Complain about a product or service

Char-Broil Gas Grills

Greg of DeKalb, IL November 12, 2009

We purchased a grill from Lowes back in July of '04 (Commercial Series 463241004). I have never really had any bad problems with it (had to order some replacement parts here and there)I replaced 2 burners this spring, and have never really had much issues with them until 4 days ago. I burned off my grill (as I usually do), after dinner, and came back outside about 10 min later finding my grill engulfed in flames. I am very religious about maintaining my gril. The fire was extinguished and I let the grill cool down, and preceded to take pictures of all the damage.

One of the 2 burners I had replaced in the spring (ordered directly from their company) had the bottom completely broken off. It really looked like a faulty manufacturing job. I contacted Charbroil, sent them pictures as they requested, and they stated that I had a grease fire. Well, 25 years of grilling, i have never had a fire.

I then proceeded to explain to them that the burner was faulty, and they told me that the grease fire was the cause of the burner malfunction (How did the grease ignite unless there was a bust out of flames from the broken burner) PLUS the side of the iron grill cover had busted out from an explosion... my warranty claim was denied, and I was told that I would have to purchase new parts, but low and behold, guess what, they don't carry those parts anymore and I would try to find them through a 3rd party company... oh well 600 down the drain on what I thought was a good investment! Buyer beware!!

Dick of Laguna Hills, CA October 1, 2009

Purchased Char-Broil Commercial Series Four-Burner Grill in October 2006 from Lowe's. For us, this was an upscale grill replacing a cheap grill that we had for about 20 years. Last weekend (just under 3 years later) I turned on the grill to preheat it. I verified that both sides of the grill ignited and went inside. When I came back out to put food on the grill, the two left side knobs were on the ground burnt to a crisp. The next knob was on the ground, partially burnt and the right knob was still on the grill. We disconnected the grill from the natural gas -- the only way to turn it off. The Customer Service personnel were pleasant - but useless. First the links to upload the photos gave an error message (saying the site was down for maintenance) every time for 3 days. Customer Service was no help in this regard. It turns out that the photos need to be very small (~100kb not just less than 1.5mb like they say).

Within 1 day the claim was denied and the problem blamed on spiders or wind. A phone call a "manager" was a further waste of time. It looks like we were luckier than many. We had use of the grill for almost 3 years and were not nearby when the knobs blew off and the fire ignited. But, I expect a 400 grill to last for more than 3 years. When someone does get seriously injured there will plenty of evidence documented here that Char-Broil was aware of the problem and disregarded the product defect and consumer safety. No more Char-Broil products for us.

Robert of Fernandina, FL July 20, 2009

Shut grill off at valves on grill. Went inside house. The drip pan caught fire and burned the hose between the propane tank and the valves on the grill. The flame was being supplied directly from the propane tank. Was able to push grill off the porch and extinguish flames with a fire extinguisher,

MARK of CARLISLE, PA July 4, 2009

I googled "charbroil flames shoot out" and found this is a pretty common problem! The explanation about spiders may actually be true. I found the solution to this problem at http://www.fixya.com/support/t2423140-flame_shooting_out_front. The burner was filled with rust flakes, causing back pressure on the gas supply. I just took out the burner, shook out the crud and it all works fine now. Still, a potentially dangerous situation.

RENN of CROSSVILLE, AL June 30, 2009

I bought a Charbroil Infared grille less than 1 year ago, the plastic nobs overheat and therefore will not grip the gas vavle for shut off. There are times my grille stayed on, and severely overheated. Possible fire hazard. But the worst thing is the stainless infared grate builds rust, i cleaned the best i could, after spraying with non stick spray the rust stuck to the food, My family and I inp became very sick from this. I broke out in hives overall and,had some fever and severe lower back pain develope. I broke out while eating food i had just taken off the grille. Some sort of sicknees connected with the rust?

Andy of Billlerica, MA June 29, 2009

Char-broil grill model #463251605. Gas leak at front knobs caught fire. Put out before any bad damage. The leak was from valve not spider blocking tube. when valve was burning the grill was open and I saw the burner was at full flame meaning it had full flow. I'm going to buy from a local dealer in a higher end grill. No more char-broil,home Depot crap.

Emma of Galloway, NJ June 23, 2009

Purchased CharBroil Pro grill 463268706 in 2007. It has been kept clean and fully covered since it was bpurchased. When firing it up in summer of 2008, I noticed flames shooting out of the knob hole on the left burner. It melted the knob. Flames literally leaping through the hole where the knob used to be. I contacted CharBroil customer service who told me that "a spider must have crawled into the burner tube" and that caused the fire and meltdown. Seriously? CharBroil builds "outdoor products" that can't be used outdoors. Seriously, a "spider must have done it"? Since when does spider trump fire? This company is a disgrace. Their customer service is no customer service. When asked questions, they spout responses directly from a script. I will NEVER EVER purchase any products from any of their companies again.

Christine of Houston, TX June 22, 2009

I bought a Charmglow 720-0234 five burner stainless steel barbecue grill 2 years ago for around 700. While using it recently, I noticed a large flame shooting up in the rear of the cooking area. I exposed the burners and discovered one burner rusted out, and 2 others cracked and about to also fall apart. I have read several other reports of the same burner issues.

This is a DANGEROUS situation. I would like to know how to get Home Depot to address it. First for safety reasons, second for cost recovery. I bought the grill thinking it would last a long time. I didn't want to buy a cheap grill that would deteriorate in a short time. However, cheaper grills that I have previously owned lasted longer than this one! Now I am having to order new parts which are extremely expensive to repair this very expensive grill.

ALAN of ROCKFORD, IL June 15, 2009

Grill hanlde welds failed. Ignitor quit working. Charbroil will replace but consumer must cover shipping after 30 days. That's ridiculous! The grill also over heated and melted control knobs. This thing is junk. I'll never purchase another product from Charbroil and I've discouraged other from purchasing. I'm also disappointed in Menards for selling such a poor quality product.

Randy of Leonardtown, MD May 27, 2009

Main gas supply line nut connecting main manifold and sideburner split and created gas leak. Resulted in fire at manifold. Turned gas off to extinguish flames. When calling customer service for replacement flexible gas line, was told the unit only had a one year warranty (purchased on 11/7/07) and would cost 76+shipping for replacement. Have to search owners manual to locate warranty statement. Owners manual states 2 and 5 year warranty depending on components. Does NOT state anywhere in manual or online that unit has a one year warranty. Warranty information NOT stated on website.

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