Cuisinart 1 Cu.ft. Stainless Steel Microwave Oven CMW-100

Pros: Great machine by a well known brand. Good value. Cons: None yet

Pros: Easy clean stainless interior. Adequate 1 cubic foot interior with 12″ turntable. Cons: No availability of parts from manufacturer or other part suppliers. Overall Review: For the past 3 years I have been the owner of this Cuisinart Microwave. And for the most part was quite content with it’s basic features & the quickness to heat up that cup of java, leftover item or nuke a bag of corn. The impermeable stainless interior stays odor free & is a snap to keep clean. At least I was happy until it broke down. Now generally when it comes to microwave ovens the most common failures are either a blown fuse, in which case nothing at all comes on or it’s one of the door switches, 3 in this oven. If a switch fails the lights come on but you’re still left with no ability to run the thing. The door switches job is to prevent the microwave from operating when the door is open. When my oven lit up but failed to start I suspected a switch. Switches & fuses are easy to test, with a simple ohm meter, once you’ve gained access to the innards. Like other Do It Your Selfers I was not intimidated. Note: Lots of How To videos on YouTube. Of course, Cuisinart attempts to foil your removing the cabinet by the use of 2 stupid tamper resistant Torx screws at bottom left & right. No problem, I have those driver tips in my toolkit. After removal, I checked the fuse first, located at top rear where the power plug enters, even though I suspected it was good. It was. Next tested the 3 switches. Two working, one not. Eureka! OK, get online with Cuisinart to check on part availability. Nothing to be found. Alright, lets give them a quick call. From that point on it slid quickly down a greased pole. I’m trying to be polite here mind you. The rep told me that they do not have parts for my microwave but I could ship it to them & they would repair it. How is that possible I ask if you haven’t parts for it? [Parts it seems, are available only for official repair personnel.] Well, I ask, what if I take it to my local trusted appliance repair? No, she says, they won’t be able to get parts either. You mean to tell me I have to pay for shipping to, from, & also your [most likely outrageous] repair charges?? Totally unacceptable I stated & then made it colorfully clear to the rep that I would never again purchase any product with the name Cuisinart on it. And I won’t. Hopefully she will pass that along upstairs but somehow I doubt it. Googling afterwards for parts [zero results] confirmed that Cuisinart really does have the parts monopoly. Now, I’m not one to wave the white flag just yet. Next stop, you know who Bay. There, with little effort, I found my exact switch for less than a 10 spot. If you search you know who Bay, keep the search general. You won’t find anything parts wise if Cuisinart is part of your search. A few days later I receive the switch, test it first, install & now everything is moving along like clockwork. Oh yeah, I also replaced those obnoxious foul language generating Torx screws with standard Phillips head. As far as microwaves go, it’s basically a good product. Sadly though it’s now forever on my DO NOT PURCHASE