Toaster Loading handle wont staY down

Just a guess since I have had the same happen to my Proctor Sillex - When you push down the lever, you are actually completing the transformer frame that then magnetically keeps the toast down until it's setting lets the toaster pop up.
In my case, a piece of toast was wedged and I could not get the handle down so that the hardware was in place to magnetically hold. Have you tried to give your toaster a good thorough shaking upside down, unplugged over the garbage can or the sink?
Good luck Eric

mcdevito75 here, The lever mechanism could be worn OR the setting for darker / Lighter toast is set to Light, swtch to darker see if that helps.

take it back. sounds like the magnetic coil that holds the handle down when it is plugged in is not functioning.

there is a "contact switch" that when there is power in the system, it stays down. If hte contact switch is bad, it releases and will not stay down. COntact switch needs to be replaced, unfortuantely I have the same problem and can't seem to get the part.

Kitchenaid does not recommend repair on the toasters, as it is not cost effective for the consumer or company to engage in repair.

I would recommend calling Kitchenaid Customer Service. If the unit is within the 1 Year Warranty, they may replace it at no cost. If the unit is outside of warranty, they may provide discounts on the purchase of a new toaster.

Their toll-free telephone number is 1-800-541-6390.

great ! its a great fealing when you save a appliance from the junkyard .

YES .westinghouse used a clock timer to time all of there toasters in the 40s and 50s . remove the push down knob (there is a set screw under it) and the 4 screws under the toaster . the top will come off inside next to the push down lever there is a little clock timer . a drop of oil on the moveing parts of the timer will get it ticking again .....test your work by pushing down the lever stem (with it unpluged ) it should pop up when it times out . puting back on the top can be a pain but it does go back but at some point you may wonder ! with all toasters put down a towel before working on one to keep from scraching the mirror finish ......Please if this answer helped , please rate this 3 or 4 stars . and keep me in the paid answer department . A 1 or 2 may knock me down into the unpaid ranks. Thanks Cactus Bob

Go for a new toaster

Open the toaster up and look inside by the levers, there should be a little piece that will keep the lever down, if this is missing, then you may need to replace the toaster, if not, then the little piece may be stuck, you can use the following to try and loosen it up,
1. WD-40

I solved this problem on my Cuisinart CPT-90 Classic Style Toaster twice for two different problems. Of course: make sure it's UNPLUGGED while working on it and WATCH IT several times when testing so you can unplug it first and then extinguish it if it catches on fire.

1st time: There is a small solenoid mounted in the center of the circuit board. When the pop up mechanism is pressed down the circuit energizes and the the solenoid magnetically locks a plastic clip that holds the spring loaded pop up mechanism down until it's done toasting. The plastic mounts for the circuit board broke or weakened until the whole circuit board would tilt up and the solenoid clip would slip under the spring tension. I used a plastic tie-wrap to hold the circuit board firmly in place and that worked to this day.

2nd time : The four copper reed tabs can be miss aligned. If they
do not make contact, the circuit will not energize the solenoid.
The reason they warped was that, over time, the contacts build up carbon and have more resistance. Resistance equals heat. The
plastic base of the copper reed switch melted and misaligned the reeds. The second time I cleaned the reeds and bent them back into position, The third time the the plastic was to badly burned to be reliable. If I had cleaned the contacts once a year, it probably would still work now. I haven't found a place to buy a replacement reed switch so my toaster is toast. If anyone knows where to order them, I'd like to know. If the white plastic base of the reed switch is not melted, then they can be cleaned and aligned.

Note: When aligning the copper contacts, don't just hold down the pop up mechanism. The pop up mechanism will push lower than the position for toasting. Push it down and then hold the solenoid clip instead. Then the two center reeds will be at the correct spread.