Should You Repair or Replace Your Broken Wall Oven?
CR’s interactive tool leverages product costs, depreciation rates, and survey data to help you make the right choice. Plus, expert advice on what to do next once you've decided.
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Wall ovens cook pretty much everything that can’t be made on a cooktop. From roasting a chicken to baking cakes or cookies, a wall oven is essential to your kitchen, and if it dies, you’ll want a fast fix.
In this article, we’re talking exclusively about ovens built into cabinetry and paired with a cooktop elsewhere in the kitchen. Unlike with a range, there are fewer parts to break because there’s no attached cooktop, so you don’t run into issues with burners, igniters, or heating elements.
Nevertheless, the repairs tend to be a bit more complicated when a wall oven does break, simply because very few parts are easy to access or replace yourself. Our interactive tool can help you figure out whether it’s worth paying a pro to repair your wall oven or whether you’re better off buying a new one. We’ll also share tips on how to go about finding the help you need for a repair and, if you opt for a new wall oven, how to zero in on one that will stand the test of time.
Factors to Consider
According to Martin Lachter, a senior project leader at CR who helped develop the tool, above, the age of your wall oven, the cost of the repair, and the price you’d pay for a new model are the biggest considerations that impact the repair or replace debate.
DIY vs. Hiring a Pro
Based on our most recent survey data, 90 percent of people who attempted a repair on their broken wall oven hired a pro for the job. After all, most components are sealed inside the appliance, and accessing those parts can be dangerous due to the risk of shock, unless you’re an experienced professional. Typically, the only repairs you might consider attempting yourself are things like replacing a broken oven control knob or a warped oven rack.
You may be able to find a repair person by contacting the manufacturer or the retailer, or by trying an independent repair shop. In our 2021 member survey on wall ovens, 62 percent were fixed on the first attempt. However, your chances for success may vary depending on your specific problem. Among users who went forward with a repair, here are some of the most common reasons for the fix:
- Control panel didn’t work or was faulty. (33 percent)
- Oven didn’t heat up effectively. (25 percent)
- Self-cleaning feature broke or stopped working properly. (11 percent)
Making Greener Choices
- We compiled 45 Ways to Save More and Waste Less.
- Repair vs. Replace: Dishwashers, Dryers, Microwaves, Washers.
- See our fourth-annual 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 18 percent of Viking wall ovens had problems not heating up properly, compared with a median of only 8 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.
Below is a big-picture look at the data that fuels our interactive tool. In general, wall ovens should almost always be repaired. 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—a $264 repair 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.
Finding a Wall Oven That Will Last
If you’ve decided to replace your wall oven, try to recycle it. With Earth 911’s search tool, you can enter the type of appliance you own and your ZIP code to find recycling centers near you.
As you’re deciding on a new wall oven, take steps to make any future repairs easier. For instance, check user reviews with the Better Business Bureau and on retailer sites (not on the manufacturer’s own site, which will tend to favor positive reviews) for any red flags, like a critical mass of people with the same unresolved repair issues. Read the warranty’s fine print to see how comprehensive the coverage is for future repairs. Once you’ve selected the right brand and model for your needs, seek out a retailer you trust by checking out our appliance store ratings. Below, we’ve highlighted three stellar wall ovens from some of the most reliable brands in our surveys.
Top-Rated Wall Ovens From Reliable Brands
The three ovens below aced our exhaustive lab tests—they come from brands that rate highly in predicted reliability, based on data from CR’s member surveys, which include thousands of members who purchased a wall oven between 2011 and 2021. For more insights into how well a wall oven will hold up over time, explore our comprehensive wall oven ratings, which cover more than 60 models. (We factor brand reliability into the Overall Score for every wall oven we test.) You can also reference our article on the most and least reliable brands for wall ovens.