b17nav, I have had the bottom of the Pro M oven replaced due to chipping. The new bottom looks good so far.

kalapointer, We called today and they are telling us to switch to the M series. How long has it been since yours was replaced?

My E series is chipping after the 2nd self-clean, argh!

Mistman I never even turned my self cleaner on as it was only 9 months old, and hadn't been through a major holiday of cooking yet. Yes, very disappointing!

I have not used the self-cleaning feature due to the bad press I've read and heard about from friends who experienced the shattered oven glass. My entire kitchen is outfitted with Wolf appliances and the blue porcelain lining of one of my ovens is chipping, crazed and appears to be developing a patch of rust. I called Wolf and was told that nothing could be done given the fact that our appliances are more than 5 years old. The 5-year warranty for these high-end appliances is unreasonable, in my opinion. This WOLF experience is very disappointing and I will be researching other products for replacement/renovation.

Are there any California residents who had Wolf oven porcelain issues?

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Bringing this back up because we are planning a kitchen remodel, and our appliance salesman is strongly promoting a new-old-stock L series Wolf single wall oven. The price is attractive (about the same as a higher-end Samsung), but 1) the research on this issue makes me want to stay away from any Wolf E- or L-series oven manufactured in the past several years, and 2) I am frankly not comfortable with the pushiness of the salesman on this point. Any thoughts from the hivemind?

I think it started about 10 years ago and was reported a few weeks ago on their "M" oven.

To me it is astounding that it is still going on. Ask if the dealer will give a written 10 year warranty on the liner. They won't even guarantee replacement liners past 1 year.

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Terrible! My $6,000 wolf wall oven that is used less than 10 times and only 1 year old already chipped by self clean mode!

porcelain chards from my oven, less than I year old and never used the self clean

Jade O,

Which model do you have?

B17nav, It has happened in all of their products with a blue liner.

Signed up just to comment on this thread.

The chipping problem exists with blue liners from other makers too. I just got bought out for a two-year-old Electrolux where the blue porcelain was disintegrating. Unfortunately it's getting harder to find an oven that is NOT blue inside.

We bought a new-in-box discontinued Wolf L-series double oven to replace the Electrolux. Obviously I am concerned about this happening again, so I'm being careful. I just finished the break-in as posted by Kaseki (250 for 30, 350 for 30, 450 for 40, 500 for 60 min). I understand what Kaseki meant by annealing (though I would think of it as something more like curing or heat-treating), and it seems logical that breaking the coating into service gradually might reduce the kind of stresses that cause it to fracture.

To be extra cautious, I called Wolf's support line before doing this, and got a thumbs-up. Their official position is that you only need to burn in once, at 500-550 for an hour, but they said that the more gradual burn-in is fine; at worst it can't hurt, and maybe it will help.

They also told me that there was a mid-production design change of the L-series, beginning with serial number 17077136. Past that serial number, Wolf will replace the liner if the porcelain deteriorates. Lower numbered units are not repairable, and Wolf will replace the entire unit with something else. If I were in that position, I would argue to receive an M-series oven on the grounds that the E-series does not have convection in the lower oven.

Thanks for the good info. My L series double oven had to be replaced twice, within months, and the 3rd time they gave me an M series at no extra charge, because if the chipping happens with the M they just swap out the panels instead of the entire oven. Still a pain, but so far so good. Funny, when you call to tell them about the problem, they act like they’ve never of heard it before. I have to say, they were very accommodating.

B17nav, what break-in procedure did you use?

Set the oven to high heat, between 400 to 550 degrees Fahrenheit (204 to 288 degrees Celsius). Let the oven run at this temperature for between 30 minutes and an hour.

This is what they recommended.

Yeah, I saw something similar in the manual:

"Cool with the door closed" takes a LONG time coming down from that temperature. It's been three hours since I finished break-in, and it's still pretty hot.

“The chipping problem exists with blue liners from other makers too.”

I have personally had that experience with Dacor, Electrolux x2 and Wolf but it is reported on just about every brand that has “blue” except Gaggenau.

This is from their website. So it can be done.

I used stepped heating to season cast iron several times but it did nothing to prevent the enamel from chipping in my range oven. The instructions in the manual to heat are to remove manufacturing oils.

“I understand what Kaseki meant by annealing (though I would think of it as something more like curing or heat-treating)”

Can you give any links to anything that would talk about that? This problem has been going on so long, you would think if it was as simple as that, they would do it in the factory.

“They also told me that there was a mid-production design change of the L-series, beginning with serial number 17077136. Past that serial number, Wolf will replace the liner if the porcelain deteriorates. Lower numbered units are not repairable, and Wolf will replace the entire unit with something else.”

This would only be during the two year warranty. Wolf has always made a swap during the first two years. Some have had multiple swaps. Read one of the lawsuits. My range was out of warranty. It becomes a profit center after the warranty is out.

“If I were in that position, I would argue to receive an M-series oven on the grounds that the E-series does not have convection in the lower oven.”

An M does not have a variable speed convection and has some issues with hot spotting on the sides so not necessarily an upgrade, but is easier to repair.

I have a Wolf dual range oven purchased in 2007 and have had this exact problem since the first time I cleaned it before using it. I have never been able to use the ovens except for covered dishes or turkey in a bag. Fortunately, I have a GE oven in a second kitchen an could bypass it. I never realized this was a universal problem! How ridiculous!

Were you able to talk to Wolf about it?

I’ve spoken to my Appliance Sales Shop and asked the owner to begin the process.

I'm deciding on ovens today and I found this thread.

Coincidentally, looks like the case is settling, but the details are behind a paywall. Perhaps a lawyer on this thread has access to one of these sites.

https://www.pacermonitor.com/public/case/8502795/Kail_et_al_v_Wolf_Appliance,_Inc

I bought a Wolf 36” induction range for my new house the end of last year and the interior chipped the first time I used it after doing the burn off. The range was very expensive. I am not happy...

Does anyone have current information? I installed a DF 36 inch Wolf a little over 2 years ago. I’ve had one liner replaced and am now on my third new range because the liner keeps cracking and flaking. I haven’t used the self cleaning feature since the first time the liner failed. We use the oven often but we are not extremely heavy or abusive users. I’ve been absolutely conscientious about the breaking in that wolf recommends. This is insane! If it fails again ( I have found glass shards on a baking sheet!!! ) I plan to ask for a refund.

In all of this talk about cosmetics, which I do appreciate on such a crazy expensive stove, I haven't heard anyone question what the paint/enamel/porcelain is made of? Is there lead? Cadmium? etc? I have found that high amounts of lead are still in the paints of many products....most likely manufacturers assume it won't leach and will remain bound in the composition for life...but obviously in this case there are shards of this material that we could end up eating. I have a Wolf that was in the home I bought and it was years before I noticed the flakes where transferring onto paper towels when I wiped the bottom interior down (black stove, not blue, but shards look dark green). I got the bottom replaced and it happened again right away. I am surprised the class actions didn't bring this up or look into beyond "could end up in food" lingo. Would love for someone to use an XRF gun to test the interior for lead or have someone send in a sample to a certified lab for results of what might be ending up in our food! Unfortunately I cannot afford to, and have since stopped using convection mode, but really don't feel comfortable cooking in the oven at all, sadly.

There is no way lead paint would pass product safety approval in a modern oven, and it would be terminally stupid of Wolf to open themselves to the resulting lawsuits. But, if you're worried about it, just write to Wolf and ask them what their enamel is made of.

I’m actually on hold with them to see what the composition of their enamel is, something tells me this will be a dead end request. I read that oven enamel is made of steels and aluminum....very toxic consodering small pieces are inevitably ending up in people’s food, especially with internal fans. Modern, name brand enamel coatings in pots have been found to contain high lead levels...at least these might only leach into foods over time as opposed to chipping off whole into food like the oven situation. Link to just one example I am speaking about... I guarantee no one has ever even check/tested which is why they havent been sued for that reason alone. There are no regulations outside of what is allowed on children’s products ( and even then companies have been caught) people dont realize this https://tamararubin.com/2019/01/dark-blue-white-lodge-cast-iron-enameled-dutch-oven-1693-ppm-lead-555-ppm-arsenic/

Yep, no help there....WOLF has no info on composition/testing done

That is an interesting thought. I don’t know if it has been considered.

I’ve read some of Tamara Rubins articles. She said my parents dishes were so full of lead, you should wear gloves to handle them. My dad ate every meal on those dishes until he died at 90, sharp as a tack still. my brother ate every meal on those dishes and he was tested for lead related to employment when he moved out and lead levels were normal.

It is a very common pattern so it would seem that if people were getting lead poisoning from it, it would have been noticed. There must be more to it.

That's a good, anecdotal information regarding your family, glad to hear they didn't seem to be affected! I still say that eating off of plates is different than say drinking out of leaded glass (acidic liquids leaching into contents, or say cooking in it) Leaded glasses are still sold today 10-40% lead! Also blood tests are only good for an acute poisoning, as the lead moves from the blood and is stored in the bones where it can do damage in untold ways. In this case, should there be lead present, it poses a worse risk than all things talked about thus far. Flakes/chips going directly into food and being ingested.

The flaking was reported to have occured after using the self cleaning mode. This has also been reported in newer KA, LG, etc. brands. You might want to consider ovens without the blue enamel coating, or clean the oven by hand.

See my original post. I’m on my 3rd unit and the last two failed in regular use...NO self cleaning cycle...

@Roxane Heaton-your experience with the flaking is very disconcerting. Has Wolf provided any reasonable explanation? It would appear that their engineers had to be aware of this problem for quite some time. Who would ever think this would be such a problem in a Wolf oven?

It’s the black interior as well, and I don’t even have a self cleaning feature.

I can’t get any explanation but they have been quick to offer to replace. I have zero confidence this unit will be any different from the others so when this one fails, I plan to ask for a refund. Very disappointing! In most other respects, I love this range.

Does anyone have an update if replacement of the interior solves the problem permanently? I am currently in discussion to replace the interior of mine and it is less than 2 years old.

Any updates on this? We are having this problem on our brand new one year old wolf oven.

We have 2 side by side wolf ovens and have experienced no issues with them chipping or flaking since they were installed 3 years ago. However, I have never used the self-cleaning function.

I’m on my third oven in 3 years and each has chipped badly. I have not used the self cleaning feature either.

We have chipping after one year of use with blue shards at the bottom of the oven. Never used self cleaning feature and have not scrubbed or used harsh chemicals

It’s awful and I share your frustration! The first time it happened I found glass shards on my cookies! Now I don’t put anything in it that I can’t cover and I use my small micro convection for everything else. I will say our local dealer has been very good about the replacements. As u can see from my prior posts, this is our third unit and one unit we replaced the liner only so I’m actually on my fourth oven liner in three years. The one I have now just failed a few weeks ago so I’m debating my next steps. I really don’t want to go thru another replacement. At this point, I expect it will fail again. Wolf
clearly hasn’t figured this out and I don’t expect the next unit to fare any better. So much for a high end appliance! We feel like we’ve made a very bad decision and blew $9500 in the process.

Do not buy a Wolf appliance. We saved up to get the Wolf dual oven and had it for a year cleaning it carefully with a cloth inside after each use. Finally turned on the self clean and the horror when we saw the bittom of the oven all cracked. Wolfs position is that we have to pay $2k to replace the liner. after oaying $12k to buy it. They do not stand by their equipment be warned.

update: Wolf is covering the cost to replace the liner. Just never use the self clean. Covid has caused all kinds of headaches for manufacturing what with labor shortages and distribution bottlenecks, so its a tricky time to buy big ticket items, do your research.

That’s terrible, ours looks much like yours but we didn’t even do the self cleaning. Is yours within warranty?

Yes its only a year old😞 The good news is Wolf is going to cover the costs to replace the liner. Bad news is takeout for xmas dinner this year, no one wants to eat out of that mess.

We are in the exact same situation. Someone coming out to photograph the problem later this week. It’s one year old so within warranty. But what’s to say it won’t happen again with the new liner? :(

Based on my experience, it will happen again. We are on failed liner #4!

Wolf claims it’s “cosmetic” and not a defect so therefore they weren’t going to pay for the labor, only the parts. The labor is the most expensive thing! I mentioned the past lawsuit and this and other threads. Also they aren’t going to guarantee that it won’t happen again, and almost suggested that it WILL keep happening. They came across that it is no big deal and these things happen with heavy use and it’s never going to look as good as day one. LOL. Ridiculous. We have had it for a year and don’t use it very often. They say since it’s porcelain, that’s what happens. Are you kidding me!?!? A classic case of gaslighting. There are huge cracks/gouges and I have never used the self cleaning feature (their first question for some reason) or scrubbed/scraped it. Had I known, I never would have bought this oven. Cheap ovens for 1/6 the price look better after a year….
They also said it’s safe to have the blue flakes as it’s only porcelain, a natural material, and they have never heard of it getting into the food. HA HA HA…I was in disbelief.
Laughable!

Does anybody know what ever happened with the lawsuits against Wolf for this issue? I was highly considering Wolf because Miele's service is so horrible in my area (and expensive to fix), but I don't want to take any chances, so I'm passing on Wolf all together, despite the stories I've heard about their great customer service. I just don't want the headache of calling and replacing these expensive ovens. In fact, I don't want ANY oven that has blue enamel. I'm now on the search for a good quality stainless steel interior, any suggestions?