Morgan called up LG looking for a part for his dryer. He had learned that he wouldn’t be able to get the appliance repaired. That was disappointing, because he paid $1,000 for it only seven years ago. He was already frustrated enough when an LG customer service rep said the words that prompted him to write to Consumerist.
He writes:
So, back in 2005 or so, my wife and I bought a washer dryer combo from LG. At the time, it was their TROMM branded high end front loading set. I think the total was about $2000 for the pair.
A few years in, the washer started being erratic – turns out something is permanently off balance, so it makes a thumping /vibrating noise when it spins. Out of warranty, we just left it be. It works, but it sounds loud through the whole house (it is in the basement)
Now the dryer has just quit, and the part to repair it is no longer being made. So I called customer service at LG, to speak with someone to confirm if the part was in fact discontinued (a circuit board of some sort). I started explaining the situation, and that I was disappointed that a $1000 dryer only lasted 7 years, and combined with the washer issues I was really down on the company. When I paused to ask to see if they could confirm that they did in fact discontinue the part, I was told
“Well, that is pretty common for all washers and dryers made today – they are not meant to last.”
What? I explained my parents had whirlpool brand that were still running fine after 12+ years. And that I was really shocked to hear that LG thinks that a 7 year lifespan on their flagship line of appliances is good enough. At which point he said “what would you like me to say?”
I didn’t really see the point in continuing the conversation at this point. I just was curious – for a washer and dryer – am I crazy in thinking that a 7 year lifespan is too short?
No, although the plastic and electronic components used in today’s large appliances do seem to shorten their lifespans. My parents used the same Kenmore dryer from 1970 to 2007, and have an even older one that came with their current house. But new appliances? Give ‘em seven years, max.
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Too bad the Amish don’t believe in modern technology. An Amish-built electric washer or dryer would be built to last!
I think the Amish use the same dryer I do: clothes line and sun.
I give you a great website run by an appliance repairman. He explains why the mid-range washers and dryers far outlast the high end German and Japanese brands.
http://fixitnow.com/
Have you tried calling local appliance shops? They may have the part off another dryer or a new part still in stock.
We gor rid of our 1985 Maytag electric dryer last year and our 1986 refrigerator two years ago. Both were still working. Meanwhile we bought a WHirlpool dishwasher a year ago and it is getting
harder each day getting the door latch to catch to run it.
The point is some products today are poorly made.
Luxosaucer states:”Too bad the Amish don’t believe in modern technology. An Amish-built electric washer or dryer would be built to last!”
Ah yes, the Amish Myth. They live around a 1/2 hour from me. A couple of houses were built
by the Amish around me over the past several years. Quality was no different then anyone else. In fact, if the owner of one house had not shown up a couple of times to see the progress, he would not have caught the mistakes they had made and then tried to cover up.
The costs were higher and while they don’t drive and the van driver they hire is paid for the whole day and not just for the drive back and forth.
Looks like LG cuts it close, at least where California is concerned.
From: http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/displaycode?section=civ&group=01001-02000&file=1792-1795.8
1793.03. (a) Every manufacturer making an express warranty with
respect to an electronic or appliance product described in
subdivision (h), (i), (j), or (k) of Section 9801 of the Business and
Professions Code, with a wholesale price to the retailer of not less
than fifty dollars ($50) and not more than ninety-nine dollars and
ninety-nine cents ($99.99), shall make available to service and
repair facilities sufficient service literature and functional parts
to effect the repair of a product for at least three years after the
date a product model or type was manufactured, regardless of whether
the three-year period exceeds the warranty period for the product.
(b) Every manufacturer making an express warranty with respect to
an electronic or appliance product described in subdivision (h), (i),
(j), or (k) of Section 9801 of the Business and Professions Code,
with a wholesale price to the retailer of one hundred dollars ($100)
or more, shall make available to service and repair facilities
sufficient service literature and functional parts to effect the
repair of a product for at least seven years after the date a product
model or type was manufactured, regardless of whether the seven-year
period exceeds the warranty period for the product
I think a washer and dryer should if possible have replacement parts for longer than 7 years. However, in some cases this may not be reasonable, especially when it comes to electronic boards. It is very possible after 7 years that an electronics component required is no longer available, and the replacement part would require redesigning the circuit board. This is not really a reasonable thing to do on all washer and dryers the company makes for years after the model is no longer being sold.
If there are parts that are reasonably replaceable.. for example a belt or something, then they should be able to acquire them from LG. If the part is an electronics part or something specialized that is obsolete and the manufacturer cannot help the customer find a replacement, then perhaps they should offer a discount towards a replacement machine.
My mom’s Maytag washer & dryer were bought the year I was born. When I turned 39 the only repairs needed was some washers and a belt for the washing machine. The dryer was gas and worked like a champ. By the time she died the washing machine had needed a repairman only 4 (maybe 5?) times.
Side note: I was disheartened to discover that Apple designed the iPod Nano to have only a 2 year lifespan. Love the 2010 Nano and I pray the battery will last me a few more years. Can’t stand the new version. And no, I don’t want the Touch.
Any company that uses planned obsolescence as an engineering goal deserves to be out of business, like all of the big three automakers nearly were in the 1970s.
That is ridiculous and says plenty about their reliability. I am still using a Sears(pre-Kenmore tag) washer that is 30 yrs old if it is a day.My dryer is a Kenmore,8 yrs old.Those newer machines may look pretty and modern but do not have a long lifespan.
http://www.appliantology.org is a good website to learn and ask repair people about problems like this one. It is also possible there are other vendors who sell parts – check out http://www.repairclinic.com to see if you can get the needed parts for your washer and dryer.
Sorry to hear your stuff has failed.
Why does this not surpise me?? As a young mother, I bought a used Norge dryer from my neighbor in 1963 that she had for 2 years before she sold it to me. It was still working great in 1986 after doing loads of laundry for a husband and three boys when I “traded up” (or so I thought). That GE dryer lasted 5 years before a repair was needed and the repair was going to cost more than it was worth. I bought a no frills Kenmore that worked fine until I “traded up” again for a Samsung washer and dryer. I don’t usually buy the extended warranty but after reading Consumer Reports I thought the price of the warranty would cover one repair, if needed. Sigh.
My personal association with the Whirlpool Corporation dates from 1967.
DRYER: On the advice of Dr. Jim Day, head of their R&D section, I purchased a Whirlpool dryer with only the features he recommended: a moisture sensor (to determine when the load was dry) and a cool-down cycle (to prevent permanent wrinkles in permanent press items). With two small children, the dryer was in relative constant use. At age 15, one of the wheels that supported the drum as it rotated came apart. For less than $10.00 I purchased a new one and installed it. I also put a new drive belt (also called an automotive alternator belt) on the machine. At machine age 27, we moved and I let the dryer go with the house.
WASHER: Our Maytag washer dated from 1964 (it was then 29 years old) and it also was working well when we sold the house, so we left it as well.
Round Two: 1995. Everything new and all Whirlpool. Results: WASHER #2: There was some untraceable electrical problem. Whirlpool sent a completely new wiring harness and a repairman with 30 years of experience. He installed it and all was well.
WASHER #3: It lasted until 2010 when we decided to get a front loader. Consumer Reports directed us to Frigidaire which is doing fine (but we also had to buy a small platform to raise it up to a comfortable level). So far so good.
DRYER #2: The electronics of the dryer developed “machine AF”, so we sought CU’s advice and put in a GE Profile dryer. Still working fine.
STOVE #3: In 2009, after replacing stove top elements five (5) times, we bought a new Whirlpool Glass Top stove for $700.00–the last year they put actual knobs that one turns on them. In 2011, a burner “died”. New burner and repair call totaled $224.00. Now, one year later, the burner that was replaced has died as well and I have not received an answer to the letter asking Whirlpool for advice–so we went out and purchased an electric tea kettle–very nice, but only lasted about 10 months. It was replaced by the manufacturer for approximately 1/2 of what it originally cost.
(AND, as they say on TV: “But wait, there’s more!”)
FREEZERS #1 AND #2: The Whirlpool freezer we bought lasted seven months and “died” It turned out that it was not made in Benton Harbor, Michigan, but somewhere in Brazil! We went back to Sears and plunked down an extra $250 and got a freezer guaranteed to have been made in the USA. The USA freezer continues to work well.
DISHWASHER #2 & #3: In 20010, the Whirlpool dishwasher “gave up the ghost” and we bought the replacement model with the same model name but a “II”, not a “I”. After a three visits by the Maytag Repairman (who now worked for the Whirlpool vendor), it was made to function correctly and it continues well.
REFRIGERATOR #2: The last item is the refrigerator. It continued to work correctly, but due to personal preference changes, we purchased a “bottom freezer” unit (one of the three approved by Consumer Reports), and donated the Whirlpool 18 Cubic foot “top freezer” to a family that needed it instead of turning it in to “Efficiency Maine” for their $50.00 payment, so it is still running along smoothly.
What have we learned in this fifty year period? Buy “almost basic” machines (see dryer limitations above). Buy a Consumer Reports recommended unit locally from a vendor that offers a five year total parts and labor repair contract, and start saving for a new one in the next 5-7 years. TWICE I went with Whirlpool, still prefer their equipment, but am going to follow Consumer Reports recommendations in the future.
Check ebay- seriously! I needed a new whirlpool cabrio electronic panel for mine. Purchased the whole top panel and instructions on how to replace it for $90 including shipping on ebay. Took about 2 hours but needless to say it was easy to fix.
Whoo boy!
Here’s my (happily ending) appliance repair story: My GE electric range, $1200 in 1996, started throwing error codes on its display panel, and kept shutting off. Using information from an appliance repair forum, I determined that it was the electronic control– they call it the clock, because it’s the thing with the clock on it! GE no longer made the part, my dealer said I was out of luck. I found an appliance clock repair web site. I took the clock out of the range, shipped it to O Canada, and they repaired the thing! Oven works again, cost with round-trip shipping about $160.
Boy, do I know that story. Mine turned out a little bit happier. I had a five year warranty. When mine crapped out it was the same problem, a circuit board. The repair man even contacted the factory. No part was available. Guess what – brand-new washer. Same trouble with the dishwasher. The pump had crapped out after four years. Brand-new dishwasher thanks to a warranty. I took the warranty money and bought a GE.
The moral of the story is:if you’re gonna buy LG get a warranty. I still have an LG refrigerator and it’s now out of warranty, oh my God.
I will say though that LG looks really flashy but so does lipstick on a pig.
The first (and last) LG appliance I bought was a room air conditioner, on May 15, 2012. It quit working yesterday, August 31, 2012. The store refunded my money and I purchased a different brand.
HMMMM. Appliances are now built for a seven year lifespan, intentionally. Better news: Remember Goldstar? The inexpensive electronics company from the early 1980′s? Well… they found they had a good following but profits weren’t that strong.
Revamp the name!
Larry Goldstar (LG), former ceo of goldstar is now head of LG.
What does LG stand for?
You guessed it! LARRY GOLDSTAR.
I had the same experience with Amana/Maytag 2 months ago. My 7 year old, 25Cu.F., French door model, List $2600.00, purchased from an Independent appliance dealer, (Koval) sold to me at $2100.
Also, 2 months earlier I paid $450 dollars for repairs on 2 GE appliances of the same age.
GE Profile built-in microwave and built in oven (Tru Temp)
I was offered service contracts of around $350 but they would have expired within 5 years.
I year warranties in these appliances should be seen as a warning to buyers. “The new normal replacement is 7 years”. Hard to believe service person would be so candid.
I think consumers have to show disagreement with LG,Maytag, GE et al, by refusing to purchase new appliances until 7 year+ warranties are included. BTW that will result in appliance lifespans beyond 7 years. The appliance mfgr. should be required to submit annual/bi-annual data to the CPSB containing malfunctioning appliance repair/complaint reports from consumers. Consumer Products Safety Commission?
This new normal is just another way we, the 99%, is being “taxed” by the 1% (corporate titans) to finance their senseless pursuit of excess and their corrupt power over us.
“Well, that is pretty common for all washers and dryers made today – they are not meant to last.”
And this is why I do not buy expensive items anymore. No fault on the OPs part. I would have expected them to last 30+ years also. This is also why I could give a flying “f” for companies like LG that literally steal money from customers and refuse to honor their word. Saying that “they are not meant to last” is a lie and an excuse. Modern day management only cares about profit.
In 2008 I bought a new Frigidare dishwasher. Cost me about $268.00 including a four-year warranty thru Lowes. As time went on the motor became loud. In 2011 I set up an appt to have the motor changed out but Lowes wouldn’t do it because the cost of the motor was more than the warranty cost. So they gave me my money back minus the warranty. Worked out. I still use the dishwasher because it works just find but the motor is a bit loud. No biggie because I live alone.
My mom owned a Whirlpool washer and dryer from 1970 to well into the 80s. Never broke down. Kenmore? I have never luck with that brand but I had bought a Kenmore washer in ’95 so maybe their quality was poor by then also.
My parents bought a washer and dryer set (I wish I could remember the brand) when they moved into their first house, two years before I was born. I’m 28 now, and both units still work fine. My mom upgraded to higher capacity units after her third kid, but the units are in a small rental house she owns and leases out, and still work fine, despite their terrible off-yellow color and peeling finish.