Problems with my Whirlpool Stove

I'm really only writing about this in the hopes that others who have had issues with their Whirlpool ovens do a Google search and find this post.  So to help this post pop up on searches, here are a few phrases:  "My whirlpool oven sucks" "My Whirlpool oven is broken"  "F2 code on Whirlpool oven" "Whirlpool oven overheating" "Whirlpool logo melts off stove".  Okay.  Now here is the dramatic story of our craptastic oven:

We bought this stove in August of 2008.  We didn't buy any extended warranty or anything.  Why?  Most everything we own works fine.  Plus, as you can see, this isn't some super dooper fancy stove.  We weren't ready to install it until April of 2009.  It sat in our Dining Room for those 9 months (climate controlled - no damage or anything).  Here's a picture of it:

Upon being installed in April 2009, it worked fine.  I honestly didn't cook much back in those days.  Having two really young kids - I just wasn't really into baking stuff.  Then winter came.  Around December 2009, I started using the oven more and on occassion, the oven would "short out" and the code "F2" would appear on the electrical panel.  The only way to get it to shut off was to go to the basement and flip the breaker.  Apparently the "F2" code means the circuit board is malfunctioning and the repair guy said it's mostly do to overheating.  It does get VERY hot in the rear of the stove when the oven is on - but the internal temperature is always what it's suppose to be.  So we're obviously confused. 

We lived crossing our fingers that the F2 code wouldn't come on every time we turned on the oven.  There was a 1 in 4 chance back then it would come on.  Not that bad.  Summer came and again, I didn't do much baking because it was the summer.  Then Fall 2010, I started firing up the oven more often.  F2 was making it's appearance more and more.  We discovered that if we had the vent fan on from the microwave, it sometimes wouldn't "F2" us.  Then comes the December 2010/January 2011.  Everytime we turn this oven on, it would "F2" us - even with our vent fan on. 

So I call Whirlpool.  Now granted, I probably should have done this a year ago when it would happen occassionally, but it was just one of those things that wasn't "that bad" - until it started happening everytime the stove was on.  In January, the safety department at Whirlpool told me it was a safety issue and that they would send a repair man out and that we would have to pay for parts but they would cover the labor.  This oven was either $399 or $429 at Lowe's. 

The repair man came and without even turning on the oven told us that we needed to replace the electrical control panel.  That's $96.  He didn't have the part so he ordered it and it was delivered to us about 4 days later.  He was scheduled to come about 2 days after that, but we had a snow storm and cancelled (I cancelled it - there was like 2 1/2 feet of snow and I wasn't going to be able to shovel it all out before he got here).  I called and he came back about 10 days after.  No big deal.

He replaced this $96 part mid February (about 10 days ago).  He heated up the oven and about 9 minutes into the pre-heat cycle, it "F2"ed us.  So he replaced the sensor (an $80 part).  It worked. 

I didn't cook for two days in it and the Whirlpool lady called and I said "so far, everything is good."  Then I tried to use it.  It "F2"ed me.  Then we pulled it out from the wall and thought maybe it wasn't venting properly.  But nope.  It's just gotten worse and worse. 

A week since the two major "problems" got replaced, the thing won't even get through the pre-heating cycle without shorting out.  It used to short out at about the 9-11 minute mark of heating up.  Now, it shorts out at around the 3-4 minute mark - so the oven won't even hit the temperature (usually 350).  Every time it shorts out, the only way to turn it off is to hit the breaker. 

There is also weird things about our oven:

Underneath the electrical panel - there used to be a Whirlpool logo.  It MELTED OFF this past fall.  That isn't normal, right?

And see that "grime" under the vent?  That isn't grime.  We've tried and tried again to clean it and it's like burnt paint.  This stove has only been up and going for 1 year 10 months - and has been like this for the past 6 months.  I don't think stoves that are under 2 years old should have this much wear to them. 

Then this I just noticed two days ago - the metal Warning sticker inside the oven is starting to "burn off".  Again, I don't think this is normal.  

So I'm just here writing this because I'm waiting for a call back.  Whirlpool seems to be great once you get them on the phone - but actually getting them on the phone is a nightmare.  It took four attempts 3 weeks ago to actually get to talk to the person I needed to talk to.  I called today around 3 pm and was told someone would call me back "soon" - it's now past 6 pm and they go home at 6:45 pm EST.  

  If you are a friend or family member who is reading this - sorry.  You probably don't care about this stuff.  Again - I'm just wondering what is going on with ventilation of this stove and if it's going to burn our house down.  Just a note:  Once the oven is on, the internal temperature is fine.  It's just venting or something of that nature that seems to be the major issue. 

I've made 4 separate trips to Lowe's/Home Depot and have talked up the appliance salesmen that looked like they knew a thing or two about appliances.  All 4 of them said Whirlpool is the best and has the least complaints.  None of them ever heard of anything like our situation.  All of them apologized (not sure why - they weren't the dummies who waited a year to actually call and complain about this situation). 

Also - we've only ever bought Whirlpool appliances.  If we're told "sorry, you're out of luck with your crappy less-than-2-year-old stove and your recent purchase of parts that didn't do a darn thing" - then there is no way I'm buying another Whirlpool.  What's another good stove brand? 

This stove fiasco pretty much sucks.  The end.

***UPDATE!  4/19/2011***  After about 2 months of having reported the problem, about 1/2 dozen visits from the repair man and about $1500 in parts and service, our oven in fixed!  The man replaced virtually everything on the stove.  After that, he added some insulation - and voila - it works fine now!  My husband is mad we had to drop $96 on a part we really didn't need - but the fact that we only paid $96 out of $1500 isn't too shabby.  It also saves us $500+ on buying a new stove.  So if your Whirlpool stove F2s on you - save the time and aggrevation by just getting more insulation put in under the control panel.***