Sunbeam Cafe Series KE9650

Broken lid – Paid over $200 for this product and the lid became faulty after 14 months, i.e. would not open when the button was pushed. Eventually the hinge on the lid broke and the kettle is now useless. . Show details

Noisy kettle – I bought this specifically for the Sunbeam Quiet Shield technology. The first time I used it it was fantastic. A quiet boil that got slightly louder at the end but a brilliant improvement on the standard kettle boil noise. From the second use onwards it was just as noisy if not noisier than a standard kettle. I spoke with customer care and… Read more

organised a replacement after a few days of use. Today I used the new kettle for the first time and the same issue with the noisy boil? If this is what it’s supposed to sound like with the Sunbeam Quiet Shied Technology then I only assume that a standard Sunbeam kettle sounds like a tractor running over a field of rocks. At $159 price point you expect quality, especially for a kettle that you buy for $20 and less these days. If it is a fault, it’s fairly disappointing that it’s happened with the replacement as well as the original. I really wish I saw these reviews first and I would avoided the whole ordeal.

Fabulous quiet kettle – Only purchased a few days ago so I may be jumping the gun but so far the whole family really likes this kettle. The water level is on both sides well away from the handle and the minimum level is 0.5 litres- easy to see and perfect for two mugs. The handle is solid and the kettle is not heavy. There is range of 5 temperatures and it shows you the… Read more

current temperature as it is in use and the wait time to reach the desired temperature. It makes a quiet beep when it is ready and also has both keep warm and sterilizing functions. Plus it is sooo quiet. Over many years, we have struggled with the noise levels of a number of Breville kettles, a Russell Hobb quiet kettle and also recently a Sunbeam Alinea Select kettle. This one is a standout - genuinely quiet in a kitchen/family room. No more turning up the TV for us when the kettle is on! Only one small niggle - the button flip open lid does seem a bit flimsy and seems to actually bounce back and forth a bit as it opens with such force. I can see many much older comments that the lid mechanism did not last well so I am hoping that this has been improved over the years. I would have loved for this kettle to be in white to match with my new Alinea Select toaster but alas, not to be, yet..

Works as expected, no issues for years – Works as it expected, I like the fact that it tells you the temperature of the water and an estimation of how long it will take to boil. I've had mine for years, no issues. Pretty quiet but not silent. Show reply

Really great kettle – Fortunately for me, this has been a very solid kettle that I use every single day, I haven't had any issues with it in the past 18 months. Pretty easy to use, has multiple programs and it looks great in the kitchen. For all the people with the beeping issue, have you tried to descale your kettle? I am almost sure that this issue is caused by… Read more

limescale build-up on the temperature sensor inside the kettle.

Use Dr. Beckmann Appliance Descaler (generous amount), rinse, then cover the base of the kettle with white vinegar for an hour or so.

Leaking Window – This is our 3rd Sunbeam series kettle…same thing has happened 3 times…side windows split and water leaks when you fill part it, pooling water underneath!!! Nearly didn’t pay for another one when we bought this one…definitely will not be making the same mistake a 4th time ! A $20 supermarket has outlasted it!  Show details

3 dead kettles – Looks great, and complements the other Sunbeam Cafe Series white goods I have in my home, however... The original unit which I purchased in 2018 started acting strangely whilst boiling water, then died completely, so it was replaced under warranty in 2019. The replacement worked well for about 3 months then started doing the same thing, so it was… Read more

replaced in 2019. The exact same thing has now happened to this unit, plus the lid now won't open.

I've reached out to Sunbeam customer service to ask for a escalation, but after waiting on hold for 45 minutes, hung up.

The product quality is not good, which is a real shame because their blender, 4 slice toast, and coffee machine are excellent.

Very Poor Quality – We have had this kettle for about 15 months. The lid began to stick about 6 months ago, and finally this week it completely broke. At about $129, it is by far the most expensive kettle, and also the worst quality we have ever owned. We now use a saucepan lid over the top to make our tea. Show details

Please recall this dangerous flawed kettle IMMEDIATELY! – We purchased this beautiful kettle as a mothers day gift. It looks great on her black marble bench however it is seriously flawed, dangerous and should be recalled immediately. It was safely stored away and only brought out recently. After only 4 months of use, the water level beeper started malfunctioning. Then the lid got stuck and could only… Read more

be filled directly through the spout. After finding pieces of black plastic in my coffee I discovered the hinge was completely broken and breaking into melted pieces. This is a serious choking hazard and should be fixed. My mother has been a loyal Sunbeam customer for over 40 years but this is her first product review because she felt compelled to warn others. Do not buy this useless dangerous and flawed kettle!

Three times unlucky! – This is a great kettle.....when it works. Very quiet and love the variety of temperatures. Unfortunately we have had three and the first two failed after exactly 13 months and the third died today after just fifteen months. In the past we have been used to kettles lasting about eight years. A big fail Sunbeam and there’s obviously a major fault somewhere Show details

Extremely disappointed Never again – Extremely disappointed with this product . Only had for 2 years and the first one was swapped as the lid was faulty . 2nd one now the thermostat has gone and keeps beeping when trying to boil . I think I will take my consumer law option as this kettle for $150 should last longer then it has . A Kmart $7 kettle would be a better option . Disgraceful Show details

Failed sensor – After using for 4 months the kettle had never been able to reach 100 degree. Ask for support yet no answer. Bad product and service. Not recommending this at all. Show details

Lid is unsafe – My son purchased the variable temperature unit for us as a spare as the original non-variable unit was starting to have problems with the lid attachment - it only recently became unusable. The new variable temperature unit my son bought us was only taken out of the box a month ago (from storage for about 2 years) and the plastic lid attachment… Read more

unit was faulty and after a month has now completely broken down and is unsafe to use. Definitely not worth the purchase price and extremely unsafe.

Average Quality, Design Faults obvious – The kettle dribbles when pouring. Always has since new. Purchased 2007. All the numbers and titles came off due to cleaning with simple cleaners like spray and wipe. This also happened with the Cafe Series Toaster I bought. I always hold the lid when I push the release to open. Probably why my hinge has not failed as many others have. The base… Read more

and connection has to be cleaned frequently to avoid the beep/ start over problem mentioned by everyone else here. I purchased the kettle and toaster in 2007. I paid $79.00 for the kettle plus $119.00 for the toaster as a job lot. I would say pretty average performance and design for the price.

Hopeless, majorly flawed design – I loved this kettle at first. I loved the fact that you could select from different temperature options so that I could use less electricity if I was making green or herbal tea and only needed the water at 80 degrees. After a year or so, I started getting a 'dry' warning every so often, even though the water level was above the minimum mark. Then… Read more

it started beeping sporadically for no apparent reason. Eventually, the lid got stuck and I could only fill the kettle directly through the spout, not through the top. Eventually, I decided to prise the lid open to see if there was a damaged hinge or something that perhaps could be fixed. It was at this time that I discovered that the hinge was completely melted. Bits of melted plastic broke off all over the place and the lid detached, rendering the kettle completely useless. It is just outside the warranty period, as many others have said in their reviews. This kettle is seriously flawed. It is outrageous that it continues to be sold, and at such a high price, considering the high volume of complaints about its defects.

Works well except has a flawed hinge / lid which jams and then breaks – The kettle worked well for 2.5 years. Then the lid started to stick and finally the hinge broke. Upon close examination it seem the plastic deteriorated and was not heat resistant. Why is it not made from Stainless steel like the rest of the kettle? This is the big weakness in design and manufacture.

$120 for boiling water but Failed , just outside warranty – Like others have said this has become unreliable, now randomly turning off and on, flashing “dry” warning and finally requiring a finger on the button until it boils. It’s regularly descaled and when it worked it was good, quiet and temperature accurate. We took an extended warranty as this was our second Sunbeam Cafe, the first failed well outside warranty. That extended warranty finished a month ago, disappointing. Show details

Not a safe kettle – Our first purchase of a KE 9650 was November 2016 and it was ok until we returned it because of rust issues in October 2017. We were given an other KE 9650 under warranty and it was working ok up until May 2019 when the plastic hinge on the lid disintegrated while poring boiling water and severely burning my wife’s hand. We are now looking at new… Read more

kettles that have a better feedback than Sunbeam. Needless to say we are very disappointed with Sunbeam as we had been customers of their Maribyrnong Outlet for many, many years.

A great kettle for our house but too many failures – We have been extremely happy with the performance of the Sunbeam Cafe series of Kettles but the failure rate is too high. Tonight our 3rd Cafe Series failed, the glass popped out of the side.. Our first Cafe kettle was replaced on the spot by David Jones inside the warranty period with the glass leaking on the side. The 2nd Cafe series one side… Read more

of the hinge broke and we couldn't open the lid. Again just outside of warranty. So in 2.5 years we have now gone through 3 x Cafe series and because we drink a great deal of Green Tea it was the perfect choice.. Boiled quickly and was convenient to use, especially the 80o setting for Green Tea,

We have also noticed the Whisper Quiet feature starts to be noisy approaching the 12 months of use.

But for the high cost, I cannot recommend this kettle.

Internal parts disintegrating – Good kettle for maybe year and a half then lid was not opening properly and internal parts started disintegrating and was finding black plastic bits in boiled water. Contacted Sunbeam to which they requested a receipt of purchase which I didn't have after so long. This was more of a safety issue as kettle only used to sterilise water for baby formula. Since then have bought a Kitchen Aid kettle which is so much better in design and quality.  Show details

Got about 5 months out of each of the 3 replacements – Just scraped the 3rd replacement kettle which all had Lid and Base problems. The last kettle the lid would not open at all and the handle got that hot that it burnt my friends hand when she went to pick it up to pour. For the price we paid I thought we were going to have a real good kettle but no such luck.  Show details

Lasted two years – First of all, don't buy this if you want an accurate temperate. Secondly, mine only lasted two years. The lid doesn't open anymore. How disappointing.  Show details

Got 5 months out of it – Started off well, but in the past fortnight increasingly beeps at random temperatures, switches off below selected heat, and flashes DRY when it’s just been refilled. Pointless item. Purchased $149 David Jones, May 2018 - unable to use it October 2018. A waste of money and now I need to get a new one. Emailed requesting they send postage addressed box for return but no response. Poor product and poor customer service.  Show details

Do not buy – I bought this kettle. Within s few months kid started playing up. My husband managed to fix it at the time. Now it won’t open at all. Disappointed because it’s a sunbeam product , bought in June 2017, now not in warranty. Should of taken back earlier to Myers where I purchased.  Show details

Horrible top doesn’t even open anymore have burnt myself trying to open multiple times – Have not owned many kettles before as they usually last for years however this time decided to splurge and buy a cafe series to match my other appliances. This is on the top price end for a kettle and can honestly say it’s the worst I have had within weeks of buying sometimes the buttons didn’t work and the top then stopped opening as the push… Read more

lever is faulty. I now have to open manually which can result in major burns. This is not a good quality product in my opeinion based on these issues

Love it – We bought this kettle in Myers and were hoping to receive a cash back, but no such luck. However, we bought it and brought it home hoping it would live up to all the hype. It is well designed with a good handle and easy to read water level. It also has easy to use buttons with the temperature you are wanting for green tea, coffee or white tea… Read more ·  1

as well as sterilise and keep warm, and it is so quiet. I thought we had great kettles before but this one is THE best by far. Sunbeam is on a winner with this one.

Brand name kettle not worth buying – First sunbeam KE 9650 kettle was returned to Harvey Norman when lid would not open anymore within warranty period, this was replaced with new kettle. Second kettle has died, still has sticking lid fault but has also quit electrically in less than 12 months. I think I'll stick to buying cheap kettles in future, they seem to last forever, not so Sunbeam kettles.  Show details

Great looking Kettle, but absolute rubish – Within 12 months the lid stopped opening without us using the fingers in all different directions. I should have returned it to MYER then.. a couple of months later we started to realise there were several little black parts floating around under the whisper section, and not long after the whole hinge clip on this kettle broke off into our… Read more

kettle. I took out what I believed to be the largest parts but found out there were still several little parts inside.. I loved the concept of having a kettle with different temperature settings, and I need to get a new one, but unfortunately i don’t think I’ll be buying this brand again.