Call Kurtis: Woman's Concern Over Oven Turns Out To Be User Error

STOCKTON (CBS13) - With the holiday season still lingering, a Stockton family was concerned that their oven was not a friend of the feast but a possible menace of the meal.

Wife and mother Mary Willey said she would get a whiff of gas now and then in her kitchen.

Willey says she smells gas when she turns on her Frigidaire oven. She was concerned that it was just a matter of time until something happened because the fumes became increasingly worse.

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"I mean, really bad gas smell -- like super heavy -- couldn't be in the room," she said.

We uncovered similar federal complaints online.

"This is potentially something that can blow up your house," said Willey,

She says the burner knobs also get incredibly hot.

We uncovered three federal complaints about her model since 2013.

One complaint said knobs on the gas range become extremely hot, and one person was "burnt on his right thumb." Another complaint reported it can fill the house with natural gas.

We asked Pacific Gas & Electric to come out and test for a leak. They detected a small amount of gas and recommended she replace the gas hose.

The PG&E inspector also realized the oven door wasn't closing and that the oven door was hitting the rack.

"Heat and gas fumes are escaping from the opening," said the inspector. "I can even smell it right now."

After several tries adjusting the oven rack, he finally gets the door closed, no more gas detected.

If you smell gas PG&E's, Brandi Merlo says they'll come to your home for a free inspection.

"Our job is to keep our customers safe, and this is just another way for us to do that," said Merlo.

We reached out to Frigidaire; they did not comment on the complaints but sent us a statement:

"We take the safety of our products very seriously and are pleased to have resolved Ms. Willey's concerns. If a consumer believes that their product is not performing as expected, we urge them to call our customer service."

Mary is pleased she does not have to worry about gas leaking from her oven anymore. She found an earlier model of her stove (off by one model letter) that had been recalled over a fire hazard, but it was a separate issue.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission says consumers play a critical role in the CPSC finding out about products with safety issues.

Some of those reports lead to investigations, which lead to recalls or expanded recalls.