Kenmore
Reviews and Complaints

On Thursday, April 1 after baking muffins, I removed the muffin tray and shut the oven off. Or at least I thought I did. The oven temp. was 400. I went out to the mailbox to get the mail (five minutes) and when I returned all the hardwired skoke detectors were sounding in the house. There was some smoke, probably from the excessive heat in the oven and the upper heating elements were glowing red. I tried to turnthe oven off again to no avail. The smoke detectors continued, so I went downstairs and shut off the breaker to the stove.
A while later I turned the breaker back on to see if the stove (oven) might have reset itself. But to my horror the elements turned bright red again...Had I gone to the barn as Iusually do to clean (about 40 -minutes) I'm sure I would have had a fire and the house would have burned.
I called Sears, repair man came and my first question was, have you ever had a complaint about the oven not turning off. "Yes we have", he answered. My next question was why the product hadn't beenrecalled! This is a very dangerous situation...I've tried to talk with upper management at Sears or Kenmore...not getting anywhere...I'm left with a bill of $339 to fix the oven, of which they didn't have a part when they came on April 2 to diagnose the proble. Iwill try to pursue this with the company, but in the meantime I think the bottom line is the public should be made aware that this can happen..

i bought my range in 2006. last night during dinner i broke a cap on a piece of metal in our cornbread. we finally realized there was metal in the oven and the top of the heating element had over an inch missing. its not in the oven, its all over the oven and in my family! we have been ingesting metal and no telling what else from this oven! we were very sick in feb? we have been being poisoned by our oven!

This morning we woke up to a slight natural gas smell and the Kenmore gas range was burning hot. The knobs were all set to "off" and we hadn't used it in several days. Our only conclusion is that it turned on by itself. The oven/boiler was so hot I'm surprised there wasn't a fire already. We had to shut the gas valve off to get it to go off and cool down. If this had happened when we were on vacation something, I'm sure the house would have caught fire. We're lucky there wasn't a rug nearby or that would have caught fire for sure- it was SO hot- it may have been on all night. I've called Sears and they said there aren't any recalls for this stove (only 4-5 years old). It's not under warranty anymore, so we will either have to pay a repairperson or just get a new one. After this scare, I want it out of my house asap.

Bought a Sears Kenmore Elite Trio refrigerator in May of 2004. Worked fine until this week. The compressor died for no apparent reason. $750 to fix. We're buying a new Whirlpool for $799 instead. We bought a Philco refer in 1969 for $75.00 that was built in 1956. When we sold our home in 1986, that refer went with the home and was still working after 30 years. You don't get that kind of reliability from manufacturer's in this day and age anymore. The Elite Trio cost us $1700, and didn't make it 6 years. Reason we're not buying another Sears product is their high end Calypso washing machine we purchased in 2002 didn't last long either. We're done with Kenmore products.

I purchased a portable washer and dryer from the Sears store in Fairfield - just southwest of Birmingham. These are Kenmore appliances so my expectations were high. The washer/dryer was delivered to my home on the date expected, only the delivery men told me that all the parts were not included in the delivery. They called Customer Service and I was told the parts would be shipped to me in 7 to 10 business days. Only after the men carried the washer/dryer into my apartment was I told that these appliances would not work in my apartment - the units run on a 110 voltage and my utility room is set up for a 220 voltage. The delivery men could not take the units back with them - they could only deliver them.

They left, but did not leave any receipts behind when they did. I tried for four hours to call Sears and get someone on the phone that could arrange to have the washer/dryer picked up and do a return for me. After four exhaustive and frustrating hours I was told in no uncertain terms that Sears would not take the items back, I should have been aware of the voltage needs before I bought the merchandise and I was stuck with them. I asked to speak to a manager or someone besides the person on the phone who had the authority to resolve this issue. The Customer Service person would only repeat what she had said before and would not transfer me to anyone else.

I have purchased large appliances from Sears before and have always be happy with the service and the merchandise. All that has changed. Sears doesn't care about its customers. It only cares about selling merchandise and making money. Now I am stuck with a washer/dryer that I cannot use - if that is customer care and customer service, then I am completely out of touch with this new way of doing business.

Sears installed a Kenmore central a/c unit few years ago and the unit has been under a master protection agreement since then, had a problem with unit not working properly and called Sears, tech came and said that the thermostat needs to be replaced and he wants $350.00 to replace a $40 unit that takes less than 2 minutes to replace it. What a rip off. I have been using Sears service for several years and on multiple rental properties and the thermostats have been replaced on other units by Sears without a charge. Over the last two years Sears service has completely deteriorated, their front line staff is totally incompetent, neither do they understand the problem nor can they provide proper service, and most of all the technicians try to charge you even when the come out for regular maintenance service. This has happened twice when they came out to do annual service they tried to bill me. It appears that it is not worth buying any kind of service from Sears anymore because apparently the protection agreement is not what it is meant to be, it appears that this is a way for Sears to find ways to charge exorbitant amounts of money for no reason. If Sears cannot provide the service it used to, I for one will be cancelling my protection agreement as there are plenty of other warranty companies out there and needless to say I will stay away from anymore Sears products becuase it honestly is a nightmare to deal with the incompetent service that Sears provide.

On Friday Janurary 8, 2010, we had chicken cooking in the oven. My husband and I were sitting in the livingroom watching TV when we heard a noise like metal scratching in the kitchen. My Husband ran to the kitchen just in time to see a ball of fire come out from behind the range and then the oven cut off. We stood there for a second then tried pulling the oven away from the wall but it was to hot. When it finally cooled down and we were able to pull the stove out we saw where the wall had been burnt. I decided to go online and noticed a recall on similiar stoves that I have but since it was not the same model or serial number that is being recalled there is nothing that they will do. I bought the Kenmore elite range from Sears in Seaford in 2005 and will not buy another product from Sears or a Kenmore prodcut again. I don't want to even think about it being one of my kids cooking a cake or cookies and openeing the oven door only to have that ball of fire came out at them! Model # 790.[protected] Serial #VF52723197

I am a very dissatisfied customer. We purchased the Kenmore Elite Trio December 2004. We thought this was the best product until we started having to make service calls. We have had to call out service 6 or 7 times to include a major change out of coils and the compressor. Right now the day of Christmas the fridge is leaking and we are waiting for service. WE HAVE A LEMON and I do not understand why your warranty does not replace LEMONS, and furthermore warranty covers only up to $200 of food. That's ridiculous, food for 2 adults, and 3 teenagers is not cheap. I plan to also complain to the BBB and look into filing a small claims court for the inconveniences this LEMON of a fridge Kenmore has sold us.

Having been a decades long consumer of Sears appliances I am compelled to stop word of mouth advertising for your company and am considering never again making any major appliance purchases in the future.

I purchased the above referenced dishwasher less than 4 years ago and it has failed. Please note that I live alone and travel for business frequently and my usage of the appliance won't even meet minimal wear and tear standards.

Last month it began leaking. I had a plumber assess the problem, accepting the fact it could be a worn hose. He noted it was definitely a mechanical problem and suggested I contact Sears Repair which I did. However, I was IMMEDIATELY pushed to purchase some warranty for over $200 and was told it would cover the cost of the repair. Interesting, as the problem hadn't been diagnosed yet. When I stated I didn't want a warranty, I learned it would me $129 JUST to have the service walk through my door! Why are warranties needed? Does a manufactor DESIGN PRODUCTS TO BREAK DOWN after a few years?

I explained the product was apparently an inferior one and stated I didn't expect to have to pay, at minimum, $129 for a dishwasher that cost about $400. I was told "sorry you feel that way" (or some such remark).

I thanked the person (supervisor of sorts - don't recall) and said I'd rather invest in another brand and end my relationship with SEARS. Again I'm told, "Sorry."

This is an appeal to ask, "Is there any other remedial offer that can be made?"

Sincerely.

I presently own a washer/dryer which was purchased at Sears. Sears has always serviced our appliances and have not had any troubles with service, however recently my dryer stopped working last Tuesday Dec 7th. I contacted sears Wednesday morning to have a service rep come in, at which time I was informed they would be here AFTER 3pm Thurs Dec 9th.

Thurs Dec 9th, I did not receive a call as they stated I would when the service rep got closer to my area, so I rushed home from work and still no one showed up. I contacted Sears to see what time approx they would arriving only to find out NO APPT was scheduled. They informed me the appt was made for Mon Dec 14th, when I had spoke with a customer service rep directly and was informed thurs they would be out to fix it.

I then told them I was unable to be home until after 3pm Mon as I work. They said that would be fine, a service rep would call as they got closer. Then Thurs evening, after already speaking with a customer service rep and made a service appt for Mon after 3pm, they spoke to my daughter and told her they were calling to confirm a service appt for the dryer btwn 11:30-1:30pm Mon Dec 14th.

When I called to correct this situation AGAIN the service rep Anna told me they are unable to confirm a time that the service tech would be arriving. Twice before this I was told a timing and now I find this UNACCEPTABLE to have to deal with. When speaking with Anna today Dec 12th she informed me there was no one else to speak with and the next available service appt would be Thurs Dec 17th, which by then would be 1 week without a dryer.. during winter months.

I find the customer service in which I received to be completley unacceptable and disappointing the lack of care for their customers. I will in the future be re-thinking my purchases with Sears if this issue does not get resolved IMMEDIATLEY.

I rent a house with a Kenmore gas stove/oven (don't know model number and don't see it anywhere on the machine). Various things that I have cooked in the oven burn on the outside and remain raw in the inside. I'm a fairly accomplished cook, am using recipes that never have failed me before, and have no alternate explanation for why this is happening. My landlord called Sears service, and a technician fully checked out the oven. He concluded that nothing was wrong because it came up to temperature, stayed there as long as he had it on, and shut off properly. His meter confirmed this assessment, and he also checked the valves and said they looked fine. He did say to put the cooking rack in the middle and maybe that would help in terms of the bottom/outside cooking fast - although he said having it on the bottom rack should be fine.

Any other suggestions on what may be going on here? I notice that the heat source appears to only be from the bottom and that, ironically, the bottom of whatever I am cooking does not cook well - it is the outer edges that always burn - regardless of where I put the racks.

We spent $1500 on a glass top slide in Kenmore Elite range. The oven was used only 3 years when we started getting error messages when we tried to turn it on. We called an appliance guy out to check it and apparently the self cleaning oven feature burns out some of the sensors. He said that he is seeing this quite often with kenmore and whirlpool. They cost oveer $500 to replace . I called both kenmore and sears (Kenmore of course told us to talk to sears, and sears told us to talk to kenmore..)--basically got the run-a-round. It sounds to me that this is a big design flaw and kenmore should at least provide the parts to fix it. We only used the self clean a few times. When a $1500 oven is only 3 years old we should not be having to shell out $500 to fix it. I have totally lost confidence in Sears and Kenmore, and also whirlpool since they actually make kenmore.. i will never buy from them again.. by the way, we also have a kenmore dishwasher that is only a year old and we have problems now getting it to start. The last dishwasher we had lasted 17 years w/0 any issues, now they can't last a year..

My clothes dryer stopped getting hot a few days ago. I took apart the back to discover which component had failed, expecting to find a bad heating element. Instead, I found that the thermal cutoff switch had burned and melted. The steel electrical connectors are fused, and there is carbon residue all over the part, and also covering the back of the dryer for about six inches above the part. There are 240V electrical wires very close to where this happened, and there is also lint on the housing of those wires.

The photo attachment function does not appear to be working. You can obtain the photo here:
http://bruteforcetech.com/misc/cutoff-tml_fire.jpg

This could have burned my house down and killed my family.

We bought our kenmore elite fridge(#795.7834) just 5 months ago and we already had problems with it.  The bottom freezer stopped working.  I noticed items getting softer and softer and blamed it on my husband not being vigilant enough when closing the door.  The ice turning to water led me to believe things were amiss and two days later my ice cream looked like a milk shake.  What a mess and everything in my freezer had to go.  We had a sears repairman come to the house and he told us the freon tank was empty due to a leak.  He said it was made poorly and had to replace a valve and a copper piece.   I can only imagine what might happen next after only owning the appliance for such a short time.  I researched this product online since I had 8 to 5 to sit home and wait for my repairman to arrive, turns out the list is long with complaints related to this same fridge.  I had a kenmore fridge prior to this that never failed in 15 years.  Currently I am very unhappy with the all around quality of this product and so are many other consumers.  Sears no longer seems interested in keeping its loyal customers.  I grew up on Sears products along with my sister who also bought this same fridge two years prior, (she recently had a major melting issue due to the lighting unit) were big sears fans.  Never again will I buy a sears product.  You have lost some loyal customers. 
Unsatisfied in PA

I have a Kenmore gas range that was purchased at the end of 2005. Yesterday the glass door to the oven shattered into a million + peices for no apparent reason. There was no one in the kitchen at the time, and the oven had not been on all day, so it wasn't that someone hit it or that the oven was hot.
A phone call to Sears was fruitless. After being transfered 3 times, I still had no answers other than they could send a tech out to the tune of $129.00. Why? I already know the glass is shattered and that it needs to be replaced. They did make an offer of 10% discount on a new appliance! How big of them! As if with the terrible customer service they offer I would ever purchase another product through them!
My only saving grace is that I gate off my kitchen so my 2 year old twins were thankfully no where near it and didn't get hurt!

I have a Kenmore Range - Model: 790.[protected] on which the left front burner comes on by itself, without warning. This morning, the unit came on by itself and nearly started a fire in my kitchen. The unit has been in use for just over a year. Other similar Frigidaire/Kenmore ranges have been recalled - however Sears refuses to fix this product under the terms of the recall, nor acknowledge the product as defective.

This product is dangerous and should be recalled and Sears investigated for failing to act sooner regarding the problem with their defective products.

I pruchased my washer 2 1/2 years ago. When I called for a repair I was scheduled for mid day which meant that I had to arrange for someone to be present ( I do work) . The repairman came, spent lessthan 15 minutes to diagnose the difficulty. He couldn't fix is because he didn't have the part! He said that the part would come in about 5 days. . It came. Now I have to schedule another appointment. I was told that the repairman will come from 135miles away (2 hours and 15 min one way). The repair will probably take 15 minutes. What kind of manager can afford to pay for travel time like that?

This simple repair has taken three weeks. Rediculous. Disgusting. Wasteful. And I just had a kennmore Air Conditioner installed. I guess you are all laughing up your sleeves.

Marilyn McBride

There is a class action investigation of these washers. My husband and I purchased one of these washers in 2007. It never has properly worked. The electronic board is a joke. Sears wants to charge us $240 for service agreement to cover this and subsequent repairs. You've got to be kidding!

http://www.toploadclassaction.com/kenmore.php

We own 3 Kenmore Electric Ranges model #[protected] and we have severe discoloration on the left side of the knob panel. This is due to the oven venting. The steam apparenlty has peeled off or stained the paint on the range. Anyone else have this problem?

Photo available if required! No camera at the moment.

Sheila