Action 9

Customers say their gas stoves turn on too easily

Kendal Hicks saw Action 9 investigator Jason Stoogenke's news report about customers' claims that the knobs on LG gas stoves turned on too easily.

She sent Stoogenke a message, saying the knobs on her Frigidaire are sensitive, too.

"You can just bump into it, like, if you’re walking through the kitchen, bump into it. And just a little bit of pressure from you bumping into it pushes it in and the gas will start to come out," Hicks said.

Frigidaire recalled stoves and ovens at least three times in the last 10 years for fire hazards: in 2009, 2012 and 2016. But none of these involved the knobs being too sensitive.

Stoogenke searched complaints to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. He found nine about this issue.

One said the "gas comes on when stove knob is barely touched." Another said the knobs "very easily turned on accidentally." A third said "the slightest movement ... will cause gas to be emitted."

In one of the cases, the customer said he or she did an online chat with Frigidaire and the representative explained that "customers complained in the past that the knobs were hard to turn," so the company made them easier for "effortless lighting."

But Hicks thinks they're too effortless.

"It’s really scary when you think about natural gas leaking into your home. It could cause a fire," she told Stoogenke.

If you're worried, you can buy covers for the knobs. A set is about $7 on Amazon.

Electrolux owns Frigidaire. Stoogenke called and emailed the company multiple times since last Friday. He hadn’t heard back by 5 p.m. Friday.

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