Report Summary
59 yof noticed The knobs on the front of the gas range are extremely easy to turn on inadvertently. She has unknowingly turned gas on 3 times while either removing things from stove or cleaning stovetop. she didn't realize the gas was turned on until smelled gas in the house.
Product Details
- Product Description: Gas range
- Manufacturer/Importer/Private Labeler Name: WHIRLPOOL CORPORATION
- Brand Name: Amana
- Model Name or Number: AGR5844VDW
- Serial Number:
- UPC Code:
- SKU#:
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Date Manufactured:
- Retailer: Frank's Appliance
- Retailer State:
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Purchase Date:
8/1/2011
- Product Category: Kitchen
- Product Type: Appliances
- Product Code: Gas Ranges or Ovens (279)
Incident Details
- Incident Description: I recently bought an Amana gas range, Model AGR5844VDW. I've used it approximately 4 times. The knobs on the front of the range are extremely easy to turn on inadvertently. They protrude rather far from the surface of the stove, they are pointed so they can catch on things, and you only need to push it in very slightly to turn the knob. Out of the 4 times I've used the range, I've unknowingly turned the gas on 3 times while either removing things from the stove or cleaning the stovetop. I didn't realize the gas was turned on until we smelled gas in the house. Once it happened twice in one evening! The last time it happened, we didn't realize it, and we woke up in the morning to our home filled with gas. It had been running all night. We also have a greyhound, who is the height of the stove knobs, so he could easily have bumped it with his nose and turned it on. A small child could very easily reach up and slightly turn the knob to get the gas going. We do not know how it got turned on the last time, but it could easily have blown up the house, it was that bad. We were afraid to turn on any fans because we didn't want to create a spark and cause an explosion. We had to open the doors and windows and evacuate until it cleared up a little. The store we bought the appliance from (Frank's Appliance in Bradley, IL) said they had a similar complaint from another customer. They called Amana and were told they made it that way because they got complaints from people with arthritis that it was too hard to turn the knobs, so they were standing by their product and would not do anything about it. (I guess they think it's OK to take the risk of blowing up someone's house, though!) While I was in the appliance store, I went with the owner to the floor model of the range, showed her how I had leaned slightly against the stove to clean the stovetop, and each time I did it in the store (4 to 5 times), it turned the burner on. I tried it on all the other brands of ranges in the store, and this was the only model where I could turn the gas on just by leaning against the stove. This is the MOST DANGEROUS thing I have ever had in my house, and it could very easily have killed the entire family, and Amana thinks it is not a problem. Frank's Appliance agreed that it was a dangerous product and agreed to swap it out with a range made by another manufacturer. I am not normally a complainer, but this stove is going to kill someone, and I would feel terrible if I neglected to report the problems I know are inherent to the product.
[REDACTED]
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Incident Date:
8/13/2011
- Incident Location: Unspecified
Victims Involved
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- Injury Information: Incident, No Injury
- My Relationship to the Victim: Self
- Sex: Female
- Victim's Age When Incident Occurred: 59 years
Comments from the Manufacturer/Private Labeler
- The Consumer Product Safety Commission has forwarded your report of an incident in which you identified a product from our Whirlpool Corporation brands. We value the well-being of our customers, and we strive to make all our products as safe as possible. If you have not already contacted us about this issue, please e-mail the Product Safety Team of our Customer eXprience Center at Safety_customerexperience@whirlpool.com. To ensure that we have sufficient information to evaluate this incident, please include the last four digits of your CPSC Report No. in the subject line of your e-mail. In the body of the e-mail, please include a day time phone number where we can contact you along with a brief description of the report you filed with the CPSC. If a Whirlpool-manufactured or Whirlpool-marketed product or component is involved, please preserve it for possible inspection and testing if necessary.
Additional Details
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Submitter has product?:
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Product was damaged before incident?:
No
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Product was modified before incident?:
No
- If yes to any, explanation: Frank's Appliance contacted Amana
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Have you contacted the manufacturer?:
Yes
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If Not, Do you plan to?:
- Report Number: 20110820-FB8E0-2147476068
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Report Date:
8/20/2011
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Sent to Manufacturer/Importer/Private Labeler:
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Report First Publication Date:
9/13/2011
- Category of Submitter: Consumer
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