Kenmore Consumer Reviews - Page 3

PITTSFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS -- I bought a Kenmore Chest Freezer, Model # 19502 in Feb 2011. Today (July 16, 2013) I find that it was "on" but everything inside had thawed. There was no power surge, no power outage, it was plugged in, the light was still on. After turning the switch to off and back on, it didn't work so I hit the light. Magically the compressor turned back on.

So I've thrown out a freezer full of food to the tune of at least a $200. This freezer is also the subject of a rebate because it does NOT meet the energy standards that it was advertised as meeting. The result from that was a check for something like $12 that I have to reapply for each year for 3 years.

Went to Sears in September 2011 and bought, along with several other appliances, a Kenmore 30" Gas Range. As of tonight, December 17, 2012, the range sits on the front lawn, placed thereby the local fire department. The thing started to smoke after cooking a baked potato for 45 minutes. So I shut it off, but the smoke continued and increased.

Call the FD and they try every which way to open up the interior to see what is burning. The oven compartment is empty and clean as a whistle. Well - no getting inside the stove - so the stove goes outside. Still don't know why it was burning. I then call Sears. The thing is not 15 months old, "Sorry no warranty, nothing we can do. Come in and buy another and we'll give you $20 bucks off" or some nonsense. No warranty from Kenmore. So tomorrow, I go the local appliance store - no more Sears and definitely no more Kenmore. $500 Bucks down the tubes.

It's clear that Kenmore is riding on its old reputation of reliability while currently manufacturing junk. We have two recent model Kenmore dishwashers at two different houses. Both have developed leaks in the same part which controls the water supply to the unit. No, it's not the hose, it's the part on the dishwasher itself. I'll bet some Kenmore number cruncher decided it would be profitable to use cheaper parts in manufacture, but they are losing our business forever. Short term gain for the company, but a long term disaster. I'll bet they won't be able to figure out why people stop buying their products!

We have a Kenmore Elite refrigerator with French doors. The ice maker is horrible. Don't ever expect it to actually work if you buy one. We have a Kenmore clothes washer that leaks regularly near the top of the unit. Internet research makes me believe it's a design flaw. The design flaw in that is not fixable in any normal sense. We used to think of Kenmore as a reliable brand. WRONG!!!! What's the use? Just don't buy anything from Kenmore or its related names. (Whirlpool?) They deserve to go out of business.

I purchased this refrigerator in Sept. 2006 for $2500.00. I have been greatly disappointed in the quality - most of the inside, tracks for the drawers, etc. are made of flimsy plastic. We started having problems with the ice-maker within a couple of months. It has stopped working at least 4 times and then after a period of time will mysteriously start working again. It is not working at this time. Several of the drawer tracks have cracked and broken off, so I've had to take the drawers out.

About 1 1/2 years ago, the lights quit working because the factory installed bulb melted and started burning the light cover. I would never recommend this refrigerator to anyone and it definitely was not worth its price!!! I feel like I've been ripped off!!

This dishwasher seemed good at first... quiet, reliable. Then we started noticing it wasn't cleaning too well, even when we adjusted our loading technique. Then the touch buttons on the display began peeling, clearly a manufacturer's defect. Because of our extended service contract, the company replaced it, but we were told if it happens again, we must pay.

Next, the dishwasher stopped draining. A serviceman came and told us he pulled a cherry pit from the drain, and the problem was solved. We ran a load of dishes and it still did not drain. I phoned for service and the representative offered me an appointment a week away. I said that was not acceptable, given that we'd already had to wait for the first repair of this problem. She offered me an appointment a few days off... today.

When I called to check on the appointment, I was told it was NOT today, but next Saturday, and that's the best they can do. I sat on hold waiting to talk with a supervisor, and then was cut off. After having been a loyal customer for decades, I will never deal with Kenmore or Sears again.

ERIE, PENNSYLVANIA -- I purchased a top-of-the-line Kenmore Elite refrigerator about 6 years ago. It has a bottom drawer freezer and double top doors and stainless steel front. It cost about $1,700. The first one that was delivered had a very noisy compressor. We complained and they wanted to install a new compressor. We refused to accept a compressor replacement on a refrigerator that was only a few days old so they replaced the entire unit.
Shortly thereafter the ice maker broke twice. Then all the interior plastic began cracking and falling apart.

We kept renewing the service contract for about 4 years and finally dropped it. Recently, the compressor overload switch failed and we had it replaced on a 6 year old unit. Now, the compressor has failed and will need to be replaced at a cost of about $700.00. Between the four years of the service contract, and the recent costs of repairs we will have spent $1,160 to maintain and repair a $1,700 refrigerator.

It appears that Kenmore had designers working around the clock figuring out ways to cheapen the quality of this appliance while making it appear very attractive to unsuspecting customers. I will never buy another appliance from Sears. I would also like to mention that Consumers Reports rated this as a good refrigerator and I have come to distrust anything they say. I guess you should talk to an independent appliance repairperson and visit sites like this one before making a home appliance purchase.

I purchased this refrigerator in April 2004. The model # 72912200. The refrigerator looks like new, no dents or broken parts. The refrigerator has been working beautiful until this month we had two incidents with food spoiling/temperature failure. The Sears repairman said the compressor needed replacing to the tune of $673+. I had a $75.00 repair fee and $20.00 for a part he added to hopefully keep it working for a day or two if we're lucky. Apparently the compressor warranty is 5 yrs and we had the refrigerator 6 yrs. Why is it that appliances don't last 10 or 15 yrs anymore?

The one previous to this one we had 15+ yrs and it is still working for the family that I gave it to. I refused to pay for the $600+ repair and am now facing purchasing a new refrigerator. They will be dumping a refrigerator that looks new like the day I purchased it. The Sears repairman gave me a coupon for money off a new refrigerator and consumer service with Sears is giving me $100.00 off. Even with this little incentive I am just sick over this and now I have to deal with paying off another large appliance.

MOOSE JAW -- The appliances were new purchased by the builder in 2009. We moved into the home and started using them end of February 2010 -- almost 11 months after initial purchase date. The refrigerator had a faulty door that would not close properly. The service man had to dismantle the entire door complaining about poor quality control and getting worse every day. He did fix the problem under warranty.

Now in June the handle on the range fell off. It appears that the screws stripped the plastic handle insert and since the screws are about 1/4" to short anyway, the entire handle fell off. When I called the service dept. a very rude woman by the name of Vanessa flatly refused to connect my call to the contracting division who took care of my previous refrigerator complaint, and in fact hung up on me. After I check with some friends I find a number of them categorically say, "Never again Kenmore", the product is poorly manufactured, the warranty service time takes forever and the number of breakdowns are excessive.

My water heater's pilot keeps going out. I'm positive it's the thermocouple. I contacted Kenmore since it's only halfway through its six-year parts warranty. I was told that I had to have a service person come out to check it and determine if a new part was needed. If so, they'd order it, I'd have to wait for it to be shipped and have the service person return and install it. The part would be completely covered, this way though I'd be responsible for two separate service calls at $75 each. I could just pay $48 to buy the part and install it myself but it just seems wrong to me. I just thought I'd put it out there as a warning to others. Maybe I'm wrong and this is business as usual.

ADRIAN MI, MICHIGAN -- Purchased this Frankenstein monster of an dangerous appliance at Sears a few years back. The appliance operated perfectly for a few years then began going crazy. The compressor overload switch started clicking on and off and every time this poor compressor tried to restart the overload switch would shut it back down. The appliance would run for approximately 20 seconds and shut down. Replaced the start-up relay and fixed the problem for a short time.

Note: every time this energy sucking thing shut down, loud gurgling sounds could be heard coming from the top and bottom. This sounded a bit like a water faucet that needed to be turned completely off now. On the last week of its short life, started clicking on an off once again and humming quite loudly too, each time the compressor would restart. This annoying humming became louder and louder, and as the kitchen lights began to now flicker I had my hand on the hot power cord ready to pull it right out of the socket.

Next without any warning whatsoever this poorly designed piece of junk of a appliance literally exploded right next to me. I heard the distinct sound of some refrigerant (under extreme pressure) that was now spraying out all over the place. it was all quite deafening. Momentarily frightened by this monster of a fridge come to life, we grabbed our three kids and without hesitation ran for the back door which led into the back yard. That was the first time I had ever heard of an appliance blowing its top. Logically speaking, that is usually reserved for frustrated consumers like us.