apart from a few of the overly expensive ranges like the Blue Star gas-gas ranges, none are very good. the worst problem in all cheap ranges is the solid state circuitry which is prone to failure. So my advice is choose the model you like and don't spend too much... The only alternative is try and find an old reliable used stove and refurbish it.

For something like that, I might go to ConsumerReports and look around their ratings.

Yes, you can get (or used to be able to, anyway) a one-month subscription to the website to check out whatever specific items you are interested in. For what you want, I'd consider a few bucks a good investment.

On any range that has self-clean, I'd invest in an extended warranty. I've had bad experiences with the circuit boards failing in the 5-7 yr period and they're uniformly expensive to replace.

Most public libraries provide free access to Consumer Reports. I recommend you select 2 or 3 stoves from the Consumer Reports recommendations, check them out in a store and then go back to this forum to ask any questions you still have.

I think I saw a post on http://www.consumeraffairs.com/homeowners/fisher_paykel.html with a similar problem. I don't know if it will help or not??

Dave

P.S. I stumbled onto this site and it has made my chore of selecting appliances for my new house more difficult but I just keep telling myself it is a "Lemon" post site and all manufacturers have problems.