Sharp Carousel R Series

Sharp R423 Sensor Failure and Sharp not being very sharp. I purchased a Sharp R423 since it had sensor cooking and had the correct size and dimensions I was looking for. The R423 costs about $50.00 more than the R403 apparently due to the cooking sensor. I used the R423 cooking sensor for about three or four times then error code E0 appeared, which I was told by Sharp indicated a sensor failure. Sharp requested that I take the unit into a local Sharp authorized repair shop. It was at the repair shop for three weeks. The repair shop finally called and stated they had been waiting for information from Sharp and found out the R423 unit is not repairable. They asked me to contact Sharp. When I did, Sharp said I shouldn't have taken the R423 to a repair shop since it is not repairable. Why did they send me there in the first place then? Eventually, Sharp said they will send me a new one. This sounded reasonable at the time. However, about an hour later, Sharp contacted me again and want... Read more

Oh my! Yes! My Sharp R series just caught on fire yesturday. Thank god it was in the middle of the day when me and the kids were awake! It got so hot the plastic turning arms melted to black and the glass plate melted to where a hole was burnt right thru it. I bought the Sharp thinking I was getting a better product since the last several microwaves had been less costly Walmart ones. Well, the Walmart microwaves took longer to cook...but NEVER caught on fire. Get rid of the Sharps!

We got a Sharp R-240 or R-250 about a year ago. I don't know which because it started a fire in our kitchen. We were sleeping and the microwave was plugged in but not in use. The insurance guy said that this can happen just by being plugged in. If you have one, please unplug it at night. Or better yet get rid of it.

These are good microwaves, but as with any microwave, do not open the door while it's cooking! Touch the stop key first. Otherwise, you wear out the door switches and they can fail. The door switches can be replaced with generics from a local home improvement or other store. Also, if your LCD display is failing or intermittent, or if your hood fan or lights are not working, I offer a repair service at http://www.microwavedisplay.com and you can feel free to e-mail me your repair questions.

Please don't buy a Sharp Carousel Microwave oven. My mom bought one two years ago. While Mom was using her Sharp Carousel last Saturday, it made a pop that was as loud as a gun and it shot fire out of the back of it. This proves that these Sharp Carousel Microwave ovens are dangerous. If you own a Sharp Carousel Microwave oven, please get rid of it and buy another Microwave. Preferably one that's not manufactured by Sharp.

Mines working great now, sitting on the back porch waiting to be hauled off to the dump where the mfg. should have stored the R-1505's in the first place. If you want it rummage around. Its the one with the burnt interlock switch and the computer that's no Good...And will cost me 1/3 of what I paid for my new overstove Microwave to "Diagnose" the Sharp. I hated those covered buttons on the Sharp anyways. What a dumb idea. Add to that my Radio Shack Microwave leak detector shows that thing spewing out microwave out the front glass door in the middle. My New one does too but not 1/10 as much. The only reason I'm Re-reviewing this is to let you know of a GREAT Microwave that sits where the R-1505 did, namely a: Whirlpool MH1170XSS - 6. It actually asks you how many ounces your popcorn pack is and lo and behold it's created a bumper crop of popcorn compared to the mfg. of the popcorn's 4 min suggestion. It's a beaut !! Simple and Great Looking and Works Wonderful. Would you like to heat... Read more

I have a Sharp Carousel microwave that started coming on just by opening the door. I unplugged it and replugged it several times with no success. Then I plugged it back in while holding down the Start and the Stop/Clear keys at the same time. It has worked properly now for several days. I don't know why, but it seems to have worked at least for now.

I bought a Sharp R1514 in 2003, top of the line. The display went out 9 months after I bought it. Sharp repaired it and a month later the display went again. Again it was repaired by Sharp. The display went again after 2 months. Now the warranty is gone but Sharp replaced the microwave with a new one, same model. This one caught on fire while cooking with a Tupperware microwave steamer. The technician came and could not duplicate the situation and said the unit worked fine for him, even though I showed him the melted dish and the unit had smoke and fire damage. The display went shortly after that so I contacted sharp and was told it was out of warranty even though the manufacture date showed the unit was only 4 months old. I went to visit my mother and she had just bought the SAME unit and you guessed it, the display was out. Sharp has terrible customer service and even worse microwaves!

LCD display started to fade about 9 month after purchase. Can read it with a torch but it is very annoying!!!

I shut the door and it turned on by itself

Problem with Sharp R Series Convection Microwave, model R-930AW. When I try and pop popcorn I damage my microwave. The Coupler literally melts below the main cavity of the microwave. At first I thought this was a fluke I just happened to microwave a bag of popcorn and 2 minutes into the cycle the turntable stopped working. I ordered a new coupler, and installed it the microwave seemed to work great well up until I tried another bag of Popcorn, less the 2 minutes into the cycle, the turntable stopped again, I disassembled the unit and sure enough the same thing had happened, it melted off the the lower 3/4 inch or so of the coupler, it had melted itself off from the top portion of the coupler. Anyone had this or a similar problem? I have a good source for the coupler, they run around 8.00 plus shipping. If anyone needs one just email me. Jeff

I have had this Microwave for two years Carousel r series - on Sunday afternoon I cooked a potato and press the setting potato like I always do and the potato kept cooking and cooking and I never heard the ding sound when finished. I turn around and the potato cooked till it went into flames. My whole house was smokey and the fire department was called because my ADT alarm went off. I could not believe how much this was a fire hazardous. The LCD screen was fading and I think it malfunction and died so the potato kept cooking till it went into to flames. Now my mom has the same unit and hers died two days prior - go figure! When we both called Sharp they just said our warrenty has expired. Isn't that nice SO CONVENIENT FOR THEM AND THEY WERE RUDE TO ME AND ACCUSING ME OF OVER COOKING MY FOOD - I HAVE BEEN MICROWAVING FOR 20 YEARS! THIS ITEM IS A FIRE HAZARDOUS PLEASE DON'T WAIT TILL YOUR HOUSE BURNS DOWN - DON'T BUY IT OR WATCH CLOSELY IF YOU HAVE ONE!!! THE SENSOR GOES BAD A... Read more

Must admit though it may be dead now my R-430CD purchased in 1999 got a lot of use until March of 2006. 8 person family used all the time. I just noticed that mine too starts up when I close the door. The magnetron doesn't turn on (the low hum which I think is the real Microwave part of the operation) and based on the other posts I've seen I think I'll see if I can turn it off by pushing more on the door or the switch. Shouldn't be too hard to replace switch.............though I confess I just bought an over the stove Sears microwave to go with the my new Sears oven.. pete

I purchased this microwave in April 2000. It was manufactured in November 1999. After 3 years of working the LCD display stopped working on half of one side. That was okay, because I could still use it. A few months ago, when I would use the sensor cook for popcorn the metal plate at the top would spark. But this only happened when I used the sensor cook option. So we didn't use it for 2 months. Today I used it for popcorn without thinking and it caught on fire. We were able to put out the fire, and we immediately took the microwave outside. This weekend when we buy a new microwave, I will not purchase a Sharp microwave.

I bought a R-1491 in July '00 (MFG Oct '99). Up until just last week it was working fine. So I got about 4 good years out of it. Not sure if this should be the expected life period of a microwave. I would have thought maybe 8 yrs at least. I've got the same problems I've read below. Broken handle in year two (but at least the machine still worked). But now it's doing the mystery turn on by itself trick when the door is not 100% closed. Repairman should be arriving any sencond to get his service call charge and then my journey starts on spending more money to fix it then the thing cost when I first bought it. Not sure what to do...

The door started loosening and now I have to slightly pull the door in order to work. It works, but now it just keeps turning on even when door is open. Some toggle switch is not working properly. It's a mess and I don't know what to do. -harish patel

I also have a Sharp microwave, model R1481, made in 1999. It starts by itself any time day or night. I have emailed the company with no response. I keep the door ajar as that seems to give me some piece of mind. It led pad is now giving me trouble by shutting itself off in the middle of a sequence. I was going to get a replacement but will look elsewhere. Sharp was a brand I thought was trustworthy. WRONG.

We have a Sharp Carousel model R-310DW that was manufactured in June 2000 and purchased in October 2000. Up until last week, the unit worked fine. Now it turns on as soon as you open the door. We quickly unplugged it and no longer use it. However, from reading below it sounds like this is not an uncommon problem with Sharp microwaves. A recall should have been put out for any product that has the potential to expose people to unnecessary radiation. We never would have purchased a microwave that had the potential to do this. Especially with two small children in the house. I'm going to contact Sharp, as well as some consumer safety agencies. Depending on Sharp's response, some sort of legal action might be needed to make them take action. Maybe a class-action suit is warranted...

Enjoy your microawave while it is under warranty. After that it is only a matter of time before the LED goes out. They are going out at 13 months average. I have researched several sites and have noticed the same problem in the R series microwaves. I purchased one for my mother, who is retired on a fixed income before I was deployed with the army to the gulf. When I returned about a year later, she told me that the LED stopped worked about 2 months ago. Now it was one month after the warranty. Called Sharp Customer Service and were told Sorry, you are on your own, Here is a list of repair shops in your area. I had an older Sharp model that lasted for over 12 years. I think the newer model are being built cheaply and they do not last. Buy soem of brand. I would buy a no name brand for a lot less money before I pay for another Sharp. They have lost my business forever.

Oven works fine but beware the metal rack supplied with it. Needs to be used for proper placement of heated items but will ignite paper products. CAUTION! Fire is contained and detectors will not go off right away. Experience talking. Keep an eye on this unit while heating. I suspect the design of the grid creates excess heat?

We have a two year old R-1505 over the range Sharp. The control panel started malfunctioning about 6 months ago, now it barely works. The over starts ALL BY ITSELF with no one around. We have resorted to keeping a mug of water in it, just in case. When you can operate it, closing the door and pressing 'start' sends it into a frenzy of adding one minute onto your pre-set cook time, sometimes up to 10 minutes extra. Bah! Using two sticks to make fire would be better.

Bought in June 1999. Repaired of $116 in Nov. 2000. Died completely in Jan. 2004. Sharp products don't last.

I too have Sharp Carousel R-series over the Range microwave, less than a year old and the LED board has a mind of its own. It becomes blank, then it lights up at will! Several of my neighbors have the same one, and have had to have the boards replaced. just short of running out of warranty. I am waiting for a service tech to fix mine. When it works, it works fine.

I bought a Sharp model R420EK two years ago. The display just started acting up. (Display went out and now has come back on but we don’t know for how long) I priced one of these displays and it costs over $70.00. The manufacture date for this microwave is September 2001. I had another Sharp microwave for years with not one problem. I would think twice before buying another.

We couldn't be happier. Our 4th microwave and this one is the best. Easy controls. Always cooks perfectly. No defects. No problems.

My Sharp Carousel microwave was purchased in 1999. The Led Display for the clock and timer started to malfunction about 6 months ago.The highest number is only pactially working. Half of this display doesn't light up. My sister also has the same unit bought a couple of months after me. Her unit started to malfuntion same as mine but continued to lose it's display until there was none, then it started to run when you opened the door, even when off. I'm afraid mine will be doing the same soon.

Well, I only own one microwave, so I'd have to say that it's the best. Nothing's ever gone wrong with mine, and it works like a perfectly normal microwave. The little preset timer buttons (they say like, 'frozen chicken', or 'popcorn' and you press em and they start it with the time that you need to heat that food up) are convenient.

My microwave was made in 12/98. I purchased it in summer of 99. The led display has been malfunctioning now for a year and it just started to run on its own with the door open. This is a safety concern. I sent email to sharp and the told me to take in for service(at my expense). I also contacted Consumer Safety thru email. They sent it to Food and Drug Administration who made Sharp order machine in for testing and service. Thank God for the FDA. Sharp was very pleasent on phone with the response to my problem. Machine not on warrenty but they are paying for testing and repair. The results of testing to go to FDA. If necessary there may be a recall on this model. I will post results when done. If your microwave operates with door open contact FDA by phone or email and do not use the machine as it may be dangerous(unplug it)

We purchased our Sharp Carousel Microwave last year. It worked perfect and I loved it but the very second the warranty ran out we started having problems. It has only been two months since then and the light doesn't work to show you how long you will be cooking something. Also, the microwave this week started this thing of starting on its own and when you try and it will not turn off, no matter how much you push the stop/clear button. In addition to all of this, it has stopped cooking. I can only get it to work and actually cook about 50% of the time. We paid $180 or something close to that for this. It isn't like we can just go out and waste money on another one. I WOULD NOT recommend buying this particular microwave to anyone!!!!

I have 2 microwaves which were both manufactured in 1999- a Samsung and a Sharp Carousel R-409CK. The Sharp is in much better shape. I like the defrost feature which I use regularly for meat. The only thing I do not like is that there is no door handle; you must push a button to pop the door open.

This is an excellent microwave oven. It's easy to use and has quite a few useful features. I like the rotating tray (or carousel) and the express defrost function. I've had my microwave for almost six years, and it's still working perfectly.

I've had a Sharp carousel microwave for about 6 years and have absolutely no complaints and haven't had a single problem with it over those years.