My husband put a bowl of soup in our microwave and heated it up. When the soup had cooked, he tried to open the door, but the button does not work and the door does not open. We cannot get the soup or the bowl out and we can not open the microwave door. The oven is still heating up when we press the start button. How do we open the microwave to get the bowl out so we can have it repaired?

We are very sorry to hear this and we apologize for the inconvenience this has caused you. We would be glad to look into this if you could email us at [email protected] with your name, address, phone number and the model & serial numbers of the Microwave.

Replace. Microwaves are cheap.

Push the microwave door tightly closed. The computer will not start cooking until the door is closed for safety reasons. Some models of microwave will give a warning on the screen if the door is open.
2

Ensure you have programmed a heat setting, entered a cooking time and pressed the "Start" button on the microwave's keypad. Check that the microwave is not set to "Defrost" mode.
3

Unplug the microwave and wait for one minute. This measure will reset the microwave's internal computer if it has frozen or scrambled. Plug the microwave back in and try again.
4

Ensure the keypad lock mode is inactive. Most microwave ovens have a lockout feature that prevents children from starting the microwave while unsupervised. Lockout mode is usually deactivated by holding down the button that bears a padlock symbol

This is a problem in one of the damper-related components, either the switch or motor or the damper door may be binding.

The damper is a door inside that opens or closes depending on cooking mode. If the controller senses that the door is not in the right position, it will shut down the cook cycle.

Sharp models stop after 59 seconds.

See the attached sample drawing for a typical damper assembly.

We have the applicable service manuals for these models and have uploaded them to our site here and here to help you.

If a switch is all you need, we offer a universal type for only $5 postpaid which you can order here.

We're happy to help you with free advice and we'd appreciate your thoughtful rating of our answer.

look at the $2.00 door safety interlock switch(s) before you replace the very expensive (and hard and dangerous) magnetron.

The simplies is the fuse, which is located inside the unit, you need a screwdriver to open it

repair door target wont accept return or repair under warranty due to damage by owner

It sounds like you are talking about the indicators as shown and explained on page 7 of your owner's manual.

The one that looks like windshield wipers (#10) is the microwave indicator. The ones that look like bowls of soup are the High Cook and Low Cook indicators (#24 & 25).

If you don't still have your owner's manual, you can download it here free. You will need the free Adobe Reader to view or print it.

Once you've looked that over, feel free to write back with specific symptoms if you're still having trouble.

We're happy to help you with free advice and we'd appreciate your thoughtful rating of our answer.

I think you've put up with enough hassle from this unit and should get another one. Intermittant flakey problems are hard (read expensive) to fix.

Assuming the entire power line from the breaker to the microwave cord is okay, it's almost certainly a bad connection on the circuit board of the control panel assembly. For reference, we repair these from all over the country for $32.50 postpaid.