My first recall

We write a lot about recalls here. That's not surprising, since this blog is about product safety. Even so, we're always somewhat surprised when a recall affects us personally. But alas it did, when Maytag announced that 2.3 million of its dishwashers were being recalled due to a fire hazard. Here's a personal tale from CR's Carolyn Cairns.

It was bound to happen. I knew some day, one of the many recalls we write about would affect me. So when Maytag announced a dishwasher recall on February 1 I had to reluctantly accept that my beloved dishwasher would need a visit from the lonely repairman. Even so, I put off checking to see if my dishwasher was affected for a couple of days. The thing was full of dirty dishes and we don't even use liquid rinse, the cause of the fire hazard; Maytag said the liquid rinse could leak from its dispenser and come into contact with the dishwasher's internal wiring, causing a short-circuit and possible fire. So was this risk worth a few hours of my time to prevent my house from burning down? I can understand why more than half of owners of recalled items forego the remedy. The time it takes to figure it all out and having to part with a favorite item for even a day make for formidable emotional and physical barriers to overcome.

So it was a happy moment when the friendly but tired-sounding service agent answered the phone after only a short delay (I'd heard tales of jammed phone lines). She gave me her standard spiel: would I like to schedule the repair three weeks from now, or get a $75 certificate towards a new more energy efficient machine?

That was a tough call to make on the spot. I love my dishwasher, but I also love my planet and yearn for a lower power bill. Even so, a $75 certificate for an $800 dishwasher didn't quite add up. So I opted for the repair, even if that meant three whole weeks of washing dishes by hand, since the recall said consumers should stop using the dishwashers immediately until they were repaired.

On the appointed day, my husband stood a four-hour vigil for Mr. Maytag to come and replace the faulty part. When he did, he was understandably not a happy camper, having traipsed all over town to repair a hazard he found dubious on a machine that he doesn't even own. He told my envious husband that in his house, his wife does all the dishes by hand. 

At the end of the day, we loaded up our refurbished machine and went to bed with a little more confidence that we wouldn't awaken to smoke and flame. But I checked the smoke alarm just to be sure. 

— Carolyn Cairns

Comments

[why didn't I read this page first?]

I, too, have called and called and called Maytag. Each time I call, I get a different excuse. The favourite one now is, 'My supervisor will check out the whereabouts of the repair kit sent out to you and she will call you back later today". I got that excuse before and never got a call. Now that I am reading this page, I wonder why none of us can get anywhere with Maytag. Is there no governing body to be sure recalls are looked after? It is obvious that the Maytag repairman is lonely and not busy because repairs are simply not done.

[Carolyn Seera]

I have a whirlpool dishwasher (not part of the recall) purchased in 2001. Two days ago it malfunctioned and was very close to going on fire. The machine was stuck in the sensing cycle and was making a strange sound. I opened it and saw that the coil was blazing red, smoke came out, there was a burning smell, and soap(with or without liquid)came out of the machine. I shut off the circuit breaker, and sat near the machine for a long time observing. Anyway, I can only describe Whirlpool's response as disinterested. I assumed that with what could have been an emergency, and with the understanding that others have the same model, they would want to come over and examine the machine. Oh, they agreed to do so, but at my cost,a wait of up to 10 days, and my losing a day of work for it. I found that unaccepptable, and asked for their consumer safety dept. Well, they agreed to pay to have it looked at quickly, they would pay for the examination, and I would pay for any work. It all left a bad taste in my mouth, and I'm just going out to buy a new machine. I didn't plan on continuing with this one anyway after such a bad experience with it. Just figured people should know about their lack of concern about the fire issue.

[Abby]

I now see my problem is all too common- wait forever for the new inner door, wait longer for a repair appointment, listen as the repairman explains that the control board broke. Wait forever on hold with Maytag, talk to many represntatives up the ladder with nothing to offer other than confirmation that the control board is indefinately backordered and there is nothing else they can do. Wash dishes by hand, wash dishes by hand, wash dishes by hand....
Does anyone out there have any suggestions for how to expedite getting a working dishwasher? Thank you in advance for any advice.

[Katherine Lidstone]

I purchased a Maytag dishwasher in 2000. It was recalled and after about 3 months of going back and forth with Sears and Maytag the parts were finaly ordered and the repari was made. My dishwasher (the part in question) was not defective. However about 2 months after the repair the dishwasher stop working. Now I am told I need a new control Panel which I am told is very costly. I contacted Maytag and received no help. I am upset that the product with such a GOOD NAME did not last long enough. Now I am faced with --do I replace or repair.????
If I replace it will not be a maytag because the applicane does not stand up.
What do I do now? And what product do I buy to replace the maytag??
Thanks

[Sharon Walker]

'Someone will contact you within 24 to 72 business hours' I rue the day I purchased the Saturday paper and saw the recall. I too did not want my house to burn down, so I reluctantly chose to get involved in the recall.
We chose the part rather than the $75 because the machine worked well. That was in February, April 11 I received a letter stating my parts would be arriving soon and not to call the number until I had them. Patiently, I waited for 6 weeks, got them, called and waited again. When the repairman came, he broke the circuit board. However, he had a new slant. He said I would have to call the original number and order the parts. I did, they informed me that it was he who would have to.
After and hour and a half of being given every number on the North American continent, I finally received a Canadian customer service number. That was at the end of May. They concluded, I assume, that this service company they had hired were not proficient and said they would call me back in 24-72 hours. That's when my husband answered the phone. He informed them that he wanted it fixed. His exact words were ' fix it, fix it, fix it'.
Well, out of this, we were suppose to receive a new dishwasher - they told us the same line thousands of others have been told - just look at the Maytag and Whirlpool websites and these are the model numbers of the equivalent or you can upgrade. We chose the one we wanted and called. No problem - 7 to 10 business days it will be installed in your kitchen. That passed and ever since then we have received the ' we will have our corporate office call you in 24 to 72 business hours'.
Today we thought we might have seen the light. They gave us the phone number of the company that has the dishwasher and will install it. We called the number - IT IS OUT OF SERVICE! Called the customer service back again to tell them. She didn't see how the number could be out of service and to call this number. It was the same number.
Obviously, our logic is skewed, because it did not seem odd to her that we would be wondering how they could send a dishwasher to a company that doesn't exist anymore. We asked her to call the number since she could not understand why we were getting frustrated. And of course, she can only take incoming calls, she cannot call out - that would be nasty if there was a fire in the office - oh wait - maybe they don't have a kitchen somewhere in the building with a Maytag dishwasher in it.
We now have a list of people that have answered our calls. We figure that if we keep calling continuously, we might get the same person twice.
It would be laughable if was not an indication of how companies deal with their customers. We will never buy a Maytag, a Whirlpool or any other product that is even remotely associated with this conglomerate.
We should have taken our chances with the house burning down, at least we would have gotten one through our insurance.

[Patty]

My Matag dishwasher is also part of the recall. I started the process on March 11, 2007 by calling and registering my machine. I chose to have the machine repaired, BIG MISTAKE, rather than accept $75. After a number of call and 7 weeks passing I recieved the new inside door. At that time I made an appointment to have the repair made. Up to this time I had continued to use my machine. I only ran it while I was home. After working on the machine for 2 hours the repairman said that the circuit board had been damaged and he would have to order a new one. When he left the machine was non functional. Then after 7 weeks the circuit board part arrived. Another appointment and when the new reapirman arrived he had a puzzled look on hi face when he saw the box the part was in. I explained that the inside door was already replaced and the last repair person said the circuit board had been damaged and neede replacing. He put the new circuit board in and the same problem. He said that he didn't even see anything wrong with the first corcuit board but he went ahead and put the new one in anyway just to see. He was here almost two hours by which time it was 7:00 on a Saturday night. He asked me three times during his visit if my dishwasher was working before the last repairman came and I told him yes it was. You see where we're going here, apparently they are going to say that my dishwasher was non functional before the first repairman came. Since it was 7 pm on a Saturday everyone at dispatch and the tech center had gone home. The repairman said he will have to come back during regular business hours in order to be able to test the machine while on the phone with the tech center. That now is going to happen next Friday after 3 pm as I have to work during the week and that is the only week daytime time period that I can be here. He indicated that the motor may be bad now. This is incredible! To add insult to injury the commerical runs every night on TV where the Matag repairman is fixing the copy machine. I will never ever own anything MATAG again!!

[Ron]

We first contacted Maytag Canada on Feb. 3 after determining that our Maytag dishwasher was included in their recall announced on Feb. 1. After multiple phone calls to Maytag Canada we were finally told that due to unavailability of the necessary replacement part a new dishwasher would be sent to replace our recalled unit. This was on April 23. It is now June 6 and still no dishwasher despite repeated promises that it would be arriving in "7 to 10 days".

[Andrea]

I am STILL waiting for the serviceman to call me to repair (recall) my Maytag dishwasher - I finally received the kti at the end of April!. However, after reading some of the comments posted, it appears that this recall simply provides ample opportunity for 'the repair person' to create 'new' problems requiring additional service calls. I have chosen to not do the recall as I never do use a rinse agent anyway. Thanks for sharing your experiences!

[Furious GP]

It seems like I'm not the only one having this issue. I also waited the several months before the kit was mailed to me, I finally received it and called Maytag to have a service repairman install the part. They said to wait for a letter in the mail that would give me a list of authorized service dealers. Two weeks later still no letter. When I called them back, they gave me a list of numbers on the phone (which pissed me off, why didn't they give me the number in the first place).
I finally had the part replaced.
One week later the circuit board went. I called A&E back and the same service man called be back guaranteeing me that it had nothing to do with the part he replaced. He said he would still take a look at it. Find out that the board is brown in spots and he says it needs to be replaced (he tells me you're probably looking at a cost of $375 installed).
I'm furious now, telling him that it was working fine before he replaced the part. Then he tells me that ha can probably call it in to Maytag and tell them that it was due to the recall. He even admitted that he has seen several other boards go bad, but Maytag told them that if they see something else wrong on the dishwasher to not say anything since it's not part of the recall. He is telling me that it might take a month for the part, which I don’t understand why it would be replaced immediately if I called it in as a service repair.

[Pam Pamplin]

My Maytag dishwasher was involved in the recall and reported on March 2. It took about 3 weeks for the replacement parts to arrive and another week to schedule the A&E (Sears) repairman. After he had taken the inside door apart, he advised me that the board was bad and although the part is available locally, he had to order it through Maytag. I have now been without my dishwasher for 2 1/2 months as Maytag (Whirlpool), says the part is back-ordered and don't know when it will be available. WHAT DO I DO NOW? I know I certainly will not buy another Whirlpool product.

[Vickiy]

I own a Whirlpool. The model I bought had a recall on it, but I was assured that it had been fixed by the time I bought mine. One month after the warranty was up, it stopped working. The repairman took it apart and discovered that a washer on the heating element was factory defective and had allowed water to leak through to the electrical wires creating a small fire. Fortunately, the fire only scorched parts of the inside of the casing and went out before it could do any real damage. I tried to contact the company and got nowhere. The replacement part had to be ordered and when the repairman returned to fix the machine, I told him that I had been unable to reach anyone. He told me that several other customers had been unable to get ahold of anyone at the company. My dishwasher worked for 4 months. This time it totally died. I would like to get a new dishwasher but what company do I trust?

[George Burger]

I too, had maytag dishwasher repaired under their
recall. The maytag agent on the phone was helpful
enough. Although he reminded me on more than one occasion that whirlpool now owned maytag. Imagine my supprise when a sears repairman showed up to do the work. He managed to leave a perfectly working dishwasher in such disrepair that it took seven more weeks and a total rebuild to get the thing going again. This after many phone calls and loud protestations. And people wonder why I do as much as I can around the house myself. Should have kicked that repairman out the second I sensed there was a problem.
Better Luck to the Next Recallee
George

[Don Springer]

I had a seven year old Maytag dishwasher that was included in the recall. After submitting all information requested on the Maytag web site. I received a cordial phone call from them to set up the time; they delivered the parts to my house, the repairman came at the appointed hour, and all went well. The dishwasher works fine and I am quite satisfied with the entire process. Good job Maytag!

[Eva Haan]

We had a very good experience with the recall of our old Maytag dishwasher. Checked the recall on line and promptly got a letter and the repair kit from Maytag. We called one of the authorized dealers listed in the Maytag letter and a couple of days later a friendly and competent repairman showed up at our house at the appointed time and fixed the problem. (He even vaccumed the debris off the floor before he left!!) The experience couldn't have been any better!

[Dan Somerville]

I waited a month or so for the repair kit to be delivered. Considering that we'd been running the risk for eight years and only used the rinse agent a few times, we continued to use the dishwasher while waiting for the kit.
A local appliance retailer's repair guy showed up a week or so after my request.
He installed the kit in an hour or so.
After he left I ran the dishwasher to clear out the water he'd left with his fiddling around.
I let the timer clock run through the dry cycle (with the heated dry switch OFF).
After it had all finished I noticed a smell of electric heating element and, to shorten the story, discovered that in the last click or so of the timer, the heating element was turned on.
So I had the repair guy return, spent an hout convincing him that this was faulty operation that somehow resulted from his repair. Typically, he declared that he would have to replace the a switch, even though all symptoms point to a misswired timer ... so I had him disconnect the heating element so it could not energize, and wait for him to return with a part which probably will not cure the problem.
I wish I had not had the recall repair done - the cure was worse than the risk ... but a good reminder of the loss of quality with Maytag / Jenn-Air.
The $75 coupon was never an alternative for me --- my new Jenn-Air refrigerator also turned out to be junk, and this seems to be what Maytag now produces.
I have a Maytag washer and dryer that I bought in 1970; still going strong and not to be replaced lightly, and certainly not with Maytag brands.

[Stanley J. Schwartz]

Which Maytag dishwasher?

[Paul block]

Let me tell you of how un-well my Maytag recall went. In 2/07 when I read about the recall, I went on line and registered for the repair. Going with their time line, I set up the repair for 10 days away, enough time to allow the part to be delivered. At 7:55a.m of the day of the scheduled repair, the service man from A&E service called asking if I had received the part. When I told him no, he cancelled the repair (I lost a day of work). It appears there were quite a few people who didn't get their part. I called Maytag and was told there was a problem with the website ordering parts. There was no sense on their part that they could have e-mailed all of us, just a perfunctory "We're sorry". After waiting the 10 days they said it would take to get the part, I called again, and was told the parts were on backorder. To make a long story shorter, I finally had my dishwasher repaired 5/4. Oh, by the way, Maytag eventually sent me 3 repair kits, 1 by overnight Fed Ex, 2 on the same day by UPS. When I called Maytag(and by this time I was pretty aquainted with their escalation line) I was told to just throw the extra kits away. Now you know why people don't follow through on recalls

[Marc Perton]

Jim-
Thanks for your comment. The picture included with this blog post was taken directly from the CPSC recall notice, and is one of the recalled dishwasher models.
(http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml07/07094.html)
Best regards.

[Pat McLean]

I also thought you shouldn't either go out or go to bed after starting your dishwasher (also your washing machine) because of a possible broken water hose and water damage. I can see that happening with the washing machine but not sure on the dish washer.

[Robert Bathen]

I was always advised not to go to bed when you turn on the dishwasher just in case of fire? Am I wrong?

[Jim]

STOP posting a picture of a front loading CLOTHES WASHING MACHINE with the story leader !!!!!!!!!!!

[Janet Finn]

We had the same recall with our JennAir dishwasher also manufactured by Maytag. We called and they said they would send the replacement part. They even wrote to tell us the name of the repairer who install it. We waited a month before we called them back. They said there was a delay in the manufacture of the replacement part and would not be able to give us a date. So we asked for the $75 replacement coupon. We got that right away surprisingly. However, it only covered Maytag and JennAir plastic tub dishwashers which are ranked low on the Consumer Reports. We have also had a lot of problems with our Jenn Air double built-in ovens in which the door keeps opening causing the light to stay on and the heat to escape. We have called numerous repairnmen for this problem and none have been able to fix the problem. We will never buy a JennAir appliance or Maytag appliance again. In the end, we chose a Kenmore Elite dishwasher which will join our Kenmore fridge and washer and dryer which never gave us any problems. The JennAir was never our choice. They came with the home we bought.