Defective JVM140K Door Handles

Posted Sun March 10, 2002, by Anthony G. written to General Electric Appliances

Write a Letter to this Company

It's really frustrating when you spend hard-earned money on a product, and then this happens. I'm referring to the quality with General Electric Appliances and I'm hoping you can do something about it. Frankly, I'm furious over this matter.

For the record, I own a JVM140K 002 black from your company.

As are others who have written you regarding the quality of the door handle for the JVM140K microwave oven, I am, also, furious over the lack of quality of this product, the obvious design defect with the handle, and the absolutely outrageous price charged for a replacement handle for this microwave. It is unconscionable for you to produce an inferior product and then charge exorborant prices for the repair part necessary to return the item to its intended usefulness. Actually, I believe, this borders on criminal behavior and is no different than the gasoline service stations who raised their prices right after the attack on our World Trade Centers on September 11, 2001. There is absolutely no justification for 1) designing a part that is so easily broken and 2) charging an amount of money for said part that clearly costs only pennies to produce(and yes, us dumb consumers KNOW approximately what it costs to produce goods). For such a large, well known, and highly regarded company such as yours to operate in such a manner simply defies any logical explanation.

The cheapest replacement black handle that I could find for my JVM140K 002 microwave is for $29.98 plus shipping, about 5 times what it should go for and that would still be tens of times what it costs to produce.

In my final analysis, all I can say is that, because of this experience, I will no longer be considering GE appliances of any kind in my future buying decisions. And I will also make influence upon my friends and associates when I am able to do so regarding their appliance buying.

Here's what I'd like to see happen: I think GE Appliances should correct this problem with the door handle of their JVM series microwave ovens and any other microwave ovens that have this design defect by issuing new, improved handles to the purchasers of these ovens. They could either do this as a general "recall" type format and issue a "good for one replacement handle coupon with no expiration date" OR make good to all the people who contact them about this situation. They should also post something on their website about this handle situation and then be forthright about the options available to the consumer(yea, the ones who keep them in business) to rectify this situation. They should also include in the offer the installation of the handle as many people are not able to install it themselves. I see how it is installed, but many people are not able to do it themselves. I really hope you can solve this, because it will determine whether I buy anything else from you in the future. You can be sure I'll probably give my friends mediocre reviews of your products.

Please respond to this complaint as quickly as possible.

Log In/Create an account | 1 comments

del.icio.us      Digg this

PlanetFeedback Comments are subject to strict terms and conditions. We reserve the right to deny site membership privileges to any individuals acting inappropriately.

Re: Defective JVM140K Door Handles by RebelRepairman Posted Sun March 24, 2013 @ 10:54 AM Or spend ten cents and about an hour replacing the original half inch long screw with a one inch long screw. The trick is that the oem screw must be custom because the hole for it is larger than a size seven screw head and the stem is a size seven. A washer and a machine screw from the hardware store did the trick along with a little slow and careful pilot drilling. My break happened where the face of the door meets the handle. Must be a stress point cause by the oem screw ending there. It is a half inch long. Ten cents made more sense to me then $50 for a new handle and then seeing if the microwave will last long enough torecoup $50. Doubt it because mine is twenty years old. YouTube has good instructional video on taking the inner door face off. Recommend that you limit the amount of pressure you apply in the door when you pry because you can stress crac the plastic. Also, the video doesn't alert you to make sure the inner seals, just strips of rubber, remain in place. Alerts from technicians warned about microwave leakage concerns for diy-ers and hiring them to do it. It must be these seals they're concerned about not being put back in place if they come off. Real simple just slip them back onto their rail. The one inch screw goes further into the handle where it's integrity is better and provides more strength. I kept a little pice which remained on the screw when the handle broke, drilled it out and reused it as a washer for my fix. Working fine now. Reply