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Frigidaire PLMV169DC Stainless Steel 1000 Watts Microwave Oven Key FeaturesMicrowave Type:Over-the-RangeCooking Power:1000 WattsCapacity:1.6 cu. ft.Convection Cook:Without Convecti...

Choose your microwave wisely! Frigidaire PLMV169DC Stainless Steel 1000 Watts Microwave Oven Not long ago we changed over our “biscuit” colored appliances to a stainless dishwasher, stove and microwa...

The microwave became a commodity a while ago, so about the only reason one would have to put in a nice one is it is expected to be there a while. The Frigidaire PLMV169DC Stainless Steel microwave is certainly designed to look nice, and given the price tag, one would have the expectation it would be trouble free. In only two years of service, ours has turned out to be anything but.

The Review

The kitchen in our home was outfitted with a complete new suite of Frigidaire appliances in 2005. One of them was the Frigidaire PLMV169DC Stainless Steel microwave over the stove.

This Frigidaire microwave is visually striking, with brushed stainless steel and glossy black window and display panel. The bottom of the microwave has a filtered vent and a pair of built-in lights in the bottom (one work light, and a second as a night light). The wells appear to be a bit small for compact fluorescent bulbs to fit, but we recently found some at IKEA which may be possible to make fit.

The door is the simple pull-open latchless type, which automatically cuts off the microwave when pulled. The interior is the usual gloss white with a rotating food table, which rotates in both directions, apparently in a vain attempt to keep the bearings from failing. The interior is far from non-stick, and is consistently unusually difficult to clean, with very little progress possible with a sponge and soapy water. This is the only microwave I have used where the trick of boiling water in the microwave to loosen deposits doesn’t make cleaning a breeze. It is almost as if the interior paint is some sort of adhesion promoting primer rather than easy-cleaning oven paint. However, since most primers are flat instead of glossy, I have to conclude this is the intended finish. Be prepared to be forced to use bleach to make visible progress in cleaning the interior of this microwave.

The control panel is functional, but not as user friendly as many other makes available today. It does let you walk up and enter a cooking time without pressing a button first, and hidden in amongst the various buttons is one which will put one minute on the clock and start the microwave immediately, and add one more minute every time it is pressed.

The controls also have a powerful set of “Sensor” cooking features, which in service can automatically cook a large variety of foods ranging from bacon to popcorn, to eggs, to heating meals, all with very even heating for a microwave. More interestingly, these settings have been successful at getting foods completely done. However, I am a bit surprised the rotating section has not yet been turned into a scale, so a microwave would be able to tell how much food was in there instead of having to ask.

In practice, this microwave has been quite useful, except for a series of problems we have had stemming from the motor for rotating the glass food plate. In the space of only two years, this component has now failed twice and been replaced. The way the failure happens is the motor begins to make a moaning/grinding noise, and finally seizes and the microwave quits working (the light dims menacingly when you try to turn it on). One Frigidaire repairman has even made the absurd claim the microwave is not to be used for cooking (this did not come with an offer to pay us $200 for the sensor cooking system that claim would render useless). The motor is currently making sounds indicating the third failure for this fault is approaching. Given the number of decent microwaves out there, the day of reckoning for this appliance is near.

Conclusion

I am aware my engineering background has turned me into a ruthless pragmatist. All machines must carry their weight to have a spot in the house. This machine has a high failure rate and requires an extreme amount of work to keep it clean. Any competing microwave with controls designed to make it easy to have it do the basics, had an easy to clean interior, and a time to failure of 5 years or better is clearly functionally superior to this microwave. Since that describes the cheap $70 microwaves I see undergoing constant use in the workplace for years without failing, the record of this machine, which costs over 5 times what those do, is simply unacceptable.

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