KitchenAid KSB5MC 5-Speed Blender, Metallic Chrome

This is a fine blender, and works well when it works. However, the teeth on the rubber coupling did strip. After some trial and error, here's what worked.

First, I ordered a couple of new couplings from partselect.com ($6 each). Obviously you only need one, but I figured if it broke once.... [...]

Then I ordered a 9/32" ignition wrench from snapon: [...]

The wrench was too thick. I figured it might be, but I couldn't find a thinner one (what's called for is something like a bicycle cone wrench but to my knowledge they do not come that small). So I ground it down. The coupling piece has two main components: a metal disk to which the rubber portion is bonded, and the rubber portion itself. Peeling the (stripped) rubber portion off the disk was fairly easily done with a pair of pliers.

Finally - slip the wrench on to the shaft, grab the metal disk with a channel wrench, and twist the channel wrench clockwise. Presto! Putting...Read more

This blender is by far the best blender I have ever owned. It can blend and chop anything. It's the first blender that I don't have to stop constantly to help the blender in it's task. My biggest complaint is that this product has a faulty part. It is the plastic part there the blade spins. The metal that connects with this eventually causes it to break off some of the pieces, rendering the blender unusable. My sister's blender actually started burning because of the friction. I have only had my blender for a year and a half and its already wearing thin. KitchenAid refuses to replace or fix this problem even though plenty of customers have complained about the issue.

My wife and I have been fans (and owners) of KitchenAid appliances for years. This includes refrigerators, dishwashers, food processors, and various utensils. We had high expectations when we selected this blender. Our unit has exhibited good reliability, but the performance is lackluster. Ice is incompletely crushed, which leaves lumps in drinks. Even bananas and strawberries (which are rather mild materials) are not completely pureed, after 30 seconds of high-speed attempts. I wonder if the circular/cylindrical shape plays a degrading role. The blades, though very durable, are not all that sharp. We had much better performance from Oster and Hamilton Beach. Price is not a barometer of quality.