Le Creuset Warranty Claims

The first warranty claim was on the whistling kettle years and years ago. The handle on this item moved to the side so that you can remove the top and pour in water. The design flaw is that originally the two hinges were made of what I assume to be abs plastic. Over time the plastic would crack and eventually break making the kettle useless. On top of this the actual whistle portion of this was also made using this same plastic and the flip top movement would eventually break also making the kettle useless.

The enamel coating also was problematic as it would start to crack and eventually flake off making it a real eyesore.

Le Creuset eventually wised up and starting making the hinges using metal instead of plastic.

The original kettle with the plastic hinges was replaced once with the newer metal hinge version but the whistle portion eventually broke off this as well.

At this point I was done with Le Creuset and their kettles.

Next up was their 1 1/4 quart saucepan. The handle simply broke off completely one day during use. This was replaced but of course they didn’t have the colour that matched all my other Le Creuset cookware so instead of all blue there is one red saucepan. I must note that I can’t even find this style of saucepan online anymore as it too has been redesigned and/or discontinued.

The real issue with Le Creuset bakeware products are that they either break outright or start to crack with minimal usage. They clearly state to not use these on the stovetop or direct heat sources (obviously) and are oven safe up to 500F/260C.

The first instance was in 2014 with their 4.5 quart blue baking dish. Upon removal from oven and put on the cool oven top it cracked right in half. All information was provided to customer support and a replacement was received.

2016 was the second instance. The exact same situation occurred with their square casserole dish. Customer support this time was quite poor. A replacement was approved but they did not have the dish in stock. 2 months passed without any communication from Le Creuset until I initiated it. Their SOLE customer support person was on vacation and I didn’t receive a response until a week later. At this point they still did not have replacement for this dish so they ended up sending a different dish along with a “surprise” as they called it. The surprise ended up being a Le Creuset coffee cup in a hideous volcanic colour.

I grabbed my oval dish to do some cooking and noticed that it too started to develop two very large cracks running along the inside of the dish. Time for warranty replacement. I contacted them on in late June 2019 and it was approved for replacement. The issue this time is that my dish is no longer produced and they can only replace it with the current model which is actually quite smaller and a different style. Since the dish wasn’t actually broken customer support asked me to break the dish with a hammer and send them photos. This was new but I understand the reasoning. Replacement was swift and I received the product in early July 2019.

My issue with their products are with the build quality. Due to the price I expect better quality. Their products are always used according to their recommendations and yet issues still persist. The stoneware line is especially dubious in my own experiences. I have many other brands for years now without similar issues.

The warranty replacement process was hit or miss but some form of replacement was always provided.

Discontinuation of their products seems to be quite fast. The issue with this is that by the time you would require warranty replacement the product doesn’t exist anymore. The replacement will usually be something similar but different and there is no guarantee that they can provide the required colour. I’m not sure how many people have disparate colours within their cookware but I would assume that this is not the norm.

I’ve stopped purchasing Le Creuset products for some time now due to these issues. Warranty replacement has been my only contact the company for years now.

Le Creuset 4.5 Quart Baking Dish Blue Simply breaks sitting on cool stovetop after coming from the oven (2014)