Our Kenmore is three years old and the control light went out. The repairman came out and replaced the fuse for $95,00 ( took about 10 minutes). The fuse went out again in two days. Repairman out again and replaced the fuse, heating element and the thermostat. $90.00 more and next day the fuse went out again. The repair people stated that this machine was no good due to a electrical shot in the mother board and that it was time to replace it. Now Sears sure played me. Three years and I have to get another dishwasher. This is the last Sears product I buy!
The repairman adviced to buy the extended warrenty for ten years. That the machines are being made cheap and just don't last. I wish I has a USA made dishwasher! No cheap labor to make it cheap. Sears is cheap, cheap, cheap,cheap! Don't buy Kenmore!
Oct 22, 2009 Rating
I am very happy with this dishwasher by: Anonymous
Pros - very quiet
- very reliable
- very affordable
Cons - the spray is not that strong
- The size
This dishwasher came with our house when we purchased it about a year ago and it was a good addition. It works well. The dishes come out clean and usually spot-free. It is very quiet which I love.
So many dishwashers I have had over the years were so loud you had to talk loudly just to be heard over the roar of the motor if you were standing in the kitchen during a wash cycle. I forget that this dishwasher is on when it is running, sometimes even when I am in the kitchen during its wash cycle. I have always been fairly impressed with Kenmore appliances.
They have turned out to be reliable and affordable. The instructions on the different settings are clearly written on the top of the door so there is no need to dig out the manual when a setting change is desired. There are, of course, a couple features that are not perfect. One is that the spray is not that strong so the dishes have to be scrubbed free of debris before being put in the dishwasher. Another is that it is not the biggest dishwasher I have ever had.
I have a hard time getting items like cookie sheets and cutting boards in without inhibiting the spinning sprayer arms. Overall, however, I am very happy with this dishwasher. It serves its purpose of cleaning and disinfecting our dishes. I would rate this particular dishwasher a four out of five in overall value.
Jul 16, 2009 Rating
fuse blown twice by: Mr. Fix it
Works well when it is working. Design flaw is built into the motherboard. If there is a power surge or surge fluction in the power to your home, the mother board fuse of the dishwasher blows.
Although under warrantee, Sears can't seem to get a technician out to your house for a at least a week to replace the fuse, which is a 15 minute job.
Purchased in April 2009 and the fuse has blown twice in 4 months. Had I known this flaw early on, I would have never bought this or any Sears Kenmore dishwasher given the design of the motherboard.
This dishwasher replaced an older (non sears) dishwasher that lasted 10 years and the controls worked flawlessly. It was the moving parts that finally wore out.
I do not recommend any Kenmore dishwashers due to the flaw described above. Only the test of time would have detected this flaw.
Jul 16, 2009 Rating
can't get it to drain by: Anonymous
I hate it. Does anyone how to make it drain regularly?
Feb 05, 2009 Rating
A whisper quiet machine by: Anonymous
The Kenmore Ultra Wash dishwasher is the best dishwasher that I have ever owned. The Quiet Gard feature creates a whisper-quiet dishwashing cycle. After a small surging sound of water starting up the model, the dishwashing cycles are quiet and do not disrupt our household.
I purchased the stainless steel and black model at my local Sears store in 2006. The push-button features include Ultra Wash, Smart Wash, Pots and Pans, Normal Wash, China Gentle, and Quick Rinse. Other features are Hi Temp Wash, Sani Rinse, and Air Dry.
I used the Sani Rinse feature to sanitize baby bottles effectively. The Air Dry feature conserves energy. Users may also delay the start of the wash for two, four, or eight hours. The cancel/drain feature also makes cancelling the wash or chosen cycle easy and quick.
Kenmore Ultra Wash dishwasher cleans dishes effectively, even those with caked on food. It also provides a streak-free wash without adding a rinse agent. I am able to use less expensive, powder dishwasing detergent in this machine than I have been able to use in previous dishwashers that I have owned.
The Kenmore Ultra Wash dishwasher does emit bursts of steam in the drying phase of the dishwashing cycle, but I have observed other newer dishwashers emitting steam as well. I am extremely pleased with the Kenmore Ultra Wash dishwaser.
It is superior to other models that I have owned in the past. I would purchase this model again and would wholheartedly recommend it to anyone.
Feb 05, 2009 Rating
Powerful yet gentle by: Jessica
I have owned this black Kenmore Ultra washer machine for about 4 years. It has some very nice features such as a sensor that will extend your dishwashing if needed.
It also requires a lot less rinsing than my last Whirlpool Dishwasher. It has plenty of space and I never have a problem if I stuff it with it getting food off the plates and rinsing clean. I never really need to use my pots and pans feature because its normal setting is powerful enough.
However I have used the China Setting and this I really like. Nice and gentle but yes still rinses cleanly. The only time I can say it didn't rinse cleanly I used electrosol lemon and my silverware came out spotty but I think that was the soap. I wouldn't bother using Jet Dry or anything like that because you really don't need it in my opinion.
I have really hard water also and it still seems rinse my dishes without spots. I did have a small piece break off recently but it was cheap to replace about $14 and I was able to install it myself. In four years I think that's pretty good. Two other features that my dishwasher has is Water Miser and Quick Rinse.
I have used Water Miser a lot due to for some reason my family uses a ton of water. I have never had a problem getting normal dishes clean with this feature. I would not use it however for heavily greasy dishes or items with stuck on food such as eggs.
There is also a No Heat Dry option but I don't use this much as I like my dishes to be disinfected properly. You do have to be careful though as even though there is a small green light on the front to tell you the dishes are clean if you are not paying attention it can be hard to notice or at least so my husband says and you could end up doing a load twice.
Overall its a 5 star for me and I love my dishwasher. No complaints really at all.
Submitted by an overworked housewife.
Jan 19, 2009 Rating
Very satisfied by: B. Burton
We have the Kenmore Ultra Wash Dishwasher. This is an under- counter dishwasher, and is a slightly older model (5-7 years old). It is an Energy Star model, and was purchased from Sears.
This dishwasher came with our house when we bought it, and it has served us just fine. It works well to get dishes clean, even with minimal rinsing prior to being put through the washer. The dishwasher is quiet running, and does not cause any distracting background noise.
It features a system called “Ultra Wash Soil Removal”, which includes a grinder which disposes of large food particles, a sensor to monitor the level of soil on dishes loaded, automatic temperature control, and a “triple action-filtration” system that regularly filters contaminants from the wash water.
This dishwasher is easy to load, has a simple detergent tray, and has sprayers top and bottom to reach all dishes loaded in the dishwasher. It is sometimes challenging to get larger items to fit securely in the rack-- the pegs on the tray are not flexible at all, and are somewhat close set.
It can take some finagling to get several large items to fit without blocking each other from the spray. I have tried a variety of dishwashing detergents in this dishwasher, and all seem to produce good results. I rarely find spots or left over food debris after a load of dishes comes out of this dishwasher.
Even though it is not brand new, and we did not select it ourselves, this is an easy to use machine (has touch buttons and last cycle memory), and we are very satisfied with its performance.
