World of Washers

From paw3:

"I hope you have seen my problem on the Cabrio. Of course, it is out of warranty. At 10 minutes left in a cycle, the machine becomes unbalanced and shuts off. No amount of repositioning the clothes will get it work. Finally called a repairman and he tells me, seal is bad, water in motor with rust and it will be over $800 to fix. I am so disappointed as I have always trusted Whirlpool. If you have seen this problem please let me know. I have found after calling 3 repair people that it is very hard to find someone who knows how to work on these things. As far as I am concerned, it is like all the people have said... THIS MACHINE IS A PIECE OF CRAP AND SHOULD NOT BE SOLD ANYMORE. Thanks for the web site. By the way, the repairman was looking for the F51 code and said it did appear at different times during the cyle. Thanks"

My response:

I have heard of this problem. It is not nearly as common as the other problems with these washers, but there are other people out there who have had the same problem.

I think this thread at the GardenWeb Laundry Forum is related to your problem. Check it out. And even though the warranty has expired, I would not hesitate to contact Whirlpool about this (assuming you haven't already). There is no reason the tub seal should have failed already.

Let me know how your call with Whirlpool goes.

~Brad

Reader response:

Thank-you so much for writing back so soon. I honestly didn't think I would get a response.

I called Whirlpool and could not believe the response I got. I explained to them the problem I had and how disappointed I was. I have never bought anything but Whirlpool products and have always gotten such good service out of them. Anyway, they told me as a customer service they were going to repair my washer. I was so happy and agreed to pay the labor. They put me on hold for a few moments and then came back and said they would pay the entire cost, parts and labor and someone would be out on Tuesday to do the service.

I must say, even if they had not been willing to pay, the lady I talked with was very nice and patient with me trying to explain to her what I have been through trying to get this washer fixed. I had given up on the washer and had already purchased another one but had not picked it up yet. So, I was able to return the one I had just purchased which was fantastic.

So Brad, again, thank-you for your suggestion to call them and for the link you sent of other people having this same problem with fairly new washers. Since it was out of warranty I really didn't expect any help. This restores my faith a little in big business doing the right thing. Brad, your a jewel.

My response:

I am very happy that Whirlpool came through for you on this. But the repair is not complete yet, so let's see what happens Tuesday when they come to do the repair. I am hoping that they will bring all of the parts necessary to finish the job, since the washer was already looked at.

Please let me know what happens Tuesday, and whether or not you have a fully-functional washer when they leave.

And thank you very much for the compliment!

~Brad