In our previous posts where we described our new kitchen we mentioned that we had chosen KitchenAid Architect Series appliances. This is our second full set of KitchenAid appliances as we had purchased them for our old house as well.
In general we have been very happy with the appliances. They are very good looking and also very functional.
The range hood has been very disappointing though. It’s a beautiful piece. Here’s a photo of it:
We purchased the appliances in late October (to take advantage of 12 months of do not pay from Sears that was ending) but didn’t install them until early April. Within 3 months the buttons had pulled away from the casing making it nearly impossible to turn on the fans or the lights. This makes it virtually unusable. It was also shorting out and turning on and off at odd times (including at 4:00 one morning).
Our friend Ben is very handy. He took the hood apart and tried to fix it by making some small adjustments. We were shocked by how cheaply the buttons were attached to the casing. Ben’s changes made an impact but within a few weeks it was broken again.
Here’s a photo of what I mean:
We’ve been avoiding doing the warranty thing because it would likely mean taking the hood completely down and having to re-install it. That’s a big job. We’ve now missed the 1 year warranty so I am going to contact KitchenAid and ask them to do something about it despite it being out of warranty. We’ll give you an update once we hear back.
If you have any Kitchen Aid stories please post them hear. We’re interested in hearing whether this is a one-off bad apple.
12 responses so far ↓
1 Jamie // Dec 21, 2008 at 11:10 pm
Hi, Even if you missed the 1 year warranty, all goods and services sold or leased are covered by a mandatory basic warranty (legal warranty). The legal warranty applies under the Consumer Protection Act, even if the manufacturer does not offer a warranty. Under such act, you are entitled to expect that the product you bought will work for a reasonable period of time considering the price you paid for such product (and regardless of whether or not you bought the extended warranty). Good luck!
2 anke // Dec 22, 2008 at 8:33 pm
Jamie
Thanks so much for pointing that out. Now we have some ammunition for our conversations with Kitchen Aid.
3 S and N // Dec 23, 2008 at 12:21 am
Thank you for posting about your product experience, Anke. We are in the midst of a longterm kitchen renovation and it’s good to be able to read how other people fare with various products and corporations. We are without a hood of any kind for the moment, so cooking smells linger and and anything very fatty sets off the fire alarm. And, yes, good luck. You’ve certainly had some trials lately.
4 Rudy // Jan 6, 2009 at 8:56 pm
We’ve had a ‘top-of-the-line’ Kitchen Aid refrigerator and dishwasher for the past 10 years and both have performed superlatively. Recently, we rebuilt our summer home and wanted to ‘upscale’ our appliances. Thus, we purchased a top line Samsung refrigerator and a Bosch dishwasher. Neither performs as well as the Kitchen Aid appliances.
Now that doesn’t speak to your KA hood issues, but does say something about their quality on other products…
Incidently, everyone I know who’s purchased one of those SS stack-style range hoods has wound up building them in with with panels to match their kitchen decor. Why? They couldn’t keep that stainless steel stack clean. Looks good in the ads, but alas, less than practical…
5 anke // Jan 7, 2009 at 4:20 pm
Thanks for your comment Rudy.
We’ve been very happy with our KitchenAid appliances also. This has been the first big disappointment.
Interesting what you write regarding keeping the stack clean. We haven’t had that issue and continue to really like the appearance of it.
Best.
6 Khush // Jan 8, 2009 at 2:33 pm
i had purchased a counter depth refrigerator in july2008,the deli Fresh Seal was broken (plastic crack)in the moving with small kids and full time working i got to see that in end Aug and in sep went to applicance canada telling them the situation they asked to call Kitechaid they refussed upfront to help.And was told by manager Adreine they can not change it as 7 days period had ended,i took 5 years warrentty and the service of Kenmore and appliance canada is no different.I could have purchased 3 diff refrigater compare to kitchenaid 1.I was more disappointed as in my house all appliances are from Kitchenaid and 7 days are not enough when you purchase a new house.Please be aware that the customer service is not good and its just the brand so don;t fall for it.
7 rrichar // Jan 16, 2009 at 4:57 pm
Hey guys!
Congratulations on all these renovations. The kitchen looks fantastic. I came upon this site in searching for kitchenaid appliances. My husband and I are currently renovating the entire main level. I’m interested in speaking with you regarding the actual cost of the appliances you purchased. I was perusing your budget, and was expecting more for the appliances. I would love to chat a little about which appliances you purchased and what not.
Thanks in advance!
8 anke // Jan 16, 2009 at 8:10 pm
Hi there rrichar
We spent $10,900 for all KitchenAid Architect Series stainless steel appliances. This included a side by side fridge, gas range, range hood, dishwasher, microwave and trim kit.
I hope this information helps and good luck with your renovation.
9 Looks like KitchenAid and Sears will come through for us 247reno.ca - a Toronto home renovation blog — Follow our real-life renovation to help inspire yours // Jan 30, 2009 at 10:40 pm
[…] As you might recall we are having some issues with our KitchenAid range hood. We wrote about it here. […]
10 Sarah // Feb 11, 2009 at 4:40 pm
I’m waiting to see how my kitchenaid experience will end up. I was given an ice cream maker last September, but as it was a gift I don’t have a receipt. It has started leaking, and so now I’m waiting to see if they’ll still honour the one year warranty. So far their customer service has been less than awesome - it is, as I mentioned leaking, ie, coolant. They told me to mail it to them. I pointed out it was leaking, they just said mail it. I pointed out that for all I knew it might be toxic, they said mail it. I decided to take it there in person, but they refused to accept it. Finally, they came up with a dealer I could drop it off at, so it could be delivered to them.
Apart from that, I have a kitchenaid stand mixer. I love it, but it has never been perfectly adjusted - the beater is a little high of the bowl, but still ‘ticks’ against the side from time to time. A bit like your button experience perhaps - high quality appearance but assembly lacking care?
11 faris // Dec 15, 2009 at 11:50 pm
what i don’t understand is you were under the warranty period why didn’t you call for service. when they come out to do your service they would have to deal with taking it apart and reinstalling it for you and you went and called your handy man friend who just made things worse by that second picture your showing i had kitchenaid appliance for over 5 years now and my hood was never like that. somthing fishy about your story!
12 Kirk // Dec 18, 2009 at 10:53 pm
Faris
You sound like an investigator.
Seeing as Sears came and replaced the unit I guess they didn’t find the evidence of “fishiness” that you did.
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