My problem is the Lever on my Tefal toaster won't stay down. It is a 4 slice toaster and neither level will stay down.
I am usually pretty good at repairs but this one has me tricked.
How do I open the case? I can remove the security screws but the knobs on the front have me stumped. They don't seem to slide off in the normal manner. I wonder if they are somehow glued on. If anyone know please reply. Thanks

Jaques, May 2006

Unplug the toaster To open/ remove the T fal shell you need to remove the six 6 torx screws holding the sides and the two 2 screws hidden at the back inside the handle. Then you need pull hard to remove the round knob indicating the desired darkness of the toast 1 to 6. Then you also need to pull hard to remove the push knob that activates the toaster. There is no need to touch the button that raises the toast since it comes out attached to the external case. Now you can remove the outer shell of the toaster and work on the inside. If the toaster does not stay engaged. The leaver mechanism that activates the toaster comes down on a wire that pushes the electrical contacts inside a white housing. Simply remove the white housing protector and clean the contacts with fine emery paper. Replace the white housing contact protector. Voilà

Lionel, August 2020

We have two of these PRC built Tefals, the design and finish makes it hard for me to let go and bin them - and my inbuilt genetic urge to repair everything.. One will flick the breaker after it has almost finished toasting, that looks like a carbon trail earth leakage somewhere or faulty thermistor, still debugging. The other was easier to diagnose, it just will not stay down, the power relay points are not being engaged as the whisker has broken off, so no power to the cct board that feeds the electromagnet.. Torx tamper proof screws hold all these ones together, be careful to wiggle the (toaster..) body until it releases. The older one was easier disassembled, newer have little tabs from the stainless body down into the toasting chamber, so be careful not to bend them, and to align them when putting it all back together.

MrCurlyWhirly, June 2020

I broke the whisker and don’t know how to replae it

Daniel, June 2018

When the whisker on the switch breaks, the start lever won't stay down. Disassemble the case as listed elsewhere in this thread and replace the switch. It is about $5.00 to $10.00 on the internet if you can still find it as it is now an obsolete part. Otherwise you can make a whisker from a light duty torsion spring however you'll need to get creative with mounting. Just one caution.. take care with placement of metal parts as this is the main power switch with electrical circuitry in close proximity...

Ted B, March 2016

I am stuck on removing the 'start' handles. Nothing seems to work. I am not sure where the two internal catches are. I have a 4 slice a anti toaster.

Paul, January 2016

How do you remove the high lift handle ?? I don't want to use force ?? Back out to the garage and hunt arounf

Ron B

Ron B, September 2014

The trick really is getting the toaster apart. First the toaster I have is TFal Anvante mdl #572714.

Remove 5 screws in the bottom (you will need a torx Tamper screwdriver).

Remove 2 screws in the back (These have plastic covers that can be pried out with a sharp tool, I used a steak knife).

The two toast lift handles can be pried straight off.

The timer/stop button can also be pried off but these are stuck on pretty good so don't be afraid to pull/pry.

The side start handles/levers were the biggest problem for me. They didn't seem to want to come off. What I finally realized was that there was a little clip inside that had to be pushed open to allow the handle to release. these are only plastic and I ended up breaking both clips as they were a little brittle. once I got the start handles off I was able to pull the cover off part way.

Next there are two small cable connectors at the bottom front (4 slice toaster). that you can just pull straight out. Toaster cover will now come straight off.

Problem I found with my toaster. Left side not staying down. (Seems to be a trend with the left side)

BEFORE GOING FURTHER!! If you haven't disconnected your toaster do it now before going further. There are a lot of exposed live electrical parts.

I used a tooth brush to clean all of the toast dust. off the mechanical and electrical parts. You will see a white color electrical relay. This is what controls the magnetic coil that holds your handle down. Clean this lightly and careful not to break anything. I then used a vacuum to clean up as much crumb and dust as I could.

At this point you could just temporarily replace the cover, (No Screws) and make sure to connect the white cable at the bottom, plug in the toaster and test.

Darren - Labrador, July 2013

I need to change power cord

Jim, November 2012

My 2 slice T-fal Avante has a white switch operated by the left lever with two contacts-one for each power wire-that are on the end of two strips of metal. The electrical connection to the two strips is by holes that are nearly as wide as the strips so one strip broke on either side of the hole. Planned obsolescence I guess. Solder might work; I didn't try. To remove the cover, you can use a straight screwdriver of just the right width to remove all the screws except the ones in the very bottom. The knob does not pull off. Pull the two black handles off the levers though and the cover will come off. There is a white harness holding the cover to the base that can be pulled off to completely remove the cover.

C8H18, March 2012

My problem was the same as Piplewis. I unscrewed the cover, opened it up, pulling off the main down handle in order to take the lid off. Very near the front there were 3 metal bars that were covered in crushed bread crumbs. I cleans these off and then found that the metal plate attached to the down lever arm made a clean contact with the 3 bars. Tried the toater out again and now it works.

Jedi New, February 2011

yes I GOT A Tfal Avanti deluxe toaster but I don,t know how to connect these wires back on to the toaster

kenny cooper, February 2011

I had the same problem as the lever would not stay down. Opening it up was a bit of an issue as I did not have the security type Torx drivers. However I got the six screws out with a standard driver. The problem was the white switch which is operated when the lever is depressed. This switch has a steel whisker proruding from it. It is very thin and had broken off. A spare is around £12 delivered from the internet. However I fixed mine by saving the broken part and filing off the rivet which held the remainder of the whisker to the switch. To do this it is better to remove the switch. You will need a larger driver for this (also security type). However you can get these out with a flat blade provided that the blade is the right width. Once removed you can place it in a vice and rivet removal is easy. Then take a 2.5mm pan head screw and drill a small hole through the shaft just below the head. Push the straight broken off part of the whisker through the hole and tighten the screw with a nut. Assemble everything and it should work. I found assembly easy but you have to keep the three buttons face down as you do it.

Simon Quin, November 2006

Another possibility is this, if like mine yourTefal Avante2 slice or 4 slice won't stay down. Mine isn't designed to, unless plugged in.

As the previous guy said, you take the case off using a long, thin-stemmed star security screwdiver (try tornevalley dotcodotyoukay - they do sets for under a fiver in an alankey style). I first bought just the bits to fit into my standard screwdriver, but it was a mistake - they're to stubby and I got beaten by the countersink.

The case is easy to remove - it's just 6 screws - 2 of these are hidden in the handle recess.

Look at the hold down contacts (easy to find just try a push down and you'll see them contacting). On mine, the contacts were red/brown with rust and causing no connection. You can clean the rust off the hold-down contacts with a piece of emery paper or even better, a small fine file. Then a bit of WD40 to clean up on a clean rag. Brush out any loose crumbs with a small artists brush. I would recommend carefully doing a short test press-down with the case off, just to make sure the contacts are meeting properly and unplug again.

Re-assembly is quite easy. I found the electronic press buttons could be held in the case using blu-tac as a temporary measure (to avoid having to fit them later and them dropping into the mechanism somewhere never to be found). The other buttons push on and off; just ease gently with a narrow screwdriver being careful not to damage the edges.

My toaster had a polish, and is now as good as new. Cost me £12 in tools (including the wrong bits), but worth it to save landfill and our beautiful planet.

Piplewis, August 2006

The main 2 knobs pull off - I levered mine against the case.
The unit has security screws so you need the appropriate screw driver. Once the case is off I checked the two 270ohm 5w resistors and they were open circuit. That fixed the hold-down problem. Getting the unit together again is not easy. The circuitboard is the problem. The rotary browning knobs are obviously meant to be fitted after fitting the cover. Getting them out of the cover to fit them later however is difficult.
I left mine in and managed to get the cover on after a few goes.

Jaques, June 2006