KitchenAid 5KFC3511AER (Empire Red)

Poorly designed – The black controls are attached to the clear plastic lid with a very flimsy connection. A part of the connection broke after very little use meaning that the controls no longer stay in place. They fall off each time I move the appliance lid and have to be constantly re-positioned. I've looked at the new model while considering a replacement and although the lid/control design has changed it seems to be equally flimsy. Show details

Not particularly robust – This was one of the most used machines in my kitchen. great for quickly chopping an onion or making guacamole. Pretty easy to sue, only two speeds and a simple pulse action switch. All going well UNTIL you drop the lid. It's SOOOO FRAGILE that the buttons on the lid pop off, spring fly everywhere never to be seen again, and replacement part are non existent. On turning the machine over, KitchenAid USA is now "MADE IN CHINA"  Show details

Terrible durability with heavy disappointment! Not recommended – Bought this as my first KitchenAid. Very disappointed as I only used it a handful of time before the blade stopped spinning, but can still hear the motor. Others have had the same issue in the reviews. I would not recommend. My Ninja smothie blender works 100% better than this sad KitchenAidn food chopper, such a shame I had high hopes for it. Show details

Was ok at first... just not robust enough – On the second use the spring located under the buttons let go and popped the entire black section off the top lid. Third use one of the small tabs under the buttons broke off leaving us with one speed. Last week some time the blades stopped working, the motor spins however the blades do not, note this only occurs when trying to chop anything, if… Read more

there is nothing in the machine the blades spin as expected. I suspect the spline within the blades to have been stripped or something similar.

Disappointment at broken lid – The food processor has worked well for occasional use to make hummus and salad dressing. The internal plastic pin on the lid has snapped even though the lid has not been dropped. The appliance is over two years old so no longer in warranty. It is nevertheless disappointing that the lid should fail with minimal, careful use. I would not buy… Read more

another one in case the same thing happened and it is interesting to note that other customers have experienced similar problems with the lids of these machines.

Works so well - until the lid breaks – UPDATE: Yes, KitchenAid did replace my lid as it was still within the 2 year warranty. However this new lid has now broken, and they are refusing to replace it, although still within the original warranty period. They even had the cheek to say: "We will be unable to replace this lid for you today as this breakage is not a result of a… Read more

manufacturing fault and therefore cannot be covered under the warranty. We replaced the lid for you last time under similar circumstances as an act of goodwill, and therefore will be unable to do this for you again.

If you wish to purchase a new lid, please call our customer service team on 1800 990 990. The part number is WPW10451881 and is $14.70.This item is currently out of stock and we have no ETA on the shipment. If you call us in early January we should have those parts available and ready for purchase."

I'm really angry with them, as while it may not be a manufacturing fault it is a design fault that has resulted in some ridiculously weak points on the brittle plastic lid. The fact that they are saying they replaced the lid the first time "in good faith" is a joke - their product broke, the lid was unusable. They clearly know it's a flawed design - I note the replacement lids have now dropped from $70 to $14.70.

I will never buy KitchenAid again - the products are way overpriced for the build quality.

ORIGINAL REVIEW: This was a great little appliance - I did not use it often as I don't do much cooking, maybe only 8 times over the year since i bought it. Tonight I was putting my soft plastic recycle bags in the cupboard, and knocked the lid on the chopper with my hand, to find it has fallen to pieces. The plastic has sheared off the little screws - all 3 screws have had the plastic break away so there's now nothing to secure the lid. I'm so disappointed. Of course it's 2 months out of warranty. :(

I looked up the price to buy a new lid - $70, plus postage - the whole appliance cost me $119, and I can see them now for sale at $114!

I have several other Kitchenaid appliances (food processor, mixer, coffee grinder), that are all MUCH better quality than this thing. They actually feel like they are built to last. This was a bad buy, and there is no way I'm going to fork out $70 for a lid that is probably going to break again at some point.