Maryville woman pushing for recall after oven door explodes, 900+ complaints filed

MARYVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — A Maryville woman thought a gunshot was fired through her kitchen window recently, only to discover her glass oven door had shattered.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission has received over 900 reports of glass oven doors exploding since 2018. No serious injuries have been reported, but Lisa Hutsell, a registered nurse, is pushing for a recall.

The outside glass door to Hutsell’s kitchen stove spontaneously shattered one night two months ago.

“We were just hanging out in the living room. My oven had not been on. My stove had not been on since noon. All of a sudden we hear a great big bang,” said Hutsell.

“We were like, ‘oh my gosh, what was that? What was that?’ We all stood up. I went directly to the window because I thought it was a gunshot coming through my window, it was that loud,” she said.

That’s when she realized, her oven door’s glass had shattered.

“And glass was just all over the place. It was just everywhere. It was inside the door,” said Hutsell. When asked if someone in the house could have accidentally hit the glass weakening it, she responded, “Oh, absolutely not. No one had been near it. It hadn’t been on.”

The stove is a Frigidaire model. Hutsell has never had any trouble with it.

“This is about four years old. We don’t use it very often either because I’m not a good cook,” said Hutsell.

She contacted Frigidaire’s customer service department.

“The first question – was anyone hurt? Well, no, but I have researched this and it has happened multiple times, to multiple people. Are you not going to do a recall? They said, ‘no, we don’t have a recall in place.’ Then I said can anyone come out and fix it?” said Hutsell.

Frigidaire offered to send Hutsell a replacement glass but at her cost. Her husband made the repair after paying $153 for the glass.

“I just think, one they should recall it and try to figure out exactly what the problem is. If there was a small child they could have easily been hurt,” said Hutsell.

Frigidaire’s parent company, Electrolux, said glass failures in oven doors are infrequent. However, when there’s a failure it can be caused by imperfections or damage during use. Electrolux also said all Frigidaire ovens are required to use tempered or “safety” glass that’s designed to break into fragments.

“It’s happened like this multiple times. People will be away from their stove and they hear a big bang thinking it is a gunshot and it’s the glass shattering,” said Hutsell.

While there has been no recall of the shattering glass doors, the Consumer Product Safety Commission is aware of the problem. Several complaints about Frigidaire’s stove and other brand-named ovens experiencing the same issue can be found on SaferProducts.gov .

“It would be nice if they would figure out what is causing it and at least replace it for free,” said Hutsell.

Despite the 900+ complaints involving the glass shattering, not only on Frigidaire ovens but other brands as well, the appliances are not listed on the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s recall list. Experts say some of the reasons why oven glass may spontaneously explode include: damage during transit, improper installation, or manufacturing errors.

At home, you can protect yourself by making sure to never bump or scratch your oven glass, and always push the metal racks to the back. Experts also say if you spot damage to an appliance, stop using it.

If the glass on your oven unexpectedly shatters, whatever the model, report the issue to SaferProducts.gov , or, call the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s toll-free hotline number at 800 638 2772.

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