We have had this cooktop for about 5 years. As others have reported, the star shaped burners are difficult to clean, but that problem pales in comparison to the other problems we have had. A Thermador service technician just left the house without fixing the unit because we decided the repair cost would not be justified when compared to replacing the entire unit. There are two major problems. One is that the burners for "ultra low" simmering apparently fail frequently, as ours are doing. They are controlled by a chip inside the cooktop and when the chip malfunctions, which is common according to the serviceman (and the reviews online) the unit needs to be opened in order to replace the chip. That problem is complicated by the fact that all 5 of the fastener holding the burners in place have completely rusted out and they cannot be removed with the standard tool that the servicemen have. Instead, the burners need to be drilled out and the fastener needs to be replaced. The total for labor and parts for that exercise is nearly equal to the price of a new unit. Our prior cooktop was about 40 years old when we redid our kitchen and replaced it. So we are going to get a new cooktop (not Thermador!) that has a much better repair record than Thermador.

i bought the 30" version of this cooktop and here is what aI founde: I did a kitchen remodel a little over a year ago. The Thermador was the most expensive cooktop, but I cook a lot and really did want the best. The sales guy claimed that this stovetop was the best in the store, and that the star shaped burners gave greater heat and efficiency. Firstly, it is VERY hard to clean around these stars, so even if it is more efficient, who cares, if you can't get into all those crevices? Also, almost immediately, and tho following the directions to the letter, this cooktop started to stain. I began seeing brown spots, especially around the burners, but now, they are spreading to the sides and surface of the cooktop. I called 'customer service,' which is a loose name for 'customer refusal.' They told me that the staining was a 'cosmetic issue.' I couldn't believe it. Who would ever buy something called "stainless steel' that gets stained? They offered to send some service guy out if I paid for it. I finally got them to agree to not charge me, so a guy came out...and basically told me that as a 'cosmetic complaint,' they could do nothing. What if our sinks, and refrigerators and stoves all got brown stains - is that cosmetic?

So, not only are those star-shaped burner a bad gimmick, I think Thermador has bought an inferior form of 'stainless steel,' and they don't want to own up to it. What consumer would want a very expensive stovetop with brown spots spreading all over it? Save yourself a lot of trouble and don't buy this stove!

i bought the 30" version of this cooktop and here is what aI founde: I did a kitchen remodel a little over a year ago. The Thermador was the most expensive cooktop, but I cook a lot and really did want the best. The sales guy claimed that this stovetop was the best in the store, and that the star shaped burners gave greater heat and efficiency. Firstly, it is VERY hard to clean around these stars, so even if it is more efficient, who cares, if you can't get into all those crevices? Also, almost immediately, and tho following the directions to the letter, this cooktop started to stain. I began seeing brown spots, especially around the burners, but now, they are spreading to the sides and surface of the cooktop. I called 'customer service,' which is a loose name for 'customer refusal.' They told me that the staining was a 'cosmetic issue.' I couldn't believe it. Who would ever buy something called "stainless steel' that gets stained? They offered to send some service guy out if I paid for it. I finally got them to agree to not charge me, so a guy came out...and basically told me that as a 'cosmetic complaint,' they could do nothing. What if our sinks, and refrigerators and stoves all got brown stains - is that cosmetic?

So, not only are those star-shaped burner a bad gimmick, I think Thermador has bought an inferior form of 'stainless steel,' and they don't want to own up to it. What consumer would want a very expensive stovetop with brown spots spreading all over it? Save yourself a lot of trouble and don't buy this stove!

This is the biggest disappointment of ANY item I have ever purchased. The unit is beautiful and well made. However you can not simmer anything as Thermador uses an electronic pulsing of the flame. Either all on or all off. JUNK!!!!! Besides that it is noisy and very slow to heat. We replaced our unit after two months with a Wolf and it is exactly as described. I made numerous calls to Thermador and my complaints were never addressed. We even got to know the service people on a first name basis. We live in a very upscale gated neighborhood so I've found pleasure in telling my horror stories about Thermador cooktop and their awful customer service. Wolf should put me on commission--I've killed at least 26 purchases so far. That's over $52,000 just on this Thermador cooktop alone not to mention ovens, refrigerators, etc... The $1800 cooktop is in my garage taking up space until I can decide what to do with it.
Avoid this dog!!!

This is the biggest disappointment of ANY item I have ever purchased. The unit is beautiful and well made. However you can not simmer anything as Thermador uses an electronic pulsing of the flame. Either all on or all off. JUNK!!!!! Besides that it is noisy and very slow to heat. We replaced our unit after two months with a Wolf and it is exactly as described. I made numerous calls to Thermador and my complaints were never addressed. We even got to know the service people on a first name basis. We live in a very upscale gated neighborhood so I've found pleasure in telling my horror stories about Thermador cooktop and their awful customer service. Wolf should put me on commission--I've killed at least 26 purchases so far. That's over $52,000 just on this Thermador cooktop alone not to mention ovens, refrigerators, etc... The $1800 cooktop is in my garage taking up space until I can decide what to do with it.
Avoid this dog!!!