KitchenAid
Reviews and Complaints

We purchased a Kitchenaid dishwasher and it was installed in July '08. The rack tines were never well covered when installed. When we first tried to start the dishwasher, it would not start. Kitchenaid had to replace the motherboard before we could start it. Now the racks, including the glass and cupholder racks which came with it are rusted out. Kitchenaid has a warranty on the racks from year two through five written in their "Dishwasher User Instructions" which came with the dishwasher. After two months of waiting, we finally received the replaced upper and lower racks, but not the glass and cupholder racks which are a part of the racks and made out of the same material. They are charging me $116.23 for the glass and cupholder racks, saying that these racks are not included in the warranty. You might want to think twice prior to buying a Kitchenaid appliance. We have a Kitchenaid refrigerator purchased at the same time as the dishwasher, and we had multiple service calls in the first year. These are expensive appliances, but we have found them to be lacking in quality.

I have reached out to many companies over the years but have never had a worse experience than I recently had with KitchenAid. Horrendous customer service pretty much sums it up.

I purchased a 7-cup KitchenAid Food Processor during the summer of 2010 at a local Bed, Bath and Beyond store. I only used this processor a few times when the handle of the plastic bowl broke during normal use. Pieces just came off in my hand making the unit unusable since it must lock into the back to operate the unit.

I contacted KitchenAid customer service in early December 2010 giving them the model number and purchase information, I also explained the bowl was defective and asked how to arrange a replacement since no product should come undone… especially after light use.

It took THREE WEEKS before they wrote back to me. Instead of offering help or to make the situation right, I received a curt two line response telling me I was welcome to ORDER a new bowl for $39.99 and gave me a link to their webs site where I could place my order.

I was taken back. No apology for the defective merchandise or weeks taken to write me back, just a sale pitch to pay nearly $40 for an item that should not have broken to begin with. I wrote back immediately received absolutely no response.

I then wrote the Better Business Bureau to file a complaint. While the BBB has always been very helpful, KitchenAid continued to be rude and indignant right in the face of myself and the organization. They claimed my unit purchase during the summer was “years old” (calling me a liar) and that without me finding me proving where and exactly when (date, time, etc) I purchased this unit, they would not offer any help at all.

Again, stunned. Not only did they take weeks to respond to my original inquiry, never responded to me a second time and not once made an apology for their defective item, they we calling me a liar about when I purchased the unit instead of working with me to resolve the issue. I responded explaining again that this was a plastic bowl, should be replaced at no charge and the $40 replacement price of the bowl was more than half what I paid for the entire unit. I also stated I would never take time to reach out to a company on several occasions has I not purchased this machine when I said. My time is much more valuable.

I had hoped my final letter would awake their sense of right and wrong. No such luck. They responded today to the BBB with another curt message (unsigned) saying it was “the customer’s responsibility” to provide them with the information they demanded. They ended the message with no further comment. As far as they were concerned, they were done with me.

I have never in my life experience a more poorly run company nor customer service organization. Weeks to respond to customers looking for help, followed by endless debate and calling their customers liars instead of offering assistance.

My search of the web shows my experience does not stand alone. I hope all will take pause before purchasing ANY Whirlpool or KitchenAid products in the future. I certainly will. BUYER BEWARE!

On 12/30/2010 a Kitchen Aid customer service representative gave me the number of Able & Ready Appliance. An appointment was made to see if they could repair my refrigerator before I purchase a new one. The appliance has not been functioning properly since it was approx 15 months old it is now 9 years old (Kitchen Aid was contacted when the appliance first broke I was told they could send a service rep to fix it since it is out of warranty). After reading different reviews on the internet I concluded that the door wiring would have to be replaced for approx 800 dollars. I decided to not pursue repairing the appliance at that cost.
Years later I decided it was time to buy a new refrigerator but before I spent 2500 dollars I thought it would be worth call in a rep for $75 dollars. He arrived on 12/31/10 at approximately 12:00 pm he looked at the appliance and smiled and said you know there were electrical problems with this model He tested the wiring and it shorted. I explained to him that that was the noise we hear from time to time. He called KA customer service then spoke to them. After hanging up the phone he said that KA use to offer assistance on this model for up to 60 months, but since you appliance is over 5 years old I would be probably out of luck. He recommended I call KA customer service for information. I asked him what the cost to repair the appliance is and he said 700 to 800 dollars, he then said I would be better of purchasing a new refrigerator.
As soon as he left I called KA customer service and spoke to Julie I asked her for her last name and she said I am not allowed to tell you. I explained the situation mentioned above to her and she said there is nothing she can do to help. When I told her I research different blogs on the internet and I think there is a problem with the model because it’s sparking and it seems to be a safety issue. She told me it was not a safety issue because KA has no knowledge of electrical sparks on their products, she also went on to tell me that the blogs are just opinions and mean nothing, she also told me that the guy who came to my house was trying to overcharge me for something that does not need to be fixed. I told her that KA customer service recommended him. I then asked to speak to a manager and she asked me 5 times what I was going to ask him. I finally told her I would be discussing my refrigerator with him. After waiting 40 minutes a mangers named Frank got on the phone and I explained the situation to him plus my reason for asking for him. He quickly cut me off and said there was nothing he could do. I said okay but I just want you to know that I will never buy another Kitchen Aid product and I will never recommend KA to anyone I know. I also told him that I would be telling anyone who will listen to how I was treated by KA customer service. He then said you think I don’t know what you are doing; he then said you are threatening me so we fix your refrigerator. I disagreed with him and then told him that I have no interest in having my KA appliance repaired for free. I then asked him if I was still threatening him. It was quiet for a couple seconds. I then told him that I will be writing a letter to management to discuss how I was treated by their CUSTOMER SEVICE DEPARTMENT. He told me that KA documents everything and he will be waiting for my letter. I then told him then you should have record of my previous calls years ago regarding this issue. I then ended the phone call.
I am sorry I have to write this letter and I hope that someone at Kitchen Aid cares enough to write me back with an apology for the treatment of a customer by the Customer Service Department.
Thank you
Thomas J Flynn CPA
[protected]@aol.com
[protected]

I bought a Kitchen Aid mixer from Kohl's on 11/27/2010. There was a $30 rebate for these mixers bought between 11/18/10 and 12/12/10. I live 70 to 80 miles from the store, so I do my purchasing online. I sent Kitchen Aid all required information, including the only receipt Kohl's sent me. My rebate was rejected. I called the Kitchen Aid rebate center and was told not enough information was on the Kohl's receipt. What am I supposed to do? Part of my purchasing this mixer was counting on the $30 rebate. I am being penalized for something I cannot help. If the Kohl's receipt for online purchases is not good enough, then Kitchen Aid and Kohl's need to fix this. Or, make it PERFECTLY clear that for people making purchases online, Kitchen Aid rebates won't be honored.

Purchased range 5 years ago from Kitchenaid. Have had the control panel to work the oven, 3 times. 6 months ago 2 of the burners stopped working and now the control panel is out again. After 5 years and multiple service calls, only 2 burners left on the range...it will cost almost as much to fix or just get a new one...have had other ranges, that have lasted over 15 years...Kithenaid will do nothing...their customer service is unconcerning. Don't need to do business with a company that makes inferior products, but spends alot of $$ on marketing only to not stand by their poor quality.

We built our home using entirely Kitchenaid appliances because they were touted as being "top of the line" appliances. To our dismay, our Kitchenaid micro/oven combo, (I'd be exaggerating if I said I used it 20 times) is now unuseable. The night of my Christmas party, I put the lower oven on 350 to heat up two cookie sheets of rolled tacos. All of a sudden there were sparks, smoke, and fire. The heating element shorted out and burned a hole in the bottom of the oven and ruined it. There was nothing on the bottom of the oven. I have never even had to clean the oven. Luckily we were right there in the kitchen or it would have burnt down the house! Of course because it is ten years old, no warranty or parts. I figured it cost us $250 per year to have a "high end" oven. I had a Majic Chef drop in that is still working in a house we sold in 1987. Kitchenaid did offer a 15% discount on a new one...really? I wouldn't buy Kitchenaid if it was the last oven made.

I too have had to put over $1, 000.00 into repairs of my Kitchenaid Convection Double Ovens. We cannot use the self-cleaning as it trips a sensor, we thought it was a fluke until we had to have the sensor replaced for the third time. In addition, the lower oven door hinges are engineered poorly. We have replaced them 8 times. We have begged for a solution to both, however, Kitchenaid response is, sorry. They won't recall or replace if it isn't a health hazzard. Why won't large companies stand behind their products?
I am considereing filing a class action lawsuit. Would anyone like to join me?

Have a KitchenAid Superba microwave and convection combination built in unit. High end - all stainless steel in and out. Bulb burned out on microwave.

Called Kitcheaid help line to learn how to replace bulb because it wasn't obvious. Learned it had to be done by an authorized technician and they would book an appointment - $75 house call, at least $75 service cost, and over $20 for the bulb.

Ended up hiring local authorized agent and paid $100 service and $15 for the bulb. Turns out that to change the bulb one has to take trim off, pull the entire unti out of the wall, take a few wires off of the control panel and then move it aside, then reach in to replace the bulb.

Should have been able to buy the bulb for $8 and replace myself, but poor design doesn't allow. KitchenAid was not sympathetic and even tried to overcharge for the repair. Very disappointed.

I purchased a Kitchenaid Bowl Lift Stand Mixer in 2007. A few weeks ago the beater shaft housing separated from the main part of the unit and fell into a bowl of cake batter I was mixing. No warning, no indication there was a problem with the unit.

Long story short, I called Kitchenaid, was told sorry the repair is on you. I asked to file a complaint. The CSR said that's fine but no one will call you back - and they didn't. I filled out the online contact submission on Kitchenaid's website.

Audrey A. replied with a glib e-mail saying it is unreasonable to expect mechanical units not to wear out or experience a "breakdown".

I don't know about you, but having a large factory press fit part of a mixer drop out of the main unit sounds more like a manufacturer's defect to me!

Bottom line, repair will cost $80 - $100 with no guarantee it will hold and the authorized repair center says he sees this a lot. Kitchenaid refuses to acknowledge a defective design or manufacturing process so I am stuck with a split in half mixer.

Audrey A. was well trained to buffalo her way around the fact that the machine was defective and skirt the main issue. So it appears Kitchenaid's idea of customer service is to pretend that spending $300 on a defective mixer and having it "breakdown" after three years of occasional use is just fine and making the consumer feel like they are idiots for complaining.

Like so many others, I’m done with Kitchenaid products.

Inferior products and lousy customer service - raleigh nc - do not buy anything from this store (Capital blvd). I purchased a brand new refrigerator and it was delivered to my brand new house. It has not worked properly since it was delivered. Unfortunately, the frig was delivered and I had to leave town plus not being told of the 10 day return policy, upon returning 14 days later I discovered the non-frost freezer side of the refrigerator was frosting and forming ice. I contacted the store and they referred me to a&e repair. After 3 a&e failed repair attempt they declared my frig... Non-repairable but failed to put down a reason, thus, kitchen aid sends a local repair company for a second opinion. The local repair rep said the frig needed to be replace but kitchen aid corporate refused and said to replace the gaskets for yet a second time.
No help from the local hhgregg whom sold me the frig. It's a consumer against a corporate giant. Customer no service... Do not by from hh gregg... Still a defective frig sits in my house with no satisfaction yet.

A few months after purchasing the piece of metal that connects the Microwave motor to the turntable broke. A&E has not been able to fix it:
For appointment 1 I took off work. At appointment time the service technician called, saying that he was backlogged and would be a few hours late. In mid-afternoon he called again saying that he would not be able to make it that day and that we had to set up a new appointment through Kitchenaid's 800 service number.
The next appointment was a week later. Even though we had described the problem clearly, the service man could not do anything about the problem other than confirming that the part was indeed broken and that a new part needed to be ordered.
About two weeks later (instead of the promised one week), A&E servicemen showed up to fix the Microwave oven. They did not know how to do it. They called there support department several times, but were never able to talk to anybody who could help them. They were often on hold for 20+ minutes and when they got through the support staff would hang up on them. So, they said that they had to take the whole unit out, but only after we signed a waiver clearing them of any damage they might cause with the removal and reinstallation of the Microwave-Oven Combination. We refused to sign this waiver and the servicemen left without fixing the problem. Now, about a month later, we are back to square one calling the KitchenAid 800 number.
To be continued ... but beware of KitchenAid's warranty and its service provider A&E Factory Services.

We have the Kitchenaid KEMC308KSS01 convection microwave/oven combo. Had to replace the microwave light bulb and now the magnetron and high voltage rectifier. The quality of this product is the worst that I've seen. As an engineer, I can tell you that the design is a failure and unsafe as well. If I had children, I'd remove this unit immediately because the microwave door design is faulty and unsafe to say the least. The only good news is that I can fix this pile of [censored] myself so we've only spent $400 on parts so far; had we used a repairman, it would have cost over $1K! Half of the screws came stripped from the factory, seven were missing and a ground wire was not connected which could be extremely dangerous. The materials that comprise this unit and the terrible design and manufacturing, in no way justify the cost of this product. We will never buy Whirlpool or Kitchenaid again---NEVER! Good luck to all that are experiencing the same thing.

My credit card was incorrectly charged for a KitchenAid Extended Service Plan for our refrigerator on March 13, 2010. The card was charged on 3/15/2010. Called the Service Plan Administrator that day with a followup letter. Repeated phone calls to many different companies connected to the plan and all I get is promises for a refund. My credit card account has not been refunded the $361.97 as of May 18, 2010. I have never experienced such a run around in my 77 years on this earth. All I want is my money back. They continue to promise it will be taken care of but that has not happened. My question to them is how is it that they can charge my visa account in two days after submission but can not return my money in 65 days? This is bordering on fraud. I have contacted the California Bureau of Electronic and Appliance Repair and Department of Consumer affairs to get relief on this outrages customer service. Richard

ALL of our Kitchenaid appliances have had on-going repair in the short 5 years we've been in our home.

1. The hinge on the oven door keeps snapping - leaving the door agape.

2. The door on our second oven 'conveniently' locks due to a sensor poor design.

3. The microwave door spring just gave again.

4. The Kithenaid refrigerator pan leaks.

5. Our $800 Kitchenaid dishwasher which is only a year and a half old just died. Repair came out a long week later and replaced the motor only to find that's not the problem. Another week later we're waiting to have a new control panel installed.

ANY and all suggestions for fighting this with Kitchenaid welcomed! Believe in Karma.

I bought all kitchen aid products for our new home in 4/2005. The microwave oven combo model number kehc309jss05 interior glass shattered.
On 3/29/10 I was warming bread and when the microwave finished (One minute) I opened the door …. I heard a pop and the glass shattered and poured through the vent.
I called midway appliances. Midway in turn told me to call kitchen aid direct because kitchen aid will listen to their customers more than they will to the dealer ship! I called the kitchen aid service number [protected]. I was not told of any trip charge. A&e factory service came out. The tech name was jesse. Thier number is [protected]. This is a sub company servicing kitchenaid appliances came out to assess the manufacturer defect on 3/30/10. I figured that microwave door glass should never shatter and it is common sense that this is a manufacturer defect. Of course the manufacturer would take care of it. The appliance tech informed us that the product is no longer under warrantee and that kitchenaid is not held responsible. He called kitchen aid and of course they refused to stand by their product.
Worse the technician jesse said the repair would be $220 dollars. If I refused to repair the unit then his trip is 169 dollars. I told him that I did not agree to a trip fee. He said I was informed of this on the phone. I told him that I was not told of any trip fee because kitchenaid had called him out. He said it will be billed and it will go on my credit report!

Midway had shared that another kitchenaid owner of my unit had replaced her shattered door twice already over a 5 year period. I saw no purpose in replacing a glass to a microwave that showed a propensity to shattering the glass. My request for a new unit was denied. After researching the internet (Microwave door shattered glass kitchen aid) I found numerous postings of this issue.
I am now faced with the following options:
1. Pay the trip fee of $170.00 dollars.
2. Or repairing the current glass for $220 dollars.
And buying an extended warrantee for three years for $387.92 totaling 607.92 in order avoid further issues.
3. Or consider kitchenaid's "customer loyalty" offer of a 20% discount on a new appliance for $2857. Dollars! And pay the warrantee of 387.92 totaling $3244.92 plus tax.
3. Or call midway at [protected] to consider finding another appliance that will fit the custom made cabinets made for this microwave / oven combo! Totaling minimum $1000 for oven and $500 for microwave. Plus warrantees not yet figured out.
4. I am also having to protect my credit from an appliance repair company I did not hire!
5. Lessons learned check the terms of the technician before allowing them to look at the appliance. Don’t buy microwave / oven combinations when one breaks you lost both. Don’t build custom cabinets for said combinations because when they do fail you have to rebuild your cabinets to fit replacement appliances and don’t buy kitchenaid/ whirlpool
Final decision buy new separate appliances that I have researched for reliability rather than sink more money into well documented defective appliances.

I finally saved up enough to buy an expensive well made food processor. I looked at alot of reviews and finally went with a kitchen aid 9 cup food processor based mainly on cook's illustrateds review. I wish I hadn't! I use it mainly for pie doughs and other types of dough. The problem is the flour gets stuck in the lid or other things like sugar, so when you take the top off it spilss over everything! And also when you take the bowl off it actually isn's sealed right and spills down the middle making a huge mess everywhere, even, y old black and decker which was so cheap never had these problems. I hate it!

I remodeled my kitchen in Aug of o8. My new kitchen aid self cleaning oven is unusable because
when it is turned on it locks the door and is impossible to use until a repair man is called.
I called the Kitchen aid company and they admitted there was a problem and they had
complaints before, but said they would extend my warrenty for a year and half, but refused to pay for the repair from the first time it happened.
I explained that the cabinet doors on each side of the oven were so hot I could not touch
them & I was concerned it might set my house on fire. She said if that happened they
would take care of it. I am sure that was just an untrue remark, but I am afraid to use
it. How can they sell something that the consumer pays a lot of money for just to find
out to late that they can't use it?

I would like to submit a complaint about the technician that Kitchenaid has contracted to service our area. I put a call into the technician 6 weeks ago, he came out to look at our dishwasher and informed me that I needed a new control board. As we were going to be out of the country for three weeks, he said he would order the part and install it when we got back. We have now been back for 2 1/2 weeks. I have called him a number of times and am always told that the part is due in "today". I spoke to him last one week ago when he told me, again, that the part was due in that day. I contacted Kitchenaid directly and they informed me that the part is a stock item for them (I could have it delivered the next day) and that the part is still under warranty. It is totally unacceptable that I should have to wait for 6 weeks to have a part replaced that is readily available. I am thoroughly happy with the service I have received from Kitchenaid but I believe they should contract a different service company.

I am disgusted that a company that claims to be "so confident in the quality of our products" only offers a 1 year warranty on their products! After spending $400.00 on a stand mixer, I had enamel breaking off in pieces into my cake batter! The only "help" I was offered was another phone number where I could order a replacement part at my own expense. Terrible! I will never buy a product from this company again!