By James Wells

MELBOURNE: BSH Home Appliances has been forced to recall a Bosch-branded combination ceramic and induction cooktop that could spontaneously activate and heat up .

According to the product safety section of the Australian Consumer & Competition Commission, the recall applies to the Bosch PIF645E01E ceramic cooktop which features two induction and two radiant heat zones.

“It may be possible for an uncontrolled activation of the two rear radiant heat zones due to the failure of an integrated component (voltage regulator) within the electronic control unit. Should the units become activated they must be isolated from the mains power to de-activate the heaters,” the ACCC said.

“Items or cookware should not be left on the cooking zones under any circumstances — not even when the appliance is switched off. Owners of the appliance are advised to call the toll-free customer service line of 1300 368 339 for further advice or to schedule a field service visit.”

BSH Home Appliances national marketing manager, Christian Ludwig, told Current.com.au that retailers were informed about the fault six weeks ago and that there have been no reported incidents on the Australian market.

“We were informed by our headquarters in Germany that there is a fault on one cooktop in some markets. The radiant cooking zones on very rare occasions can turn on,” Ludwig said.

“We have asked our retailers to replace the unit and provide us with consumer addresses and this is what they have done.”

BSH Home Appliances has estimated that 250 cooktops nationally could be affected by the defect, however this estimate has been extended into a wider group of cooktops which were manufactured by production runs prior to the defect.

“At this stage we have contacted 80 per cent of end consumers. We are now starting to go on-site with our service agents and re-work every single unit. The dealers are very understanding – there has been no technical problem in Australia. We have done what we have done to be completely safe and it has been a very smooth exercise from both the dealers and end consumers,” Ludwig said.