After receiving nearly 400 reports about glass oven doors shattering, Consumer Reports’ safety team is calling on the Consumer Product Safety Commission to investigate the safety of these appliances. So far, more than 40 injuries have been reported due to the glass door incidents.
According to a May 6 article from Consumer Reports, the reports involved both electric and gas ranges made by several companies: Frigidaire, GE, Whirlpool, LG, and Samsung. These reports are from the CPSC’s federal database and they were submitted during a 15-month span from January of last year through March of this year.
“Hundreds of electric and gas range owners reported that they were startled by an eruption of shattered glass from the oven’s door,” said Consumer Reports.
One consumer from North Carolina linked the sound to a bomb going off. She said glass shot all over her floor and even across the room.
“I woke up to a loud crash sound, and saw all the glass on the floor,” said another consumer. “Our oven was cold to the touch. There were no injuries because everyone was asleep… but I have five children who peer into the oven regularly and if this had happened while they were close, I can’t imagine the damage it could have done to their eyes or face.”
Many of the consumers said that their ranges were turned off when the glass shattered. Some said their ovens had been off for several days.
A review of the reports showed that most of the ranges involved (263, including 12 different models) were made by Frigidaire, followed by 63 GE ranges, 35 Whirlpool ranges, 15 LG ranges and 10 Samsung ranges. Frigidaire model numbers beginning with FFEF, LFEF, and FCRE were cited most frequently and the brand accounted for 29 of the injury reports.
“Many of the Frigidaire models cited in incident reports were previously rated by Consumer Reports, but all but two have been discontinued and are no longer available for purchase,” Consumer Reports noted. “None of the Frigidaire, GE, LG, Samsung, or Whirlpool models we tested suffered this kind of oven door glass failure while in our labs.”
GE model numbers beginning with JGBS and JGB7 were cited most frequently in the CPSC database, accounting for four incident reports. Whirlpool model numbers beginning with WFG3 were cited most often and the brand accounted for seven incident reports. There were not enough LG or Samsung reports for model numbers to stand out. LG models accounted for two of the injury reports, and there were none associated with Samsung models.
Consumer Reports reached out to all five companies with the most recent incident reports and received email replies from Samsung, Whirlpool, GE, and Electrolux (parent company of Frigidaire) saying that the products meet third party standards.
Samsung was the only brand that said that it provides free-of-charge oven glass door repairs regardless of warranty status. Meanwhile, Electrolux said invisible imperfections in the tempered glass can sometimes lead to shattering. It cautioned against closing oven doors when racks aren’t fully in place and bumping or scratching it.
However, Consumer Reports noted that a class action lawsuit filed against Electrolux in federal court in Delaware, also alleges that its soda-lime glass oven doors are “predisposed to explode,” due to chemical impurities. It is focused on a Frigidaire range purchased in 2020 by Amanda Yanovitch of Midlothian, Va. That case was settled in March.
“LG said the company is aware of the incidents but ‘has not identified a basis at this time for additional action,’” Consumer Reports added.
Another dozen manufacturer had between one and eight similar incident reports in the Consumer Reports database. Its analysis focused on brands with 10 or more complaints.
“Many of the incident reports in the CPSC database don’t list the date when the range was purchased, but we did collect that info when it was presented,” said the organization. “In only about a dozen complaints did the glass shatter during the first year of ownership. The peak concentration of failures seems to occur between years four and six. That’s after the warranty has ended. In some cases, the issue surfaced at least 10 years after purchase.”
Gabe Knight, a senior safety policy analyst for Consumer Reports, argued that the companies should have known about the issue.
“No one should have to worry about whether there’s a ticking time bomb in their kitchen. These companies should work with the [Consumer Product Safety Commission], and be transparent with consumers about what steps they’re taking to address this issue,” Knight said. Consumer Reports has also reached out to the commission.
Anyone who has experienced a similar incident can contact the commission’s SaferProducts.gov website. They can also contact the product manufacturer.
