Should You Repair or Replace Your Broken Wall Oven?

Obviously, a repair makes sense if your wall oven is under warranty. Contact either the manufacturer or store, depending on where the warranty is from. The typical warranty lasts one year and covers all parts and labor for the time frame. But some may offer additional coverage for broken parts if you pay for the labor, and many pro-style wall ovens offer longer warranties. If your wall oven is no longer under warranty, you might still have a few money-saving options:

• Check the manufacturer’s website. The problem you’re experiencing may be covered under an existing recall.
• Check other sites for user comments. Even if a product isn’t recalled, manufacturers might offer free or low-cost out-of-warranty repairs for widespread problems. Sometimes, a critical mass of consumers band together and initiate a class-action lawsuit, such as the 2017 effort to bring a class-action suit against Whirlpool, in which the plaintiffs claimed the company had built roughly 2 million ovens with a defective self-clean cycle, which was prone to overheating. If you search the web with your specific concern and your wall oven’s brand, you’ll probably find Reddit forums or social media groups of users who have experienced similar problems. 

Making Greener Choices

• We compiled strategies to save more—and waste less—all around the house.
• Repair vs. Replace: Dishwashers, Dryers, Microwaves, Ranges, Washers.
• See our Appliance Brand Reliability Rankings.
• For more, see CR’s Guide to Sustainable Living.

Our surveys allow us to calculate the median repair costs for wall ovens. Keep in mind that they reflect only the prices paid by people who went ahead with a repair. (People who got sticker shock from a repair quote and decided to replace their wall oven instead aren’t included.) 

• Median out-of-pocket repair cost: $264

If you know the exact problem with your wall oven—like a defective self-clean cycle or a control panel that doesn’t light up—you can search online for average repair costs using sites like Angi or Home Advisor.

If you’re unsure of the problem, some newer wall ovens with WiFi connectivity can self-diagnose when paired with a compatible smartphone app. The wall oven will typically use WiFi to send error codes to your phone. Opening the compatible app will tell you what the problem is and usually provide some basic troubleshooting steps to try before calling for service. 

Otherwise, describe what you’re experiencing in a web search; include the brand and model number. This way, you’ll improve the quality of your results, and you’ll be more likely to connect with other wall-oven owners who have experienced your exact problem, and get some sense of what the repair might cost. Problems often occur in clusters within a brand. For example, our most recent member surveys found that 19 percent of Viking wall ovens had problems not heating up properly, compared with a median of only 9 percent for all brands. 

For help finding a technician, ask friends, neighbors, and local groups on social media for recommendations. If that doesn’t leave you with any leads, try services like Angi or Thumbtack, which can refer you to a technician in your local area for a diagnosis. Nothing beats a referral from a trusted friend or family member, of course, but at least these services typically vet and background-check the pros on their site, and you can see ratings and reviews from other consumers. 

Once you decide on a technician, expect a charge for a visit just to diagnose the problem. This will usually be deducted from the cost of your total bill if you use the service to complete your repair, but that’s not always the case. So always review the costs and terms before hiring.

If you’re not sure what a repair would cost (or even exactly how much you paid for your wall oven), here’s a simplified, big-picture look based on averages. That becomes more true on models that are expensive or those that were purchased recently. In other words, because wall ovens are typically pricey—those in our ratings generally range from around $2,000 to around $6,000—repairing them almost always pays. You should typically lean toward replacing a wall oven only if it’s older than 10 years, or if you’re otherwise unhappy with your oven’s performance and feel that buying a new model makes more sense.