Kitchenaid Toaster KMT2115SX won't stay down

Client comment: Our Kitchen Aid 2 slice toaster is fickle. Some days, it provides us with the perfect golden toast. Other days, it’s LEVER refuses to catch, leaving us frustrated and forcing us to stay carb free- not by choice.
Spoiler: Aligned and cleaned points.

[@fv1291]

I fixed mine with a fork. Bent the lever over to the left a bit, and that was it! 😊

[@dans_wildlife]

Thanks, this helped me fix my toaster as well. I made an H screwdriver by cutting a notch in an old screwdriver with a rotary tool. Besides cleaning the contacts, I noticed one pair was touching before the other - a little bending fixed that.

[@twincitiesfixit]

Nice work!

[@AustinRambler]

Very helpful. This advice enabled me to repair my Kitchenaid toaster.

[@twincitiesfixit]

Perfect!

[@bobdarcy6194]

Hello. Thanks for the video. I have the EXACT same toaster. I bought the toaster at The Bay in Canada. Supposedly a $140 toaster on sale for $70. The pop up mechanism never stayed down 4 months after purchase.. Your video helped me fix my toaster. Cleaned up the 4 contact points with light sand paper and made sure they were all aligned and touching. I also tightened up the 2 screws on the front bottom of the toaster that hold down that mechanism. Overall this toaster is garbage,. Very poor control of how much a toast gets toasted. I always use the lowest setting. At least the pop up mechanism works now! Thanks again!

[@twincitiesfixit]

Nice job! Thanks for not chucking it.

[@johnbechtold8762]

I have the same toaster with the same problem. I was contemplating modifying a small screwdriver to remove those tamper-resistant screws, but something prompted me to re-watch your close-up of the contacts a bit more closely and a little light went off in my head. I had noticed that there seems to be a LOT of debris clattering around inside that does not fall out easily and it looks like the design of those contacts is such that debris could accumulate around those contacts and perhaps prevent them from closing properly, so I turned the toaster upside down and shook the living crap out of it, rapping it with one hand while holding it firmly in the other. It took several minutes, but I got a whole pile of burnt junk out of it. When I set it back on the counter and plugged it in, it worked perfectly. Almost too good to believe (I may yet end up needing to take it apart as you did, but I'd strongly suggest trying to shake out most of the accumulated debris before tearing into it as you did). In any event thanks for posting......your video was very clear and most helpful.

[@twincitiesfixit]

Absolutely! We always give them a good shake over a towel before opening. No matter how well people try, they are never crumb free and sometimes we get lucky and it works. Thanks for mentioning.

[@rmallea1]

Thank you for this video. 👍🏻👍🏻

[@twincitiesfixit]

My pleasure!

[@gretanya777]

Great job! We're going to try to fix ours now

[@kpac103]

Thank you for sharing. I’m sorry about all the negative comments. Very instructional, I’ll attempt to repair my toaster using your video.

[@twincitiesfixit]

Thanks Karl. A little kindness goes a long way. Not everybody gets that.

[@denispenalvermatheu9087]

Thanks 👍🏿👍🏿👍🏿👍🏿👍🏿

[@twincitiesfixit]

You are welcome

[@buenojrr]

I have the same problem... I tried fix like this but for me didn't work. Tks Anyway my friend

[@twincitiesfixit]

Bummer.

[@ma-dg3gh]

If I can't do it, what would it normally cost for a repair shop to do it?

[@twincitiesfixit]

Unfortunately, I do not know of repair shops who would do this. A half hour of labor exceeds the cost of a replacement. Depending on where you live, there may be Fix-It Clinics or Repair Cafes where volunteers try to help you fix stuff for free.

[@firewindwater1929]

@@twincitiesfixit But the new toasters don't work well

[@johnabardenhagenjr1119]

Find a new job

[@twincitiesfixit]

Actually, I do this for other people for free. The video is the conversation I would have with them if they were across the table while I work. I share it with them when I return their repaired item.

[@maureenkasischke7864]

Very annoying listening to someone breathing heavily throughout this video

[@twincitiesfixit]

It is unfoutunate that you felt annoyed. These videos are created to let people, whose stuff I fix for free, know what the process was, and to educate as much as I can with my limited knowledge. I make them public to be helpful in the off chance that others may learn what to do or avoid in similar situations. I certainly didn't start out to annoy anyone with my periodic breathing issues.