The grates are not the issue... Gas or electric? Stainless steel or white or black enamel? My white gas Frigidaire has rusted around the base of the burners. I believe that it does this because the combustion process releases water and these are sealed burners and there are no longer chrome drip pans to catch this water. Barkeepers friend removes the rust (read one more chore) ...I would presume you would also have the same problem on the black stove. While stainless steel is not supposed to rust I have certainly heard stories about that too. The grates have been fine. I seasoned them by coating them with oil and cooking them in the oven for a while and have had no issues with them.

P. S. No one warranties against rust.

The grates are indeed the problem at least on mine. Two years in, impossible to clean without heavy scrubbing Paint has worn away and left chips in the grate. (GAS WHIRLPOOL) Now even heavy scrubbing doesn't do much.

I love the look of the painted grates. but given the changes to the environmental laws I did not believe it possible that they could provide a paint that would stand up to real abuse. On my range there is no paint on the grates. They are cast iron and you treat them/season them like you would a cast-iron pan. You have to be careful with them to ensure that they don't lose their little feet/pads (or if they do to give them new ones) otherwise they will scratch the top of your range. The grates have performed perfectly; the paint on the range is an entirely different issue…

Why not get a range with an induction cooktop? Most people who have switched from gas to induction prefer it and it's a heck of a lot easier to keep clean since spills wipe up with soap and water.

Induction No Gas is what I want and it hard to believe manufacturers can't make grates as easy to clean as the remaining surfaces.

Why so emphatic about induction?

The "under $1000" might have something to do with it. :P

Gas is fun!

Easy to clean as the remaining surfaces? I'm not sure you're understanding that the problem is the stove, not the grates. The "remaining surfaces" require regular (weekly or more often) use of barkeepers friend in order to keep the rust down. Older stoves did not have this problem. I think that there was a change in the environmental laws, the manufacturers either cannot or will not put a decent finish on the newer stoves. Please note that there appear to be no kitchen appliance manufacturers that warranty a gas stove against rust. Be sure to read the warranty of the product before you buy it because it will give you an idea of where they know the problems are.

Immunity to being in a flame is a bit tough for coatings, although there are ceramic coatings used for various purposes that could take the heat. Better would be to have stainless steel grates. They could be soaked in various carbonized food removing solutions if necessary. There are higher-cost propane grills available with stainless steel grates, but I haven't seen any ranges so configured. If there are such ranges, they probably exceed your desired price point.

Another out of the box approach would be to have spare grates to use while the soiled ones are being soaked to more "easily" clean them.

kas

The stove in general is easy to clean, but the grates are a problem and have been so from year 1. I can't imagine what they would look like if someone did a lot of frying, etc. Keeping extras aren't acceptable at the 275! per pair. I'll just keep looking. It just seems the geniuses at the companies who have high degrees in material science and be able to over come the problem.

Cast iron grates that are seasoned just like your cast iron skillet are very easy to clean. Unless you try soaking them and removing that seasoning. The sub 1K is kinda a problem though. Look at the lower end GE's.