I recently had a Keurig 2.0 coffee machine die on me. I bought this when the 2.0 machines were brand new on the market; so it was several years old, clearly out of the one year warranty coverage. I was devastated as I use this machine daily and NEED my morning coffee fix. Additionally, I was a bit disappointed in the product as I thought the life of small appliance costing almost $200 should be longer than I experienced.
I knew that if I posted my dilemma on Facebook I might find a solution, and I did! I also got a lot of feedback that others are having similar issues. I decided to try the suggestion I got from a friend on Facebook to take it to Bed, Bath and Beyond for possible replacement and see what happens. I figured the worst they could say was no, we will not replace it for you. I felt slightly guilty about trying this, but I am a huge customer of this store, so finally decided that I felt justified about the replacement attempt.
I went in with my non-functional Keurig in a box and plopped in on their counter. I told them that it would not dispense water all of a sudden. I told them that I had purchased it over two years ago. They asked me if I had a receipt, which I did not. They asked if they could scan my credit card to see if they could find the receipt. I let them and they did not find the receipt; but noted that I was a frequent customer, so they replaced it with a brand new current version of the Keurig 2.0. I was thrilled! Prior to finalizing the exchange, they did first attempt to verify the model of my current machine, but the very first 2.0s did not have a model number on the product nor a serial number. B,B & B’s policy is to replace with the same model whenever possible. However, they said that they would replace regardless as they wanted me to be a satisfied customer.
I asked why they were so liberal with their replacement policy. They said that their replacement procedures were designed to keep people from unfairly taking advantage, but that Keurig knows that the first 2.0 machines had design issues, and they want to make sure their customers have functional machines. I was told that they get credited by Keurig for the non-functional machines, so felt much better about accepting my replacement. Interestingly, no where on the Keurig site can this issue and/or a solution be found.
When I took my new Keurig 2.0 Model 475 (Retail price $149.00) home and unboxed it, I discovered that the manual now specifically references this issue of having the needle tube clogged, 
usually by coffee grounds or as I found, when using hot cocoa pods frequently. They have even added a screen error message to the new machines that specifically references this problem of no water flow. I was also happily surprised to discover that they now ship a special tool; the Brewer Maintenance Accessory, pictured to the right here, that fits in the pod holder that is designed to flush out the needle tube mechanism should this clogging occur. Yay!
So I decided to post what I have learned from this experience that may help other Keurig 2.0 users going forward:
- If you have a water dispensing issue, first thing to do is to attempt to clean out the needle tube. As yet another Facebook friend noted, if you do not have the new tool, you can put a straightened paperclip carefully into the tube to clean it out as well. Or borrow the new pod cleaner from a friend that does have a newer model machine. The Keurig site does not list this cleaning pod as a replacement part, (I checked for you!) but the manual vaguely references that if you have this issue to contact them, so you may be able to get one from Keurig if you contact them and make a specific request.
- After using hot chocolate pods, it is recommended to dispense hot water through the brewer to clean the needle tube, each time you brew hot chocolate. It would also be a good idea to dispense hot water and discard at least once a week, even if you never use hot water, as an additional cleaning measure.
- Make sure to descale and clean brewer according to manual suggestions. Keeping something you use daily in good working order is just worth the ten minutes cleaning monthly.
- Finally, as a last resort, Bed, Bath and Beyond was surprisingly helpful and generous in their replacement policy and I am very grateful and happy with my new updated Keurig 2.0 coffeemaker.
Thanks!