Panasonic NN-TK922SS 27-inch Trim Equipment for two.2 cu ft Microwave Ovens, 27 inch, Stainless Metal

Expensive for what it is, terrible instructions, and difficult to install.
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.

Trim Kit needs to be re-engineered by Panasonic. It’s the only option for Panasonic NN-SD975S
Three problems:(1) Interior height is different than listed in the manual.(2) Brackets are not designed for standard cabinetry.(3) Steam exhaust hood is an inch too tall, given the trim kit’s necessary mounting bracket locations.I thought I was doing good reading the manual from Panasonic before buying this trim kit. Alas, the manual is wrong… Specifically, it states that the vertical interior dimension needed for the kit is 17 3/8 inch +/- 5/64. In reality, the kit requires 18 3/8 inch. An inch is a lot when you’re replacing an existing microwave made by GE (it fried two magnetrons in three years of light usage and couldn’t make microwave popcorn without shooting plasma bolts). Despite the terrifying problems my GE microwave had, it did fit perfectly in my cabinet. It also sports exactly the same outer dimensions that the Panasonic Microwave oven NN-SD975S has. And yet, the interior dimensions needed for the Panasonic trim kit are a full two inches of height more than the trim kit for my GE. Whereas the GE trim kit made use of the facing cabinetry around the cabinet for mounting brackets (nicely obscured by the outer trim), the Panasonic trim kit uses only the interior space for the trim. The result is that the Panasonic outer trim’s top edge is a full two inches higher than the GE model, that was nicely centered in the cabinet. After doing much carpentry, replacing the standard 3 inch top cabinet facing panel with a handmade 1 inch tall one (oak for strength … see bracket notes below), I was able to get it to fit.The brackets are about 1 1/2 inches deep, yet the cabinetry uses 3/4 inch wide wood. The holes of the brackets aren’t centered for 3/4 inch wide wood. The #6 screws provided are minimally viable, apparently reduced in size as a result of “Value Engineering” and only 8 screws were provided for the 16 bracket holes. (the diagram in the manual shows that you’re supposed to only put screws in half of the bracket holes, with one of the screws put in the back pair of holes that extends over air space due to the 1 1/2 inch bracket depth and 3/4 inch cabinet wood depth.) I reused my GE trim kit #8 screws that provided a superior, firm hold, especially on the MDF cabinetry (use wood glue for extra firmness). I chose solid oak wood for the replacement of the top face portion of my cabinet to ensure that the top brackets would hold tight.The exhaust hood was clearly an afterthought by the Panasonic Engineers. With a back side vent on the microwave, moisture was certain to be a problem. It appears that someone watched the movie Apollo 13 and decided that the way to go was with some sheet metal that you could bend into shape and some tape to hold it to the microwave. I laughed when I saw the reinforced tape threads running the length of the tape, whereas the stress is from edge to edge of the tape. The adhesive isn’t the long-lasting type. After bending the metal according to the instructions and taping on to the microwave and attaching it with a single screw on the back (for good measure?), I began to have my doubts. The instructions had stated clearly that all folds were to be 90 degrees, and my assembled result looked identical to the manual’s illustration. The problem was that the exhaust hood was a full 2 inches tall above the top edge of the microwave and the required placement of the Trim Kit’s face panel mounting brackets allowed for just a single inch of height for an exhaust hood. Then I remembered the instruction comment about 90 degree folds. The solution was to rebend the metal, using a hammer and wide pliers with a 45 degree angle on the top and a complete rebend of metal on the side, reducing the height to just under an inch. The result looks ghastly, but it does fully direct the exhaust air to the front where it exits from the trim kit faceplate’s grill. I used some Gorilla Duct tape (moisture resistant and super-tough) in addition to the included tape.The final result looks very acceptable. It sure would’ve been nice if it had been centered vertically like the GE trim kit was. Despite this, no one is likely to notice this vertical issue because the microwave oven does fit perfectly within the trim kit’s front face, everything looks both horizontally and vertically centered, and the gaps between the trim kit face and microwave oven are less than 1/8 inch (when used with Panasonic microwave NN-SD975S)

This is probably a good option if you are doing a new kitchen build, buy the microwave and trim kit in advance, and then order your cabinets after you read the instructions for the trim kit. Otherwise, expect a challenge as others have mentioned. I was replacing a microwave and trim kit in an existing 27″ cabinet and while the width was correct, you need exactly 17 3/8″ height between the bottom shelf and the top one to mount the brackets. Once you install the brackets, don’t expect to just slide that microwave in. you’re going to need to remove that top left one to cram it in with the extra exhaust vent you need to attach to the top of the microwave and remount the bracket last. Overall it works, just a bit of challenge if you don’t have a lot of tools.

Very good looking… expensive for sure. We needed it.