You can buy a new door. But you may never get the smell out.

I did a quick google search and saw s a replacement door film for about 17.00 but whole door costs 85+, about what the whole microwave cost. Can you recommend a reputable source for Sharp parts? Yeah that smell is nasty - I had a sore throat and headache from the burnt plastic whatever was in the air.

Sorry , but $85 is a disposable microwave.

Just chalk it up to a lesson learned and be grateful that there wasn't a fire.

I agree with Xedos. Buy a new MW. Maybe this time you'll find one that has button operations you like better. I just posted on another thread that the Panasonic "Genius Prestige" MWs have a dial and just a few buttons, which I like better than a bunch of touch button that are either too touchy or not touchy enough. But a Panasonic Genius Prestige MW runs about $185, much higher than the one you are replacing, so it may not be for you.

Sigh. Wish I could get another $40 Daewoo with the mechanical timer that went Ding when the time was up. That thing lasted forever and heated up my Lean Cuisines & frozen home made soups quite nicely.

What do you think of the Panasonic reputation for reliability - or any of the other brands? I've since been reading about the flammability of Sharps - the material used in the door specifically.

Kashka_kat - regarding reliability, I think none of the brands makes MWs with long-term reliability any more. There are some older threads about this topic where people talked about their 20-year-old MWs being great, but a new one, even of the same brand, lasting only 3-5 years. That's just how they're made, no matter which manufacturer is making them, so it's not worth it to spend a lot hoping for longevity. Focus on the features you want (or, if you are shallow like me, focus on the MW appearance you want :)), and just accept it will have a 3-5 year life. It's also why people should never pay up for MWs from Viking, Wolf, or other high-end brands. Those cost $500+, have the same innards as Sharp, and same brief lifetime.

Lots of good advice.
There are basically only three or four contract assemblers of microwaves in China who make everything for everyone. They can screw 20,000 or so together if you want to completely design the unit and supply all components, all the way up to doing a complete turnkey product at a certain price point for ten containers a month as far as the eye can see.

One of the only times microwave repair would be cost effective is something like a failed odd sized very expensive obsolete OTR unit with no modern or used replacement possible built into very expensive custom cabinets.

Sharp makes a lot of the MWs. I have heard good things about them.

I agree to just get a new MW, and one with controls that work well for you. Operations on that one are a fire hazard. And you could mess up again, as you are pre-programmed to enter numbers differently! I also wonder if unseen damage could have occurred, not just what had visibly melted.

Yeah, that is a really bad design to not have a value range for what can be entered. I would write to the manufacturer and let them know what happened. Have no idea what mine does with minutes! Will have to check it out. It does have valid ranges for other entries. GE.

Scary stuff. I had a door malfunction and the unit fizzled and smoked. Luckly, I was right there. Yes, that odor is horrible!

This post was edited by snookums2 on Fri, Jul 5, 13 at 13:05