Kenmore
Reviews and Complaints

Sears Kenmore Electric Range - model 790-9656 has an issue whee the stove top goes on with the switch off. The only way to turn off the range is to shut off the circuit breaker. In our case I was burned by the stove top. When I contacted Sears they refused to fix it because they claim my serial number is not covered under the recall. They were horrible. If you experience this problem, please call Sears first and see if they are willing to fix your Range Then, please consider filing a complaint with the US Consumer products safety board at http://saferproducts.gov/Default.aspx

The current information is located at: http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml09/09333.html

Best of luck! We are heading out to buy a new range tonight and it will not be a Kenmore.

My landlord purchased this refrigerator for our apartment 2 weeks ago. After a little over one week it began to get too warm in the fresh food section, and I suspected the problem was frost build up. I defrosted the unit and it cooled to the proper temperature (40 degrees) but within 24 hours it was back up to 50 degrees. The manual says to adjust the dial to "colder" if this happens, but this just causes the machine to run too frequently and thus build up more frost and get even warmer. I am not able to keep this unit's fresh food section at 40 degrees for any length of time, which means it is NOT SAFE to store food in. Incidentally this machine does not come with a thermometer (what do you expect, it's dirt cheap) so I used my own digital thermometer to keep tabs on the internal temperature.

Our machined was bought 2 years ago. I used it 12 days ago and the water would not drain. I called in the problem right away. I was told that someone would come that monday between 8-5. I called the number which got me to the helpline where I left 2 different phone #'s. I got no response of anykind that monday. I called again wednesday to see when someone would come, not until Monday 18th. They called and said they would be here 8-5, at 2:30pm I received a call saying they wouldn't be able to come until Arril 29th. Now what? You Tell Me!

I have Kenmore elite oasis top load washer...and what a joke it is. It has been serviced more times than I can count by A & E service and what an incredible joke they are. I think only have two people that work for them that have a brain. Finally got it running right the end of 2010 and know it will beep constantly during the wash cycle. When the cyle is complete it will continue to beep. And then sometimes it will just come on by itself. I have seen mention of a recall in numerous post but can not find one. If anyone can help me with this it would great.
Whatever you do NEVER by from SEARS or anything KENMORE!

I purchased a Kenmore Washer TOP LOADER & Dryer on 2/24/09. After a few months, oil sprayed out of the back onto the wall. Sears repairman came and said it was a factory defect - oil cap not tightened at factory. Then in 2010 we started smelling mold in the laundry room. We checked for leaks in washer and hot water heater. We left door open in laundry room - helped for awhile. Then in January 2011 it smelled so bad we kept the laundry room door closed! Finally, my husband (who was an instrument technician and is highly allergic to mold) took the washer apart. Between the basket and drum was black mold up 4 inches in the drum - along with over 2 inches of water! He looked inside the agitator and found more black mold in it! He said the pump must not be draining all the water out after the spin cycle and it stays inside the drum and molds. So wearing a gas mask, he washed out the drum and the agitator and put it all back together. We began smelling mold again this week (3/26/11). We checked between drum and basket and it already was holding an inch of water.

We called Sears "One Source", evidently the complaint department. They only offered 10% off a new washer! Any sale price is more than that! We paid $500 for this one and only used it 2 years. Our last Kenmore lasted 14 years. The one before that lasted 10 years. We would like a $400 crdit for a new washer.

Paducah KY

I have been a loyal Kenmore Consumer for over 6 years now. I recently bought the new Kenmore 21614 Progressive canister Vacuum in Purple. I have to say I am very disgusted with the quality and performance of this vacuum. I have always used the older models like the Kenmore Canister (27514), etc. I would have bought another 27514 or a version similar to it, if IT WAS AVAILABLE ! They apparently don't make these anymore ! So now I have to return the new one and I've only had it a week ! And now I have to look all over god's creation to find even a refurbished one, b/c I would rather buy a used older model than one of the newer models. You couldn't pay me to continue using the "Chinese" version of the Kenmore Vacuum Cleaner. There is absolutely no suction once the power head comes off. Although it may be lighter, it's still bulky as all hell. The plastic piece that is permantly attached to the bottom of the wand ? You can't get into corners or along rug lines, and you have to place the wand directly over the dirt to suck it up ! It takes FOREVER to attach and detach the powerhead. The new floor piece version is idiotic too. You can't vacuum rugs (that cant be vacuumed with the powerhead "wool", etc.) b/c it tilts upward as soon as you put any pressure on it. The edge tool couldn't have been put in a worse place. The so called "suction level" ? Yeah just makes the vacuum louder...Let's see, the extra long hose is great for tripping over, and the adjustable wand is so rough to put up and down I fear I'll break it ! The only "good" thing about this vacuum, is the new flat velcro pet piece.. I like that but that's it ! I paid alot of money for a vacuum that the sales associate "talked up" . I just wish Kenmore would have gotten some suggestions, ideas, or opinions from the consumer, you know the people who actually USE THEM ! I mean who is the idiot who came up with this idea ? I wouldn't be surprised if I am 1 person in the long line of complaints they have or will be getting from consumers who don't want the "chinese" look & performance of the New Kenmore Vacuum..Kenmore needs to get their act together and stick to what works. So I guess it's back to the search for the vacuum I want...Hopefully Kenmore will take the email I sent into serious consideration before they keep selling crappy vacuums to loyal consumers..

Purchased Kenmore Elite Refrigerator from Sears in 2008. After one year the unit quit cooling. Having the Sears extended warranty, called for service. Not available for five days. Service technician had to order part. Out of service for two weeks. Approximately, one year later, the problem repeated. Again, five days for a service tech. This time he used a hair dryer to thaw the coils that froze causing the fan motor to quit blowing. Ask him why the coils would freeze - did not have a good answer. Quit again in about six months. This time I turned off the entire unit (unplugged the power) for 24 hours, the unit starting working again. Guess what it happen again. Called for service. This time 7 days for a tech to come out. Still waiting. Do not buy from Sears! This refrig has a serious design flaw.

I am writing to complain about a known defect this product has and I, the consumer, is being charged and not told that this is a problem. I'm pissed because we had service in Sept, 2010 and a week later the product continued to experience the same problems. It's not past the 90 day warranty and you want to charge me another fee to come out when it is a known defective product. I'm really pissed and think it’s terrible that Sears is not doing right by the consumer. The washer DOES NOT balance (UL) properly regardless of the size of the load and will not complete a load without moving the clothes around. I am so upset because now it won't work and a piece that locks the washer fell off and not the washer won't balance or lock to wash anything so I am without a machine due to faulty and bad product. My family is being penalized for lousy product that was made by Kenmore and Sears continues to support them and not the consumer because I am being charged to have it repaired when they just came out in September. I relied and believed feedback from an experienced Sears sales representative and a friend and she is having the same exact problems.

I am scheduled for service tomorrow between 8-12 and I DO NOT feel it necessary to pay any additional fees since you have a known problem and your records show it’s the same problem as before.

I look forward to a phone call prior to and/or during my scheduled time to have this problem resolved. We CAN NOT afford to keep paying for lousy product and we just DON"T have the money. I can be reached on my cell at [protected] and I look forward to Sears doing the right thing by the consumer because you know it is a known issue that you need to resolve with Kenmore.

Sincerely,
Rhonda Clark

I own a 3 year old upright Kenmore Freezer purchased from Sears. On Wednesday morning I found the contents starting to thaw out. I called Sears for service and was told that they could get someone out on Friday between 1 and 5 PM. I borrowed large camper coolers and removed my things from the freezer to try and keep them frozen until Friday. Friday at 4 PM I get a call saying that I should reschedule the appointment. Then when I call I am told that Tuesday is the soonest they can get someone out. Well I hit the ceiling so maybe someone will come tomorrow. Meanwhile my frozen food is liquid slop in the coolers. I will NEVER even walk into a SEARS store again in my lifetime.

I also bought a washer and dryer from them and had the dryer motor die after ONE WEEK. Sears and Kenmore are a great place to avoid.

I need to replace the cutlery basket in my Kenmore dishwasher purchased at Sears Canada. Delivery will cost a total of $75.64 (Canadian). If it costs $10 to produce and $10 to ship, that's a lot.

A $55.64 profit margin for this qualifies as usury.

I purchased a Sears Kenmore refrigerator, model # 596.[protected] in May 2004. Six weeks ago the refrigerator stopped working. I called the appliance repair and they came to the house and advised I needed to replace the compressor and printed circuit board. They had the compressor but not the circuit board - it had to be ordered. Two weeks go by and they come to replace the PCB and it's the wrong one. They re-order it and another two weeks go by. The part comes in and the 2nd PCB is wrong. Now Sears is saying they can't identify the model # even though it's clearly listed on the tag inside the refrigerator. On Saturday, I physically took my original Sears receipt, the manual that came with the refrigerator and the actual PCB to the Sears Parts store in McMurray PA. They could not identify it or the model #. They did order me a part they "think" might work but until it comes in, we have no way of knowing. I can't believe that a Sears product purchsased 6 1/2 years ago would not be recorded anywhere in your system. I have been without a refrigerator for 6 weeks and I really need to get this fixed. I went to Sears and looked at new ones but they were too expensive. The Sears salesperson told me the average life of an appliance is 5-7 years. If I can get another 5 years out of this one by replacing the compressor & PCB, it makes sense for me to want to get this fixed. He also told me you now make your products compliant with energy star. He said the new appliances have to be energy efficient but no one mandates how long they have to last. All I want is the correct part so I can get my refrigerator repaired and back in use. can anyone help me?

Buyers of Kenmore's model 47782 (last two numbers are for white) 27" electric single wall ovens: be aware the advertised dimensions are not accurate. If you need to know the real interior oven dimensions, measure yourself before you buy! Their claim of 4.2 cu. ft. capacity is pure fantasy. Based on interior measurements taken from the oven itself today, the real capacity is 3.6 cu. ft.

A store employee had measured for me (I called) and gave the depth as 18", but since the racks don't go all the way to the back and have a turned-up "stop, " the true rack depth is only 13 1/2". A cookie sheet barely fits on a rack when turned sideways.

This purchase could have been a disaster. I had no other brand option due to the cutout size made for a previous oven and which could not be altered.

Sears Canada will not allow customers to file complaints about their products, nor to inquire why the company is selling expensive products that last just beyond the warranty date. In fact, the staff on the customer complaints phone line find it appropriate to yell at customers and hang up on them. This $500 microwave lasted just over a year (15 months). For a few days it kept stopping then lighting up again hours later and now there is no display and no power. It is not the electrical outlet. I've checked. I called Sears and was told it will cost $100 just to have someone look at the appliance to tell me what is wrong. After that, the time and parts will be added to the bill. I asked to speak to customer service. On the phone, I calmly and repeatedly asked for information so I could write a letter of complaint and was completely stonewalled "there is no one to complain to" They would not even give me the Samsung information. The woman on the phone began yelling at me. Yes, this was Sears Canada customer complaints service. Then she hung up on me.

I purchased a Kenmore Elite Calypso Washer from Sears in 2002. Within one year it had the mother Board replaced for more than $1000 but luckily it was under warranty. I have never been happy with the performance of this washer. Clothes are dripping with water and full of lint. It has broken down couple of times and I have had it fixed . It is broken again and I just found out that there was a Class Action Law Suit for this model settled in 2009 and I was not even aware of it because Sears did not deem it necessary to inform me. Sears sold me a high end junk and I will never buy anything from them again.

We experienced the same thing yesterday morning with the burning plastic in our 4 year old Kenmore Elite Trio. Very scary indeed; the plastic housing is all melted and the bulb sockets are charred. Light bulbs were too hot to handle with oven mitts on. Called the 1-800-4-my-home for repair and the representative was clearly unconcerned for the safety of my family. I realize it is a holiday weekend and we have to wait until Monday for service but I do not expect to pay for any defective merchandise repair. I was completely shocked that there isn't a product recall and that the repair people didn't seem to realize there's a big problem nationwide with this unit? After some further investigation on the web I determined there were service flashes issued for the burning lights and called the other Sears number [protected]. That rep was very friendly and wanted to help but I had to give him the service flash # which he was having trouble finding and he said I might still have to pay for the service call! Outrageous. I have been a homeowner over 25 years and a loyal Sears customer - we'll see where this goes n

We purchased Kenmore Elite Oasis HE washer (Model# [protected]) and dryer (Model # [protected]) combo 12/1/07. These products are lemons. We have been very unhappy with them because the are always breaking down. We have had to have these units serviced at least 10 times since date of purchase.
Getting a service man to come to do repairs is very difficult as they are so busy it make take 5-7 days for service and when they do show up they don't have the parts on hand and have to order and reschedule and hope that they bring the right part. In the meantime I am inconvenienced by being forced to go the laundromat to do my laundry.
We purchase Maintenance Protection for the above appliances but that still does not account for the inconvenience of having to leave our home to do laundry. On several occassions when I did have to use the Maintenance Protection, Sear's did come out and repair the unit not working only to have to come out again several months later to address the same problem they had indicated has been repaired.
We bought the top of the line and it is discouraging that we did not get the quality that we were supposed to be buying.
I would never recommend Kenmore products to anyone, nor will I ever purchase another Kenmore product myself.

Oh yes the dreaded F1 flashing. Yes...my wife and I have reset the washing machine more times than I can count. I read up on some forums and decided to take a chance and purchase a new control board and replaced it. I replaced it and it immediately did the same F1 code crap again...God I felt like an idiot buying this main circuit board. Now that I have done more research and found literally hundreds of complaints; there are probably thousands out there! I will NEVER EVER Purchase any Kenmore or Whirlpool (Whirlpool owns Kenmore or vise versa) Ever Again...Anyone reading this would head my advice and never purchase that crap again. Ya I could spend hundreds on a tech and will probably, in the end, just purchased a new one after all... So I suppose I will deal with the F1 Crap as long as I can deal with my wife complaining about it and make another trip to a more reputable place to buy a more reputable washing machine...In all honestly my parents had a washing machine that lasted like 25 years...why cant the make them the way they used to? Hell maybe its is better off buying an good old used one with better parts before they started sending all the good workmanship overseas! Whatever! I'm so pissed and frustrated. Sorry gotta vent somehow! For those with the same problem...I FEEL Ya!

I am simply disappointed. My washing machine has been yelling out F1, F1, F1 every five minutes. When I went online to find out what I could do to make it stop, I found pages and pages of customers complaining about the same problem. I felt relieved that I wasn't alone and felt certain that with that many people complaining about the same issue, there would certainly be something to help pay for the repair. Today, I had the machine repaired. $389 dollars! No refund, no recall... no help in any way. I am wondering when the Machine or Part will be recalled and if, at any time, there will be a refund? This is way more than I can afford to maintain my washer. Help!

Last Aug. 2010, I purchased a Sears Kenmore Refrigerator, 21 cu. ft. and now Nov. 8th the appliance is NOT WORKING and I lost all my food products, both frozen and other foods which has totaled over $200. in loss to me. A repair man is taking over two week s to come to look at the problem and in the meantime, I have been purchasing ice to keep minimum foods from spoiling. What can you do to help us. We are 90 and 84 yrs. old. Thankyou.