13+ Pit Boss Austin XL Problems – What You Need to Know

There’s no denying that Pit Boss has made pellet smoking way easier. The same goes for their Austin XL wood pellet grill that offers excellent value for money.

Being equipped with all the basic features, it provides a wide cooking space and even wider temperature ranges.

But does that mean it never malfunctions? Not really. You might encounter some common issues while using this wood pellet grill for years.

Here I will discuss 13+ Pit Boss Austin XL Problems reported by its users followed by their simple quick fixes.

So, let’s get started!

Pit Boss Austin XL Problems Including Reasons and Solutions

Before I move forward to the common issues with this popular pellet grill, let me ensure that these aren’t built-in design flaws. So, in no way you will find all the problems in a single grill.

These are just random technical troubles that may give you a headache once in a while.

So, let’s just focus on how you can get them resolved in no time.

Uneven Heating

Reportedly, this crowd-favorite pellet smoker sometimes bothers its users with uneven heating. The right side of this grill is sometimes overheated compared to the left side.

As a result, food on the right side gets burnt whereas the left-side food still remains undercooked.

And this issue arises especially when you try high-heat searing. In the case of low-and-slow smoking,  it doesn’t happen that much.

If your grill is, unfortunately, giving you a headache with uneven heating, you should keep a close eye on the food when cooking them at high temperatures. 

Try flipping them after a certain period when you notice that the food on the right third of the grill is starting to get burnt. 

Hey, don’t fret! This is not the case with every Austin XL. I have been grilling in this smoker for more than six months now, thankfully, with no such issues.

Control board issue 

The second issue is with the control board. After a few uses, the control board miserably fails and shows that the temperature isn’t working.

However, if the control board of your grill gets busted, contact Pit Boss customer care immediately.  They are very quick to send a replacement. 

Also Read: Pellet Grills With Flame Broiler – Everything You Must Know

Temperature Inconsistency 

Another major complaint against Pit Boss Austin is its inconsistent temperature flow. Many users reported that the temperature swing is a real pain. In fact, the temperature is always 50-100° higher than your set temperature. 

Perhaps, you didn’t close the lid properly. Or the grease tray/ cooking grates must be too dirty with excess oil and grease. 

Sometimes, the dirty temperature probe is also responsible for temperature fluctuations. Make sure to give them a good clean to fix this issue.

On the other hand, you might also experience low-temperature trouble with this wood pellet grill. In that case, you must check the firepot.

Is it getting enough oxygen? If not, make sure to clear the airways. 

However, sometimes, the burn pot might have holes that must be replaced to maintain a consistent heat flow in this wonderful wood pellet grill.

Shuts Off During Operation

Sometimes, the pellet smoker just abruptly shuts off during operation. Annoying, isn’t it? Let’s look forward to the probable causes-

• Bad pellet quality 
• The age of your grill 
• Hopper design
• Ambient temperature 
• Cleanliness issue

In a Pit Boss pellet grill, using natural wood pellets is appreciated. Feeding your grill with bad-quality wood pellets will make them burn faster. Resultantly, your grill might be subjected to a sudden flame out. 

However, using wet pellets also leads the grill to shut down on its own. So, you must take care of your wood pellets and to do this you should always store them in a container properly. 

Secondly, if you are using the grill for too long, some of its components might malfunction due to overuse. For example, the meat probe might need replacement. 

Thirdly, the bad hopper design of the Pit Boss grill prevents the pellets from being fed into the auger. This also results in a random shut-off of the Austin XL.

Therefore, you need to spread the wood pellets consistently during a long cook.

Sometimes, the ambient temperature also plays a vital role in turning off the grill. Most importantly, you need to keep the grill utterly clean and vacuum the ashes regularly.  

Because a dirty pellet smoker cannot function normally.

Also Read: Pit Boss Pellets Review – Are Pit Boss Pellets Any Good?

Loud Explosion When Starts

Along with the abrupt shut-off issue, it has another. When the smoker restarts, you hear a loud explosion sound.

To stop this, focus on the root causes of the grill getting shut off suddenly. If anything doesn’t help, please contact the Pit Boss customer support team for expert help.

Lid Bounces Up

When your Pit Boss Austin XL keeps shutting off and restarting randomly, the lid bounces up dangerously as soon as it restarts.

It is, indeed, very risky for the user.  If you can prevent the grill from shutting down on its own, you can solve the problem. 

Have you been using the grill for more than ten years? Chances are, some of its parts have been subjected to wear and tear triggering the grill to shut off frequently. 

Call for professional help to diagnose the faulty part and get it replaced immediately. 

Also Read: 15+ Common Pit Boss Laredo 1000 Problems Explained with Solutions

Auger Not Working/Turning On

Even if you plug in the Pit Boss Austin XL auger to a power source and turn on its switch, it might not work. Why so? 

Well, there could be a number of reasons behind the Austin XL auger malfunction and here they are-

• Faulty auger motor
• Blockage in the tube
• Faulty controller 
• Broken auger belt

Firstly, check for the auger motor if the voltage it is using is alright or not. If not, you need to replace the motor. However, sometimes there could be a blockage in the auger tube due to excess dirt and debris.

In that case, get the auger motor disconnected from the grill. Then remove the auger from the motor, clean the tube using a long wire brush, and reconnect everything in place. I hope this will turn on the auger motor. 

Nevertheless, you should also check for the belt that keeps the auger connected to the motor. If the belt is somehow broken, change it.

Finally, you must check the controller if nothing of the above is at fault. It might be the faulty controller that is not sending the necessary signals to the motor to turn the auger on.

What do you do? Just replace the controller with a new one. 

Auger won’t stop running

If your Pit Boss pellet grill auger doesn’t stop running, it will end up overflowing the firepot. How do you stop it though?

Don’t worry. You can solve this issue in a pinch. Chances are, the auger and fan connections are reversed. Perhaps, the factory plugged the auger cable into the fan connection to the controller by mistake which keeps the auger running. 

Just change the connections between the fan and the auger and it will work.

Nevertheless, there could be some other reasons as well including moist wood pellets, ash accumulation, wiring issues, etc. 

Keep the grill’s chimney, heat probe, and other components clean to stop the auger from running continuously. And always try using dry wood pellets so that the grill reaches the target temperature. 

Won’t Smoke

If your Pit Boss Austin doesn’t produce enough smoke, the problem is perhaps, with the wood pellets or firepot.

As I already mentioned, wet wood pellets are of no use to deliver a smooth smoking experience. 

Plus, there shouldn’t be any clumping in the pellets. Besides, you should cook at a low temperature with a higher P setting to produce more smoke. 

For example, the ideal temperature for starters is 60-90° F with a P4 setting.

Keeps Overheating

Like any other wood pellet smoker, the Pit Boss Austin XL does have an overheating issue. This basically happens when you shut the lid down without letting the grill get rid of the extra fuel fed when you started the fire.

So, always keep the lid open for at least ten minutes after turning the grill on to avoid overheating. 

On the contrary, not closing the lid completely could also lead to overheating the grill by causing sudden flare-ups.

To avoid such mishaps, you shouldn’t allow the lid to remain even slightly open when you shut it down.

Wifi Not Working 

To begin with, this Pit Boss model has no built-in wifi facility. That might be a downside for many BBQers.

But trust me guys, it’s not a big deal considering its affordable price point. Plus, it facilitates a lot of other ways to monitor your cooking wirelessly. 

Yes, you need to use third-party wireless thermometers. You cannot control the temperature remotely though.

However, there’s an auto-start feature that lets you set a particular temperature to turn on and off the smoker.

That convincingly makes up for the no-wifi issue, I guess.

Inaccurate Temperature 

Honestly speaking, there are several factors that cause temperature inaccuracy in a Pit Boss pellet grill. For Austin XL, it could be due to improper placement of the flame boiler, substandard wood pellets, the angle of the flame boiler, etc.

The boiler must be on top of the grease drain and should be tilted on the right side to stop the temperature shift from your set temperature. 

Also, you should lift the chimney cap as high as possible to prevent heat from fluctuating.

Last but not least, use a fresh bag of non-crumbly pellets to get the temperature accuracy throughout. 

Igniter Issues

With a faulty igniter, you cannot start a fire in your Pit Boss Austin grill. So, check it carefully. 

The igniter might stop working due to using low-quality pellets for so long, ash build up, wet wood pellets, etc. Thankfully, you can get a faulty igniter replaced within 18 months of purchase.

LCD screen not working

Sometimes, the LCD screen of the grill is just blank. It either happens because you did not plug in the pellet grill or the circuit board fuse is tripped. In that case, it needs to be replaced. 

Additionally, the GFI could also be tripped causing the screen not to work. Therefore, make sure all the grill components are dry and the connections aren’t overheated.

Finally, you shouldn’t use an extension cord longer than 25 feet. It can’t deliver sufficient voltage to the grill to make the LCD screen light up.

Conclusion

Truth be told, Pit Boss Austin XL is a set-it-and-forget-it wood pellet grill with so many impressive features.

But even this great grill occasionally shows some mechanical issues be it overheating or shutting down unexpectedly.

Saying that the guide above on Pit Boss Austin XL Problems deals with the common hiccups you might encounter while running this excellent pellet smoker.

As I discussed the issues in detail with their probable solutions, hopefully, you can now stop any potential collapse of your grill by fixing the issues at home.

Happy grilling!