Breville Ikon BTA550 / CT70

Breville - you should be embarrased – What a disaster. Not sure why Breville are able to get away with making toasters that have had the identical issue for years and years. This toaster suffers from the identical failures of multiple versions - including later ones - The lift and look does not work, was the first to fail - The toast does not stay down and ejects well before… Read more

it finishes.

- the toast is not evenly toasted

- the toaster has an incredibly short life span, more of what you would expect from a cheap and nasty $10 (max life < 3 years).

Why wasn't it recalled and more unbelievable; why do they continue to release multiple models with identical issues:

see reviews on current model Breville Lift & Look Pro BTA720 / BTA730

My previous Breville lasted 20+ years ( and still works) - this didn't even make its third birthday.

DO NOT EVER BUY A TOASTER FROM BREVILLE.

BTA550A (long version). Won't stay down – Toaster does cook toast but won't stay down.. Unlike some others I quite like the beep - I like to get the toast out hot. If it makes it that far... because it won't stay down - pops up randomly. If you don't get the beeps, you know it hasn't finished. Then you put it down again and burn your toast. If it stays down, but it usually pops up… Read more

again. Did I mention that? And the popping up novelty is getting worse over the years. Thanks Breville.

Disappointed – I have the same problem as many reviewers. After 19 months very light use, the lever won't stay down. This means I have to stay with the toaster, holding the lever down, in order to cook the toast. Makes that whiny, annoying and LOUD buzzer at the end even worse when you haven't even had a chance to put any distance between it and you. … Read more

This toaster retails at $80.

Really, it could be expected to last longer than 19 months. My previous toaster ($20) lasted 25 years.

I have emailed Breville via their site and will be pursuing this further with them - it seems this is NOT an isolated problem and it's just not good enough. I'm going to look into the Consumer Laws surrounding warranties - there is an implied warranty which may be applicable here. Looks good, did a good job of toasting, liked being able to 'lift & look' without disturbing cooking time Infernal buzzer to alert end of cooking - really, WHY??? At least give the ability to TURN IT OFF. Doesn't work properly now after only 19 months.

All the bells and whistles, well beeps! Fantastic – I bought this model in a four slice a few weeks ago from our local Breville outlet store, and it is simply lovely to look at, and probably the best toaster I have ever owned. It's got a lovely stainless steel finish, a digital timer, that beeps, maybe a few beeps to many at the end of the toasting cycle, you can digitally select the time you want,… Read more

and raise the toast whilst cooking to check it if you want without stopping the toasting cycle. It has a button to cancel which is lite up in blue, and a button for wider toast functions such as crumpets. The usual defrost and toast and all in all it's just a lovely model.

Best of all, and this one replaces a Russell Hobbs toaster, it has a smooth right to the edge top plate so no crumbs can get caught up and build up in the top grove like its predecessor. The crumb tray is very easy to open and empty.

Excellent toaster. Thank you Breville well thought design. shinny and looks very modern It dosnt wash up

Easiest To Clean Toaster – I went on a mission to find the easiest to clean toaster and I found it! Took a while as I physically had to go and check them out to see how easy it would be to clean. This one has smooth, streamlined edging and design. No crumbs get caught in the top (like almost all toasters on the market!). With this one, crumbs drop straight down onto the… Read more ·  1

'catching tray' as there is no where for them to catch at the top. A quick wipe of this sleek toaster and I have a beautiful clean look to it again.

It beeps when the toast is ready which is great because I can leave the room and forget I've put toast in and even upstairs I can hear it when it beeps to let me know that the toast is ready! Great with a noisy family of five! It has different settings but we mainly use the first 1, 2 or 3 settings as the others aren't really even needed. It has a fantastic defrosting function which I use quite often as we freeze bread when we buy several loaves. It has extra wide slots for crumpets and muffins which are truly extra wider than the average toaster. This was another feature I definitely was after in a toaster. Truly wider slots, defrost button, super easy to clean, strong and robust design & build - good for our rougher teenager!, beeps when toast is cooked to remind you if you leave the room. Nothing - we love this toaster!

Good family sized toaster – Some toasters don't handle wide bread and crumpets very well. This one is pretty good. It has a lot of variable settings, and can deliver 4 pieces of toast which is good when everyone wants toast at once. It also cooks pop tarts well. One feature I like about it is it makes a beep when the toast has popped up. That's handy if you're off doing… Read more

something else - keeps you on track. No complaints. It doesn't catch or burn toast. Beeps to remind you the toast is done.

fantastic – I have had many cheap toasters, none of them had a crumpet function worth talking about. I saw this one and wondered if paying a bit extra(well, a lot extra actualy) would get me nicely toasted crumpets. It did! This has never overcooked one side. I thought the LCD was a bit over the top, but it works well, and has a sleep function if you… Read more

forget to turn it off at the wall.

Best of all, when you set this toaster to 4 it cooks to the same level every time, the following slices dont get progresivly darker as you go.

The audible warning is a nice touch. looks good, works great pricey

Best Toaster I have ever had – Very sleek toaster, tell you when the toast is ready, and how long to go countdown indicater on the LED screen. Has a lift and look feature so you can monitor and make sure you are not going to burn your slice of bread, and very convenient feature when making crumpets. LED Indicator, Sound alarms when toast is ready Nothing

Disappointed – Purchased a Breville toaster thinking ti would be a good choice but found that at the start all was well bu now we are having problems with the Toaster popping up too early, I must admit it has gone past the use by date, most components are made these days to last for a short time so the dollar keeps going around  Show details

Worst toaster I have ever bought & terrible after sales service – After purchasing this toaster I will never buy another Breville product. It cost $150 and didn't toast properly. On one side the toast would be cooked, but completely uncooked on the other. I contacted Breville 3 times to report and see if they could swap over but never heard back. I threw it away and purchased an unbranded toaster from Kmart for $25 which works perfectly.

Rubbish – Rubbish. Went wrong one month after 2 years. Warranty period was one year. As others have said, won't hold down. I will never buy an expensive toaster again. Repurchased a $35 BigW toaster with a two year warranty. Don't care if it goes wrong after two years and one month.

Terrible – cooking uneven, spring broke inside so toast does not popup, u have to change toast settings as after first batch it will burn second batch. all control displays rubbed off with sponge and water.

One side of my toast perfectly cooked – Purchased the 4 slice toaster early last year from The Good Guys. Put on my toast for breakfast - one side perfectly cooked, the other side still perfectly raw. Inside grills worked, but the outside grills have burnt out without warning, as I used it yesterday and all seemed well. Very disappointed given it is one of the more expensive toasters on the market.

Once upon a time, I purchased all my applianced from Breville... no longer the case – Great toaster while it lasted. Generally, it was well designed. It has recently faulted and the middle grills no longer work. I suspect the copper wire has been designed to burn out after the warranty period – as other reports have suggested. It is a shame that products are now manufactured to fault and be replaced; a business model that merely contributes to unnecessary waste.

Still working after light use – I've had the problem of the lever not staying down once. I hope it doesn't return. Otherwise I love all the features on my four slice model: lift & look, crumpet, and digital display. The beep is great; it means I can get the butter on ASAP so it melts.

Never buy any breville toaster again – Given as a wedding gift, had an issue from the start with not toasting both sides, tracked the recipe down from the giver. Took back unit replaced, same issue with next one. Took it back 3rd time seemed ok.. All that time and 1 month out of warranty and now it won't hold bread down.. You think BREVILLE would even acknowledge the ongoing issue with… Read more

these toasters.. NO...

I love my Breville jug but when it gives up I will vote again with my feet and walk towards another brand, same with my sandwich press that will not be Breville. One way or another they will learn that if you don't give good products and service people won't buy your rubbish products

Frustrating expensive experience – Worked fantastic for about 4 months and then the problems started. Toasting uneven, settings do not produce constant result. Great looking unit but a pity longevity is not a feature of this toaster. Now out of warranty by a couple of months and the center element is dead. Breville absolutely no help. Out of warranty, do not Keep any parts for… Read more

toasters - considered a disposable consumer appliance. Very poor of Breville to not support their own toasters at all.

My recommendation: look for another brand but it is hard to find a good quality toaster in this country. Not convinced even those selling for $170-249 are any better!

Breville "ICON" BTA550 Junk Toaster – I was lucky to get just over 12 months out of this over priced piece of junk before the lever gave out and wouldn't stay down. On top of that it when it did stay down, maybe 1 in 5 times it started blowing the fuse in my house. What a piece of junk. After 18 months of owning this thing I have had enough. Its the last Breville appliance I will… Read more

ever buy. My last toaster, a cheap kmart one, lasted over 10 years.

Sorry forgot to mention. The toasting was rarely consistent. ie toasting on number 5 one time was not the same as number 5 the next time. Especially if you toasted one after the other, I got used to turning it down a notch or two to stop it from burning the next batch.

A toaster that beeps – This is a cheap toaster (about $50) - 2 slices at a time and relatively small slices at that. (ie standard square loaf). Its primary function is to toast and it does that well. It has a countdown dial (a bit if a gimmick really) which seems surplus on an automatic toaster. It also beeps 4 times when it has toasted - and this is extremely annoying.… Read more

No quiet toast in the morning without the house being raised as the particular pitch sends the dogs into a frenzy. Toasts well, small footprint The beeping when it finishes toasting

Over priced good looking toaster – This was a gift so unfortunately could not return it immediately. You would think toasting was an easy thing to get right, a $20 kmart toaster worked better than this. Very inconsistent results and often burnt on edges but not toasted all over. Makes an annoying beeping sound. After about 2 years, fails to lock down easily and pops up early before toasting over. A terrible purchase looks good poor durability, poor results, annoying beeping sound

Issues after 24 months - Disappointed – Display of minutes setting playing up. Now 1, 2 or 8 or 9 work, nothing inbetween. I expected this product to last 5 years. Other than that no issues with even toasting or with the handle. This item was purchased from David Jones and is now out of warranty. Do not recommend to buy! Ability to see count down of toasting time (when it works) Display count down and design

Breville = Rubbish – Breville are clearly designing appliances that don't last and don't work. It doesn't toast evenly and pops up within 30 seconds even on an 8 setting. We contacted Breville who would not offer a repair nor replacement because an $84 toaster is expected to breakdown after 12 months and we were 4 months past this. Breville's response was to let us… Read more

buy another toaster for $60. There's throwing good money after bad. Avoid them like the plague!

doesn't toast evenly, doesn't toast for the right amount of time, planned obsolescence in products

Not a long term purchase – I purchase this item 17 months ago from Brevilles factory ebay shop, this item only lasted 14 months before the handle will not stay down, it started not staying down every now and again and now its impossible. I rang Breville with proof of purchase, but this is not a repairable item and because it was out of warranty they offered me a special… Read more

replacement price of $62.

When you spend this kind of money on a toaster you would expect it to last much longer than this. also expect more from Breville customer support.

prob the only good thing about this product is its looks. crumpet mode lift and look, looks great. handle will not stay stay down

One job – Has 9 settings, settings 1 and 2 do very little, setting 3 starts to burn normal bread, every other setting results in smoke. Toasts unevenly in every way you can imagine (each side, on the same side, per slice). There is a very different outcome depending on how long it's been since you used it. For example setting 2 may burn the toast if… Read more

it's already heated up.

Knob is fiddly, numbers are not evenly spaced as you turn the knob, knob turns freely and does not 'settle' on any of the settings meaning it's easy to skip over numbers. The numbers of the settings appear to be in different physical positions depending on which way you turn the knob (poor electronic design).

Fails at it's one job. Looks good. Toasts unevenly, burns toasts, settings 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 are unusable.

Breville - Built to last...said no one ever! – My review is the same as others, uneven cooking/burning, pull down lever won't stay down, lift and look feature only worked a few times... I would expect this shonky quality from a no frills brand, but not when paying good money for a well known appliance manufacturer. Won't bother buying Breville products again.

Disappointing – We bought the Breville Ikon as recommended by Choice. It has been awful for uneven toasting, requiring us to watch and rotate the bread. Now, after two years, it is unusable, burning one edge to a crisp whilst the rest is completely untoasted. Disappointing, especially due to how much it cost and it was recommended by Choice. Good display, countdown Toasts unevenly, got worse over time

Rubbish product – Have bought this item twice & boths time the pull down leaver would not stay down after about 14 months of use since purchase date. Can't be repaired..told to get a new one. I reckon it is a purposely built design flaw to make you get another one!! Fool me once but twice!....never again when it works it works well Faulty pull down mechanism after 13/14 months of use

Burns your bread – I should have took heed of previous reviews. I've had this toaster for about a month now and tried toasting all sorts of bread (sourdough, fruit bread, supermarket white bread) and the results are the same: charcoal edges and under toasted in the middle. I almost always have to scrape burnt edges off each piece of bread I toast. Really unhappy with the performance of this toaster! Nice design Does not toast evenly, burns edges.

Took it back after a day – Disappointing from the first slice of toast. Set on 4 as per instructions and it burnt one side and barely cooked the other. Turned down setting to 3 and barely coloured the bread. Several slices and experimenting didn't alter the fact that it was not toasting as it should. Was ready to love this toaster, had all the features and looked amazing,… Read more

shame it can't do it's primary function correctly, especially as we had splurged on the price. Looks, functions, 2 long slots for larger slices of bread. Can't cook toast properly, burnt one side, uncooked the other.

Blew up - do not buy!!! – Was checking the lift and look today and BANG the whole thing blew up with a huge bang and big spark. Tripped the power. Silly me can't find the receipt - even though it's only about 6 months old. Pathetic and never toasted very well anyway. I would advise everyone to steer clear of this one. Not much Blew up, toasted unevenly

Always a little bit burnt – I was nervous buying this toaster after the mixed reviews but choice rated it highly so I did. It's been two weeks and I want to return it. I can cope with the annoying beep and even the fact that the lift feature doesn't lift high enough to actually inspect a short piece of bread. What I cant stand is how appalling uneven a job it does of… Read more

toasting. Every piece of toast has burnt edges at the same time as another part has no colour at all. It's just useless.

P.s. while I wrote this review I let the ikon burn another piece of toast, and found it lying on the bench - I don't think i've ever had a toaster evict a slice so forcefully before! Two long slots Toasts unevenly. Lift function doesn't lift high enough to stop you burning fingers when getting small bits of toast out. Annoying beep.

Doesn't last long – We have had this toaster for 2 years and lately the pull down lever for the toaster won't stay down. It started happening occasionally but now it is totally stuffed where it just won't stay down anymore. So to toast a slice of bread I have to pull and hold it down until the bread is toasted. Given the price of the toaster it should have lasted… Read more

longer than just 2 years.

I called Breville customer support to find out if it was possible to get it repaired as it must be a minor issue instead I got told to buy a replacement as it cannot be repaired. I won't be buying another Breville toaster again. Looked good Product failed earlier than expected. Bad warranty service

Sounds Like a Truck Reversing – This toaster is fine - apart from the ridiculous beeping when the toast is ready. How far does the average person stray after they've put a piece of bread in the toaster? There's enough loud beeping to reach you at your nextdoor neighbour's. It's a piercing tone like that of a truck reversing. "Warning! Toast is ready!!" Too bad for anyone still… Read more

sleeping while you're making an early breakfast. Not recommended if you live in a flat/apartment, however is excellent for those in a large house that like to run away during the toasting process.

One beep would suffice. Appearance, wide slots, quick toasting Extended beeping

Best toaster we ever had! – Toaster has nice adjustable blue digital display 1-9 via a round knob. It can be adjusted during operation and has a blinking countdown ring around the number. It has extra buttons for keep warm and crumpet settings. You can lift the lever to inspect during toasting without interrupting cycle. Takes large thick slices and toasts pretty even. … Read more

Display goes too sleep after set time of no use.

Overall very high tech and impressive unit. high tech presentation and very advanced and good looking compared to others