Customer Reviews for KitchenAid Top Control Tall Tub Dishwasher in Stainless Steel with Stainless Steel Tub, 43 dBA

We bought this dishwasher and loved it. It was the highest rated dishwasher available at the time of purchase. In less than a years time, about 8 months, a wheel fell off the bottom rack. About a month later we lost another wheel, then another, then another! In about three months 6 of the 8 wheels have fallen off the bottom rack. Now the bottom rack has to be lifted and guided or it falls off the track. It is run daily, we do not overload it as all pots, pans, and lids are hand washed so it's mostly plates and plastic bowls in the bottom rack. The problem is that it's all plastic. We have ordered 4 new sets but need to order another 4 to get us through the next year. It is very quiet but with most modern dishwashers, it takes forever to wash a load, it doesn't handle heavily soiled dishes, and it does not dry them if you do not open the door fast enough after its finished the cycle. The washing issues are due to Energy Star compliance.

Buyer beware. This dishwasher is quite and cleans well. But that is where the quality Stops on this dishwasher. The bottom wheel assembly on the bottom rack will wear out in 2 1/2 years. At the cost of $38 dollars per wheel assembly. And yes all wheel assemblies will need to be replaced. Then at the 3 1/2 year period the water pump will fail and flood your home. The appliance tech told me that it failed because we did not use the product affresh. You have got to be kidding me. We had a contractor grade Jenn Air dishwasher that lasted eleven years. Also with a name like affresh. Is misleading, like it makes everything smell fresh. Make no mistake about it. Now days things last 3 to 5 years and goes to the landfill. So much for being environmentally friendly!!

Buyer beware. This dishwasher is quite and cleans well. But that is where the quality Stops on this dishwasher. The bottom wheel assembly on the bottom rack will wear out in 2 1/2 years. At the cost of $38 dollars per wheel assembly. And yes all wheel assemblies will need to be replaced. Then at the 3 1/2 year period the water pump will fail and flood your home. The appliance tech told me that it failed because we did not use the product affresh. You have got to be kidding me. We had a contractor grade Jenn Air dishwasher that lasted eleven years. Also with a name like affresh. Is misleading, like it makes everything smell fresh. Make no mistake about it. Now days things last 3 to 5 years and goes to the landfill. So much for being environmentally friendly!!

This dishwasher worked well for 2.5 years before failing catastrophically. Three weeks ago, there was almost no water flow into the dishwasher and very dirty dishes. We took the dishwasher apart and found a very fine mesh filter covered with food particles. (See picture below.) The filter is supposed to be self-cleaning and is part of the pump. The filter can only be accessed by uninstalling the dishwasher, turning it on its side and taking apart the dishwasher and pump unit. We cleaned the filter off and reinstalled everything. The dishwasher worked well for 3 wash cycles and then the filter plugged again. We cleaned the filter again. The dishwasher worked for 5 wash cycles this time and then the stopped cleaning the dishes even though we rinsed all the dishes before loading. We just took it apart again and the filter is plugged again. We don't know why this is happening and KitchenAid has not been helpful. Also, last summer the top rack broke and dropped onto the lower rack. It is only connected to the sliding rails with plastic clips which became brittle and broke. Don't buy this unit! It is very poorly designed and unreliable. Two major failures in under 3 years is too much! We will never buy a dishwasher again that doesn't have a filter that can be cleaned from the inside of the dishwasher.

The product is two years old. The track that holds the top rack in place failed the other day. The 4 tiny spot welds that hold the track together just rusted away and one side of the top rack fell into the lower rack . Called KitchenAid and was told the warranty has expired... WOW, just barely two years old! This is clearly a defect in my opinion. This should not rust out that fast or at all. Needless to say, we are very disappointed with KitchenAid as this was a top rated dishwasher on Consumer Reports too and we certainly expected to get more than two years use out of it. As is now, the top rack is not functional, so half of the washer is useless. We'll be steering clear of KitchenAid products.

Great dishwasher. So quiet you don't even know it's on. The dishes are spotless, it holds a lot of dishes and is easy to load. I love it.

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] I bought this dishwasher to replace an old KitchenAid . I couldn't be happier with how quiet it is and the sleek design. Did I mention that it cleans the dishes really well?

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] We bought our KITCHEN AID DISHWASHER a month ago and absolutely Love it !! It is so quiet that you don’t even know if is on. The dishes are squeaky clean. Glasses sparkle.

KitchenAid Top Control Dishwasher SS Tub 43dba is awesome and super quiet. Can actually have a conversation in the kitchen. Did loads of homework on dishwashers and decided on this unit. For the 39dba units that they had out there, did not think it was worth the extra many $$$$. So far so good, cleans everything I threw at it. Mine has a handle where I can handily hang a dishtowel. Like the controls inside. The only thing is the fingerprints. Likes to hang on to those! Purchased the 3 year warranty with KitchenAid/Whirlpool just in case. We will see in a year or two how it does. So far, I really love it!!

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] This is the quietest dishwasher I have ever owned. It cleans very well and the pro scrub and pro dry work well. I love having the hidden controls but also the visible digital display on the door letting you know whether it’s washing or clean.

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] I chose this model to blend in with other non Kitchenaid appliances and this simple design blends right in. The self cleaning features and quiet operation is great!

This seems to be a great dishwasher. It is super quiet and solid construction. I was able to install it myself in an hour. Looks fantastic in my kitchen. I would definitely recommend this dishwasher. I went with this because of the self cleaning filter, quietness, proscrub and fan dry features. Plus I like that this does not have the third rack at the top like other dishwashers that seemed like a waste and not worth the extra cost.

My barely 2 year old model KDTM354DSS top rack fell off ! Problem is a materials selection and innate design flaw and Whirlpool/KitchenAid customer support has not even replied to my request to replace the poorly designed Mounting Rail See photos below to support my accusation. The plastic Dishwasher Rack Adjuster became brittle after just two years. The tiny nub (4 of them) in the 3rd photo down is all that supports the top rack to the pull out rails. The rail became brittle, pulled from the Rack Adjuster allowing the entire top rack to come tumbling out ! Engineers who design dishwashers could have and should have selected a plastic that could withstand the admittedly challenging environment in the dishwasher. They failed to do so and it cost me > $48 (including shipping)to replace these poorly designed parts. Shame on them ! Someone in their design staff deserves a severe reprimand and may more. Aside from this major showstopper the dishwasher is the most efficient and quiet dishwasher I have ever owned. An excellent product with a fatal flaw.

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] I have to listen close to realize it’s even on. Beautiful dishwasher, inside and out. Powerful and quiet at the same time. Just wish this model came with smudge proof finish. But I’ll take the other features over anything!

I've only had this dishwasher a few weeks but so far I love it. It's very quiet you hardly know it is running. The dishes have been coming out spotless! It totally exceeded my expectations. My favorite feature is the hidden control panel. Very nice dishwasher for the price I would say.

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] I bought this dishwasher a month ago and I’m very pleased with its performance! Best dishwasher I’ve ever owned!

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] Bought this unit as a replacement for our 12 year old Maytag dishwasher. After several weeks and many cycles, including Easter dinner dishes and I couldn’t be more pleased. My wife commented, saying the dishes come out ‘sparkling’. It’s amazingly quiet, you can barely hear it running.

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] Very pleased so far. A lot of improved features and very Quiet .

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] We bought this a week ago and so far it has been excellent. It’s quiet and the display on the front is a great feature telling you where it is in the cycle, if it’s done, etc

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] Love this new dishwasher. At first was hesitant to buy it due to the price difference, but it comes down to the old saying, "you get what you pay for". Truly is the quietest dishwasher I've ever owned. Drying cycle is one of the best I've experienced. The style of it goes perfectly in our modern-style kitchen!

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] So happy with my purchase. It’s very easy to load. I can’t even hear it running

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] I LOVE my beautiful stainless steel KitchenAid dishwasher!! It is so quiet & has a express cycle that cleans the dishes in less than 1 hour! I am so happy with all my new KitchenAid appliances, I recommend this item & the entire suite!

We bought this model less then two years ago and last week it stopped washing. Called whirlpool and they said they would pay for the parts, but we would have to pay for the service call labor. The tech came out and said the motor went out and it would cost $250 for labor. So I had to pay $115 for a service call. I can buy the motor online for $100 and put in myself or $250 for them to install, doesn’t sound like free part to me. Not happy and will not buy a whirlpool product again. The tech did say this happens a lot and recommends extended warranty’s on appliances made today.

I would strongly recommend to stay away from any Kitchenaid or Maytag. They have a side vent, that creates moisture on the door. I called 12/28/18 to discuss and was told by Kitchenaid it was my problem since I did not research their product. I have a farmhouse sink, which the vent is next to. The condensation creates drops of water from the vent that fall onto the top of my cabinet door. As a consumer, I was told it is my fault... There is nothing in the installation or owners manual. Kitchenaid said they would send someone out. If the dishwasher was working, I would have to pay the bill. It is working and it has ruined 1 door so far. Depending on your setup, their product could create water issues. Stay Away!

This unit replaced a 1 year old unit from GE. This does alot better job and doesn't have that useless 3rd rack. Dish stack space is excellent and racks are sturdy. Only feature I overlooked was getting bottle jets. That would be nice to have. Overall good unit, doing its job well, quiet, and black Friday pricing was excellent. Thanks HD

BROKEN AFTER LESS THAN TWO YEARS. I purchased this dishwasher less than 2 years ago. I use it about 3-4 times per week, if even. I even rinse my dishes off before putting it in the dishwasher. A few weeks ago, it started smelling strongly of melting and burning plastic. The inside had apparently overheated. I believe the heating element malfunctioned and melted. All the stainless steel grates are even disfigured and ruined. I am SO DISAPPOINTED at the lack of quality and use of duration. I expected so much more durability and length of use from this Kitchenaid product. I HIGHLY suggest and recommend everyone do their research and reconsider before purchasing. There are likely better dishwashers out there and I regret my decision

Less than 2 years old and the top rack is broken and it started leaking like a sieve.

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] Nice quiet dishwasher with modern handles. Tired of replacing cheaper appliances so we went more high end. Worth the money. The old saying you get what you pay for is true.

Looked at a lot of dishwashers as I am very picky with quality products and am willing to pay for such. We decided on this one and it is a great dishwasher. It compliments my new kitchen update very well and matches the handles to my fridge and oven. I'm one of the lucky ones where the unit is working perfectly. The drawers inside glide very smoothly, the door is very sturdy, and most importantly it is very quiet after the initial start up. it is true you almost have to get near it to see if it is running. Pro Dry works great, dishes comes out dry and I rarely see a spot. I have been using Pro-Wash as it has an auto feature to detect soil level, dish load and determines how the dishwasher should run. I usually leave the door cracked open a bit to avoid potential moisture smell, but that's just me being compulsive. I am very happy with the dishwasher we purchased!

This dishwasher has adjustable shelves and slots for dishes. It blasts water where no other dishwasher has before. Every dish comes out spotless... food trap and disposal all inclusive. Wonderful machine and worth every dime.