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Jenn-Air, now part of the Whirlpool empire, maintains an upscale image but many of its customers are deeply disappointed to find they didn't get the quality they thought they were paying for. Many, like those below, bought an entire kitchenful of Jenn-Air appliances. Others got off light and are unhappy with just one or two appliances, listed in the box to the right.

Michele of Staten Island, NY November 13, 2009

Add my name to the list of disgruntled consumers who had the misfortune of buying a Jenn-Aire gas range at a cost of 1,300. My saga goes back to December 2003 when I purchased it, having it installed in March 2004. Among the many defective areas, the most common is the electronic panel shutting down. This happened almost immediately after installation. It wold shut down and a message would appear on the panel to unplug it and call service. No repair person was able to fix the problem and it was ultimately decided to replace the panel. That was the first of three replacements and I expect the third replacement next week, but not on that stove, but on the second stove. It got to a point where Maytag may have thought I just had a "lemon" so they agreed to replace the stove six months after I got the first one.

However, they are all lemons because shortly after installation of the second stove, the same thing happened time and again. I had to take out Certificates of Coverage which are totalling over 500 because I knew I would be confronting this problem time and time again until such time as I purchase a new stove from a different manufacturer and put the Jenn-Aire at the curb for disposal. Not only does the panel shut down, but the oven gets extremely hot and I need to open a window. The repairman who came on 11/12/09 told us he knows of others who have had these problems with Jenn-Aire ranges. Almost six years have passed and I have emassed a 3 inch file which includes current letters to Maytag (who owned Jenn-Aire at the time), the Better Business Bureau in New York City, the applicance store and the Consumer Product Safety Commission, which I have asked to reopen the matter. I suggest others file a complaint with them as well. The Clearning House number is 301-504-7921.

Janell of OKC, OK August 30, 2009

Today, August 30, 2009, our Jenn-Air sidexside started burning, smoke pouring from underneath the doors. An electrcal burn smell prededed the smoke by at least 15 minutes. So we were investigating the kitchen for the burning source when I noticed the refrigerator smoking. I called the Maytag service line at 5:30 CDST. They had just closed, so no one took our call. We were directed to use the website, which I will do next.

Carl of Hixson , TN July 11, 2009

We purchased a new Jenn Air range to replace a 7 year old Frigidare range that has a bad computer board, which is no longer available, rendering the Frigidare useless. The new Jenn Air was installed yesterday. This evening my wife set the oven to bake a cassrole. After only two minutes, the display flashed "POWER LOSS", then went dark. No controls worked. Relays started clicking like mad. Fearing the thing might catch fire, I switched off the breaker. This is a brand new range and it immediately failed!! This is intollerable!

When I checked over the range after I got home from work, I was sorely dissappointed at the quality. Jenn Air is not high-end; it is Whirlpool crap, just like the Frigidare that couldn't be fixed. We've been without a range for over a week, having to eat out every night and now the 1,400 we spent on a new one was a waste. We have contacted Home Depot and demanded they remove the range from our house and refund our money. I don't want a brand new anything that immediately fails; it's bound to be a lemon, and I don't want to deal with it. I want my money back so I can purchase a quality appliance made by someone other than a Whirlpool company.

Fran of Salisbury, MD July 5, 2009

I bought a Jenn-Air downdraft stove in 2000. It was the third Jenn-Air I'd purchased, and I loved my first two. From the beginning, though, this unit was a mess. It arrived with insulation jamming the ventilation fan for the convection oven. The spark unit for the left burners broke more than once and had to be replaced. The BTUs on the left side never worked correctly. The front burner charred food, while the rear barely warmed it. The grease drain had to be unclogged every few days because there was a kink in the line. As often as not, turning on the right front burner shorted out the mother board, so I'd get error messages and beeping and could not get it to re-set without throwing the circuit breaker.

This went on the entire time the unit was under warranty. I kept thinking that 'this time' it'd be fixed forever. As the warranty came close to expiring, I contacted Customer Service. The people were very polite. They reviewed the history of the machine and told me that it was clear that this unit was a lemon. However, they told me that I'd waited "too long" to complain and there was nothing that could be done. They offered to give me a 15% discount on a new machine. I countered with the suggestion that they give me an extended warranty for the life of the machine, say 12 years. I was told that was a very creative suggestion, but they could not accept that. It was the 15% offer or nothing. I asked why I would want a new machine if this one was a piece of junk. Besides, the features that attracted me to the Jenn-Air in the first place -- the different burners, grill, griddle -- were no longer available.

Today, the machine started giving me the 'error' beeps without any interaction on my part. It just started going on its own. Resetting the circuit breaker did nothing. I can start the burners with a match, but I don't know what I will do when I need to use the oven. I've spent the afternoon on the web, looking for gas downdraft slide-in units. Aside from the Jenn-Air, there appears to be only the Wolf Unit for nearly 4k, plus the downdraft vent for another 700. I've gotten a bit of revenge. I've talked two friends who were renovating their kitchens into not buying Jenn-Airs, but that really does nothing to help me.

Andrew of Oakville, ON June 16, 2009

I recently visited a distributor that carries your product and was not impressed with the service that I received. I currently own a Jennair Downdraft electric stove and would like to replace it as we have now owned this one for 22 years. My wife and I went to Tasco Distributors in Mississauga and the gentleman that served us was not willing to give us a printout of the product that we were interested in unless we gave a deposit. He informed me that he does not work for free; whatever that implies, I'm not quite sure. I am currently comparative shopping as most individuals do. My question to Tasco is, "How does one decide on a particular product without receiving verbal product knowledge information and literature?" We decided to leave the premises and asked for the salesman's business card and the name of the owner. He returned with the manager's business card and refused to print his name on the card. I proceeded to tell this salesman that his service was terrible and indicated to him that I was going to inform all of my interior design students that I teach at 4 colleges not to do business with this company. Believe me, students pay attention to stories like this one. The manager threatened to have me removed from the premises and didn't even bother to ask what the problem was. Great manager! I just wanted to let you know about my Jennair experience. Thanks for listening. 244 Jennings Cr Oakville, ON Canada

Gregg of Yorba Linda, CA December 31, 2008

Gregg of Yorba Linda CA (12/31/08)
We bought a Jenn Air 36 glass cooktop back in July. Had it installed in August. The first night we cooked on it the glass cracked in 2 places. We called Jenn Air since it was supposed to have a 1 year warranty. They sent out a service rep, not even affiliated with Jenn Air. He said that it was an impact crack from something falling on the glass. We told him how it actually happened and we were basically told we were lying.

I called back the Rep at Jenn Air and he said that they have to go by what the rep said. They would not cover the crack under warranty. My next step was to contact Howard's Appliances (the place where we bought the cooktop). They said to contact the manufacturer for the warranty. I told them the story and after about 10 phone calls they agreed to fix the glass. That was 4 months ago! Each time I call I get a new run around, a new drop dead date, and nothing ever gets done. I just want a refund and don't ever want another Jenn Air product again! It has been stressful and time consuming trying to get this problem resolved!

Freddie of Louisville, KY December 24, 2008

Freddie of Louisville KY (12/24/08)
Purchase Jenn Air double oven free standing range model JDR8895AAW when I built a new home. Since that time the gas cook top has shorted out on two different occasions with repair by Jenn Air technicians and now I am dealing with another electrical problem, the lower oven turns itself on the temperature holds at 170 degrees which also makes both ovens completely useless so now I have a 1500.00 Jenn Air range that is useless for baking. These products are less than 3 years old.

Connie of Santa Rosa, CA December 17, 2008

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