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Mr. Coffee - It Leaks

Mr. Coffee • They leak • They explode • They smell • Everything else • A Solution? --- News • Lawsuit Charges Mr. Coffee Knew of Problems • Mr. Coffee Named in Scalding Lawsuit

India of Volcano, HI (8/2/05)
Reading your newsletter about the Mr. Coffee problems was just all too familiar in this household. I bought the NC-12 model at Wal-Mart about 10 months ago. The coffee basket continually overflows.

I have learned to only fill the Mr. Coffee 3-4 cups of water at a time - repeating that 3 or 4 times until the 12 cups are made. I also turn it off when the grounds basket is full and about to overflow, wait for it to drip through, and then turn it back on.

Even with all of the jerry-rigging solutions I have employed, the model still leaks from the bottom onto the counter. As if all of this isn�t hassle enough, I cannot seem to find the exact position of tilt required to pour from the carafe without it leaking out either!

Damages: Scalded by hot coffee many times, plus the cost of the original Mr. Coffee and the other two coffee makers that I have bought to replace the job of the Mr. Coffee.

Mary Ann of Glen Ellyn IL writes (1/29/03):
I have purchased three of the above coffee makers and they have all leaked out the bottom. The first time I thought it was just a fluke or a lemon. The second I thought I must have done something wrong. I checked all operations and was doing everything correctly according to your manual. The third time (and this time you're out, I will never buy another one of these products again) I knew it was your machine - very poorly made and not to be purchased in the future. Do something to improve your product.

Lynne of Nottingham MD (7/24/03):
The Mr. Coffee coffee pot I purchased leaks from the resevoir. I have contacted the company and they sent me a replacement resevoir which did not fix the problem - it continues to leak. I have looked at the site they recommended to find a service center but the one service center mentioned is not convenient to my home.

Frank of Glendale AZ (7/6/03):
Model AR12 is poorly made. The steam and hot water entering the filter basket causes the basket to warp during the coffee making process and pop open. Unless you are standing there watching you end up with a counter full of coffee grinds and hot water. What a mess. Even though the unit was only 6 months old I got fed up with cleaning the mess up and THREW IT OUT. I'm happy as a pig in a poke with my Proctor Silex so we can say that there was some economic damage for Mr. Coffee. I avoid their line of products now and advise others accordingly.

Gene of Los Angeles (6/19/03):
I have a Mr. Coffee, model MPS12, that has overflowed on many occassions. And it does indeed, make a big mess. A big mess to clean up too many times.

Billie of Chincoteague Island, VA (6/18/03):
We purchased a new style Mr Coffeemaker (stainless steel) for $60. Three days later the coffee went everywhere but in the coffee pot. My husband insisted it was me until it happened again, this time to him! We took the coffeemaker back to the store and replaced it with the same style except the pot was glass instead of stainless steel. Worked great for 6 weeks but the basket you remove to put the water in leaks. I cannot use the timer on it anymore because the water leaks out during the night. Of course I cannot find the receipt now to repace it.

$60 is a lot to pay for a coffee maker for 6 weeks!

Sue of Wauwatosa WI (6/12/03):
I am disgusted with the most recent Mr. Coffee I purchased. First of all, I cannot seem to find a decent home-use coffee pot - one that makes good tasting coffee, that's easy to use and doesn't have defects. I'd be willing to pay some money for a decent one if I could find one. Even $100 pots are junk! Anyway, my most recent Mr. Coffee machine has the very aggravating habit of flooding if the pot is not positioned on the warmer exactly right.

Problem is, you can't tell what is exactly right until it is too late. I'm forced to "babysit" the machine when I start a pot until I can tell if pot is going to flood. If I turn my back for more than a minute, it's too late and the grounds container is flooded (because the machine thinks the pot is in pause mode). What a mess this creates, not to mention wasted coffee, time and potential burns to my hands while I'm tring to clean up the mess. Also, the machine leaks. Mr. Coffee should make diapers for it's machines! Every one I've owned "peed" on my counter top. This is the last Mr. Coffee I'll be purchasing!

John of Fenton MI (6/9/03):
Leaked all over the counter from the 1st day of use. They told me I could pack it up in the original package (which I didn't have) and return it for repair (that would mean no coffee for about a month, or I'd have to buy a temporary replacement) I chose to keep paper towels under it and finally threw it out about two weeks ago when the constant leak started to cause the digital components to act-up.

Kay of Mineola TX (5/8/03):
I was not particularlly satisfied with the quality of the coffee maker when I opened the box and saw that the plastic on the coffee-holding section was so cheaply made. I went ahead and used it several times and didn't even put full amount of coffee in it and the grounds still came out around the filter.

This morning I set it to come on and to my surprise when I went to get coffee, there was no coffee made in the decanter. All of the coffee was in the basket, hot and a mess. It had leaked out of the bottom of the maker and was all over the countertop. I had the biggest mess. In the past, I have had trouble with this before with other Mr. Coffees. I don't feel like I can take it back to Walmart because of no box and I have used it for about 10 days or so, but you can bet that I will never purchase another Mr. Coffee.

Ann of Belmont NH (4/24/03):
I have purchased around 9 Mr Coffee coffee makers in the past year, and either they're too hot for my counter and burn it or they don't make the coffee hot enough. One I had for a month and it leaks all over the counter when you fill it over halfway with water. Or the timers don't work. Another problem I had was when you set the pot in if you don't do it just right it won't let the water come out and therefore it overflows all over the place.

I have always bought Mr. Coffee pots for years. Just the last year or so I have had this trouble. Don't want to try another but I suppose I will have to.

Fred of Kalispell MT (4/12/03):
We bought a new coffee maker 3 months ago from Wal-Mart and now the maker is act really funny.it take about an hour to make one pot and then it leaks from the base of the maker. We've tried to keep it cleaned out so that it wont totally quit on us because we can not afford to buy a new again. we have used Mr Coffee but it seems like the last three that we have had really only lasted a month or a month and half.

Mary of Beech Grove IN (3/25/03):
I purchased a 10 cup ESXII on 3/11/03. The lid to the water reservoir broke the first time I tried to use it. I sent an e-mail and got a response that a new lid was being sent. I received a white lid for my black coffee maker.

Every time I try to make more than 5 cups, the filter basket overflows, pops open and spills grounds all over my kitchen. The water simply does not go through the filter basket. The carafe lid is too small for the carafe, so every time you try to pour a cup it spills everywhere. I tried the internet again and rather than contacting me as I asked, they sent another e=mail stating that they are sending me another machine.

I've called and after holding forever & demanding a supervisor, the agreed to refund my money. They refused to let me pay the difference and upgrade to a machine with a different style of filter basket.

Sharon of Burkburnett TX (3/14/03):
I purchased a Mr. Coffee about 5 months ago. I don't know if I just got a lemon or what, but everytime I make coffee, a great deal of the coffee ends up on my cabinet. I have to have the lid open on the decanter or it really goes everywhere.

David of Orange City FL (2/24/03):
Approximately 6 months ago I purchased a Mr Coffee Brand AP series coffee maker. On several occasions I noticed that it did not brew a full pot of coffee even though I was sure I had filled the resevoir completely. This has been a mystery untill recently.

I filled the resevoir as usual before bed and set the timer, but about 20 minutes later I checked the reservoir to find it about 4 cups below the full line and my entire countertop covered with water. It had leaked out and was standing on the counter. Upon further investigation I could see where this has been occurring repeatedly and has now caused a portion of my cointertop to rot.

Angel of Laurel MD (2/4/03):
I was thrilled to see I wasn't alone with the problem I've been having with my Mr. Coffee. Last Nov. I purchased model UNX33. First of all, I'm 38 years old and have been making coffee for a long time. It doesn't take a brain surgeon to do so.

My maker too, has been overflowing and leaking out the bottom. I have to constantly "babysit" it so it doesn't happen. The carafe doesn't push hard enough against the lever that allows the water to pour through.

What angered me most was the response I reseived from my email to comsumeraffairs@consumer.Sunbeam.com. I checked the size of my gounds. I made sure the pot was sitting on the hotplate correctly. I read my owners manual. I did this all before I even emailed them. Common sense people. What I was looking for was how to return it at their expense since I couldn't return it to the store.

I too will never purchase a Mr. Coffee product because of the lack of support and concern they have for their consumers. I'm on my way out today to buy a Krups which my mother has never had a problem with.

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