3 appliances we would never buy

Here is a very common situation in our daily routine. The customer refused to fix a broken appliance for whatever reason and then asks the technician what appliance he would recommend buying. We already covered this topic with the dedicated post, but today we are going to discuss the question from a different perspective. What appliances do we hate the most and would never buy for ourselves? Here is the chart.

1. GE top load washers GTW series

Nicely designed and still affordable (less than $700 starting price) these top-load washers from GE might seem to be a good choice. But when we see them, we know that here comes the problem. First, these washers have a very bizarre and unusual working algorithm. Usually, when the consumer presses the start button on the washer, the washer starts giving the consumer some logical feedback with lights or sounds. When the start button is pressed on GE GTW washers, these washers shut off any lights like the cycle is being canceled. The cycle starts after a few seconds. That is quite confusing, and furthermore, sometimes after electronics-related repairs, some customers say that now the GE GTW washer works differently compared to how it used to work. It works and washes but not like it did, whatever that means. These complaints are very difficult to solve because they are vague and not traceable. In the meantime, we understand the customer frustration, but in most cases, it is what it is. The mainboard replacement or software update may change the washer`s behavior.

These washers also tend to leak oil from the transmission right after installation and have problems with spin or continuous non-stopping drain. We wish we would never see them again in our service practice.

2. Samsung dishwasher with Waterwall system

Samsung appliances have never been easy to work on and many repair companies on the market refuse to service them. But so-called Waterwall dishwashers are the true champions of headache. They might give a lot of error codes like 7C and 7E, and stop operating because of that. It`s very difficult to solve these issues because typically all components associated with the errors pass factory diagnostic checks with no problems. So you have an error code, you refer it to Samsung service sheets, the unit passes all of the diagnostic steps, but it doesn`t work in regular modes anyway. In cases like that, the manufacturer recommends replacing a bunch of parts including the water wall system, drive motor, and mainboard. It`s ok if the dishwasher is covered by warranty. If not, the customer has to pay a ridiculously high price for new parts and in most cases, the repair may cost double the price of a new dishwasher. Not very satisfying, is it?

3. Kitchenaid multidoor refrigerators

We have to admit it: these refrigerators look amazing. Seriously, you’re going to love them at first sight. They are shiny, they seem to be very well-built, they have a lot of fancy features and the interior lights are just incredible. Total crash.

But here comes the regular life after the honeymoon. And it might not be that easy.
First of all, these refrigerators have shelves located between the freezer and the fridge. Shelves are operated by a dedicated computer board that is surprisingly close to the internal waterline and condensation points. As the result, that board is being shorted by water causing the whole unit to overload, then shut down, beep, and show the PO error code on display. We have had customers who had to unplug and plug the unit back every 2-3 days in order to restart it.

The second issue is the cooling problem due to the malfunctioning defrost system. On new generation models, Kitchenaid aka Whirlpool canceled the traditional design with defrost heater and now the evaporator is getting rid of the moisture by forced air circulation. Sometimes the system doesn`t work well and the whole back panel is covered by ice. Here is the real problem. In order to fix that issue, tech needs to take the whole refrigerator apart. Literally, the whole thing and it may take all day long.

These were three appliances that we don`t like much. However, if you own one of them or any other major appliances, and if you live in Los Angeles or Orange County, we are always willing to help you with repairs.