It’s good to have an Easy-Bake Oven around for those times when you want to serve a tiny, partially baked cake-like product to your parents or little sister. The last thing you want, though, is another appliance cluttering the counter. Kenmore has solved that problem with a built-in fridge model with light bulbs that stay on even when the door is shut—and explode when you try to unscrew them! Okay, the exploding glass part is maybe not so convenient.

Porter writes that even though he found similar online stories from other owners of the same Kenmore model, when he called Kenmore they acted as if he was speaking gibberish.

I opened our 2-year-old high-end Kenmore French door refrigerator and noticed the butter on the top shelf was all melted and other foods on the top shelf were warm. On further investigation I figured out both interior lights stayed on when the door was shut, and had apparently been a problem for a while, and heating up the unit. They melted the plastic lens/light cover and bubbled the top of the unit. When I pulled the cover off the light I saw the sockets were burned and smoking. The problem was there was no way to turn them off without unplugging the fridge, which was very difficult since it is built in. I ended up trying to unscrew the lights using a kitchen towel (they were VERY HOT) but there must have been moisture in the towel, as the bulbs exploded when I touched them.

I researched the problem on the net and found many other narratives of the same problem, it turns out it is not an uncommon problem with that model. My wife called Kenmore and talked to multiple cust serv reps and supervisors, all said they have never heard of such a problem, and there is no manufacturer’s defect, or known problem. My wife insisted they come out and repair it. After multiple calls, and single minded insistence that they come out and fix it, Kenmore agreed to send someone out, but we had to agree to pay for the service call “if the technician did not find a defect” We agreed, knowing we were right.

The service tech came out and laughed at the CSR’s. He said it is such a common problem that Kenmore had developed a “kit” to repair it, it is a collection of all the parts that are needed to fix it, so the service tech does not have to order all parts individually. He was happy to order the kit, and made it clear he would make sure there was no charge.

Porter sent us some photos of what the fridge looked like, which we’ll post here to help provide training resources for any Kenmore CSRs who think the bulb problem is imaginary.

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