If you purchase the first generation of anything, you should expect there to be some bugs. Having said that, if I bought a $1,000 grill from the #1 grill manufacturer in the U.S., I would have expected them to have already identified and addressed the issues being raised before bringing it to market. The most egregious of these aren't issues of wear and tear - they appear to be design flaws. I don't doubt that Weber's been working on this for a few years, which makes it even more baffling/disappointing. I absolutely love my Weber kettles and I fully support Weber's branching out into this space, but if you want me to part with a grand for something new because it has your name on it, it had better work as advertised.