Panasonic NN-TK922SS 27-inch Trim Kit for 2.2 cu ft Microwave Ovens, 27 inch, Stainless Steel

I give 5 stars for the finished product. But the instructions were sketchy and the installation was a challenge. This trim kit is designed to fit the Panasonic NN-SN9665 microwave. Be SURE you match the right serial numbers of the microwave and the trim kit - a number of customers complained about mismatches. My biggest complaint is the pathetic attempt to save a buck by having the customer bend a flat piece of sheet metal into the shape of a vent and attach it to the oven. The bend lines are identified by perforations but you can easily bend them the wrong way, creating a vent that doesn’t fit! Yep, I did that and had to rebend the thing into the right shape hoping it wouldn’t break because the 180-degree stress. Then you are instructed to tape…yes tape the flanges of the vent to the microwave! No tape provided, so I tried electrical tape which I could see was inadequate so then used strapping tape. Conquered. But we’re not done with this vent yet. As we (it took two of us) tried to plug in and get the unit into the cabinet opening (exactly 27”x17-3/8” as instructed) that dad gum vent got in the way! Fortunately the interior space was bigger than the cut-out opening so we were able to wedge the left side of the unit to get it in and onto the kit platform. Another half inch added to the height dimension would be tempting, but then the corner brackets wouldn’t fit right for the trim piece! I recommend bending that vent flatter. It’s just taped anyway with one screw in the back. Final look - fantastic! Matches our gas oven perfectly. I suppose that vent does it’s job but I hope the engineers would do a better job on new iterations of that stupid vent! We have a much larger cavity than the opening and I was tempted to leave it off - it probably would have been fine. But a tight fit could be a problem with heat and moisture. All said it looks great!

This is a VERY expensive piece of trim, that leaves quite a bit of space around the microwave and uses plastic clips to hold to the cabinetry. Because of this, there is almost no flexibility on the install, and you need to make absolutely sure your cabinet is to the letter to use it. Because this microwave was replacing an older microwave, while the new microwave was nearly exactly the same size as the old one, the cabinet needed to be almost 2 inches wider JUST because of the trim piece. Unlike some older trim kits there is nothing that is screwed into your microwave- the feet nest into the metal tray you put into the cabinet- so we'll see how it holds up. For being almost as expensive as the microwave, it was surprisingly janky. Make absolutely sure you have the right trim piece for your microwave and the correct size for your cabinet or you will be in for an unpleasant day. While it looks okay once in, the cost for value, difficult to understand instructions, and very large cabinet relative to the microwave this requires are all good reasons to give this (and the microwave it fits!) a pass if you can find something else.

Once I got over the fact that the trim kit costs as much as the microwave, I finally took the plunge and bought this. And I’m glad I did. Mine was going into a cabinet that would need modification anyway, so I wasn’t very concerned about the non-standard cabinet size. I thought the directions were pretty clear, the materials were good quality and packaged well. The complaint about installing the upper left bracket and then trying to fit the microwave in the cabinet is valid. If your opening is cut to the recommended dimensions, the microwave won’t fit in the cabinet with the bracket installed. So I just installed the bracket after I put the microwave in and used a ratchet with a Phillips head to install bracket with pre-drilled holes (it’s a tight fit). Modifying the cabinet was the longest part, but I knew I was going to do that anyway. Because of that, it took me a day to make the necessary cuts, refinish the cabinet surface, and install the trim kit. But once your cabinet is prepared the trim kit install would probably take 30 minutes to an hour, so very simple. The finished product looks great. If you have the space and want a high-end look in your kitchen, then I recommend.

While this trim kit looks good after it is installed, the installation is very difficult; because, it is a poorly designed product. As the trim kit instructions indicate, you are to assemble an aluminum vent that is to be attached to the microwave. Assembling the vent is relatively simple. A single piece of aluminum must be bent at predetermined angles to do that. There is a hole in the aluminum that is to be aligned with a screw in the back of the microwave. You are to remove the screw, align the hole in the aluminum with the screw hole in the microwave and replace the screw through the aluminum hole into the microwave hole. After you do this the microwave with the attached aluminum vent will not fit into the wall because of a fixture you have attached to the upper left corner of the cavity in the wall where you want to place the microwave. There are 4 fixtures, one in each corner that you must attach to the inside of the cavity corners. The trim kit face is supposed to be attached to these fixtures after you have placed the microwave into the wall cavity. The problem exists because the aluminum vent does not butt against the left side (as you face the microwave) of the microwave as tightly as necessary making the microwave with the attached aluminum vent to wide to slide by the fixture into the wall cavity. The solution is to not use the hole in the aluminum vent as the screw hole. You must drill a new hole in the aluminum about a quarter of an inch to the left of the existing hole. You can determine exactly where to drill the new hold by pulling the aluminum vent tightly against the left side of the microwave.. This will move the existing hole to the left of the screw hole. Mark the aluminum with a marker where the screw hole is. Drill the new hole and insert the screw through the hole into the microwave. Fix the rest of the aluminum vent to the microwave according to the instructions and you should then be able to slide the microwave with the attached vent into the wall cavity. Good luck!

Nicest trim kit I could find but kind of pricey as it cost almost as much as the actual microwave...But It is real stainless steel at least as some of them are not. I used this trim for my Whirpool WMC50522AS 2.2 cu.ft. microwave based on the measurements I thought it should fit... And it did! It is a 3 dimensional part not just a face plate with fake slots. Some mods to my cabinet had to be made (easily trimmed with jigsaw) as directed by the pictures and measurements in the instruction manual. It ended up taking me 2 hours plus a trip to Home Depot to get longer screws for the base mounting and paint stir sticks to use as shims for the base. I also cut a thin plank of wood to set under the microwave to give it better footing as this kit is not actually for a Whirlpool so the feet didn't fit perfect on the base plate. The previous microwave was a Hodge podge install and was not level or square which made this a little more difficult than I thought. This kit comes with the trim piece you see, plus a base plate assembly, hardware, and a vent. I did not use the vent as it didn't fit my microwave and I felt that it was not needed for my application. Looks great! A lot better than my picture frame style trim on the previous microwave.

I had to make some adjustments to get the microwave and trim kit to fit the space vacated by our old, broken microwave. The previous space was smaller than the specs required for this trim kit. The solution was MAGNETS, and it worked fantastic! This solution could probably even be used over the standard installation as it allows plenty of wiggle room for positioning the trim frame. I placed the new microwave directly on the shelf and did not need the metal riser. I installed a metal corner bracket to the shelf in back to help position the microwave depth-wise in the opening and attached the left duct as recommended. I installed 3 in. metal ties to the outside of the cupboard inside of where I wanted the corners of the trim frame. Instead of using the mounting hardware provided, I purchased four magnets from the Home Depot (2 x 2-packs of 3/8 in. x 1/2 x 1-7/8 in. Heavy-Duty Block Magnet, $8 each) Note, the dimensions and strength of the magnets are important. I had to include a spacer as there is a bump on the inside of the trim kit frame that prevents the magnet from lying flat - I cut pieces from a paint stick and it was just the right width to make the magnets flush up to the metal ties when positioning the frame. See photos for the assembly (they unfortunately did not post in the right order).

I installed this with the purchase of the Panasonic NN-SD975S, which is a great unit so far (only been a week). The kit was easy to install... directions are images.. but it's common sense on how to install this. The frame, at first, looks too big for the microwave, but after installing it and understanding you need a little open space for the door to swing into, it looks fine. The photo they show looks like the frame fits tight around the unit, but it doesn't, which is normal. So, don't freak out when you put it up to the microwave at first. Once you install it, it looks great, even with the 1/2"-3/4" openings on each side and about 1/4" at the top and bottom. It's the way is should be.

I purchased the Panasonic NN-SD972S microwave and added this trim kit since I was installing the microwave in a cabinet. The microwave was $201 and this trim kit was $179 which I thought was very high when compared to the price of the microwave. Anyway, I received both and set about installing the trim kit that the microwave slips into. First of all the trim kit fits perfectly along the top and bottom of the microwave but there is an inch or more space between the trim kit and both sides of the microwave that will allow dust and debris into the cabinet and for users to look into the cabinet cavity. The second and bigger issue is Panasonic's complete lack of support and parts for this product. The trim kit face plate actually snaps into 4 mounting brackets that are secured to the cabinet walls. As you assemble the mounting system you insert the female part of the mounting clip into the metal mounting bracket and the male portion attaches to the back of the face plate. Well, two of the plastic female clips broke while trying to snap the face plate in place. I called Panasonic to order two new clips and was told that there are no parts available for this trim kit and my only option was to order another entire trim kit at $179. I contacted Panasonic corporate customer service and they confirmed that no parts are available from anywhere. They also said that I could just return the item to Amazon, I guess to make it Amazon's problem and not Panasonic's. Panasonic's answer was essentially to have the consumer spend another $179 in order to obtain a couple of $1 parts. Absolutely absurd. Bottom line is that I suggest that you order a custom trim kit from a third party supplier and not try to deal with the frustration of dealing with a very non-customer oriented Panasonic Corporation who apparently has no interest in standing behind and supporting their products.