9 Complaints Homeowners Have About Thor Kitchen Appliances

When Thor Kitchen launched in 2018, people were excited. The new California company promised to offer top-quality, professional-style, aesthetically-pleasing products to America's kitchens, without the sky-high prices. The brand has a touch of glamor and even offered a package for Oscar nominees in 2024. 

Over the last few years though, Thor Kitchen, which manufactures all of its products in China, has been facing multiple complaints from customers who claim that their appliances are not up to scratch. Of course, there are positive experiences with the company, but the complaints are loud — and serious. In fact, for some, the issues with their Thor Kitchen appliances are frustrating and inconvenient, but for others, they are downright dangerous. Spoiler alert: More than one person has complained of gas leaking out of a Thor Kitchen oven.

Want to stay informed? You've come to the right place. Keep reading to find out more about the complaints homeowners have about Thor Kitchen appliances. 

Most refrigerators have glass shelves, and there's a good reason for that. The glass is tempered, which means it's much stronger and tougher than regular glass, and can withstand cool temperatures for long periods of time. So, in most cases, the glass in your fridge is perfectly safe. It shouldn't bend or break easily, and it certainly shouldn't shatter without warning. So you can imagine the surprise, and horror, of some Thor Kitchen customers when they apparently opened their refrigerators to find that the glass shelves inside had exploded. Yes, exploded.

According to an incident reported by the Los Angeles law firm Farzan Law, one customer who bought a Thor Kitchen refrigerator from Lowe's Miami alleged that only a few months after their purchase, one of the shelves inside exploded. They reported that Thor Kitchen refused to intervene and help them resolve the issue, and then a few months after that, a second shelf exploded.

It appears that the incident isn't a freak, one-off occurrence. Customers have complained to the Better Business Bureau about similar issues. One person alleged that, again, a few months after buying a Thor refrigerator, one shelf shattered without warning, and they also spotted cracks in other shelves. They also claimed that they had little support from Thor Kitchen over the issue.

Preparing a Christmas feast requires, at the very least, a working oven. Unfortunately for one customer who bought a Thor Kitchen gas range from Lowes in November 2025, their holiday plans were thwarted by gas burners that wouldn't ignite. The customer made a complaint to the Better Business Bureau in February 2026, reporting that, at first, none of the burners would work at all. After the range was replaced in December, only two burners would ignite.

Much like with the exploding refrigerator shelves, the customer said that they received little support from Thor Kitchen, and the help they did receive (a new gas regulator) didn't actually solve the problem. This customer was not alone. Several Thor Kitchen customers have reported similar issues with gas burners on Reddit, on the popular expert guidance forum Just Answer, and on Facebook. Other customers on the Better Business Bureau have reported continuous clicking sounds from their burners, too, even after the flame has ignited.

In September 2025, law firm Migliaccio & Rathod LLP announced it had received widespread reports of issues with Thor Kitchen appliances and would be investigating the company. According to the firm, one of the key issues it had heard from customers was that the company's ovens were incapable of keeping a consistent temperature.

This isn't just annoying, but it could be dangerous. Meats, for example, must be cooked to a certain temperature to be safe for consumption. If they're not cooked properly, this could increase the risk of foodborne illnesses, like Salmonella.

Just Answer users and Redditors have also reported similar issues with Thor ovens. "We are on the 3rd motherboard and we still have the same issue," wrote one Redditor. "During Preheat, the oven 'randomly' turns if the oven door is opened. After this last 'repair,' the oven temp is 40 degrees low. We can calibrate it, but the max is 30-degrees. Very frustrating."

Gas stoves are controversial. In 2023, New York even became the first state to ban them in new homes in an attempt to reduce pollution. That pollution, it turns out, might contribute to the warming planet, but it could also exacerbate respiratory problems in humans. And yet, millions of Americans still prefer them. Some might not be aware of the potential risks, while others simply accept them. What is not acceptable, though, is excess natural gas leaking out from faulty stoves.

The health impact of gas leaks can be serious. Ongoing leaks from ovens can lead to unpleasant symptoms like headaches, nausea, dizziness, and even breathing problems. This is why, when some customers realized their Thor stoves might be leaking out excess gas, they had serious concerns. "This is a major safety issue for my family," complained one customer on the Better Business Bureau. "I was told if I wanted to use my stove I should consider keeping a window open to help with the amount of gas coming out from the service technician." They explained that the issue had been going on for two years, with little support from Thor.

Redditors have reported similar issues with Thor gas stoves. One complained that the burners didn't fit the stove properly, which led to the gas leaking out from the top. "Try controlling your heat when gas flames are escaping wherever they can," they wrote. Gas leaks were also one of the complaints reported in the Migliaccio & Rathod legal investigation.

Unfortunately, the complaints from Thor Kitchen customers don't stop with stoves and exploding refrigerator shelves. They also extend to other appliances, including dishwashers. Some have reported that their dishwashers have leaked, and after complaining about the issue to Thor Kitchen, they, again, received very little support. One customer complained that after running their dishwasher only once or twice, they were horrified to find a large pool of water on their kitchen floor (which had been newly installed, just to add insult to injury). While they did have a visit from a repair person, they stated that months after the large leak, the issue was still yet to be properly resolved. "This is getting ridiculous," they wrote. "I just want a working dishwasher or my money back!!"

Other issues reported by customers include dishwashers that fail to start or won't drain out any water at all. "Thor is trash," wrote one Redditor. "We bought a house with a newly renovated kitchen. Within three years, the Thor ice maker broke, dishwasher broke, and wine cooler broke. I will never buy Thor. They were all new at the time. Customer service and quality is awful."

You've probably noticed already, but there's a common thread linking all of the issues we've listed so far: A lack of support with repairs from Thor Kitchen. Multiple people on the Better Business Bureau have complained that Thor has either failed to send out repair people entirely, or has been slow to react to serious problems.

Credit where credit is due, though, the company does often respond to complaints on the Better Business Bureau platform, explaining the action it has taken to deal with the issue or apologizing. On certain occasions, it has claimed that despite appliances being out of warranty, it has still offered to send out repair people.

But for many people, the actions taken by Thor are simply not enough. In fact, in some cases, a lack of support has led people to speculate whether the Thor call center is actually real. "It appears that the call center is fake, there is no repair service available in my State, and the Thor warranty strategy is to promise call-backs, promise refunds, promise repairs, without the intent to do any of these things," wrote one Redditor, who struggled to get any support with a defective oven. "Worst customer service I have ever experienced," they added. "Save yourself the headaches and buy another brand!"

Some Thor Kitchen customers have complained that after a few uses, their appliances have leaked, broken, or even exploded. But others have claimed that they haven't even gotten that far. According to customers, their orders have arrived at their door, already damaged, broken, or defective.

One customer complained on Better Business Bureau, for example, that their brand new refrigerator arrived with a hole in the door. They were sent a replacement, but that one didn't work, either. Others have complained that oven ranges have arrived damaged or with defective ignitors or griddles, and ice machines have arrived with pre-existing defects. "The defect caused thousands of dollars in floor and kitchen damage," complained one customer on Better Business Bureau. In response, a spokesperson noted that the ice machine was damaged in shipping, and they were not liable for providing a refund, as the machine was not sold directly from them.

Many appliances are sold with warranty, and this basically means that if anything goes wrong, the manufacturer or seller will take on the responsibility of fixing the issue. It's just like an insurance policy — the idea is that if things leak or break through no fault of your own, you won't have to pay extra to get it fixed. Failing to check the warranty is a common mistake that people make when buying a new kitchen appliance. Unfortunately, though, just having a warranty isn't always enough. Poor warranty is an issue that comes up time and time again in Thor Kitchen customer complaints.

Many customers have claimed that Thor isn't holding up its side of the deal when things go wrong and failing to fix or replace them promptly and correctly. In fact, some customers have even speculated that Thor has deliberately failed to act quickly in order to wait out the warranty period (which means that the company wouldn't have to pay for the issue to be resolved). To give credit where it's due, in some of their responses on the Better Business Bureau, Thor Kitchen spokespeople have promised to extend warranty in a bid to better support customers.

For many customers, the issue with Thor Kitchen isn't that its products are faulty, but that they never even arrived in the first place. Multiple people have complained on the Better Business Bureau of delays with their orders. In fact, some people say they waited months for their appliances to show up, only for them to be defective. Others say that when they complained to the Thor Kitchen call center about the wait time, they were met with what felt like a pre-rehearsed script that didn't resolve their specific concern. 

For some, the delays are to do with repairs, which as a result, has caused long-term disorder in their home. "Repeated failures and delays have severely disrupted our household, especially with Thanksgiving approaching," wrote one customer in November 2024. "Cooking has been reduced to a single stovetop burner, causing undue stress and inconvenience." A Thor Kitchen team member responded apologizing and confirmed that the issue had been resolved.