It's pretty rare for the cooktop to truly be broken and hotter than it should be. One way to test this is to start with the cooktop element turned off and at room temperature, and then turn it to Lo and leave it there.
You might see the element come on briefly and get dark red, but usually you will not even be able to visually tell that it's on. If the element glows bright red when going from room temperature to Lo, visit our Support Center to request service.
Otherwise, your cooktop is working correctly. Just keep in mind that food will burn if left unattended for too long, even on the lowest setting.
Your cooktop will have either single heating elements, dual heating elements, or triple heating elements. Each version has different knobs with controls clearly printed on the front. The controls will need to match the position of the knob in order to function. For example, if you’re using a single heating element, the HI control should be on the left, the OFF control should be in the center, and the LO control should be on the right.
Depending on the type of heating element your cooktop has, you can identify and place the knobs in the correct position:
Ceramic cooktop surfaces retain heat more than some other types of cooktops. After cookware has been heated, the surface element will not cool down quickly, especially if the cookware maintains contact with the element.
For example, if you boil water, turn down the temperature, and leave the pot on the burner, the water may continue to boil because the temperature reduces slowly. This can result in overcooked or burnt food if unaware.
The easiest way to quickly reduce the temperature of the cookware is to move the cookware to a colder element, or remove it from the cooktop entirely.
Fast Boil is a special burner on electric ranges where the burner is larger and hotter. This means it can boil water faster than a smaller burner can.
However, since the burner is larger, typically the amount of water used is also larger. This can sometimes result in a large amount of water on the Fast Boil burner and a small amount of water on another burner boiling in about the same amount of time. This is actually a sign that Fast Boil is working, because typically a larger amount of water would take a longer time to boil.
If the burners do not maintain a rolling boil or will not cook fast enough, perform the following:
The hot surface indicator serves the important job of letting you know that your cooktop is still hot. It will stay lit even after your cooktop is turned off, until the unit is below 150 degrees Fahrenheit.
If the hot surface indicator does not operate correctly, never turns on, or never turns off, visit our Support Center to request service.
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