American Standard Champion toilet Review and comments. Rated #1 by Consumer Reports

[Reader Review]

We installed two Champion toilets in September of 2005.. Unfortunately, I did not run across your site before we did so. We have been generally disappointed with the toilets for most of the reasons others have been, except, thank God, they have not leaked. They are indeed nosily when flushed, do not totally evacuate all the little bits and pieces of "stuff", do not have enough water in the bowl, so thee is always a little "matter", it seems, to be scraped off the ceramic. But these issues are pretty much standard fair for the 'new and improved" 1.6 gallon toilets, that our politicians have mandated . But now I am up against it with an issue that is driving me nuts! the flush tower is made of plastic and comes in essentially two [ there are numerous smaller pieces making them up] separate units . the top portion, or piston, is connected to the bottom part by a series of small plastic pieces held together by a spring. Well, the darn thing came apart and I am having a devil of a time getting parts, or having it repaired. it is a week end, so I will follow up with every channel on Monday, but after reading all the stories here, I am sure I will ned to replace the entire tank. what a darn waste. Also, what the heck happened to American manufacturing? we used to have toilets and parts of toilets last for many years, if not many decades. Now they do not even last a couple of years! The politicians started this toilet capper, by mandating the ridiculous 1.6 gallon pieces of junk.

TTFN.. Sal Lorenzini

[Reader Review]

Are there any lawyers out there that have one of these lovely toilets so we could start a class action suit. This is ridiculous that American Standard is allowed to sell a product like this.

Our toilets were installed by Lowes and we were never given any kind of warranty papers. There is also the cost and wast of all the water that is run while these things leak.
Cheryl M

[Reader Review]

I am renovating my house and purchased two Champion toilets. Consumer Reports said they are their "Best Buy". We had one installed in my children's bathroom and the other one is going back! The clunk when you flush it is awful. I have to pay a $75.00 restocking fee to the plumbing supply company but, good riddens. No where did American Standard state in any of their literature or online on their website that it was aggravating to listen too. The one that is already installed can't go back but, I'll have to set the rule that there is no flushing of that toilet at night so everyone doesn't have to hear it.

D. Moran May 24, 2006

I forgot to add this: I called American Standards Technical Support on May 23, 2006 and asked them if anyone has complained about the noise, she said No.

[Reader Review]

Do not buy the AS champion. I just took back the tank and Lowes was very kind and replaced it with a new one. The original purchase and install was done in May 2005 and began leaking 6 months later. After installing the replacement tank today (May 2006), it also immediately began leaking from the bowl into the tank.

I wished I has done my homework and had read all the user comments and experiences on this page about the AS champion. It would have saved me a lot of time and money. I'm on my way not to by the Eljer Titan. I've installed 2 of these at my in-laws and they work great.

jscott Madison, MS

[Reader Review]

Hello Terry. After reading of these problems I rushed to register my
Warranty on my new American Champion Toilet. The web page did not
work, so I mailed the Warranty. I received it back undeliverable. I
am concerned particularly about the occasional slipped/missed flushes
when pressing the handle. I read that a few broke and fear that
might happen to me.
One thing I would like to ad that I found during installation of
this made in Brazil American Standard toilet is the poor quality
control in leveling. It was not possible to level the bowl and tank,
and this was not due to my floor or collar. I did my best, thinking
this would be typical today, which I learned later was not the case.
I did not have any problem with an Elger I installed, and the Kohler
I installed was good except for a slight rock back and forth, but I
believe it was my floor that was not level in that case. A plastic
shim and grout caulk fixed that. The tank and bowls met perfectly on
the Elger Titan and Kohler Cimmaron. As for bringing the tank to the
bowl, I learned as a former landlord that the seals shrink from cold
water. So, after a week and 3 tightenings, I got one corner of the
tank to meet the bowl on the Champion. I will not tighten it any
more because it will take it further from level.
I will e-mail back if the flush mechanism breaks. I definitely
would not purchase another Champion, and would not have if I knew of
the type of flushing mechanism. Should have done more internet
research prior to purchase. The Elger Titan and Kohler Cimmaron are
simpler and more conventional, and I would recommend them both.
As for smell, I reccommend a "courtesy flush" immediatly after a
bowl movement, not only at home, but at work, public places, friends,
neighbors, relatives, etc.
Goodbye,
Stephen Perkowski

[Reader Review]

I purchased an American Standard Champion toilet in November, 2005 from Lowe's. After several weeks, the flush valve seal began leaking. Now, after 7 months it leaks about every other flush.
Lowe's told me that I have to contact American Standard to get replacement parts. I love the concept
of this toilet, but obviously the engineering is not up to speed yet. I would not recommend buying this
toilet until improvements are made. M. Knight

[jjtrindc]

I just wanted to add my experience to the ever growing list. I purchased my Champion "Williamsburg" from Home Depot based on the advertised flushing ability. I had it professionally installed by a plumber who I use regularly and he felt that AS had a good reputation - though I imagine that was based on their other toilets. Anyway, about a year after installation with relatively minor problems (ie, flash valve not seating properly), we got the leaking issue referred to here in many posts.

Essentially, when the toilet is not in use, it leaks from the tank into the bowl causing the need to refill. I tried to reseat the existing flash valve seal several times to no avail. I was unable to replace it due to the fact that neither Lowe's nor Home Depot carry the parts (something my plumber did warn me about, but I figured by that after a year these parts would be more widely available ).

I called AS and let them know about the problem I was having. To their credit, I did get right through to customer service and she was very pleasant. What gives me cause for concern is that she didn't even hesitate before authorizing sending me new parts. Seems to indicate that they are used to getting these kinds of calls. The other unfortunate aspect is that they only ship fedex ground, meaning that I'll have to wait 7-12 days before getting the part.

Given the long list of problems, I'll give this fix one shot before I replace te toilet with the traditional flush system. Hate to take the loss on the $$, but life is too short for the aggravation...and with two kids I like having my own toilet!

As for the calls for a class action suit, count me in if one ever gets started. I made my e-mail available under my profile.

Update: After about 14 days, the parts arrrived from American Standard. They sent two sets of complete replacement parts. I choose to simply replace the seal. After the first week, all seems fine and I've not experienced any leaking from the tank to the bowl. While I'm happy with the fix, I'm troubled with A.S. First off, the part should not have failed so quickly. Second, the number of days I had to wait for the parts was unacceptable, and extremely frustrating to have a toilet down. I would have to say that I'm not so sure I would recommend this toilet to friends and family. At the very least, I would issue a strong caution!

[Reader Review]

I have three of these super champion toilets. Two work okay, one has had its guts replaces three times, and they are only a year old. AS has sent me out parts and has tried to troubleshoot this ongoing problem of the cup dropping too quickly and not letting enough water out, or the seal coming off. Class action suit, hello, I'm in. I just ordered a Kohler and hope it works better. My plumber says AS should redesign this disaster. L Hay

[Reader Review]

I feel so stupid. I saw these toilets at the home show in Houston. Saw them flush and entire bucket of golf balls and in a house of men, decided... I wanted these toilets. I installed seven of them at my new beach house, and replaced 3 at my home in Deer Park and never thought to check the web reviews. I have problems with every single toilet. First they are all so loud that you tend to not flush early in the morning in fear of waking up the rest of the house. The plunger assembly has disintegrated in one and two of them leak constantly. Couple this with the fact that the only plumber in the beach house area is an older gentleman who stated, he had never seen new fangled toilets like these!!!

I know I am late to this site, but has anyone gotten resolve from American Standard and can you advise me how first to proceed?

M. Barnes

[Reader Review]

In July 2005 we saw all the advertisements in the local press and from Home Depot on the merits of the new and innovative American Standard Champion toilet. I purchased two from Home Depot - Home Depot never mentioned the history of problems with these toilets. After living with the loud noise of the flush, almost a year to the day both toilets have problems. In one toilet a piece of plastic must have broken in the flush tower because the unit is now inoperable. The other unit began a chronic and slow leak. We called the Customer Service Department at AS, and were told the parts would arrive in a few weeks. A non-working toilet for two weeks! We recalled the customer Service Dept. at AS after 2 weeks, and they said the parts were packaged, but not yet shipped on July 31, 2006? Now they promised a three day delivery time. Other manufacturers will send out parts by FedX, or whatever, overnight for non critical parts. A nearby Holiday Inn (right next to a Home Depot) installed these toilets, had problems, and were waiting for parts. Home Depot does not have replacement parts for the AS Champion. Not sure what to do. Fran

[Reader Review]

I bought an AS Champion from Home Depot and lost the receipt. The tank leaked the first week and has leaked constantly for about four months now. Also, parts of it came apart and the handle would intermittently stay down. Those two problems were taken care of by our own modifications. Some day I will replace it, meanwhile my blood pressure rises everytime I enter my bathroom. I will never buy American Standard again.
Tom S.

[maddog]

while tiling upstairs bath rooms, decided it was a good time to replace the cheap, 11 yr old Mansfield toilets the builder put in that were always clogging. I too got steered to the AS Champion by HD. I didn't bother to research as I thought it would be safe to stay with a well-known brand. what could go wrong with a toilet??

I ran into the thick gasket while putting the tank and bowl together. called AS and was assured the gasket would compress and the the tank would not break, and to tighten until snug but don't need porcelin on porcelin. she was right and it installed ok. we're happy with the flush and the 'clunk' isn't too bad. no leaks so far, but it's only been a couple of weeks. I ran into this forum after it was installed and called AS again, about the leaking-seal problem. they assured me the problem was fixed and the new models won't leak. I would feel better about this if I saw some more positive posts! this thread has me sufficiently worried and I'm wondering if I should pre-order the replacements seals for the eventual leaks?!? I think we'll be going with the Kohler Cimarron in the next bath room, even though the Champion is working fine so far. The Kohler seems like a simpler design with far less complaints.

[Reader Review]

Add me to the list. I installed the American Standard Champion in
December 2005 and it started leaking in May 2006. It ruined my
hardwood floors that needed to be taken up completely around the
toilet. The floor was repaired the toilet was repaired and now its
August and the toilet is leaking again. Its a relief to find this site
because now I know it is a known problem and to just ditch this toilet
before more damage is done!
J Irvin

[Guest]

After 7 months of home renovation, we finally got our new toliets. We wanted Toto but, not being in stock and according to the contractor they were 4-800$ we accepted the in stock American standard with Toto seats. One worked fine but, the one in our master bathroom leaked from the seal and constantly had to refill itself. I noticed the red seal was popped off the plunger so I carefully put it back in the slot it was supposed to be in.. The flush is rather abrupt and the plunger drops down hard knocking the seal off again. What a stupid design!
I took the seal off and turned it over thinking the seal was designed for this , why doesn't it work. Since then, it has been staying on even if you do let the handle just drop when you flush. Wish we knew about the cheaper toto's.
Any knowledge about this problem? John

[steve_results]

I can't believe that people say they do research, but never found the Terry Love site before they bought a new toilet.
6 years of 4 people flushing, never a clog, never a leak for the Toto!
Why settle for less?