Whirlpool washer Junk!

Geo-TH,In · Oct 17, 2013

2 years ago I purchased a high end whirlpoos washer, auto sensing, about $380 on sale, $500 normal price. It takes about 2 hours to do a load. Not really as happy with it. Doesn't cleans as good my old whirlpool.

After 1 year I had to have it serviced, nut came loose on pulley.

Now it sounds like a jet airplane. Service tech says it a bearing in tranny, so tranny will need to be replaced. Good thing I purchased an extended warantee from Lowes. Tranny is around $200, labor may be around another $200. Wish they would just give me that money and I'll buy something different.

Read on internet, another person didn't have an extended warantee and 2 years later he was very mad he didn't have one.

So do the cheaper whirlpools use the same tranny?

If I ask what the best washer, people will tell me they have a 20 or 30 year old machine. That information is worthless. I have a 40 year old whirlpool and it still works.

So, how does a person determine what to buy. Internet reviews on my machine are mixed, both good and bad.

Guess it a crap shoot, need extended warantee.
George

37chief · Oct 17, 2013

It's just the luck of the draw I think. I have a GE now that just tumbles the clothes, and takes forever, but the clothes seam to come out clean. I have had it for about 4 years now. The only problem so far is a door latch I had to have replaced. I shouldn't have slammed the door so hard. Stan

rabbit-1 · Oct 17, 2013

Wish you hadn't said that. Just bought a low end Amana - which is a Whirlpool in disguise. But we've had fairly good luck with Whirlpool over many years.

El Toro · Oct 17, 2013

We always use front loaders. Bought the first one in 1955 soon after I was discharged from the Army. It was a Bendix and only had one service call. The next best was a MayTag and we sold it. We bought a MayTag gas dryer at the same time and we still have the dryer. No service calls. I'm not sure its age probably around 15 years. We now have a Sears high efficiency front loader and we keep a service policy on it. Hal

Dave I Love My H · Oct 17, 2013

Bought a top of the line Whirlpool washer and dryer about 4.5 years ago. Flawless. Let me repeat, got it from Lowe's; flawless. The washer has saved us a ton of water, yes we're on wells, and the only glitch ever, if you can call it that, was when the power flicked once during a wash cycle, as it spelled out the code for power interruption. I hope you get your problem solved!
Dave

carl wells · Oct 17, 2013

I have been an appliance repairman for 30 years and whirlpool has been the best until about 4yrs ago when they stopped making the direct drive top loader. The only top loader made to last 20yrs or more today is the Speed Queen all the others are junk today. It is really sad what they are making today.The front loaders made today are not made to last but just a few yrs.

Anonymous-0 · Oct 17, 2013

I hear ya George. I am presently working on a less than 3 year old Amana dryer (won't start). They don't want them to last and manufactorer parts are so high ya just as soon buy a whole new unit. If the transmission is under warranty, tell them to send it to you and install it yourself.

David G · Oct 17, 2013

We had same issue with bad bearing, the local dealer gave us a new upgrade.

Dr. Walt · Oct 17, 2013

My 1940's Maytag Wringer Washer is still going as strong as the day it was made; only had to replace the rubber water seal cup under the agitator cone about 15 years ago. Everything else on it works perfect.

(Now watch, bet I just jinxed myself for posting this.) LOL!

Anonymous-0 · Oct 17, 2013

The only good one made anymore is a Speed Queen.

Geo-TH,In · Oct 17, 2013

I'm hoping the extended warantee company will give me something different and not a whirlpool. Tranny cost is $245 + 3-4 hrs labor, because I live so far out part of that is driving time. Keep in mind this is the second time it's been worked on and at Christmas it will be 2 years old.

I'm thinking my best source of info on buying a replacement is a repairman, like you. Thanks for the speed queen advice.

I would like to hear from more repairman. Nice to know whirlpools went bad 4 years ago, so if anyone tells me how great their 5 year old unit is that info is not worth much is it?

George

Ray · Oct 17, 2013

My wife wanted one of those to.We had it a week and sent it back.The auto sensing didn't put enough water in the washer and it made a lot of noise.It was supposed to balance itself when it started spinning,but would sometimes move it shook so bad.We bought the cheaper model with control knobs and it works fine.

mmidlam · Oct 17, 2013

I went though the same type of problem 8 years ago. Water leaks past the seal into the bearings. There where a series of attempts to and try and solve the problem. Rubber plugs to keep stuff away from the seal,synthetic lube in place of the vasoline installation lube. Several seal changes were tried. Last upgrade that I know of was a triple lip, higher clamping force seal that then requirede a higher torque gear box to deal with the increased drag.

Hobo,NC · Oct 17, 2013

I brought one about a year ago so far so good,,,its a HE they do sound different...

I brought another a few weeks ago for a house I am fix'n up for my daughter... I told the guy that's doing some work on the house for me to bring his laundry and use it... He told me it was the loudest washing machine he had ever herd.. I have not used it yet BUT if it has a issue they will get it back... (sears)

JD Seller · Oct 17, 2013

We bought Maytag Bravo Washer and dryer three years ago. So far they have been flawless. Save a good bit on water usage and the cloths seem cleaner.

We bought them from a local repairman/salesman. These are not the same ones you buy at Lowes or Home Depot. Those models are more cheaply made. The repairman showed me the difference in the pumps and gearboxes. They are lighter at the big box stores. They have the same model/name but when you look on the serial number tag there will be different suffixes on the model number. They are a cheaper machine made for the big box stores.

The washer dryer set was just over $1200. They get used hard. The youngest son and his family wash their cloths here as well as our cloths. So far we have had great luck with these units.

47farmallM · Oct 17, 2013

haha jd i hate to tell u but theres no difference in your machine or the ones sold at the big box stores. all whirpool cabrios, maytag bravos and kenmore oasis are the same machine and all use the same parts. as washer dryer svc tech for over 7 yrs i can tell you that whirlpool isnt anything like they used to be, and they wont make a part special for one company, they would loose to much money. anymore,the more money you spend the better the machine. its sad that any machine made in the usa is letting the companys from korea and germany make the better appliances and letting them out sell them... lg is the number one washer and dryer on the marker followed by samsung and bosch.. but everyone had different opinions and those are mine

flying H · Oct 17, 2013

If they give you the money go buy a Fisher & Paykel. Quiet, easy to work on if ever need to, spins faster which means less water for dryer to get out. got tired of having the leak problem and service man telling me they all leak sooner or later mostly sooner.

JMOR · Oct 17, 2013

(quoted from post at 23:26:36 10/17/13) If they give you the money go buy a Fisher & Paykel. Quiet, easy to work on if ever need to, spins faster which means less water for dryer to get out. got tired of having the leak problem and service man telling me they all leak sooner or later mostly sooner.

K, guys, answer this one for me. How are these new front loaders so much more efficient when they run 2 hours compared to my old Kenmore that finishes in 20 minutes with cleaner clothes? Kenmore at country home & Maytag Neptune in city. Maytag USED to be the gold standard, but now a total P.O.S........takes hours to finish a half a$$ed wash & repair $ out the ying yang!

47farmallM · Oct 17, 2013

jmor the motor on the new units are a different design, they are a low voltage direct driven unit that doesnt pull very many amps at a time.. in fact if u will spin a new direct drive front load it will light up the display and thats not plugged in.. the motors are nothing but a bunch of copper wound up around some metal plates and the other piece is just a bunch of magnets... so it can run two times as long and still pull less voltage.. also they use half the water the old machines use.. most water u get in a front load is 15 gallons for a full load and 12 for a small..

Anonymous-0 · Oct 18, 2013

A high end washer for $380? Not very high end compared to some that are over $1000 on sale.

ss55 · Oct 18, 2013

Internet reviews and some consumer magazine reviews are the best information sources I've found so far. Cnet is starting to review appliances. Most short term ownership reviews are positive, mixed reviews often means the machine has problems over time.

$500 list and $380 sale price sounds like a disposable machine now-a-days. Your extended warranty should help you this time.

Appliance stores often haul in good older machines on trade-in. Consider an older used machine as a low cost alternative (top loader).

Bret4207 · Oct 18, 2013

If you can afford it, the extended service plans seem to pay off on appliances. Washers and driers last an average of 5 years with us, dishwashers maybe 4. We've had several parts replaced on the plan that paid for the cost of the plan and the labor would have surely put us well over the cost of the plan. It also depends on the repairman doing the repair. We had a very knowledgeable guy replace the front panel on our dishwasher where the plastic was coming loose. He said it was a safety issue since we had the grandkid in the house and she could easily swallow a plastic disc that was loose. He was also a Mason and we had a good visit. I've only met one Mason that wasn't a stand up kind of guy.

Geo-TH,In · Oct 18, 2013

I never used to buy extended warantee, however because the machine was on sale and the savings was more than the warantee I purchased it. And very glad I did.

Geo-TH,In · Oct 18, 2013

It was normally $500+ on sale for $382. Perhaps I should have said there were cheaper. I'll never go with the auto load sensing again and try to avoid digital controls.

Next washer will be simple and cheap. I'll take a look underneath and look for a direct drive, old school.

Keep in mind my last whirlpool was purchased used in 1977 from the people I bought my house from. I have made minor repairs on washer and dryer. They are still working in the basement. To give you some idea just how old they are, they are GREEN.

My kitchen aid dish washer was purchased in 1993. It is stainless steel inside and very quiet.

From what I'm reading, they just don't make them like the used to.

It is digital, so I installed a very large surge supressor on it and glad I did. Lightning got the supressor, but saved the dishwasher.

George

2badlybent · Oct 18, 2013

Wife wanted a new washer and decided to buy a Fisher Paykel. Had it now for over 5 years and it is working like new. Big price at first but it seems cheap now. The high spin dry speed has saved more than the extra cost on drying savings. Remember, you get what you pay for.

oldtanker · Oct 18, 2013

I gotta agree with the comment about a 500 buck washer. In todays world that's a cheap one. I got my wife her front load set about 6 years ago. The ones she wanted were out of stock so they sold us the displays for a couple of hundred off the new price and I still paid 1300 for the set. Had a 40 buck door sensor go our 2 years ago. Appliances I learned a long time ago are in fact a "you get what you pay for" thing. I learned that back in the late 60's as a teen.

Rick

Geo-TH,In · Oct 18, 2013

My set was over $1250 with extended warantee and tax. Don't care if you think $500 is cheap. I'm cheap too

oldtanker · Oct 18, 2013

(quoted from post at 09:16:54 10/18/13) My set was over $1250 with extended warantee and tax. Don't care if you think $500 is cheap. I'm cheap too

George, not saying your cheap I'm just saying that by todays standards a 500 buck washer or dryer is on the lower end of the scale. 500 bucks just don't buy what it use to. The set I got with the price knock off was a little over 1300 bucks after the discount before taxes and delivery. The total was a little over 1500. That was about 6 years ago. I'd guess that it would be close to 2K for what I got today. Ya feel like yer buying a car with the prices.

Rick

Geo-TH,In · Oct 18, 2013

Rich, go ahead and say I'm cheap, because I would never pay $2k for a washer and dryer. Especially when tenants throw away washers and dryers I get free parts to keep mine working.

A woman at church wanted me to look at her dryer, just a few months past warantee. It was making a racket. Come to find out the rotor, I like to call it the armature, but in AC motors I think JT calls it a rotor, was slipping on the shaft. Motor is glued together. Waiting on a tenant to throw away the right motor and I'll have a 1 year old whirlpool dryer.
Cheapie, George
George

Whirlpool washer Junk!

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