven from a differnt company. I choose not to support a company that won't address a dangerous problem. It's unethical and irrisponsible. In the mean time, I will discourage any potential customer from buying BlueStar and I will continue to speak of my experience to people within the arcitecture and interior-design industry.

I'm in the same boat. Just called BS and they will no longer replace the defective door but offered to sell it to me for $800+. Funny how they used to bend over backwards to replace the defective door but now, it's too bad so sad, sucker. New ownership? Sure they changed it as a "matter of course." /s That's why they used to respect their customers and replace the obviously DEFECTIVE door, but no longer do so. Bad company.

Well, call me a sucker. I bit the bullet and bought a new door at a discounted price. Now I have a functioning oven finally. I guess their free replacement door was only for a limited time. And I agree with M. I have had a reasonable good service from the stove over the last 12+ years. Too bad I was not aware of the free door replacement when it was offered.

We have a 13 year old BS 30" range with the defective hinge problem. With weekly application of spray Ultra-Lube (Non toxic, available at the orange big box store), the door hinges will operate freely, but not close tightly at the top. Heat escaping from the top of the door has fried the spark control module a few times. BS wanted $900 for the new door, which I wasn't going to pay.

Handyman (me) solution: 1. Light stove top burners with Bic barbeque lighter - no big deal.

2. Install adjustable Stainless steel toggle latch to side of oven door to pull it tight - no more heat escapes from top of the door. Oven now works as it should. (Latch from ebay - @ $12.00. To install the latch, I needed 8-32 oval head SS screws, drilled and tapped holes for screws). 3. Continue to spray-lube the hinges weekly.

So far, so good. We use the oven 3 times daily, bake bread once a week. WE love the BS stove, especially the open burners and commercial baking sheet capacity, but will seek out another brand when it comes time to get a new one. Cannot abide a manufacturer which denies it's responsibility.

Can anyone recommend a RELIABLE dual-fuel 30" unit with open burners?

I recommend removing the skin from the oven door. That gives you full access to the hinges. A thorough cleaning should help. There probably is build up of grime after all this time. And that can contribute to the hinges not wanting to go all the

@HU-557372966 Did you solve door gap problem? I found a video that may help:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCImybuxYFg&list=PLnPe5qHhMYYIDVaGBHiUWHL8e-7H7Ript&index=4

I neet to do this, but haven't tried it yet.

As far as high end, I think Miele makes nice stuff, and their management is responsive to problems, unlike BlueStar, who leaves a BS response on GW that asks a customer to call them, but then does nothing to help customer. I can't say, tho, if Miele has 30" or open burners.

I bought my Bluestar at Costco, 13 years ago. Hinges we're never very smooth eventually seized. BlueStar customer service was lousy. They offered a new door which would cost over CA$1,000 by time it arrives up here. I've contacted Costco and asked if they had other buyers with this problem and what kind of remedy did they offer. I'm awaiting a response. Costco Canada no longer sells Bluestar products and this might be why.

Reach out to guaranteedparts.com. If I understand correctly, they used to be just a Canadian company, and they would then ship to both Canada and the US. They are one of the better places to order parts for Bluestar stoves online. At some point in the last couple of years, they opened a US warehouse that they ship from. And I can't tell whether they still maintain their separate Canadian operation. But that would be a good question to ask.

They can sell you a new door, and they might even be able to sell you new hinges.

Here's a link to Guaranteed Part's Bluestar oven door hinges:

https://www.guaranteedparts.com/SRCH.html?Search=bluestar+hinge

Bluestar tech support can tell you which hinge version to use in your specific oven door.

I would guess that the door's inner surface must be undamaged (flat and straight) to be able to successfully replace only the hinges. They mount to that surface and need to be in good alignment.

Bluestar revised their hinges several times over the years, but as far as I can tell, all the doors attach the same way. So, a modern door should be able to be mounted on an older range. But if you wanted to know for sure, you should call customer service and ask for details.