Scary behavior from Whirlpool Self Cleaning Oven

I'm trying to help my parents resolve some weird issues with their Whirlpool electric self-cleaning oven, model #GBD277PDQ1. Twice now, they report that while trying to cook something the oven has gotten itself into self-cleaning mode and they couldn't find any way to turn it off. Furthermore, the electronic door lock prevented them from opening the door. The first time this happened (about 1 1/2 yrs ago), things got so bad that the oven overheated itself and severely burned all the food inside before they turned it off at the breaker. They wound up with a $600+ repair bill to replace the Control Assembly, Thermo Control, and Thermostat. It's unclear which if any of these parts were secondary failures due to the overheating and smoke.

The second time around, which I witnessed this evening, the oven again got stuck on self clean. We tried repeatedly to stop it with the OFF button. The control display indicated 'Cool' and kept the door locked. This makes sense - that it wouldn't let you open the door until the oven cooled down to a safe temperature - except that we're pretty sure that the heating elements continued to stay on (we saw the glow). Before creating another charred food fiasco, we switched off the breaker. After some time without power, the oven eventually cooled and unlocked the door. Now, the control unit seems to come up in a 'clean' state, with only the time showing and no indication of a clean cycle or oven on in any capacity, BUT the top heating elements immediately come on and don't seem to respond to anything from the control panel. We can't get the darn things to turn off. So we've disabled the oven at the breaker box and can't use it until we figure this out.

Needless to say, my parents are loathe to go through another $600 repair and are very frustrated. We need to either get Whirlpool to address this issue on their dime, figure out how to repair it ourselves for a more reasonable cost, or shop for a new oven entirely.

Any advice would be most appreciated!

Dan

Reply to
darqi
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On Tue 27 Dec 2005 12:33:02a, Thus Spake Zarathustra, or was it snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.com?

After two such episodes and one costly repair, I would get thee to an appliance store and buy a new one. This one seems doomed, and I wouldn't trust it yet again. It could conceivably burn down the house.

Reply to
Wayne Boatwright

I would agree with that. Eiher there is something that is really malfunctioning, or there may be just a bad design that makes it easy to accidently put it into cleaning mode.

This borders on scare mongering, but there is a concern about fire -- just not from the faulty operation in and of itself.

Self cleaning ovens are very well insulated - so much so that they use LESS power to operate over a year, cleaning cycles included, than non self cleaning ovens.

In cleaning mode, the element is basically turned on continuously -- there is no thermostat that is cycling it on and off to maintain a temperature setpoint. It just runs at full blast and heats the oven as hot as it is possible - how hot this is will be a function of your line voltage, but the design of the oven is such that at the high end of its rating (240 volts, or perhaps a bit higher), it will reach a maximum temperature that is not greater than the design of the unit. If you live in a highrise, your electrical supply is likely two phases of a three phase system, so you will only have 208 volts and the cleaning cycle will need to be longer due to the lower temperature this creates.

Now, even though the oven will not get any hotter with a faulty control system than it would otherwise, there is a concern about the food items in the oven at the time. The design for the cleaning cycle involves the oven being empty. Any food could contribute to a fire.

Reply to
Calvin Henry-Cotnam

replaced properly. Given the previous pyrotechnics, I'd wager that warranty coverage could still be argued. You might want to contact your lawyer on that one if dealer/mfg. drag feet.

More'n likely some local media outlet would be interested in the story if it gets tossed back to you.

Inquiring minds have to ask- what were they thinking, with electronic controls, circuit-boards, and such? Especially ones that could put the unit into self-cleaning mode. IMHO, that is in itself defective.

Sure you don't want gas?

J
Reply to
barry

I know this is nuts, but why in the world did ya wait this long. Whirlpool ( or any manufacture ) is unlikely to help after this much time has passed. I would check and see if the whirlpool site lists any recall on this model. Me thinks your going to be spend more money for a new one

Reply to
SQLit

"Calvin Henry-Cotnam" wrote

This is not true. There is a "clean" temperature that is reached and maintained. For most newer models it's 850 degrees.

Reply to
Ed

Hi, The electronic brain of that oven is sick. The sooner you repair/replace it, the better it'll be. I am no fan of electronic controlled appliances. If repair tech did not do proper anti-static measures when replacing the logic board, it could have been already partially damaged. Have ever seen a static damaged micro electronic circuits under microscope? This partially damaged circuits often work but intermittent with unpredictable result. When I was working, they could fire anyone who did not adhere to proper anti-static measures dealing with delicate parts on the spot. Some of them cost hundreds or thousands of dollars. Tony

Tony

Reply to
Tony Hwang

Reply to
Tony Hwang

Hi, Are you sure of what you're saying here? Tony

Reply to
Tony Hwang

Well, at my encouragement, my dad called Whirlpool and described the trouble. Despite the unit being officially out of warranty coverage, they are sending out a tech today. Dad says they were very courteous and concerned about the potential for property damage and safety. We're hoping they'll do right by us today. More later...

Reply to
darqi

Tech verified that the unit was wonky, and decided that the electronic control unit has to be replaced. Whirlpool agreed to cover the cost of parts (~$1000) but not labor (~$100). Seems reasonable given the age of the unit, so we'll keep our fingers crossed that the problem goes away...

Reply to
darqi

Reply to
victoriantearose

Reply to
victoriantearose

Go shopping.

Reply to
clare

Victoria,

Based on the OP experience, I would contact the manufacturer and tell them you are worried about burning your house down and see if hey don't respond as with the OP.

They certainly don't want you going to your local newspaper with their lack of action, so you might casually mention that that is what you might have to do if they don't respond appropriately.

Reply to
hrhofmann

That would be my choice. Many TV stations or newspapers have a consumer advocate that will help with that sort of thing. At $600 a pop, I'd want an answer on their dome too.

Reply to
Ed Pawlowski

Check all connections to make sure they are clean and tight and don't show signs of arcing/sparking. (Loose wiring, especially on the neutral, can sometimes make electronic stuff act really stupid.)

Reply to
anonymous

I am a ups driver, Christmas week one of my customers house was gutted by f ire, the cause was a self cleaning oven ran its cycle when no one was home. I have yet to find out what was the make of oven. However , the same probl em has happened to me over and over again. I have unwired my oven heating elements and no longer use that oven. ( I Have a second oven , a whirlpool ) we plan to replace both units as we plan to remodel the kitchen never to use whirlpool ovens again. I have not heard of any recalls or warnings I h ope whirlpool goes out of business or fixes the problems , I know they know of this problem especially with social media these days

Reply to
scottwaibel

Good chance the homeowner set the controls and did not know what they did. There have been fires, usually something left on top of the stove and a big mess inside that should have been partially cleaned beforehand.

That can happen with any brand, not just Whirlpool. If the problem happened to me repeatedly I'd find and fix the proble rather than disable the oven. Could be a bad timer.

Reply to
Ed Pawlowski

I gave up on Frigidaire/Whirlpool years ago when they decided that they were no longer going to honor their written 5-year warranty on the cooling components of their dehumidifiers. The Better Business Bureau was needed and did obtain my refund.

Reply to
slate_leeper

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