I googled customer reviews for Rowenta irons a few weeks ago when mine finally died. There were a TON of complaints about leakage, I was so surprised! So, I bought a cheaper Sunbeam at WM and will just replace the thing in a couple of years when it starts acting up.

Jan in VA

I have a CostCo Rowenta and like it. It's about 3 years old.
But could this be the result of another factory moving over seas? Singer isn't making many new friends these days, and a lot of old American brands are being made "over there" somewhere they don't have such careful overseeing.

Rowenta was sold to another company. They aren't made in Germany any longer. There are still some left marked Made in Germany on some store shelves. All the new Rowentas say Made in China. It's on the bottom of the box where it was made. The best iron on the market for home use is the Reliable brand. It's fantastic.

I have a Rowenta that's about 3 1/2 years old that started leaking after I had owned it for about 2 years. It says Made in China on the bottom. I replaced it 1 1/2 years ago with a higher priced Rowenta and it has been amazing. It's one that says Made in Germany. I'm hoping to own it for many more years to come.

I have had 2 within 18 months 1st one leaked all over all the time 2nd one wont heat up just a few months old ...I do love them when they work. I am not buying another they are too expensive to be replacing that often.
I iron all my husbands work clothes and mine and really miss how nice it did the job.
I also went the the web site and saw all the complaints so I am on the hunt for another iron that does the same job.
I bought a cheapo does a fairly nice job but it just doesnt produce the steam like the Rowenta.

I have sent my rowenta back twice and finally have one that doesn't leak. I would return it for a new one. It takes about 2 to 3 weeks, but they will take it back. The one I have now is fine, no leaking, but I will not ever buy another rowenta.

I have had several Rowenta irons, and the first one never leaked, but the rest did. Then I read that it is best to let the iron "recover" steam each time you iron and set it back in the vertical position. I paid more attention to the "recover" time, and it did help, but the iron eventually leaked again. I don't think I would ever invest in a Rowenta iron, or any expensive iron for that matter, but I do like the weight of some of the so called "better" irons, because I like a heavy iron.

Same here!

I've had 2 Rowenta regular steam irons; the first one that I had for several years, developed a problem where it would quit working in the middle of a pressing job, i.e., sometimes work and sometimes not. I bought another Rowenta to replace that one. I had it for several years when it suddenly started leaking profusely from between the soleplate & the iron. I kept it for an emergency backup dry iron and bought a Rowenta Pressure Iron & Steamer, which I love. I would have bought a different brand but Rowenta was easily available and much less expensive than the other pressure iron/steamers I looked at. It is Rowenta's last chance with me. If I don't get what I consider good value from this one, I'll never buy another Rowenta.

I wanted a Rowenta for years! Finally I got one last year and now I am also the proud owner of a leaking one!!!!. I guess I have no longer the urge to buy Rowenta and will go back to a cheaper one. Never had any problems with T-Fal, which I used for years in my small business for fusing materials together .