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

Made in Mexico

I have 2 American Standard Champion toilets.. I am having the same problems the everyone is reporting ( Leaking Flush Value and
Wobbling tank on back of toilet)… I called 1-800-442-1902 and talked with American Standard today! I was advised that the installer
most likely did not tighten my toilet tight enough, the seal at the bottom of the tank is really thick and they suggested that I tighten
each nut a few turns at a time to tighten the tank. Also they are sending me new seals to install on the bottom of the flush arm,
they said the new seals are tougher and will stop the leaking.. I LOVE the flush that I am getting and have had no problem until now
and I believe that they are helping me get these issue resolved..
Mon, 2 Jan 2006
Joe

Grading the best toilets, the ones that work!

We purchased and installed an American Standard Champion toilet for its ability to flush completely. On that issue I have been satisfied. However, the same problem is happening to ours as others are complaining about. The seal twists constantly, allowing water to run continually. This drives me crazy! I have tried to fix numerous times. I finally took the top off and have a comb wedged in to prevent water from running. When we go to use the toile, have to remove the comb to allow water to fill the tank. Is there any way to fix this? Does the company respond to complaints? Please let me know.

Allison, September 23, 2005



The tank outlet.



The bowl inlet

What a piece of shit this toilet is.

2 days and the little cheap plastic clip came off inside and the
springs came out. There is no way in hell to get it back together. I
don't know how you are supposed to fix this thing. I am taking it
back after hours of installation. What a waste of time. How can they
expect the plastic to last? Home Depot was pushing this model. Well
they can just keep sending them back. The American Standard Web Site
doesn't even work.
Mon, 20 Jun 2005
Gregg

hi terry,
my wife and i just built our dream home and decided to install the champion toilet because the commercial show it flushing down golf balls. we thought, wow, this is the toilet for our master bathroom. needless to say after a year it has begun to leak at the red gasket. we went to Lowes today to see if they had a replacement part. No they don't. we may in the near future just replace it with some other toilet. in the mean time we just keep taking the lid off and trying to get that damn gasket seated properly. HELP!
Sat, 31 Dec 2005
Sincerely
Tony

I am trying to find a replacement seal for the piston between the
tank and the bowl. It leaks constantly, and has to be re-seated.
Sat, 31 Dec 2005
Joe

TERRY I INSTALLED SIX IN OUR OFFICE TO HELP WITH CLOGGING ISSUES. BUT
NOW PROBLEMS ARE WORSE.OUT OF SIX THREE ARE BROKEN. BROKEN FLUSH
MECHANIZM,CHAIN AND PLASTIC PARTS. THEY DON'T CLOG BECAUSE THEY DON'T
FLUSH. AND FORGET GETTING PARTS AT HOME DEPOT. THANKS,
Fri, 23 Dec 2005
MAINTENANCE SUPERVISOR AT A.F.B.INTERNATIONAL.

Remodeled our bathroom MAR 05. Champion toilet installed. First flush exceptionally noisy, and it hasn't stopped making noise yet. Rubber gasket constantly comes off if you don't have exactly the right flush technique. Leaks like a sieve. Would never buy this piece of junk again. Was so highly recommended by Home EXPO--won't go with their recommendations again either. What a waste to have to do a new toilet install in 6 months. Terry, wish we had checked with you, you rate it where it belongs--at the BOTTOM.
Wed, 21 Dec 2005
schoens

December 2005
I was looking for a non-clogging toilet and I came across the American Standard Champion "right height" model at Home Depot. It claimed I would never need a plunger again so I took the bait and bought the champion bowl and tank.

I consider myself fairly handy so I didn't anticipate any problems with the installation. Of course I ran into my first problem while trying to attach the tank to the bowl. The problem is the supplied gasket ring (big doughnut looking thing) is too thick and will not allow the tank to seat properly on the bowl.

My first attempt was to tighten very slowly alternating sides so It would clamp down evenly. As the nuts began to become snug, I would slightly wiggle the tank as my indicator for seating properly. As I peaked down below to gauge how much further I had to go, I noticed I was nowhere near bottoming out to the bowl! and the tank was still wobbling and leaning unnaturally forward. I didn't want to bear down on the nuts worried that I may crack the porcelain so I backed off, removed the tank and decided to call American Standard and find out if there were other calls concerning attaching the tank to the bowl with this over sized gasket.

The lady from American Standard informed me that the champion models do come with a little thicker gasket and advised me to tighten just enough and evenly so the tank does not wobble. I informed her I was already snug with the screws and was concerned about cracking the tank. She informed me the champion models have a little thicker porcelain and re-advised me to keep tightening just enough where it won't wobble and is straight.

My second attempt didn't fair any better. I still had a wobbly tank but I did manage to eliminate some of the forward lean.

My next plan of attack was to find a thinner Gage tank to bowl ring at Home Depot. I though I struck gold when I found a thinner ring offered by Fluidmaster. My problem was solved, I quickly unattached the tank for the third time and to my horror found out the ring was to small of a diameter.

Well to make a long story longer, I was now going to make the original gasket work, like it or not. I got rid of the tool AS supplies you and brought out my socket set I tightened, alternating from side to side, giggling the tank every so often until...., what do you know! the tank seemed to be nice and snug! I quickly took a peak down below and while it wasn't pretty ( the front ridge was almost touching,the back ridge was a good 1/8 inch away) I was going to have to live with it.

The rest of the hookup went smoothly no leaks, bowl filled up fine. Now for the moment ! of truth. I pulled the handle and whoosh, worked like a charm. I tested the flush a few more times, in addition to having family members test it and everyone seemed to be satisfied.

Just when I thought my job was complete I flushed it one last time and noticed a strange "thunk" sound. I flushed again "thunk" now what was wrong, "thunk". It appears AS has some new type of flushing mechanism that instead of using a flapper, uses a tube or piston that is pulled up by the chain that is attached to the handle. When this tube (piston,plunger.etc...) reaches a certain height, a spring loaded catch releases this tube and it literally "falls" back into place making this awful "thunk" sound as it seats.

I'm hoping I will get used to this sound eventually, the toilet appears to be working and am not experiencing any leaks like some of the other posts. (at least not yet) I will post again if I do run into any problems. !

Good luck
Wed, 21 Dec 2005
DC

I purchased a 2018.212 bon enlong.champion consisting: 3121.016/4260.800 on Saturday December 17, 2005. Upon installing the unit, water was seen to be leaking from somewhere. It was showing on the floor at the rear base of the bowl. We removed the bowl and put in a new wax seal but it still leaked. We then put red food coloring in the bowl and added more red dye water so that the entire pathway for water had the red dye in it. Sure enough red water was seen leaking at the rear base of the bowl. The unit was removed and put on a wire table outside and red water added again to the bowl. To my utter amazement, it was found to be leaking in a repair that was made to the bowl at the factory. It seems that the base of the bowl was sanded to level it but the sanding removed enough material from the final rear elbow to cause a leak. The leak was repaired with some kind of sealer and evidently never checked again for a leak. I have included a picture of the problem area.
Needless to say, I am very surprised that American Standard would allow seconds to be sold at new prices.
I have lost all respect for American Standard. I remember going with my father many years ago somewhere in New Jersey and passing a field just filled with broken toilets etc. My dad said that American Standard would never let a product get to a consumer that was defective. The defective units were all destroyed and dumped in the field. As a young man I was impressed.
You can see a picture I took of the base of the bowl showing the ineffective repair at:
http://www.llund.com/PC180013.JPG It shows the factory sanding and the sloppy repair.
I spent many hours working on this defective unit. I'm 72yrs old and don't need this kind of aggravation. I will call the supply house tomorrow to see if they can do anything.
======================== end of snip ===================
I also posted the link to the picture:
http://www.llund.com/PC180013.JPG

Please do not buy these toilets !!

I purchased 2 of the A.S. Champion toilets for my summer home in
upstate NY in May '05. Problems ensued from the installation forward..
my experienced plumber could not get the seal between the tank and
bowl to recess completely, complaining that he was afraid to break the
tank by over tightening, therefore allowing the tank to wobble and
water-leaking when one sits against it. I finally used cedar shims
between the tank and the bowl-spikes.

The flushing dome came apart within 3 weeks of one Champion.. American
Standard's solution was to ship me a new part that I would receive
within 2 weeks AFTER I had my plumber (charge me for a service call)
remove the bad part and send it to American Standard ... so I
basically would have to pay my plumber for 2 service calls to fix this
Champion toilet. Furthermore, waiting 2 or 3 weeks without a
downstairs toilet is unacceptable to my 18-guests visiting for their
summer vacation. So My solution was to go back to Hxme Depxt and buy a
new Champion tank, call my plumber to swap tanks, and reinstall the
used tank with the broken valve back into the original box and return
it for a full refund at Hxme Depxt.

Remember Folks, the retailers who sell the Champion (Lowes, H.Depot,
etc) do NOT carry the complicated-plastic flushing dome or ANY spare
parts for this model.. you will be without a functioning toilet until
after several weeks of shipping parts and waiting on parts from
American Standard.

My 2nd Champion toilet leaks water from around the bottom-front,
plumber has removed and replaced the wax seal (once when first
installed) the 2nd time and still water seeps out... I must keep a fan
blowing in bathroom 24/7 to assist in evaporation of this seeping
water.

I am satisfied to the extent that I no longer have clogged toilets,
but the water does not clean 'around' the entire bowl.. so if some
debris sticks to the right side, just slightly above the (low)
waterline, then it's possible that a first flush will not eliminate
it...

...but I will replace both with Toto models this spring of '06
Mon, 12 Dec 2005
Brett

PAY ATTENTION: Forget this toilet. Just over a year ago I installed one which turned out to have the defective flush valve. After convincing the plumbing supply to replace the tank, I reinstalled it. Like the first tank, I found it impossible to seat the tank properly without risking breaking it, so it had to be shimmed to prevent wobble. The new flush valve is now leaking and will have to be repaired, and I still haven’t gotten used to the bone jarring clunk each flush produces. This toilet rinses horribly. Two or three flushes is normal to get the bowl clean after use. I just remodeled my second bathroom and installed a TOTO Dalton. It has a conventional flush valve and works MUCH better than the Champion. It’s quiet, rinses well and doesn’t clog at all. If you want or need a longer rinse all you have to do is hold down the handle and it will empty the tank. Can’t do that with the Champion. My American Standard Champion will be sitting at the curb for trash pickup when I replace it with a TOTO. I wasted my money on an expensive clunker. Take my advice and stay away from this toilet. American Standard won’t admit they have a problem with this bowl, but it’s my guess they will discontinue it when they can’t handle the volume of complaints they’re getting.
Sat, 03 Dec 2005
YoFiveOh

Purchased AS "Champion" 5-05 needed ADA. AS web site said Champion Flushing System "Fast, Quiet, Clean, Every time" Flush sounds like tank cover being dropped -BANG - every time. Flush trip worked "usually" on first attempt. Flush valve seal leaks and refills 24-7. Called nice people at AS, got new flush valve, same problems. However, it does flush well, cats and small children beware !! Bought TOTO C704 ADA bowl for my old TOTO ST703 tank and reinstalled - quieter, flushes as well, and is a lot less $$ Returned AS Champion toilet to Lowes for full no hassle refund. D. Elliott Mon. 11-28-05

Leaking gasket repaired using blender gasket. I used a gasket from a VillaWare Smoothie Blender

It is a nice heavy duty gasket likt AS should have used instead of the incredibly flimsy piece of junk they did use.
Mon, 28 Nov 2005
Ronald

In the interest of fairness I offer the following:
1) I use the website all the time. Works fine.
Kitchen and Bathroom Fixtures - Faucets, Sinks, Toilets, and Accessories (americanstandard-us.com)

2) Champion does have a 10 year warranty, and seem to respond quickly to consumer problems.





Plumbers put the wax on the floor, and then drop the bowl down.

I'm another American Standard Champion owner whose flush valve is malfunctioning. Based on the pictures and descriptions posted here I have the new style gasket. The darned thing started off seemingly working fine. Then we started hearing it refill. The timing varies but sometimes at night when it's keeping me awake it refills as often as every ten minutes. However the refill cycle time varies considerably, apparently as a result how well the seal sets after a flush. I've made sure that it is the source of the leak. And I've tried to identify what the problem is by taking the trip lever and the refill tube off to make sure they weren't keeping the flush valve seal from seating properly. I've removed the flush valve seal, inspected it and turned it over even though it was in perfect condition. I'm trying to locate a new seal although I don't think it will help. Frankly after looking at the flush valve seal configuration I think it's a poor design. I'd bet it is leaking around the flush valve assembly which has very little contact area with the seal. American (non) Standard needs to address this issue and fix the seal problem. I'm getting tired of turning off the water supply after each use.
Wed, 16 Nov 2005
Tony Howard

I just got through reading the many horror stories! We just installed
an American Standard Champion and now understand why there
are plenty of "them" available and no Toto in our area. There was
an estimate wait of 6 weeks for a Toto, which is quieter, fills fast
and, most of all, cheaper.

The CLUNK was a total surprise, but, as of today, we do not have
a leak. It was installed by a plumber, who must know of the
problems, but didn't inform us. I have been waiting for over 25 years
to have my bathroom updated and am so disgusted with this
toilet. I will not buy any American Standard product ever again.
The toilet I had for 30+ years was working just fine, but I thought
it best to put in a new one as we put in new vinyl and didn't want
to have a problem.

I may not ever use the plumber again, either. We have had the
same plumber for many, many years and trusted him to advise
us of any problems related to such purchases.

I wish I had read the reports in this site before buying. It seems
that, once again, a foreign made (Toto) product is far superior to
the USA product.
Sat, 12 Nov 2005
Fran

From a DISGUSTED USER: I purchased an American Standard Champion toilet and was pleased until the tank began leaking after 3 months. The red seal on the bottom of the float comes out of the groove. It must be loosing its elasticity. I went to both Lowe’s and Home Depot but they said that “American Standard will not allow us to sell parts for the Champion.â€

I called American Standard and was told they would send me a replacement ring under warranty. Now on day 9 I have not received it. First Class Mail would have taken 3 days, so they didn’t send it on the date they claimed. I asked where I can buy one and they (American Standard Tech Support) told me to check the web site which list was full of Lowe’s and Home Depot stores and one wholesaler…who said they couldn’t get parts.

What good is a warranty if they won’t make warranty parts available? This ring would be easy to replace, about a minute. Their tech people said, “Don’t you have another toilet to use?†Yes, I do, but I share with a family. Any other brand toilet would be up and working the same day. Should I go out and buy a Kohler to use while Am. Std. is deciding whether to make parts available? Maybe I will. Apparently, their “under 10 year warranty†means that you will never be able to purchase same day parts.

I pity the flack that their tech support people must be getting. American Standard’s management is obviously lacking some ability to have any concept of customer service. I certainly think the Home Centers should stop selling American Standard.
Wed, 2 Nov 2005
K. Yingling
California

Ditto, leaky,clunky, piece of junky....Fuzz.....
Sun, 30 Oct 2005
shandell

Gee... wish I had read this thread BEFORE I specified 2 Champions for my new home (based on looks and reputation). The clunk is embarassing to guests using the powder room. And we also have the fail-to-trigger flush attempts that were mentioned. So far, no tank-bowl leaks though (though we had to have the tank mounting tightened). I'm sorry to hear there are no fixes for the clunk -- I now depress the handle very very slowly, to produce a full-tank flush like the old (pre-1.6) days. But this should be unneccessary. I'd love to replace the innards with a traditional flapper. My wife wonders how I researched these things - guess I figured it wasn't necessary for something as common as a toilet. -
C Collins, NC, 10-29-05

I installed the American Standard Champion toilet about two months ago. The orange gasket does not stay in place and the toilet leaks and then re-fills itself. I will never buy another AS product again! Do you know of any fix for this design problem?...
Fri, 28 Oct 2005
Tom