Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Let me save you the time of reading all prior reviews to this date, as I have gone through them all and can sum them up for you. In fact, I was one of the consumers who raved about this machine after receiving it last Christmas, giving it 5 stars... Of course, I had only owned it for two months at the time. It IS a fantastic machine at first, producing perfect results every time. It does have some unbeatable features, but it seems that other companies are catching up and now incorporate the same ones. (Such as the horizontal loaf style, automatic preheat cycle, warming cycle, add ingredients cycle, various crust settings, viewing window, etc.) The problem is not with its features, but in lasting quality. After making an average of a loaf per week for the last year, this machine DOES start to wear rapidly. Generally speaking, Amazon consumer reviews indicate that people begin experiencing trouble anywhere between 6 and 18 months of use. The problems are all the same: Rusting/chipping paddles, rusting/warping pan, and unevenly shaped loaves. This didn't happen at first. The loaves never stuck, and the ingredients mixed well. The bread had the proper shape and baked evenly. The results were perfect and consistent every time... in the beginning. I assumed there were just a couple of lemons out there, since the majority of reviews were glowing. But if you take the time to go through all of them, you'll notice that most of the glowing reviews are from consumers who haven't had the machine very long. At that time, being so thrilled and impressed, I enthusiastically recommended it to everyone as well. Now the bread won't release from the pan as easily as it once did. When it was new, it only took one or two shakes. Now it becomes a battle, whether you remove the bread immediately after the cycle is done or once it has warmed and cooled. Also, the paddles stick in the bread every single time, no matter what kind of bread you make. It's impossible not to tear the bread in order to remove them. None of this is a major a problem, but add to that uneven browning and an unevenly shaped loaf... I have to admit I'm disappointed. It seems that one of my paddles must not be working properly, because one end of the loaf is considerably smaller than the other. If I don't catch it at the end of the kneading cycle and correct the shape before the rising/baking cycle, the result is a VERY misshapen loaf that is burned on one end. I'm also noticing that it doesn't mix the ingredients as well as it once did, leaving raw flour on the bottom/sides of the loaf, and in different parts of the machine. Again: must be a paddle problem. Like several others' experience, my bread pan is starting to rust on the underside, too. To replace the bread pan plus two paddles will cost over $110, so why bother? If my bread pan starts to warp like others' have (which makes the paddles scrape the pan during kneading), I will try a different brand rather than replace its parts. If the Zo parts were less expensive, I might show a bit more loyalty. Although I have no experience with other brands and am unaware if these are universal problems, it sounds like the Panasonic has been highly rated, even above the Breadman. I would check consumer reports next time to be certain, though. I am giving the Zojirushi 3 1/2 to 4 stars now, but I'm afraid I'll end up rating it 3 stars or less if it continues to decline. It's still better than baking bread by hand in any case... Nothing beats how easy it is to simply throw the ingredients in a machine, turn it on, and have freshly baked bread in 3 1/2 hours. However, you may want to research another brand.