When you buy a high-end grill, you don't expect to see any plastic parts. So Consumer Reports' testers were surprised that four models in the Weber Genesis II LX line—which cost $1,000 to $2,000—used plastic fasteners to connect a panel to the back of the grill cart. "The fasteners broke during shipping or assembly, or came out while in our grill lab," says Cindy Fisher, who oversees CR's grill testing.
"Most grills we test have metal fasteners, regardless of how much the grill costs," says Scott Collomb, a grill tester at CR. "And the quality of the hardware varies from less expensive to high-end."
We noted the fastener failure in our April 2017 article on the debut of the Weber Genesis II grills. Consumers noticed, too, and complained to Weber. Kim Lefko, Weber's chief marketing officer, told us that the company is replacing the original fasteners with heavier-duty ones made of automotive-quality plastic.
Lefko also said that Weber had decided to use plastic fasteners to allow consumers to assemble the grills without tools.
Consumer Reports requested new fasteners to replace the ones that broke and fell out in our tests. Our grill testers were able to securely reattach the backs of the cabinets to the carts. "They're better than the original fasteners," says Fisher. "None came out of the grills or broke while in our lab." (Weber is using the stronger fasteners on grills in production.)
If you own a Genesis II LX gas grill, call Weber's customer service at 800-446-1071 to request new fasteners. Have the grill's serial number handy—it's on a white label on the back of the grill.
The Thrill of the Grill
