I feel for your frustration Triciae! Don't you just hate shopping for new anything these days? Its so confusing....ultimately it seems like everything is made at the same plant in Korea or China or a company has just been bought and its old reputation is no longer valid or whatever.
Sounds like your repairman has been pretty upfront - did you ask what he thought about fixing the panel? I.e. has he done this and just had to keep redoing it? Or is there a better aftermarket panel that is more reliable?
Other than ask him more pointed questions maybe check the appliances forum?
I can say that the GE I had in my house in NE and the one in this apt both don't get as hot as the temp I dial in and I have to pre-heat for hours to get it accurate.

I was going to tell you "congtatulations! You get a new stove!"...but I know what it's like when a beloved appliance ( if an appliance can be beloved!" dies...
So my condolences.
Linda C

Check online for the price of the control panel. There are places that sell appliance parts direct.

It seems like I used one in Houston and they ship next day. We have had two positive experiences with fixing a burner and an oven door support by ordering the parts online.

If you can find the repair manual or even call the parts place, it may be as simple as just removing the control panel and rehooking the wires with the new one.

IF that is indeed the problem. It'd be a shame to assume that it's the control panel when it might be the thermostat or something else.

Grace

Do see if you can fix it yourself like Grace suggests. You need to replace it with something you like at least as much if you go the replacement route, and that can be awfully hard sometimes.

(I just went through the automotive version of this. If I didn't have little kids, I'd probably find some way to drive that thing with all the brake lines and probably everything else rusted through and leaking...)

and you are sold on dual fuel???

That right there shrinks your options.

I thought I wanted dual fuel when I went to gas a few years back..but I am thrilled with my all gas range, it's a 5 burner Maytag..doesn't have a warming drawer..but I do think the option was available (mine's a small storage drawer).

The steam thing sounds good..but my gas oven seems kinda moist in there..It's self cleaning, and convection too.

Did a search with your model number and the price online for the control panel is $300.00 IF... IF you're handy and IF you were sure that was the problem then it would be worth ordering it yourself.

Grace

Grace, that's hugely less expensive than the Sears repairman quoted! I'll have to check the Sears website for parts.

Terri, yeah I'm pretty set on an electric oven. I think the self-clean feature is much better than gas. I'm fairly compulsive about a clean oven. Mine gets cleaned once/month year around.

My cleaning lady is here today. As soon as she's gone my handyman, Lance, said he'd be over & take a look at the range. Not sure what he's going to "look at"! lol I'd so much prefer just fixing my Kenmore. It really is the perfect range for me. It's not the best at anything but it has more than acceptable performance & a lot of 'stuff' I can't get on other ranges without spending a ton of money.

Depending on what Lance says...I may go over to our local appliance store tomorrow & look at the KitchenAid. I won't buy from Sears again. We purchased a new freezer a couple months ago & the service was pathetic. Ever since K-Mart bought them it's been downhill...I'll be surprised if they survive. Sad, they've been an American institution for so long. Now, Sears is almost kaput...just like my range!

/tricia

I buy my appliances from the Local ma/pa appliance store. Customer service is TOP!

Hmmm Tricia, I don't clean mine monthly..but it does the job..and it's got 3 levels of clean..I've only ever used the "light"...

Good luck..That would be cool if you could get yours fixed with much less than Sears quoted!!

I'm not sure that the Sears website wouldn't have the same markup.... do a google seach for appliance parts. I think I've ordered from both Partselect.com and appliancepartspros.com

At least your stovetop still works...., maybe it is something really simple.

I hope you can get it working by Christmas!

Good luck on the fix! One thing that really frosts me is the seemingly inflated prices of appliance parts. It's especially true of higher end appliances. Some years back we bought what was then the top of the line Kenmore washer & dryer; the washer has done well for us, but we've had to replace parts on the dryer to the point where we've spent the initial price at least twice on repairs. Now I can't really complain too much; I bought these units 15 years ago, and that's not too bad of a lifespan. Still, it does seem that the parts (especially the electronic parts) are priced with an unreasonably hefty profit margin.

My stove, on the other hand, is a thirty year old all gas Kenmore that came with the house, and unfortunately it's still cooking great. (It's all manual, nothing more fancy than an oven thermostat.) I can't wait for it to die so I can buy the item at the link. DW sez I gotta wait, though.

Here is a link that might be useful: capital stove

OK, Lance left a few minutes ago. He said it's not the thermosat & he doesn't think it's the control panel. It's making a clicking noise now that it wasn't earlier so Lance thinks the connection from the control panel to the oven element is what's kaput & it 'may' be an easy fix.

So, I'm going to call my local appliance store this afternoon & make an appointment for a service call. Keep your fingers crossed!

/tricia

Actually, it probably has less to do with Sears and a lot more to do with the heavy use of electronics; e.g., your circuit board. And you will find one in almost EVERY stove, regardless of brand, whether gas or electric.

I have replaced three of them - one in a Kenmore/Frig gas range, two in a Kenmore/Whirlpool gas range. It is always the oven - the high-heat hot air blasting through the vents (and usually right over where the board is located) basically just "cooks" the electronics and fries the computer chip.

The boards are very expensive and after one or two repairs you've doubled the cost of the range. Again, it doesn't matter which brand you use - I think they are all prone to eventual failure within a 5-10 yr lifespan.

KA is one of the Whirlpool Corp. brands. You did know that, didn't you? They make a decent DW, but I'd check with Consumer Rpts or Epinions about their ranges, just to be safe.

My advice to anyone buying a range or wall oven with electronics is to buy an extended warranty on it. I know, I know - so many people think it's a waste of money...but I think for an electronic-driven high-heat appliance, it's a necessity these days.

tricia, try repairclinic.com -If your handyman can do the work you might be better off having it fixed. My husband fixed our oven last year by replacing a part that luckily only cost $50.00. Good luck.
Di

I was going to mention what JKom already did about the circuit boards. I learned about the problem with computer driven ranges when shopping for my new one about 2 years ago. As that will be a problem in any range that you look at in the current comparable range i would repair this one. The other parts should be fine. If you cannot find the features you want in another range I think repairing is the way to go. The burners and such should last a long time.

-Robin

The oven of my daughter's Kenmore range is having intermittent problems. Sometimes it shuts down after a little while, resulting in uncooked food. Her friend's Kenmore does the same thing. The service man couldn't fix it.

Jim

I second what jkmom said, buy the extended warranty on any new applicance that costs very much! Don't ask me how I know.......I just renewed the warranty on all my 4-year old applicances from Sears. The cost was less than one service call with parts.

I used to hate them too and thought it was the rip off of the century, but with all the electronic stuff used in appliances today have changed my mind.

I have an ancient gas range in the milk parlor that still works like a charm....no frills on it, but I will keep it out there....just in case! I swear the next range I buy will be the cheapest one available.

My Jenn Air has already had two service calls to get the oven door to fit properly.

Well, my local appliance store's service man arrived not late for his appointment...but actually a couple minutes early. Imagine...arriving on time. What a novel concept Sears could learn from!

Anyway, the verdict is in. The control panel's bad. The oven element is bad. The door switch is bad.

At first, he thought it was just the $40 element & door switch; but then in making a final check when I was complaining that the oven has always taken forever to preheat...he discovered that the control panel is not getting to the broiler element. That's why the oven takes so long to preheat. During the preheating, the oven cycles back/forth between the oven & broiler elements. The broiler element is fine...it's the control panel not responding to the broiler command.

I'm furious both at myself & Sears because it's probably been a faulty product since right out of the carton in '03. I've always complained about how long it took to preheat. For something like muffins...it takes longer to preheat than to bake the muffins. So, I've always crammed the oven full to take advantage of having it preheated. It never was supposed to be like that...should have preheated in less than 10 minutes.

Second, I'm mad at Sears because the repairman should have checked the broiler element/control panel was he was here in April. All he did was put a thermometer inside the oven & we waited, and waited, and waited. Eventually, it registered 350 degrees & he pronounced it working fine. No matter that it took almost 30 minutes to get to temperature!

Jeff also said today that's why it takes so long for things to bake...as the oven loses heat it uses the broiler to get a quick burst to help keep the oven temperature up during use. Without that broiler element working the oven element can't keep up. So, that's probably why the oven element is burned out...been in overdrive for five years.

I had purchased an extended warranty from Sears at the time the original Kenmore warranty expired. If the Sears repairman would have caught that the control panel wasn't getting to the broiler element back in April it would have been covered under warranty. Now, of course the entire thing is out of warranty. I'm going to call Sears & raise H@ly H@ll but I doubt it will do any good.

Anyway, I've given the green light to Jeff to fix the range. He said all of the parts, today's repair service call, & installation of the new parts is only going to cost about $493. Sears had quoted me almost $1K for just a control panel back in April.

Lessons learned....

1.) If it doesn't feel right, it probably isn't. Make a service call even if it costs a few dollars. If I would have called Sears about the preheating issue immediately after installation...well, I wouldn't have this problem today.

2.) Consider using your local appliance store for purchases & service rather than the large box stores. They have a reason to be upfront & accurate since they'll sit next to you in church on Sunday & stand in line behind you afterwards at Dunkin Donuts. They are members of your community & it's in their best interests not to jerk you around.

3.) Exhibit some patience. I almost ordered a new stove on Sunday. I didn't like anything as well as the one I've already got but it seemed easier than fixing this one. Now, I'm going to get to keep my range & I'm out only out $500.

I'm happy. Jeff said my stove should last a long time & that the control board will be warranted, by them, for the next five years.

/tricia

The sad thing is I don't think we have any local appliance stores left in town...maybe one. They have all gone out of business. When the major applicance companies started selling to the big box stores, they couldn't survive.

I must defend my local Sears repair men. I have had good luck and get very prompt service.

Great news. AND a great price. Shoot you can hardly get anybody to come to the house to do anything for under 100.00 so I think you're getting a "bargain". Hang onto that repairman!!

Grace

Tricia,
This article seems to have been written just for you!

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/14/nyregion/new-jersey/14Rhome.html?_r=1