Customer Reviews for KOHLER Santa Rosa 12 in. Rough In 1-Piece 1.28 GPF Single Flush Elongated Toilet in Black Black Seat Included

Have had this toilet for over 2 years now, we appreciate the compact size and the modernish look. Most importantly, the old toilet this one replaced was frequently plugged, with the Santa Rosa toilet it has only happened a few times and of those only twice did it require using the plunger, the other few times a few extra flushes.cleared the drain. Also even though this is low flow 1.28 gpf version it still works well. Changed out the seat to a Kohler manual bidet (highly recommend). I've seen comments about the tank cover not fitting well, ours fits fine, maybe not perfect but it looks fine and that isn't a reason not to buy this toilet.

After installation noticed the awful, unsightly unfinished top edge of the tank. Belatedly…read other’s reviews of this issue and contacted Kohler customer service. Rebecca immediately offered to send out the alternative tank top. It arrived today and it is a perfect solution. The unfinished edge is completely covered. Awesome customer service. To maintain Kohler product standards, the old lid should never be sent out with the product going forward or include the new lid in new orders so customers can make the choice or at least include a note to customers that a free new lid option is available to them.

I only gave this toilet 3 stars because I am disappointed with the way it looks. The cover of the tank does not fit properly. It is too small. It does not fully cover the tank. You can see a strip of the unfinished tank.

Our previous conventional toilet needed to be replaced after 20+ years and we went with Kohler. But although the toilet gets a professional cleaning every two weeks and regular cleaning by us in between we cannot control a black mold which seems to form in the holes under the rim.

purchased this toilet on 1/2/22. Very nice toilet, smaller footprint then my previous one. Install was very easy. Only disappointment was for a top of the line product with a price to match, it should come with the self closing seat instead it's just the standard.

I bought this earlier this year, but it just got installed a couple months ago. If I had known about the issue with the tank finish mentioned in other reviews I would have purchased a different style. I have the same issue with the glaze not covering the area between the tank and lid as shown in the photo. The toilet is fine otherwise, and I have a different model in my other bathroom that I love. I paid more for the Kohler brand because of the quality, so I don't understand why this issue hasn't been fixed or the design changed.

I purchased this toilet over One year ago. I was in the midst of an apartment demolition and it was installed and has been working perfectly. The size and height are perfect for my apartment. Unfortunately I found the seat to be cracked one day with no explanation. This is a Pied a terre that is only used by my self and my spouse on weekends. I could not understand how this crack could have occurred with trauma to the toilet. Disappointed to say the least. The toilet however works great! Shoddy product on the quality of the soft close seat.

I wish I had read the reviews before purchasing. Same issue. The lid doesn’t fit. The unglazed area looks dirty and old. If there’s a solution with a lid that overhangs…why not just send that one with the toilet. This is clearly a design flaw they are aware of.

Just had our new Santa Rosa installed. We are VERY disappointed the porcelain is not finished to the top of the tank. Rough, light brown tank is exposed on the front even with the lid fitting properly. We expected MUCH better from a Kohler product. Otherwise, the toilet appears to work ok.

Had 3 of the Kohler Santa Rosa toilets installed in our home 3 months ago. One of them already has a cracked seat (I weigh 205 and my wife 140). All of them have the unfinished glaze where the top meets the tank. Try to pull it as far forward as possible, but still shows brown from the lack of glazing. Poor design and execution.

We just had this K-3811 Santa Rosa toilet (white) installed and ran into same issue as others. The lid does not fit properly and the unglazed area can be seen. Also, this toilet definitely isn't the white glaze as shown on your web sites, it looks more like the biscuit color. Wasn't the look we were looking for with a white vanity, white marble tiles and now an off-white glazed toilet.

I just installed two of these - and the lids do not cover the unglazed insides of tank - very unattriactive

I like the function of the toilet. I’m not sure if this is how they are all made but in the front at the top of water reservoir the porcelain isn’t covered completely to the top. The lid doesn’t hide it all.

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] We just had this product installed and ran into same issue as others. The lid does not fit properly and the un glazed area can be seen. This falls short of my expectation of Kohler quality

I never gave much thought to toilet style and functionality until I visited Japan. When I remodeled my master bath, I wanted a high quality, minimalistic toilet without spending the money for a Toto. The Kohler Santa Rosa is great. It fits perfectly with my modern Asian design and it takes care of business. When I remodeled my guest bath, I bought a second one. It’s the perfect throne!

I bought two of these toilets for new bathrooms. Contractor finally installed them and surprised at how ugly they look when there is an obvious unglazed raw beige seam all around the lid on both units that looks like you bought the wrong lid for the toilet. It is an obvious mistake in how the product is made and I can't believe they would ship this. If you can't glaze the top edges of the toilet tank at least make a lid that overlaps the edge geniuses. Toilet has worked for a week so far but looks like a cheap toilet and if I saw this in a store I wouldn't have purchased it. Too late now that I have to live with the ugliness and comments from guests as to why the toilet looks "dirty".

Instead of being closed the holes for the mounting of the toilet seat are open and tend to spread open. Cannot keep the seat mounted, I can't imagine why they would have this configuration. The only solution I see is to buy a new toilet seat. I would not recommend anyone to buy this unit with this configuration.

From the beginning the seal in the tank has leaked. Periodic “whoosh” noise as water escapes into bowl. Paid plumber several times to replace the seal, but it doesn’t last long. Now there is a high-pitched squeal at end of flush cycle as water finishes filling the tank, probably coming from the float mechanism. I agree - don’t buy unless you are a plumber - not easy to repair.

Highly recommend not buying this product! Bought 2 brands and this overpriced product leaked from the reservoir immediately!!! The other brand purchased was the Glacier Bay for $160, no issues.

My experience with this has been very pleasant. The installation was easy and not difficult, the prep work for the install was somewhat involved but that was the existing conditions not the unit. The operation and function of the unit has been excellent so far, time will tell regarding the internals build durability and performance. See how the Aquapiston holds up. Very comfortable in use and is efficient. An area for improvement would be get a more complete glazing on the top surface rim of the tank. Very pleased with them, purchased 3 and installed them, all good to date. Have had them for several months now, no issues as of yet. I am content and happy with these units, would not hesitate to recommend them.

I bought 3 of these to replace 20+ year old low flow tech toilets that could not flush childrens #2s. The Kohler Santa Rose toilets were easy to install once i got the process figured out. I'm not a plumber but fairly handy around the house, made a couple trips to the hardware store for a flange repair kit (one cracked), extra wax rings (resetting the toilet due to cracked flange) and longer supply lines (toilets were taller than my old ones). These toilets look great, the one piece feature seams like it will be easier to clean, the flush is low flow but seams powerful. If you hold the handle down it seems to flush harder versus quick flush We have only had them for two days and we are pleased so far.

Too bad Home Depot's toilet display is up so high a person can't get a good look at the products or I likely wouldn't have bought this about 5 months ago. I don't it. The tank lid only stays put on the left side, so every time someone sits, the right side pushes back against the wall. The tank rim isn't glazed, bacteria to get in there & you can see already mold is growing. There is a warning sticker about cleaning the tank, and voiding the warranty, so I'm not sure what is okay to use. Inside the bowl at the front is a "spout" that makes cleaning impossible. The toilet is uncomfortably high and narrow for a 5'7" 128 lb person. It does flush okay or I'd give it 1 star.

I ordered this toilet for my master bedroom renovation with the expectation of a larger than normal (by today's standards) water surface area and excellent Kohler performance. After completing the renovation and testing it out, I was not disappointed. I really hate the tiny water surface area of most of today's water sense toilets. The water surface area of this toilet is about 11.5" long by 9" wide and sits higher than most. Don't ask me to explain if you don't know why this is important. The flushing action is also great. Compared to my other toilet (Delta), the effort to push the flush handle is so gentle. And now that I have the soft close on this toilet seat, I have to stop myself from accidentally slamming the seat when visiting other people's houses. Know that if you're installing this yourself, it's very heavy when compared to the two-piece toilets that you can install one piece at a time. The one thing that disappoints on this toilet is the porcelain finish. Rather than seeing all white porcelain, Kohler did not glaze the edge at the top of the tank and even with the tank lid on, you can see a darker, un-glazed rim along the top at the front. I expected better for a Kohler product, but still a great toilet.

Easy install. Nicely designed. Excellent choice.

Toilets IN STOCK at my local Home Depot with tanks that fit under my 29" bathroom counter were limited to two; this top-of-the-line Kohler and a less expensive Glacier Bay.  I hadn't planned on spending $300 on a commode but now I'm glad I did. Here's why: This is a one piece toilet. It will never, ever leak between tank and bowl/pedestal. It's got Kohler's latest jet flush technology ("Aquapiston") that works exceedingly well. The "stuff" goes away. Every time. Using a minimum of water.  The height of the water in the Kohler's bowl is correct (and adjustable) so "product" lands in water, not on dry porcelain, meaning you don't have to clean this toilet after every use like SOME low-flush commodes. Those are the worst designed toilets ever.  They're simply not sanitary!   They often stink, nullifying the whole purpose of having water in the bowl to begin with!  The toilet bowl and seat on the Santa Rosa are  LARGER than average, despite the tank being a few inches shorter. It's a potty suitable for BIG people. But that also means for us men, a bigger target to aim at and fewer drops on/over the rim.  It's not excessively large or anything, you're not going to fall in.  Downsides?  A) Price, and B) This commode doesn't use the traditional float and flush valve hardware available in ANY hardware store for the past 75 years.   NONE of the new "jet-flush," "power piston,..." hi-tech toilets are constructed using "generic" parts anymore.  Traditional parts simply can't make a 1.28 gallon toilet flush successfully., EVERY SINGLE TIME.  But the added cost and complexity, spread out over ten years, is peanuts compared to the aggravation of a low-flow that performs poorly. This potty doesn't have high/low flush capability.  Why?  It doesn't need it!  At a mere 1.28 gallons per flush it still gets rid of the big poops with multiple papers.  Every. Single. Time.  Dreading having to install a low-water toilet? Hate the one you currently have? Here's one that actually WORKS!   It will, however, co$t you!   Summary: A top of the line toilet that makes the nasty stuff go away using the least amount of water. Never requires a second flush. Suitable for large people but fine for the rest of us too. Easier to get on and off of because it's a bit taller than most despite having a SHORTER tank height. One piece design. Justifies it's premium price because it DOES exactly what you want a toilet to do. 

Kohler Santa Rosa 4 years old, easy to clean, operates excellent, plus Kohler makes a bidet seat for it.

I've had mine installed about five weeks. Paid about $300 for it. Had to special order it because the one in the store (looked identical) did not come with a seat - and the one you special ordered, came with the slow-close seat. it was worth the $20 or $30 savings to wait a few days. Obviously, these one-piece units are harder to install because you need to lift the both the bowl and the tank at the same time. My tip: there is an opening between the bowl and the water path. I used a 2-inch wide tie-down strap to make a loop and then I was able to use my shoulders to lift and use my hands to fine-tune the position of the toilet. I also needed my wife to help align the bolt holes in the base. The bathroom floor is not perfect, so I had to use wooden shims to level, but this was very easy to do and I trimmed them so they can't be seen and the toilet feels rock-solid. It looks beautiful. My two complaints are 1) If you want a complete flush, you have to hold the flush handle down until the water from the reservoir has completely emptied. If you just flick the handle you will not get a good flush. Some people might like this, but this is the guest bathroom and it's kind of embarrassing to give them a tutorial on how to use the toilet! 2) there a slight leak somewhere and the toilet runs for about six seconds every 90 minutes. Not a major problem, but a brand-new $300 toilet should not have this problem.

I would recommend this toilet. But know that it is a high seat level which is great for me as I am 6‘3“ tall but the rest of my family feels it’s a bit too high. It flushes very efficiently. We love the fact it’s a one piece and few were nooks and crannies to clean on the toilet.

Finally after 28 years I needed to upgrade the toilet in my master bath. Did a lot of research on the web and finally decided to go with Kohler’s Santa Rosa model. It always seemed to appear in everyone’s top Kohler toilet list. It was easy enough to install and it looks sleek and stylish. Will have to get used to the quick refill times, it’s ready to flush in seconds unlike the old 5 gallon toilet I’ve had for years. This thing uses a minimum of water and seems to flush everything ok. Love the included “slow close” seat and lid! It does not contain a wax ring! Hopefully it’ll last like the old ones!

I have been using this unit for about six weeks now. Although it is functional, I would have to say I'm somewhat disappointed in it, certainly considering the price. The quality of the overall ceramic casting was marginal. In the attached image you can see that the base of the front end is clearly not symmetric. It was such a pain to get up the stairs and aligned on the mounting bolts (this is a heavy, single-piece unit) that I wasn't going to return it over an issue like this, but had I spotted it earlier I might well have. The flushing action is brief and forceful as advertised, but actually not as effective as I had expected. Without getting too graphic, the issue is that, if your going No. 2, your probably going to end up swishing the bowl with a cleaning wand and flushing again. I have the 1.28 gal/flush model, but I honestly don't think the 1.60 gal/flush model would eliminate the problem. It's really down to the geometry of the bowl... it's relatively wide and shallow-sloped, and given how brief the flushing sequence is, you're usually (in my experience, about three-fourths of the time) going to be left with an unacceptable level of residue/streaking on the bowl surface. The unit is described as being relatively quiet, and I agree that it is, but really only to the extent that the flush happens quickly. The peak level of sound volume is no less than that of the Briggs unit it replaced, it just doesn't last as long. Despite the above, I wouldn't necessarily discourage people from purchasing this unit, particularly if water conservation is a high priority and/or you're not overly concerned with the bowl looking pristine after every use. When the flush valve finally wears out, I'm going to set it up for 1.6 gal/flush rather than 1.28 gal/flush and see if that helps. Due to the extra flushes often required, I'm probably using the equivalent of that on average now anyway.