13 replies to this topic

[fourstar]

Hot on the heels of washer and dryer failures... My wife complained that the upper part of our Kitchen Aid double oven model KEBS207DBL8 didn't seem to be working properly. She noticed that a 13.5" x 16.5" metal panel above the broiler element was warped and hanging down in one corner exposing insulation in the upper portion of the oven.
I decided to attempt to remove and straighten this panel but first I had to remove the heating element. I took out the screws securing the heating element to the oven body and as I pulled it into the oven to disconnect the wires I heard a pop and crackle which reminded me that I had not turned off the breaker. The oven light went out and the touch panel went dead and I smelled a sickening smell of burning electrical components. I tripped the breaker and finished removing the heating element. One of the ends was burned off and one of the wires was severed.
I was finally able to remove the panel, but it is so warped that it is like an oil can and resists straightening. I think I will be able to get it back in, but what caused it to warp to begin with?
What do you suggest I do to fix the warped panel?

[Samurai Appliance Repair Man]

Are you talking about Item 34? If not, which?

You will need to take the wall oven out of the wall and remove the back panel to re-wire to the burnt wire. The hardest part about this job will be access, the repair is easy.

[fourstar]

The warped panel is part of item 27. (Pictures attached.) And I'm not a bad housekeeper, but the oven gets a workout. (Wife is a gourmet.) The control panel that smells burned is on the back of the touchpad. (If that is what item 34 is, I can't tell from the picture.) I took the oven out (got a workout too,) and fed the wires back into the holes. I rerouted them a little to put some room to work with them inside the oven. I assume I have to buy a new broiler element.
I can't get the panel straightened out and it won't stay in place.

Attached Files

•  Oven 001.jpg   113.91KB   50 downloads

[Budget Appliance Repair]

[user=303]fourstar[/user] wrote:

The warped panel is part of item 27. (Pictures attached.) And I'm not a bad housekeeper, but the oven gets a workout. (Wife is a gourmet.) The control panel that smells burned is on the back of the touchpad. (If that is what item 34 is, I can't tell from the picture.) I took the oven out (got a workout too,) and fed the wires back into the holes. I rerouted them a little to put some room to work with them inside the oven. I assume I have to buy a new broiler element.
I can't get the panel straightened out and it won't stay in place.

I've got some real bad new for you guy!!!!!!

Item #27 is your oven cavity, that piece is not suppose to come out like that, how old is this oven? I see dates of Nov.1999 on the partsbreak pictures so this oven shouldn't be much more then 5 years old.

The spot welds that hold your oven cavity together have failed, it's time to do some major loud bitching to Kitchen Aid/Whirlpool and see if they won't replace that oven cavity at no or very reduced price, this should NOT happen.

Yes, you will also have to replace your broil element if you burned the connector end of it.

Even more bad news: "LINER, OVEN (NOT SERVICEABLE) N/P Ref#27"

You might get lucky and Whirlpool will give you a new oven!!!!!

There's a good chance you burned up the Microprocessor board also when you shorted the broil element. It's a $105 part from Sears, probably a little cheaper elsewhere (No, just check RepairClinc and they want $238 for the Microprocessor).

If Whirlpool won't do anything for you and you want to attempt to repair this yourself, I would do something to temporily attach the burnt off wire back to the broil element and put it all back together and check if the mircoprocessor board is working ok.

If the board isn't fried then you might want to attempt, (It will be a major job), disable the oven and take the oven liner/cavity to a sheetmetal shop and have then weld it back together and put it all back together and get some more life out of it.

[fourstar]

Well I'll have to call Whirlpool and see if they'll take care of it. The oven was installed in September, 2000. Thanks for the reply.

[iceman]

Is it item 7, not item 27?  From the photo it appears to be item 7...

[fourstar]

No, it's definitely not item 7. I called the KitchenAid customer service line today and they said they would send out an inspector to examine it and see if it is warranty or not. Keeping my fingers crossed...

[fourstar]

Status Update, (if anyone is interested.) I called Kitchen Aid and reported the problem to them. They were very concerned because it is a major safety problem. They sent a company out to look at it and said they will pro-rate warranty it. I'm expecting a new oven in 7-14 days. I'll let you know how it works out.

[Samurai Appliance Repair Man]

Thanks for the update, Kurt!

[fourstar]

Here's the final. Last Wednesday, a local dealer installed a brand new oven and KitchenAid made us a very favorable deal on the whole thing. I'm back in business and although I'm not happy my oven suffered a major failure, KitchenAid provided excellent customer service and I am pleased with the outcome.

[Pegi]

Thank you for this information.  Will help us and others know what to do if a simular situation comes up in another appliance!!

[Samurai Appliance Repair Man]

[user=303]fourstar[/user] wrote: 

KitchenAid provided excellent customer service and I am pleased with the outcome.

I've always been impressed with Whirlpool's customer service.  I've seen them send parts to customers even though the parts were out of warranty.  Even though Kitchenaid stuff is the same inside as the Whirlpool models, the Kitchenaid division of Whirlpool does even better in standing behind their products.  Saw Kitchenaid replace an entire built-in refrigerator for a sealed system leak even though it was well out of warranty by a couple years.  That kind of standing behind the product is really what you're buying when you pay extra for Kitchenaid-branded equipment. 

[nickfixit]

It's good they took care of the customer, but they are not the company they once were. They have gotten real tight with the purse strings, and are holding to the letter of their warranties for the most part. They seem to only make adjustments for the more affluent customers, and never in mostly minority cities. They will give away service to a millionaire, and give nothing to the lady in the inner-city who has an oven control fail 3 months after the 1 year warrenty is up.

I do 90% of my work for Whirlpool/Kitchenaid and they have gone downhill at WARP 10. Kitchenaid is just a name on an inferior product. I will buy whirlpools, but not the kitchenaid brand. Higher price for same quality with extra features that are poorly built, poorly designed, and very likely to fail.

I wouldn't take a Kitchenaid a a gift. Their built in models just plain suck.

Nick


and yes I do have a bit of an attitude towards Cesspool

[Samurai Appliance Repair Man]

:violin: