Complain about a product or service

Reliance Water Heaters

Tom of Cheraw, SC November 10, 2009

reliance 40 gal gas hot water heater. ran fine for two years, now the pilot light keeps going out. replaced the thermocupler after a week have the same problem. have had two plumbers look at the unit they have no idea what is wrong. reliance has just run me in circles for months. as soon as I have the money it will be replaced. o not buy anything from reliance co.

Jason of Borger, TX October 31, 2009

We have bought 4 water heaters in the last 4 years. They are all Reliance 606 30 Gallon Gas Water Heaters and they stay lit for about 1 year and then go out and when you try to relight it, it will relight but will not STAY LIT! I am getting so sick of this! My brother had the same water heater and the same problem and the hardware store here in town gave him a different brand and told him that he would not put one in his own home. But when we go to get one tonight they give us the Reliance Brand and they tell us that it has been changed and it should work now.

I do not know what to do about this! We can not run our dishwasher and we have to take cold showers. It is hard when you have kids that NEED to have baths cause they go to school.

Walter of West Milford, NJ October 28, 2009

Hi , This is "NOT A Complaint" because people have the habit of only complaining. I wanted to tell a true story of my old Reliance water heater. I Installed it in Nov. of 1990. It had an 8 yr. warranty Model 8-50 NART6J, 50 gal. Lately it started to leak after 19 yrs. nothing ever went wrong with the unit from the first time I light the pilot light. It was a self cleaning heater. It did well for itself I'd say. Now I replaced it with a Reliance 1250 GXRT unit which has a 12 yr. warranty, again self cleaning. I installed the unit, light the pilot light & now I expect it to continue on serving someone else after I'm gone as I'm now 75 yrs. young!! So in closing I'd say Reliance does make good if not great water heaters.

connie of karnes city, VT October 27, 2009

pilot light and control box not working, only one year old. need fixed. given run around by company. fyi--a lawyer paid for this product so i do not need to speak with one--know law and you need to repair or replace the water heater ASAP. no hot water for several weeks now, no bath, not able to wash dishes, water heater sitting there not able to use

Iva of Rochester Hills, MI October 22, 2009

I have a Reliance 606 Model# 640yort 40 gal water tank. I have been dealing with this going out for a year now. I have only had this tank for 4yrs. I am low income and have 2 small grandchildren living with me. I can't afford to keep having someone fix it for a couple of weeks and than going out again. I also can't afford to purchase a new one.

What is [their] company going to do in reguards to this. I see that there are many complaints about this tank. Small grandkids in home. Can't give baths have to heat water on stove to wash dishes.

Robert of LaPorte, IN September 21, 2009

I bought a Reliance water heater in July of 2005. The model number was 640YORT. On Sept 19, 2009, for the third time since I bought the unit, the pilot light went out. I tried to relight the pilot but it failed to relight. I did a search on the internet and I found several other people who have reported the same problem. I think it would be a good idea for people to buy a water heater from a different company.

Ron of Glendive, MT July 15, 2009

i bought and installed 12 of these units model 606 and 10 of them have failed i replaced 3 of them and then the place i was buying the replacements from quit selling heaters this is a small town so we only have to places to buy them and both sell that brand. i would have to drive to billings 220 miles from here to get another brand, i called them when we first had trouble and they spent a lot of time telling me how it was my fault and how to vacume the screens so i quit talking to them but now the customers are threating to take me to small claims court so i tried to talk to them again today, the lady i spoke wit tried to find why it was not their fault if it has a 3 in flu stack it is to small if it has a 4 in it is to big and if it ties into the flue with a t instead of a y then it it my fault anyway then finally referred me to a service center in org.. 2000 miles from me and when i called him,, he just laughted and told me there was nothing he coud do for me,, remember when you call them the person you talk to has a job,, and it is to find out why it is not thier fault and why they don't have to warrenty it,, so don't tell them anything you did to try to make it work..

Craig of Garden Grove, CA May 15, 2009

I resubmitted this complaint because I put the wrong phone number. On October 05, 2007 we purchased a reliance water heater. On Saturday, March 21, 2009 it would no longer heat the water and on March 22, 2009 I went back to Ganahl and purchased another reliance water heater . This was the second time this water heater did this. A week or two before March 21, it would not heat or ignite. I had a plumber come out the first time this happened and he got it going but told me that if it happened again to call the manufacturer because it should not being doing this.

It was a weekend so customer service with Reliance was closed. I contacted them through email. They refused to an exchange because there was not a good enough reason to replace it. They ask me if I had a someone come out to repair it. I said yes but they still did not think there was any reason for an exchange.

Craig of Garden Grove, CA May 15, 2009

On October 05, 2007 we purchased a reliance water heater from Ganahl Lumber. On Saturday, March 21, 2009 it would no longer heat the water and on March 22, 2009 I went back to Ganahl and purchased another reliance water heater . This was the second time this water heater did this. A week or two before March 21, it would not heat or ignite. I had a plumber come out the first time this happened and he got it going but told me that if it happened again to call the manufacturer because it should not being doing this. It was a weekend so customer service with Reliance was closed. I contacted them through email. They refused to an exchange because there was not a good enough reason to replace it. They ask me if I had a plumber come out to repair it. I said yes but they still did not think there was any reason for an exchange.

Amiee of Arcola, IL March 17, 2008

Amiee of Arcola IL (03/17/08)
We have purchased two Reliance Water Heater Company's 40 gallon water heaters because the first one would not stay lit and neither will the second one. We have called and complained and have called the place we bought it from (and who installed it) and everyone just shrugs it off. We have to light it 10-20 times a day and we never have not water. Complaints don't get us anywhere. Every time I call Reliance to complain, they are hateful and rude and blame it on the installer. The place we bought it has quit carrying this brand of hot water heaters because they had to replace too many and have had nothing but trouble with them. We have had this one for one year and have done nothing but made calls to complain, with no solutions. We want to have this replaced, but no one will claim responsibility for the expense of replacing it and we WILL NOT pay one more dime. We feel the True Value in which we bought it should be responsible, as should the reliance hot water heater. We DO NOT WANT A RELIANCE appliance again.

Cold baths, not able to use our dishwasher, having to stay in hotels or at our parents' home, not able to stay at our house for Christmas b/c of no hot water. It's very frustrating, especially with an infant and during cold winter months.

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