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girlchez

Do not buy a Frigidaire Electrolux Front load washing machine!

girlchez
14 years ago

Two years ago I purchased a Frigidaire Electrolux Galary Series Front Load washing machine.

As of a week ago, my washer stopped working due to what the error code read as a broken door lock. Upon notifying the company, I was informed that because the part I needed was on back order I had two choices. First, sit back and wait for the part or, accept a 60% rebate check to go purchase a new machine.

After thinking this over, I decided that 60% was unacceptable as I bought this washer in good faith that it would work for some time. I called the company back and after explaining my stance on the situation I was put on hold. Shortly after the operator came back on and said the part was there and I would receive it in three days.

Monday I received the part and it had nothing to do with my washing machine or its problem.

When I called the company for the third time, I was told the part I needed would not become available until February 6th. I was then offered another rebate for 70%.

Again I explained to the person on the other end that I do not feel I should have to spend 30% on a washing machine that I just bought 2 years ago. How is this fair?

He put me on hold for a while and returned with a list of three local handymen and told me I could try to get one of them to come over at my expense. However Electrolux would purchase the part if one of these men had it.

Later in the day, I called the company a fourth time. This time I was calling to find out how to override the test mode because I was told by a couple of other unsatisfied consumers that it may get the washer going.

Please understand, I have an 8 year old daughter and an 11 month old baby. Going to the laundromat with two children in tow is horrifying especially in the winter which is why I bought a washing machine 2 years ago.

After asking for the override information, I was put on hold and passed around 7 times until I finally insisted on speaking with a manager.

That is when a lovely gal named Tiffany came on the line. She offered me a $200 refund check for my laundromat troubles which I thought to be fair. She then said she had found the part and was going to overnight it to me. She had to double check for this and later in the evening she called me back to say she was successful in getting the part I needed.

Easy to say I was thrilled.

Today the part arrived. When I opened the box, there sat a large black oven door handle. Am I to assume I was being asked to beat my washing machine with it until it worked?

I called Tiffany and left her a message. I also called the company again and found myself back at square one, being told I am expected to wait what in the end will be a total month to fix a simple door lock issue on my washing machine.

$200 does not even come close to the costs this will incur.

Tiffany never returned my call.

I am going to summons whomever I have to in order to force the company to recall this product. After all, if this door lock is on such a long back order due to high demand, wouldn't that be a red flag insinuation that perhaps there is a serious problem here?

Comments (16)

  • lip2000
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Weird...I've got a bunch of Electrolux kitchen components (oven, induction unit) and had a couple of issues early on with the oven and the customer service was very good. They sent out someone to look at my oven at their cost with really little pushing from my end and it turned out to be my fault.
    I'm in Canada so perhaps in USA it's a different story.

    You have a right to be upset.

  • girlchez
    Original Author
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Perhaps you are correct that it is a Canada/USA difference.
    What makes me most upset is the schoolyard bully approach this company seems to take with unsatisfied customers.
    They blind fold you, spin you three times and then toss you back and forth between one another until you are left dizzy, confused and too exhausted to go on.
    Well guess what. They picked the wrong kid this time. Recess is over.

  • randy427
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I got my replacement latch in one day from an independant appliance parts dealer. Trible's Inc. I think they work with Sears parts system. If you're near the D.C. area, it's (301) 894-6161.

  • happymomof2kids
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    girlchez,

    What I am about to tell you is not much comfort, but at least you will feel some what vindicated. All Frigidaire FL Affinity and Gallery washers are having door lock problems. I have had to have mine replaced twice within the past six months. If the door even slightly hits the lock too hard or is not properly lined up with the lock it can cause it to crack or chip. If it cracks bad enough, you can still wash clothes but they will not spin. At least that is what mine did.

    If you do a net search of Frigidaire Front loader Door lock assemblies, you will find an entire forum where owners are having this problem.

    The technicians in both instances were able to get the parts within a week or two. I go through Geek Squad here in Illinois. Sometimes techs can get a hold of the parts faster, either because they have a stock of their own or they know who to go to that would have a stock of them.

    Until you can find a resolution here are a few things you can try. Take a flashlight and inspect the lock carefully. Are there any cracks or chips. If there are chips missing, a piece may have gotten pushed back into the lock assembly itself. It prevents to door from locking and spinning the laundry. If you do see cracks or chips you will have to pull out the door lock assembly. It is usually very easy to get to. You just remove the gasket, reach in, unplug it (making sure you can get back to the plug) and carefully pull it out. Outside cracks can be temporarily pushed together and a thin strip of duck tape can be applied to hold it together. You can gently tap it down with your hand to knock out any chips. Do not put duck tape inside the assembly, only on the outter casing. Put it back in the machine, plugging it back in and see if it works.

    If there are no cracks or chips, make sure it is securely plugged in and has not shaken loose. You will have to remove the gasket again, but all you need to do is reach in find the plug and give it a gentle push to make sure it is secure. Replace gasket and see if it works.

    If there are no cracks, chips, and the assembly is securely locked in, you can try reseting the machine. Unplug the unit for at least one hour. This is usually long enough to reset the little computer inside and erase a bogus error code. Plug it back in and see if it works.

    I hope you find a resolution soon. It is not right that they continue to sell machines with brittle door lock assemblies. I will not be buying another Frigidaire after this one is off warranty and reaches it's limit.

    HTH

  • happymomof2kids
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I just checked where my part was shipped from. It came from Best Buy Appliance Parts in Albany, NY. If there is a Best Buy near you, you may be able to order the part through them. I hope this info helps.

  • cynic
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    "$200 does not even come close to the costs this will incur."

    I take it you've had a repair place give you an estimate on fixing it? How much do they say it'll cost? You haven't said if this is under warranty or not. I doubt it is. I don't think they have more than a 1 year warranty. Are you on a service contract or something? or is it you just want them to fix it for you for free because you thought it should last 50 years trouble-free? You're so angry you're not making yourself very clear.

    "I bought this washer in good faith that it would work for some time."

    And the fact is, you've gotten 2 years of service without a breakdown. That is some time. There's not a washer in this world that will guarantee you'll never have a breakdown no matter what good faith hopes you may have when you buy it.

    I think you need to take a deep breath. If you can't put a complaint on this forum so it can be understood I'm sure you're not very clear to the people from whom you're trying to get satisfaction. You say you're going to "summons" anyone you have to, and I have no idea what you're trying to say. Again, take a deep breath. It's a machine for cryin' out loud! A Gallery line machine is what, $300-$500? So getting a new machine for $90-$150 and getting a $200 reimbursement doesn't sound like a bad deal to me. But this post is so incoherent perhaps I'm missing something.

    Oh, I just saw it now, you think you're going to force a recall. Yeah right. Good luck.

    I'm certainly appreciative of your frustration in having something break down. I understand the issue with taking kids to the laundromat. And I can only offer a suggestion that you'll need to calm down and make yourself more clear when you're explaining things or people on the other end will just get frustrated and there's a variety of things they can do and it won't be to your benefit. Communication (and the right attitude) is everything in solving a problem.

    I can imagine your shock when you opened the package and received the wrong part. Well in a couple years you'll be able to laugh about it. Frustrating at this point but it is humorous. Things like this happen, unfortunately.

    I just hope for your sake that you haven't turned these people off so much that even with a revised attitude they still may not choose to cooperate with you. Assuming this isn't under warranty or service contract, then obviously you're asking for a favor. Give it some calm rational thought. Perhaps if you called Tiffany and was able to laugh about the wrong part, you might evoke some sympathy or did you already yell when you called? Anger begets anger in telephone support and they, not you hold the trump cards. Threats never work. "Customer is always right" is WRONG! What you THOUGHT when you bought doesn't override your written contracts.

    I'm sure you're not liking what I say, but I have enough experience on both sides of this type of issue to know what works and what won't. Deep breaths. You'll feel better.

    Hope it works out fairly for you.

  • cynic
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    You probably aren't in the mood to hear this but are you aware of the issues in the past with the spider bracket on the Gallery machines?

  • live_wire_oak
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Your washer was warrantied for a year. It lasted 2 years before it broke down. That means it's not under warranty. That usually means that you fix it on your nickel, both parts and labor. They're actually being pretty cool to even offer to send you parts. They don't have to.

    So, either suck it up and pay to have it diagnosed and repaired from your repair person of choice, or continue to get free parts from them indefinately via their goodwill. Maybe eventually they'll send you the right part. They're not obligated to do diddly. You'll still have to pay to have the part put in unless you're handy. Or you can call up a knowledgable repair person and pay them to order the right part and put it in. Either way, the warranty period is over and has been for some time.

  • At beatty
    2 years ago

    I also had a horrible experience with Electrolux (owned by Frigidaire) front load washer. I bought brand new from Sears Outlet Sacramento,Ca. My old machine still worked so didn’t hook it up for about a year. When I hooked it up didn’t. My house warranty co wouldn’t cover unless I almost paid for machine again. I contacted Electrolux who covered for more than house warranty co and cost which was more than half purchase price. Electrolux would rather rebuild entire machine than replace. Meanwhile and many calls later they finally sent all parts to replace and had 2 men replace every part. Is that ridiculous or what? Machine worked ok. I hated it though. I had to leave door open constantly as water collected, to prevent mold. Now it leaks and we put it outside and a foul odor came from it. When I looked up Electrolux issues saw a lawsuit was filed in 2016 which would’ve covered problems we had. Too late now we didn’t know anything about settlement. We went on and bought another top loader machine. I refuse to give Electrolux another dollar. I’m very disappointed in them.

  • Mark
    2 years ago

    @At beatty Ya I put all my appliances outside too. I cook in the rain and my food gets wet. I think they should replace my food.

  • dadoes
    2 years ago

    At beatty, you have the relationship reversed. Electrolux AB (a multinational company based in Sweden) owns Frigidaire since 1986, buying it from WCI - White Consolidated Industries.

    Electrolux History

    Frigidaire history

  • luna123456
    2 years ago

    Miele is still Miele. Bosch is still Bosch. common thread? They are not piblically traded. They answer to their family based owners and dont chase quartrrly profit margins. They charge for quality as well and most people who buy are happy.

  • armjim
    2 years ago
    last modified: 2 years ago

    luna I am sure they chase quarterly profits-they are businesses after all. If they were not interested in the bottom line they would increase their prices but I definitely agree that the families involved are greatly motivated by offering high quality products. Maytag was once like that and it grieves me that they no longer are.

  • luna123456
    2 years ago
    last modified: 2 years ago

    I have worked for two family owned businesses. One a twenty million dollar business and the other 80 million dollar. I still work for the last one, but it was acquired by a billion dollar, publically traded business.

    The ethos and work environment are very different between a family owned and publically owned business. There were years in the family owned business where the owners invested millions of their own dollars in the business and i know that they made less money in those years.

    You could walk ip to owner and talk with him. You could tell him there were problems with a product that needed to be fixed or improved. He actually listened and spent money on improving the product. We never felt the pressure to cheapen the product to make more money, but keep the price the same or lower.

    We made a lot of the parts in house. Outsourced machining was usually done locally, not made somewhere in china.

    A lot of that mentality changed once the company was acquired. Lots of systems and processes changed to meet the new owners priorities. The new owners were not a family. They were an invenment company. No one family owner who saw the company and its employees as part of a larger family.

    So I dont agree with your premis that private companies are chasing quartely profits. They for sure track them, but there is no preasure pf losing your job if you have a couple down quarters or a year. That makes a world of difference in how the compies are run and how employees are treated.

  • jwvideo
    2 years ago
    last modified: 2 years ago

    Just to be clear, the Bosch organization is neither family owned like Miele nor publicly traded like Whirlpool (current owner of the Maytag brand.) . Instead, it is a private equity holding --- a GmbH, a sort of large scale LLC . https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Bosch_GmbH The principal owner of shares in the parent organization is a foundation which uses its earnings from the commercial enterprise to fund its many projects.