The stainless-steel carafe leaked from just below the plastic rim spout. Actually, the leak was from any part of the plastic rim. When the plastic rim and the carafe body were separated (you need to unscrew the handle off and free the metal piece that locks the rim tight to the carafe), I found a piece of tube-seal inside the groove of the rim. The tube-seal was in several places crushed flat. The leaks came from those flattened areas of the seal. I was able to restore the original round shape of the tube-seal by hand. Once the restored tube-seal was put back in the groove of the plastic rim and the handle screwed back on, the leaks stopped. This 4-cut coffee maker is a good design and fine to look at. Suggestions: Assembly workers may be better trained to pay attention to the delicate nature of the tube seal when they install it in each coffee maker; it might require a touch of craftsmanship to make this well-designed product better.