Complain about a product or service

Viking Ranges

Gerald of SUCCASUNNA, NJ February 8, 2010

The comment from Catherine of Sandy Utah could have been written by me. I bought probably the same model Viking ten years ago and have the same problem. My Viking remains the most expensive impressive looking piece of junk I have. Its wrong the way Viking is non responsive and the dealer that sold it the same.

Scott of Tucson, AZ January 23, 2010

30 inch induction cooktop, purchased in September 2008. One burner stopped operating. Home insurance sent three repair visits. Home insurnace has declared the unit has failed and not repairable. They told me I have to buy a new unit, of different make and model. They will discount the price and make me pay for the difference including installation.

Catherine of Sandy, UT January 23, 2010

We purchased a 48" Viking range with 6 burners and griddle 10 years ago. We have had nothing but problems with the igniters, oven door hinges, oven floor in the large oven, and the griddle. The igniters have been repaired/replaced a number of times and they still continue to be a problem. IF they ignite they won't turn off, or the igniters on other burners turn on even when I haven't tried to turn on that particular burner. The griddle is a joke...you can't clean oil out from the frame, and when you try to heat it up it leaks old grimey oil onto the griddle. As the griddle heats it warps.

The oven hinges will not work half the time...good luck opening the door. I hold my breath everytime I use it, hoping it will open up. We have had the igniter replaced in the large oven a couple of times, and everytime we heat the large oven the floor warps. The enamaling on the bottom is now cracked and coming off. We bought the range from a kitchen design company that is now out of business, and can no longer recommend repairmen. It is getting harder and harder to find someone who wants to work on it because of Viking's reputation. If it's not one thing it's another with the range. Too bad, it was my gourmet dream...I'm seriously considering rounding up my old 1947 range from the garage and putting it back in the kitchen and junking the Viking. Viking is a joke....customer service doesn't exist, and they don't seem to be able to make a decent range.

Tod of Rock Hill, NY January 20, 2010

I have only had my Viking range for one year. I too thought I was finally getting my dream range.I purchased a 48 inch, 4 burner range with a grill and a griddle and two ovens for more than 8000.00. Today, 1/20/10 marked the 8th service call Ive had and when the tech returns to replace all the damaged and broken parts it will be number 9. So that will also make 9 days of work missed.

However, the most recent course of events is totally unacceptable. I no longer want this appliance in my home. On Tuesday, 1/12/10, I cooked a roast in the oven and turned the oven off when dinner was ready. Approximately 1 hour later our smoke alarm went off. Upon walking into the kitchen I felt intense heat. I opened the oven door and the oven was raging and it was shut off.The only way I could get it to turn off was by disconnecting the gas line. Even after doing this the igniter kept ticking as if it was still trying to light.The oven got so hot that it warped the face plate, the bottom of the stove and ruined the gasket. It needs these parts plus two thermostats and a new valve.Even if this stove gets fixed again I will be forever afraid that it will re light itself and burn my house down. What if noone was home when this happened?

Viking does not return calls or emails. They don't even answer the phone half the time. I wish I had known about their reputation and bad business ethics a year ago, I would have purchased a different brand.After all the aggravation inconvenience and mental anguish I would like to inquire about sueing this company.

Janet of Monument, CO January 14, 2010

As a military dependent for 30 years, I always had a LOW end, cooktop, wall over, or range. Never needed repairs. After purchasing our forever home, I purchased my "dream" range. My "dream" ranged turned into a "nightmare" range and continues to be a nightmare after 9 years. Original range required so many repairs, authorized repair man said, "Paint it yellow and put it on the street; and buy a Sears." Replaced 08/04/05, Kimball Distributors, still a nightmare. I was treated as though I did not know how to cook!!! I have cooked for 40 years. Currently, convection heats 100-150 degrees higher than set. Technical Dept says, "Impossible." Viking charges a premium for their pieces of junk. It is my opionion, a class action suit is justified.

Gary of Encinitas, CA January 13, 2010

I have had a 36" Viking dual range with a griddle in the middle for about five years. The griddle leaked oil around the edges immediately. The replacement griddle did the same. The replacement, replacement griddle did the same. Now the griddle won't even heat up properly. We don't use the griddle now, so oil doesn't leak out any longer. I've replaced the hinges on the oven twice. Earlier the oven wouldn't work, requiring replacement of the control box. Now the oven doesn't work again. I suspect it's going to be another ridiculously expensive service call. What a piece of very expensive junk.

Geraldine of Oxnard, CA January 12, 2010

I own a Viking 30" gas/convection oven and I have had nothing but problems since day one. The baffles needed to be replaced after the first year. I have had to have it calibrated countless times within the first year. I have replaced the oven ignitors three times already and I have to have then replaced again. The oven door hinges had to be replaced, since I couldn't open the oven. I had contacted Viking and was told to call a Viking repair service. I even emailed Viking directly and they told me they couldn't do anything about it. After reading many complaints on the net, I decided to voice my own complaint. I wouldn't mind, but the oven cost over 2400 and I have put over 1000 into it to get it repaired and again it isn't working.HELP!!!!

Peter of Groton, CT January 5, 2010

After twenty-five years in the restaurant business, I thought I knew enough to chose a quality range for my home. Wrong! Viking only looks commercial quality. The igniters for the oven burned out reputedly and I had to replace one five times at a cost of over 120 each. I estimate they cost less than 10 to make. I stopped buying Viking igniters and used copy replacements I found on the internet. Problem finally solved.

The griddle can only get to a few degrees above room temperature because Viking put the temperature sensor right in the flame path. I wonder what they did with the money they saved by not hiring an engineer. The housing for the oven became so warped that it is almost impossible to move the shelves. I have never run the oven hot enough to clean, so this happened with normal use.

Now the broiler flames out and pops to life reputedly so I can't use that any more. I never used the oven much because it was so unreliable and now I cook in a Cuisinart taster-oven. On the positive side, the Viking stove top burners are great and at 15,000 BUTs bring food to cooking temperature quickly. They are hard to clean and I noticed that Viking has since changed the design.

I plan to replace the Viking with a quality stove soon. I just can't see putting up with such problems from something that was sold as a High end appliance but all that was high end was the price. I would never let a friend buy a Viking. I have spent over 1,000 and countless hours repairing the range over the ten years I have owned it. That is more than I have spent repairing all other appliances I have ever owned, combined.

Tanya of Maple Ridge, BC January 4, 2010

We put high end kitchen appliances in our newly renovated home. We bought a 8300 Viking Range 36" with Gridell in March 2009 , well we haven't been able to use that from the start, I went to make my kids a grilled cheese, turned on the gridell & when it started to heat up on low/med heat it sounded like someone was firing a pellet gun at us inside my kitchen scared the heck out me, all the tack welds bursted apart, also with the gridell the top metal part you cook your food on is all uneven cut and oil seeps down in the gaps I tried to turn it on and it was just smoking oil, Service Rep has tried to replace it but still the same problems with the replacment.

Now during the X-mas holidays we were getting ready to go out for my b-day dinner, I wasn't even cooking I heard a Electrical pop noise then an hour later I heard it again I then unpluged every household appliance in the house because I knew the noise came from the kitchen but could tell where the sound came from but I did smell a burn smell around the stove area but I knew I hadn't cooked a thing. Then next moring went to use the burners and they wouldn't ignite, but oven still turned on, I was told to use a BBQ lighter until they could come out in Jan5/10 to see what was wrong.

Well on Jan 3 while cooking dinner I tried to push in one of the knobs that always jamms on me I heard the pop noise again a Sparks flew out the range by the knobs, they landed on a tea cloth that I have on the handle of the range and smoldered in a spot! now the oven won't ignite. I contacted customer service and when I asked for the supervisor they became rude, I already am [upset] because of this lemon of a range, Customer service sucks too. I asked to have this replaced they said I would have to contact the distributer and see what they can do.

The right up on a website about the owner of this product stated the he started building the Viking Ranges back in the day because he was tried of poorly made commerical ovens, well Mr. Fred C. Jr. now I have to worry about my house going up in flames & the safety of my 3 little ones. Because this happened even when I wasn't using the stupid range, if they fix the problem I still will not feel safe with this VIKING Range in my house worring if the range with spark in the night or when we are out. Thanks Alot for nothing

RECOMMENDED NOT TO BUY A VIKING RANGE if you don't want to have to worry about the safety of your FAMILY

Suzanne of Beaver Island, MI January 3, 2010

I bought a 36" dual-fuel range from Viking six years ago when my husband and I moved into our new home. It was my "dream" to own such a piece of equipment. Within the first four years I had three major problems. I used the self-cleaning feature once, and then it would not work again. The light would come on, but the door would not lock and the heat would not turn on. I used my convection oven for about two years before it stopped working. I didn't realize it, but the bottom element in the oven was not attached to the floor of the oven. The element was askew and touched the inside of the oven door causing the enamel to burn off. It wasn't until the spot on my oven door began to rust, that I realized the problem.

My husband contacted Viking. They told us the problems were not under warranty. I checked the warranty and saw that the oven door should have been covered. Unfortunately, we live in a somewhat remote area and having any service work done is a challenge. (I originally purchased Viking because of our remote location, and thought I was purchasing a quality product.) We cannot get the service people to even return our phone calls, let alone schedule a visit. I love to gather and cook with family and friends. I have a beautiful gourmet kitchen with a view of a harbor. Everything I so carefully planned and purchased for this kitchen has been wonderful except for the most expensive piece, my Viking range. My "dream" has become a "nightmare".

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