The summits are corroding away - I’d want to see a longer warranty and product improvements if I ever purchase again

[Ken-Canada]

I’m well into the restoration on my summit 620. Now that I’ve removed the cookbox and bottom panel, even more corrosion has been revealed.

Pretty much all structural components, the cookbox, the burners, and the manifold have failed.

Comparativley, napoleon offers a 15 year bumper to bumper warranty on their premium BBQs
- but the only part Weber warrantied was my cookbox. My bbq is 12 years old.

Here’s some pics of what’s shot!

It’s too bad - it’s such a great product but failing on durability. In Canada it now costs almost $4k to buy a similar product, but you’d be nuts to buy it at that price point for a product that will rot out in 10 years (I have pictures from 2 years ago of the bottom panel starting to crumble).

I think a lot of the problems trace back to design - it seems rain is getting into the cookbox - especially when it expands which they seem prone to do. And then the rain pools at the bottom and slowly eats away at the bottom and side panels. I would concede that the burners and possibly the manifold are legitimate wear and tear, but the panels simply should not be disintegrating! Maybe I’m preaching to the choir here.

I think it’s fair to expect a minimum 15+ year life span on structural components. And I think they are failing based on both the materials they used and the design that tends to allow the rain to pool below. So although they warranty the cookbox, they don’t warranty the damage caused by the water damage that the damaged cookbox caused. You’d think they should cover the damage caused by warrantied components that failed, wouldn’t you?

Best they seem to be able to offer is parts at a 20% discount. I think they are still making a healthy profit at that discount - generally items like this carry a 50% margin for manufacturers. It doesn’t seem right that they are using this flawed premium priced product to generate more margin.

Here’s some pics from what my disassembly / reassembly revealed.

And over and above that, they seem quite disorganized. I ordered a replacement manifold. They said it shipped April 4th but it never arrived. I asked them Monday where it was, followed up a few times since, and finally they advised today that they made a shipping error and it didn’t ship. To make it more frustrating, now they are out of stock.

So there you have my vent! I was over my disappointment until I pulled out the bottom panel and saw how bad the other panels are + learning that they dropped the ball on my manifold order. I wouldn’t have been as disappointed about the manifold if they could have answered in one email vs taking multiple notes to sort out.

Maybe my expectations are just too high, but for a premium brand and it’s most premium line, I expected more.

 

[LMichaels]

Weber has really dropped the ball on high end customers. It's one reason I will not buy a new one ever again. My Summit was the last time

 

[Chris Allingham]

Yes, it's hard to be proud of Weber when you see photos like this. It's also hard to understand how a storage enclosure with an enclosed bottom can be a good idea, unlike the original Summit with an open wire rack storage enclosure.

For the last 10 years, I've been fortunate to keep my 2002 Summit 450 out of direct weather. From 2002 - 2013, when my grill lived in the elements, I would put on the Weber cover + a tarp and long bungee cord. The tarp covered the grill just to below the work surfaces, with the enclosure covered by just the Weber cover, open to the air on the bottom. That tarp did a good job of keeping rain out of the grill, as water can infiltrate through cover seams.

On a related note, I'm always surprised by the number of Weber grills I see left uncovered in the rain. My neighbor does it with his Genesis II and it drives me crazy.

 

[Steve Hoch]

Ken, can't disagree with anything you said. Your criticism of that grill is spot on and definitely warranted given the high price point on those models. I personally didn't know the extent of the problems on Summit grills until after I joined this forum and certainly glad that I have stuck with the Genesis line which is much more durable and less money. It just doesn't make sense.

 

[Ken-Canada]

Ken, can't disagree with anything you said. Your criticism of that grill is spot on and definitely warranted given the high price point on those models. I personally didn't know the extent of the problems on Summit grills until after I joined this forum and certainly glad that I have stuck with the Genesis line which is much more durable and less money. It just doesn't make sense.

Hey Steve. I’ve worked in marketing my entire career and I can’t believe Weber hasn’t stepped in to do something substantial to address - like free replacement of disintegrating parts until the bbq reaches 20 years, or something like that. They’ve really turned off their highest value consumers. And it’s consumers like those on this board that become brand ambassadors and bring new consumers to the franchise.

Extending out the warranty would be a proper and probably inexpensive gesture. How many people would really take them up on it? I’ll bet the redemption wouldn’t be that high on replacement parts, but it would bring confidence back to their premium lineup from brand advocates such as us.

Instead - our collective POV is stay away from their premium lineup. So we either ‘buy down’ or consider alternate brands (like napoleon who places a 15 year bumper to bumper warranty sticker on the lid of their top line).

My wife is a lawyer and thinks a class action would likely succeed, but honestly who has the time or energy for that for something like this. It’s just easier to cut our losses and either restore what we have or replace. But it would sure be nice and reassuring to see Weber step up to the plate and deal with it in a genuine fashion.

I’m surprised word hasn’t spread more about the lasting power of these summits, or maybe it will. This 3rd gen which anecdotally has been the most problematic is just reaching the sweet point on its lifecycle of when things really start to fall apart and maybe word will get around to dealers and so on, and they may steer their customers into something else. I’m in Canada, and I know Napoleon (a Canadian brand) has really grown, maybe that’s partly due to issues like this.

Oh, and on a much lesser concern, they did botch my manifold order. New one is now ordered to replace it, but it’s now out of stock. So it’ll be a bit of a wait. But I got the rest of the job done now.

On the plus side, it’s a night and day improvement in how it’s cooking now with the new cookbox and burner bars (they were really shot). I just hope the side and back panels hold up since they look worse than I expected, but I’ll keep an eye on them. The new manifold will be nice - when you look at my rusted out pic of that, it’s no surprise it has trouble lighting.

 

[LMichaels]

Hell extending the warranty would not even be as important as simply standing behind it! Instead of leaving a customer "in the lurch" because "oh too bad we don't make those parts anymore". "But, here let us give you a phony baloney coupon for a discount" and when you go to use the coupon you find out it's not worth Scott Tissue

 

[Ken-Canada]

Hell extending the warranty would not even be as important as simply standing behind it! Instead of leaving a customer "in the lurch" because "oh too bad we don't make those parts anymore". "But, here let us give you a phony baloney coupon for a discount" and when you go to use the coupon you find out it's not worth Scott Tissue

I know. They are offering 20% discounts on parts which still leaves them with a healthy profit margin.

It’s probably higher than what they charge their dealers for the parts at list price, even with the discount. Given all the known flaws, it’s just not good business.

 

[Jon Tofte]

If anyone from Weber product development is reading this, all I can say is that it is high time for Weber to bring out a grill worthy of the Summit name. The original was a good example, except the crazy idea to use porcelain-plated steel in the firebox, burn-through just waiting to happen. From there it only went downhill. This long running 3rd generation Summit is big, bloated and loaded with gizmos. But where is the quality?

No cabinetry made of painted steel is going to last. Frame legs with casters are also going to rust as well. I get that for an introductory priced Spirit. But for two grand or more, I do not. It's time to build a Summit that will last, with quality materials and less reliance on superficial gadgetry.

 

[Bruce]

I agree Jon. All stainless frame, cabinet. Then the cook box. Do they go back to all aluminum or replace the porcelain coated steel with Stainless?

With a 4 burner Summit currently costing $2700, I would think they build a real premium grill for about $300 more. I am thinking with the reduced calls to customer service and need to send replacement parts out under warranty and the intangible benefit of much higher customer satisfaction and reputation enhancing, the bean counters could find their way to allowing it.

It is not like they are in danger of trampling on the Vieluxe line any longer.

 

[Bill Pudim]

Hey Steve. I’ve worked in marketing my entire career and I can’t believe Weber hasn’t stepped in to do something substantial to address - like free replacement of disintegrating parts until the bbq reaches 20 years, or something like that. They’ve really turned off their highest value consumers. And it’s consumers like those on this board that become brand ambassadors and bring new consumers to the franchise.

Extending out the warranty would be a proper and probably inexpensive gesture. How many people would really take them up on it? I’ll bet the redemption wouldn’t be that high on replacement parts, but it would bring confidence back to their premium lineup from brand advocates such as us.

Instead - our collective POV is stay away from their premium lineup. So we either ‘buy down’ or consider alternate brands (like napoleon who places a 15 year bumper to bumper warranty sticker on the lid of their top line).

My wife is a lawyer and thinks a class action would likely succeed, but honestly who has the time or energy for that for something like this. It’s just easier to cut our losses and either restore what we have or replace. But it would sure be nice and reassuring to see Weber step up to the plate and deal with it in a genuine fashion.

I’m surprised word hasn’t spread more about the lasting power of these summits, or maybe it will. This 3rd gen which anecdotally has been the most problematic is just reaching the sweet point on its lifecycle of when things really start to fall apart and maybe word will get around to dealers and so on, and they may steer their customers into something else. I’m in Canada, and I know Napoleon (a Canadian brand) has really grown, maybe that’s partly due to issues like this.

Oh, and on a much lesser concern, they did botch my manifold order. New one is now ordered to replace it, but it’s now out of stock. So it’ll be a bit of a wait. But I got the rest of the job done now.

On the plus side, it’s a night and day improvement in how it’s cooking now with the new cookbox and burner bars (they were really shot). I just hope the side and back panels hold up since they look worse than I expected, but I’ll keep an eye on them. The new manifold will be nice - when you look at my rusted out pic of that, it’s no surprise it has trouble lighting.

My guess is that the manifold was never in stock, I was told by CS that they were sending a new cookbox for my 05 Summit Platinum, when I followed up on shipping, I was told it was out of stock and discontinued. BTW Broil King also has a 15 year bumper to bumper warranty on their higher end grills.

 

[Ken-Canada]

My guess is that the manifold was never in stock, I was told by CS that they were sending a new cookbox for my 05 Summit Platinum, when I followed up on shipping, I was told it was out of stock and discontinued. BTW Broil King also has a 15 year bumper to bumper warranty on their higher end grills.

Weber really should take note of this thread, their loyalists are telling them something here…

 

[Brett-EDH]

My wife is a lawyer and thinks a class action would likely succeed, but honestly who has the time or energy for that for something like this. It’s just easier to cut our losses and either restore what we have or replace. But it would sure be nice and reassuring to see Weber step up to the plate and deal with it in a genuine fashion.

not arguing here. but curious on what grounds a class action suit will succeed? failure to provide warranty service? nope, Weber does provide warranty service to original owners. selling a product that ages with use? i don't think this holds water, no pun intended. selling a product that wears out just outside the warranty period? well, that's why there's a warranty.

some companies build with planned obsolescence. see General Motors. there are no guarantees in life. just warranties. i struggle to see how any class action suit holds merit or has any legal assertion or grounds.

i am listening. i want to expand my horizons. again, not arguing. but i do get frustrated when people make assertions that have low merit. yeah, we all get frustrated in life when things don't always work out. but not every unhappy event is a class action lawsuit with merit.

 

[Bruce]

Weber really should take note of this thread, their loyalists are telling them something here…

Weber does actively monitor this forum.

 

[Ken-Canada]

not arguing here. but curious on what grounds a class action suit will succeed? failure to provide warranty service? nope, Weber does provide warranty service to original owners. selling a product that ages with use? i don't think this holds water, no pun intended. selling a product that wears out just outside the warranty period? well, that's why there's a warranty.

some companies build with planned obsolescence. see General Motors. there are no guarantees in life. just warranties. i struggle to see how any class action suit holds merit or has any legal assertion or grounds.

i am listening. i want to expand my horizons. again, not arguing. but i do get frustrated when people make assertions that have low merit. yeah, we all get frustrated in life when things don't always work out. but not every unhappy event is a class action lawsuit with merit.

Planned obsolescence vs failed product for the most part I would guess. She’s not a litigator and only has a minimal interest in my bbq woes (unless it won’t light and she needs me to do it, or I’ve burnt her supper). But that was her passing comment when I said the cookbox which is under warranty is causing damage to additional components that aren’t under warranty, and we’ve spent a few hundred on damage that can trace back to the cookbox to restore its functionality.

We would ever invest any time in exploring or pursuing? Not a minute…. But as a long time marketer for premium brands, I’d be really concerned with the issues shared throughout and I’d try to do something to preserve my brand image.

 

[LMichaels]

failure to provide warranty service?

Absolutely! What do you call telling a customer under warranty that "too bad so sad we don't make the part you need under warranty any more"? I call it failing to provide warranty support. But, this whole discussion is making my ulcers burn again. I am voting with my wallet. A new Weber product will never again grace my deck. Oh, I may grab a bargain used one if the mood or the opportunity hits. But will never again plunk down hard earned $$$$ after being left in the lurch. FWIW, I am actually considering just giving up my Genesis and buying a brand new gasser (just because I think I have earned it). It will likely be that new Kirkland product BTW. Why? Not necessarily because I believe it better, but because I feel Costco will support me as a customer

 

[Bruce]

Yah, that's the best way. If you can't work out an issue with a business, then find another business to spend your money with.

 

[John_NJ]

The Weber Summit Kamado seems well built.

 

[Bruce]

I rehabbed one a couple years ago. I did one cook on it before rehabbing it just to say I used one, but I saw nothing that I thought was low quality on it other than the vent. It had that chrome plating on it and it was bubbling and peeling.

 

[John_NJ]

I’ve heard good things about the Walmart Kamado with Bluetooth.

On sale for under $300 I’ve heard.

 

[LMichaels]

Yah, that's the best way. If you can't work out an issue with a business, then find another business to spend your money with.

Exactly. Vote with your feet. I know there is someone on here who works for Weber. Far be it from me to want to "kick the shovel out of his hands". But, money doesn't grow on trees. I'll spend it where I feel it supports me best.