KitchenAid Stand mixers have always been rated highly so we originally purchased one in 2004. Unfortunately we only used it 3 to 4 times per year - normally around Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas when my wife did a lot of home cooking.  In January 2008 the mixer started to leak oil from around the motor head and oil dripped into the mixing bowl from the beater shaft. On contact with KitchenAid Consumer Interaction Centres in USA 1-800-461-5681 and Canada 1-800-807-6777 we were informed that it was not a KitchenAid liability and there had been no product recalls for replacing this defective gasket and we needed to take our machine to one of their service centres. When their service centre initially examined our KitchenAid they immediately informed us that this was a 'common' problem especially with machines that are not used very often, as the motor head gasket dries out and subsequently leaks oil; and in fact if we did not intend to use the machine very often we should periodically start up the machine to ensure this motor head gasket did not dry out. The final diagnosis from the repair centre was a dried out gasket and the repair cost for replacing this defective gasket would be $130 and 2 to 3 weeks to complete the repair. In revisiting ConsumerReports I was surprised to see there were no product reliability ratings.  My final comments are:- 'gaskets are supposed to be designed to prevent leakage irrespective of usage rates' or ' a recommendation should be included in the product user manual to periodically operate the machine to prevent this type of gasket from drying out'

We also purchased a Kitchen A id mixer and had the same problem in regards to oil leakage . I contacted customer service and recieved the same line as you about not using the mixer enough. Long story short. Log on to Consumeraffairs.com and read all about Kitchen Aid mixers.

Constant use is no guarantee that the gasket won't leak. My wife replaced my 1984 KA45 with the KA600 for Xmas 2006. I make a batch of bagels once a week, which the ugly baby sh** green KA45 had done religiously for 22 years. That process continued with the KA600, along with a biweekly bread recipe, until the bagel recipe finally wiped out the gear train. Prior to that incident, I too had noticed leakage around the spindle head. It was minor enough that if I removed the dough before removing the dough hook, the dough wasn't contaminated.

But, your comment is right on the mark. A gasket should properly gasket. To which I would add, "They don't make 'em like they used to"...

If you google "kitchenaid oil leak" you will see this is hardly an isolated incident.  There are also several reports that the KitchenAid metal housing hides cheap plastic gears, that repairs are expensive and slow, and that you can't buy the parts yourself.

If Consumer Reports isn't going to investigate the durability record of the products it recommends (and people expect a KitchenAid to last 30 years), they should at least disassemble them to see if they are made from quality parts or low-cost [expletive deleted].  A short warranty should also be a tip-off, yet warranty length doesn't appear in the comparison tables either.

There's nothing wrong with cheap disposable mixers, but they should be sold at cheap disposable mixer prices and the failure mode shouldn't involve leaking oil into your food.

I have e a KA 45 that I have been using for over 25 years that just recently needed some repair due to my negligence during mixing dough. I have also experienced this drip and for the same reasons, although not from lack of use.

Speaking with a CSR it was suggested that this could likely be resolved by running the mixer in high speed for 2 minutes to redistribute the grease in the planetary. This is the part that you see turning the beaters. Since there is only grease and no oil in these mixers the grease can settle and begin to ooze, creating what looks like oil

As for repairs. well, you are right about the expense and what have you, but not about the availability of repair parts or information on DIY for the fearless and mechanically inclined.

As I mentioned, my KA 45 needed repair and the only tech i could find wanted $65 just to look at it, plus parts and labor. i could see a $100 real quick for a $198 mixer. didn't sound like a good idea to me. So off to the I-net I went to see what I could find, and sure enough, I found a site that had the instructions, how to repair it, and where to find the parts. Go to njcrockett@gmail.com and I'll let Neil do the rest.

I'm no mechanical expert...just innately curious enough to tackle something I haven't tried before. Mechanical things intrigue me, and I have even fixed microswitches that were broken when nothing else was available. So I took my mixer apart, found not one but two gears that were damaged, and not even the one designed to break. Ordered the repair parts and fixed it. If it had been something electrical it might have been a different tune I'd be singin'!

There is only one "plastic" or nylon gear in these mixers and I believe it is still true with the new ones. The "worm" gear is designed to break if there is a resistance great enough that might be like a hand getting stuck between the beater and the bowl. The resistance could be cause by other factors as well and aren't we glad. Better it break than loose a hand.

OK. That's my story and I'm stickin' to it!