KitchenAid Artisan

We bought a Kitchen Aid 4-slice Artisan, mostly to match all of the other smaller appliances we bought. After 7 uears of faithful service it finally started malfunctioning. The main conplaint it that the replacement product is cheaper, and less 'luxurious,'. The equivalant Kitchen Aid 4-slice toaster is manual and frankly just like any other appliance at half the price. Other than name I see very little motivation to replace with the same brand. Show details

This is the second toaster of the same model we purchased. The first one was just out of warranty when one side stopped working. We purchased another toaster, same model to have the same happen again and out of warranty by 11 months. KitchenAid were emailed and only offered a 10% discount on purchasing another toaster, even after explaining the issues. Show details

Not that good – I bought this toaster to match the KitchenAid kettle because I thought it would look nice, which it does, but I don't think having a matching pair is more beneficial than having a toaster that works better. It toasts bread on the lighter side (and not very evenly) so if you like your toast cremated you'll need to toast it twice. It has a nice… Read more

front panel with easy to read options. 'Keep Warm' and 'Reheat' are especially useful. Everything lights up when in use but the lights stay on for quite some time after toasting. Doesn't seem to be a particularly useful feature to see that you've used the toaster ten minutes later.

The slots are wide and the lowering/raising mechanism is all automatic and works well.

The biggest annoyance with this appliance is the very audible 'beep'. It beeps when you press start and it beeps when it's finished (double the beeps if you're using both sides) which would be fine if it wasn't so ridiculousy loud. There is no option to turn the beep off or change the loudness - it's just on. It is also the most commonly complained about thing and when reading other reviews, this complaint has been ongoing for about 8 years. Seems like another thing KitchenAid aren't interested in changing for their customers and I'm referring to the lid on their matching kettle.

I'd love to love this toaster but it cost too much to have a beep that frightens the living daylights out of you when someone is using it.

A really great toaster. Initially had issues but they resolved on their own – Updated 24/11/21: Upgraded from 4 to 5 stars. It initially had issues with not toasting properly. But for whatever reason these issues seem to have resolved themselves and it now produces perfect toast every time! All in all now it is working properly it is fantastic! In my opinion it is worth the premium price. Original review: My wife really… Read more

likes this toaster, however, she likes her toast near black whereas I like my toast lightly brown and still soft in the middle. For some reason, no matter what darkness setting it is put on the toast comes out only just warm and certainly not hot. I am entirely sure how they pull that one off?! But it also means that that instead of being nice and soft on the inside and crunchy on the outside, the inside has the texture of stale bread! (This is primary/only reason why I don't like it very much)

Good points: - It looks great. - The controls (including the toast darkness) are on the front and are digital which means that my wife and I can both have our toast the level we want. - Progress bar. While it gives no actual time, you can get a feel for how long is left by the progress bar. For me that is all I want so I quite like it. - Digital toast darkness control! No more arguments about who may have accidentally nudged dial slightly closer to 3 causing the first fire of the morning! :-) - Electronic insertion/popup (while it is something to potentially go wrong I actually quite like it) - The toast seems to finish at the same time regardless of darkness setting. I haven’t tested this fully on any other setting than 4 (mine) and 5 (my wife’s) but there isn’t much in it. - Online ordering. We purchased directly from Kitchenaid and it was very smooth and convenient process.

Room for improvement: - No matter how dark the toast is set to it always seems to come out luke-warm. (Kinda the biggie for me. I would probably give it 5/5 otherwise) - On the first run toasting darkness can be very patchy across the slice. - Colouring, we really wanted the toaster colour scheme to match the kettle we brought at the same time but apparently Kitchenaid are notorious for not matching the colours well between ranges. In the end we decided that matching our colour scheme was not as important as saving $20. We went with blue for the toaster as it was cheaper than the nearest (not very close) matching colour to the kettle!

Underrated by consumers – Firstly, let me state I read the reviews prior to purchase. Even went so far as watch a YouTube clip on the toaster. I understand everyone has something that bothers them ie. noisy-beeping when toast is ready or too long on timing. Anyway, after much deliberation, we purchased the Artisan, in the silver colour, been using it for a few months now.… Read more ·  2

This has become a major appliance in our home. It looks great, makes perfect toast and does crunch. The advance technology of placing bread/crumpet crookedly, the slices are caged in and straightened. No more angled or part toasted slices. You have the usual temperature control, though this is all LED display. Toasts usual time, not as seen where a client timed and took near 7 min. Simple to use and well worth the cost. Would I recommend, Yes. As stated, have been using for a few months and have had no issue. Toast still the same as day one. Previous toasters we have purchased, after a while toast on one side and in patches. They were never inexpensive toasters, but let downs. Well worth the cost. Do yourselves a favour, if looking to purchase this item, look around and compare prices as this too helps.

Great functionality.. auto toaster – Was replacing another unit I had for some time however 2 slices instead of 4 This unit provided all the features I was looking for So far very happy with my purchase Show details

Save Your Money – After 12 months of use - not happy. Very slow. Uneven toasting - side to side and top to bottom. Excessively loud beep when you start and stop. Won't toast an English Muffin - have to put it in twice. My Kmart $19 toaster does a better job - this thing is nearly 10 times the price !! Update: I contacted KitchenAid, listed the problems and… Read more

stated that as a toaster it was not fit for purpose. KitchenAid responded with a code to take to the retailer for a replacement/refund. I took this to the retailer and swapped the KitchenAid toaster for a Breville toaster. Much better - very happy.

I would suggest others that are not happy with this product do the same.

After a year….not worth the price – After owning this toaster for a year, and I feel like giving it a good run for its money. I wouldn’t buy this toaster again. It barely toasts on five, and is toast, very unevenly, but my major issue is that it just dries the bread out completely even without the bread being very toasted even has just a nice golden brown. The bread is so dry that… Read more

it makes eating toast very unpleasant. Don’t waste your money on the KitchenAid toaster. I would literally just buy one from Kmart.

Worlds slowest toaster – This toaster is fraudulent. Artisan? well it's pretty but wont toast artisan bread any better than a much cheaper toaster. It wont toast a decent sourdough even on the highest setting, you have to take it out and do it again. The crumpet function doesn't work either. I could have saved $100 and bought a good old sunbeam. Show details

Worst toaster I have ever had – This toaster looks good, appears well made and has the automated motorised slice lowering feature which makes it apparently appealing. No matter what the setting, you never know if it is going to burn the bread, toast it properly or not at all. Also one side is always more toasted than the second. It is a total waste of money Show details

It beeps loud enough to wake up my wife – How do I disable the beep without voiding the warranty? My partner just woke up because I made toast. I would please like to turn off the beeper. Twenty-nine, thirty, thirty-one words. Your web form is difficult.

Blows the safety switch – I went for a KitchenAid toaster hoping that a top tier brand would toast the bread evenly. Unfortunately the money seems to go into lots of features and not into the basics of toasting. This KitchenAid model 5AKMT223CU was slow to toast and uneven. After 18 months of having to monitor the toasting and turn the bread over half way, the unit began… Read more

to set off the residual current circuit breaker (safety switch) whenever it was used. No amount of shaking out crumbs would fix this. I replaced this with a relatively inexpensive Sunbeam unit that toasts both sides the same without fuss. The Sunbeam does not have a crumpet feature so the inner and outer heating elements are identical. Oh and my email to marketing@kitchenaid.com.au went unanswered.

VERY disappointing performance - Don't buy – Bought this toaster to go with other Kitchen Aid appliances. Have good experiences with other appliances. Toaster has needed to be turned off to reset frequently. Fails to work most of the time with bread just being transported up and down multiple times then stops. Reset by turn off appliance, wait a couple of minutes, then turn back on and… Read more

problem fixes about 50% of the time. And is getting worse with time.

Very disappointing from an appliance that works no better - indeed worse - than one one tenth of the price. Would not recommend

AVOID – Purchased the four slice toaster which was not cheap. Worked well until the on/off switch on one side failed. Could not get a replacement and sparkies would'nt touch it. I gave up and discarded it to the dustbin. There is no way I would buy another KA toaster when I can buy a 2 slice toaster from Big W for seven Au$. What a disapointment. Paul Neilands Show details

I absolutely love it – I have had my artisan toaster for a couple of years now. I did have a fault and it was returned and replaced. One side stopped working within a month or so of purchase. However, since then, the replacement has been brilliant. It looks gorgeous, and the digital setting makes it simple to change as needed. My daughters like warm bread so use around… Read more

setting 3, whereas I like toast on about 5, and my husband likes to burn his so it's on the highest setting. It can get stuck if you are not careful, particularly with larger pieces of bread. If it does not come up easily, the toaster will keep going up and down trying to dislodge it. Overall, far too expensive, but very happy with this purchase.

chinese junk – Middle element becomes so hot they burn, while outer elements hardly heat at all. Kitchen aid was once a trusted brand who made quality products. The brand has now become little more than an deceptive disguise to sell overpriced Chinese junk.  Show details

WONDERFUL – I have had this toaster for about 10 years, without any problems. Toasts well. Love it!! I am looking for another one. Used white, whole wheat and bagels in toaster . No problems at all.  Show details

DO NOT BUY - Common recurring fault, yet they keep selling these !?! – KitchenAid DO NOT stock the parts required to repair the electronics when this toaster fails. We lasted 3 years, but others have experienced this KNOWN FAULT after only 2 weeks. Show details

Very Happy With This Toaster – We are very happy with this Toaster, now about 3 years old and has never missed a beat. Love the feature of the electronic dials that give consistent toasting results. It would seem that some others haven't had the same experience, however I am buying another one of these for our second home. We also have the matching kettle.

Second replacement...this one doesn’t work at first use. Buy something else! – We have now had 3 of these toasters and the latest replacement failed on its first use. The first one lasted a few months, then one side stopped working. The replacement lasted longer but then started blowing the fuse at the power board. I took that one back to David Jones and they were embarrassed to tell me that they could not replace it but… Read more

had to send it back to Kitchenaid to have it looked at. Almost a month later, yes a month, they conceded it was faulty and gave me a new one 3 days ago. I used this one today for the first time. Toasted four slices of plain white bread and when it finished the toast raised, went back down, raised, went back down and stayed back down. The elements were not on but it beeped several times and then the display showed ‘8’ on both sides and the start buttons flashed. I turned it off, then on and the same thing happened. I am taking it back today and want my money back. Do not buy this toaster! Surely 3 faulty ones is not a coincidence!

Makes the best toast – I always thought toast is just toast. But somehow the KitchenAid makes perfect toast - evenly browned and crispy. Works well with regular and raisin bread. Maybe its a bit slower than other toasters I have had, but worth the wait Show details

Terrible after Sales Service – Bought the toaster direct from KitchenAid 15 August 2020 and it went OK for a little over one month. Then it simply blew the house fuse each time it was tried. (Had little use until then as used only every 2nd day and was clean and still as new) Contacted KitchenAid via their website to see about a fix to the problem. Other than a generic… Read more

response on 26 September advising the matter will be followed up within 15 working days have not heard anything.

Another contact was made 22 October 2020 alluding to the unsatisfactory response and seeking some resolution to the problem. Again received only the same exact generic response saying I will be contacted within 15 working days.

This is totally unsatisfactory for a supposedly reputable retailer/ supplier and I note their website does not even have a provision to make/ lodge a complaint.

Surprisingly or unsurprisingly have received numerous contacts from them to sell me their other products, but nothing to fix the problem, and I would avoid any future business with them at all costs.

Seems my next course of action is with Fair Trading.

Warning! Do not buy if you have a pet – I have had an awful experience after buying this toaster in August 2020. The loud beeping noise is extremely distressing to my dog and wakes up other household members. It is not possible to disable the beep sound. I am still currently trying to get in contact with Kitchenaid to return and have sent emails , online forms and spend literally hours… Read more

on hold in an attempt to speak to someone about a refund. It feels like a deliberate attempt to prevent the opportunity for returns as I have seen a number of unhappy customer reviews to this effect.

Very disappointed, dry toast and crumpets – I bought this direct from the KitchenAid website as they had the colour that I wanted, Pistachio. I already have a KitchenAid Stand Mixer in this colour so ordering both the Toaster and the Kettle completed the set. I so wanted to love this toaster... but very disappointed. The very loud beep when it begins and ends is annoying. The toast takes a… Read more

long time to cook and to us the bread is very dry when it is finished. I usually cook bread on setting 4 then put it down again for a little while to get it to how I like it, but setting 5 is too dark. Of course I would like a 4 1/2 setting but that isn't available! Crumpet cooking is terrible. Again takes ages and then it is dry and no longer soft inside. The toaster itself is very pretty, sturdy, easy to clean but doesn't do the job to our liking. Love the Kettle and Stand Mixer.... not this toaster though. A high price to pay for a product which has left us wanting and disappointed.

Made in China – After having a Kitchenaid Mixer for 20yrs without a single issue I decided to try out one of their toasters as every other brand of toaster is useless. Well turns out the Kitchenaid is no different, does everything other than what it was intended to do. Looks good but can't make toast! Turns out the mixer I own was made in the USA and the toaster… Read more

is made in China. Enjoy your short term profits Kitchenaid because in the long term your company name is going down the drain.