SaferProducts incident

Failure type

Fire / ignition

Incident narrative

SaferProducts.gov consumer incident report 20230707-76C58-4274639. Severity: Incident, No Injury. Product: KitchenAid KFGD500ESS04 (Gas range knobs). Incident: Caller stated the gas knobs are easy to turn on by brushing against it, without the user�s knowledge causing the gas to escape. He stated that it has been ongoing for almost a year. Caller stated that he contacted the company and they advised to send out a service technician for inspection. Caller stated that they are aware of this safety issue. Caller feels that these knobs are unsafe and should be reported. I have a KitchenAid double oven gas range, (model KFGDS00ESS04, serial number DX3609098) with what I believe has potential for serious injury. Specifically, the knobs that turn on the top burners are very sensitive to touch which can cause them to be turned on without the user knowing it. The simple act of brushing against one of the knobs while leaning over to stir a pot on the back burner can cause the front burner to partially turn on releasing gas. In some cases, the burner will actually ignite posing a potential for burns from a clothing fire. This anomaly occurred several times over the past year. I believe there is a design defect, in that, the gas starts flowing too soon before the igniter is activated and that the force needed to push in the knob is too light. On 7/11/2023 KitchenAid sent a technician to examine the range. His conclusion based on my understanding was that there was no problem and that the range was working as designed. Although the occurrence of this happening is relatively low the consequences are high. The resulting injuries from burns or explosions could be life threating. I hope that the Commission will take a serious look into this issue.