The maker of three pro-style gas range models sold exclusively through Costco is warning owners that the oven racks could fall when pulled out to remove the cooked food, posing a burn hazard.
Duro Corporation, the manufacturer of the pro-style NXR ranges, issued the warning in conjunction with Costco after the safety issue was discovered in Consumer Reports' testing labs. We also notified the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
Costco, which sells the NXR ranges only online, immediately stopped selling them after being contacted by Consumer Reports. The warehouse club chain will notify owners via email and phone calls today about the problem with details on the fix to come.
The NXR ranges involved are the NXR Pro 3051, the NXR Pro 3651 and NXR Pro 4851, all of which share the same design, and started selling in June 2016.
Unlike most ovens, in which the baking racks slide in and out of metal grooves with stops, the NXR Pro models have metal brackets with gliding supports in two fixed positions on each side. The glides have metal pegs on top that secure the racks.
The problem, as Consumer Reports discovered in its test labs, is that there are also several open grooves with no mechanical stops to prevent the rack from extending too far. So if you use the rack in one of these positions and pull it toward you, it can easily fall down, possibly spilling the cooked food and burning you. (See video.)
What If You Own This Range?
Duro told Consumer Reports that it will replace the brackets on the NXR ranges with the open slots. It plans to begin shipping the replacement brackets directly to consumers by the end of the month. The fix should take a few minutes and does not require tools, the company says.
The fixes won't be made in time for Thanksgiving, when consumers may adjust oven racks to accommodate a large turkey. That means owners of the models involved should only place the racks on the gliding supports and not use the open slots over the holidays.
"While we have not received any reported cases of injuries from our oven racks, we are choosing to be proactive in sending redesigned oven rack brackets to all our valued customers who own an NXR Pro," said Saban Chang, president of Duro.
About 500 of these ovens have been sold, and no injuries have been reported or complaints posted on saferproducts.gov. It is the only model among the 100-plus ranges in our range ratings to pose this potential safety risk, including two different NXR ranges from previous tests.
The email from Costco warns consumers of the potential burn hazard, advises them to only use the racks in the positions with the gliding supports, and not to move the racks to other positions. It also explains that a fix is on the way and lists a phone number to call for further information.
Duro will also retrofit any unsold ovens so they have three glides. Newly manufactured models will have the three glides already installed and come with two racks.
For its tests, Consumer Reports paid $2,200 for the 30-inch NXR Pro 3051, which is less than half the price of most pro-style models in our ratings. When our secret shopper receives the replacement parts, our experts will evaluate whether the fix solves the safety issue. At that point we'll update the story.
