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vmckenney

Samsung Washing Machine - BEWARE

vmckenney
10 years ago

My wife and I bought a Samsung WA400P JHD washing machine from Lowes in November of 2013. In late September of 2013 the washer stopped draining and spinning. We called Lowes and they sent out A & E Factory Service. The tech from A & E came out and said "loose wire, you're all set" and the next time we used the washer it dumped the entire tank all over the floor. After looking around on the web I have discovered that this is a very common problem with this washer. Apparently the drain pump mount (..which is made of plastic..) breaks and then the drain pump drops to the bottom of the washer. Let's make a word problem to describe what you get when this happens in an upstairs laundry room:

WATER + CARPET + LAMINATE x GRAVITY = INCREDIBLE MESS!!

All of the upstairs carpet was destroyed, the living room ceiling came down, the laminate floor in the living room buckled, the garage celing is wet and will need to come down, there's water in the primary load bearing wall of the house, etc. (..I must say that while I was not comletely satisfied with the washer when it wouldn't drain, I LIKED IT BETTER THEN THAN I DO NOW!!!!)

As I mentioned, we bought the washer from Lowe's and they are pointing their finger at A & E, who is pointing their finger at Samsung, who isn't pointing at anyone. (..I'm told that it's considered rude to point in Japan..) Samsung has suggested that we "ship the defective product" back to them, but we will have to pay for the shipping.

This great adventure has now been turned over to my home owners insurance company. Meanwhile we are living in home that is just short being condemned, and paying $17 twice a week for a laundromat.

Long story short, if you see this washer in any store do not be decieved by the fact that it looks really cool with it's sleek design and digital interface. Do not buy this washer. RUN AWAY as fast and as far as possible.

Comments (21)

  • dave1812
    10 years ago

    While I sympathize with your water damage, there isn't a hose, fitting, water heater, shower enclosure, or washer that isn't immune from the possibility of a leak. Even stainless-wrapped hoses can leak. sorry for your problem.

  • vmckenney
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    http://www.consumeraffairs.com/homeowners/samsung_washer.html

    If I had seen the above web page before we bought the washer it never would have come home. The best part is that we also bought a DV400EWHDWR dryer at the same time. According to that website it won't be long before that starts having problems as well. We should have bought LG.

  • herring_maven
    10 years ago

    vmckenney: ". . . pointing their finger at Samsung, who isn't pointing at anyone. (..I'm told that it's considered rude to point in Japan..)"

    The parenthetical comment is true as to Japanese culture; Samsung is Korean.

  • xc60
    10 years ago

    We bought a Samsung washer and dryer. Dryer was fine except almost impossible to dry a blanket. I would have to take it out and fluff it around about 10 times just to get it to dry as the autosense "so called feature" would sense the outside of the blanket was dry and turn off machine even though the rest of blanket was still really wet.

    The washer was OK for the first while then would constantly stop saying that there was a button stuck, no water pressure or no drainage even though all lines were fine. Then the the quick wash which should take around 38 mins would take hours as something must of been wrong with the computer timer. This machine was not even 3 years old.

  • dave1812
    10 years ago

    I'd think you would have gotten a clue after the second failed attempt to dry a blanket on auto and would have switched to TIMED DRY. You have to be smarter than the device you are using. Blankets, multiple sheets, quilts all require timed drying, because the inner portions remain damp, but the outer portion fools the sensor into thinking the item is dry.

    Stop blaming the dryer for your mistakes. NO sensor is going to work well in that situation, regardless of the brand, UNLESS the sensor is calibrated for extremely dry results, which will overheat other items in general drying conditions.

  • dadoes
    10 years ago

    NO sensor is going to work well in that situation, regardless of the brand, UNLESS the sensor is calibrated for extremely dry results, which will overheat other items in general drying conditions. Just to say, the moisture sensor on my Fisher & Paykel SmartLoad dryer works quite nicely for blankets, sheets, bedspreads and other such large items ... reason being that the unit reverse-tumbles for 40 seconds every 4.5 minutes so items don't ball-up.

  • xc60
    10 years ago

    Thank you Dave for your assumptions and rudeness. Really unnecessary, but if it makes you feel better.

    I was using the Timed Dry, Heavy Duty... I tried them all, but all the drying settings are overridden by the auto dry sensor and turn off. You also cannot turn off the auto dry sensor feature.

    I've had many basic dryers without the fancy features that can dry a blanket just fine so I know it is possible.

    This post was edited by xc60 on Thu, Oct 31, 13 at 0:13

  • dave1812
    10 years ago

    that's funny. never owned any dryer that overrode timed dry because the sensor wasn't happy,. also funny that my Samsung doesn't do what you claim. and don't worry about how I feel. I'm fine.

    call a technician or call Samsung. see what THEY say about timed dry...

  • GregRod
    10 years ago

    We owned the Samsung WA456, which is the big brother to the WA400.

    I'd advise you to get rid of that thing as soon as you can if still under the 1yr warranty.

    Ours broke 6 times during the 1st six months, with three aquajet rings, one water pump, clutch and motor needing replacement.

    We got Samsung to give us a refund...never looked back.

    We now have a Maytag Bravos HE 4.6. Going into our 4th month w/o any issues...(as he knocks on wood!)

  • VINCEVP
    9 years ago

    Samsung Washer Drain Pump houseing. Samsung drain pump has a plastic housing connecting to the bottom of the tank with less than 1/8th of plastic. by daughter has toys that are tougher than this housing. as the drum shakes over years the plastic will snap the drain pump will fall disconnect from the tub and the power cable will snap. all comments posted by other poeple. Warranty is one year for this part. Samsung has a redesign for this on the replacement part it connect to the back wall instead of the bottom of the tank lets see how this thing is built. Purchased a new heavy duty drain pan incase this thing breaks off again. lucky me i have shower under my wash room and tile floors. The water drained into the tub. will have to replace some drywall on the first floor ceiling. Samsung also allows you to file a claim for property damage. lets see what they cover.

  • cuffs054
    9 years ago

    You bought it in Nov 2013 and it broke in Sept 2013. It needs a new flux capacitor.

  • Colleen Holland
    9 years ago

    Dave1812, are you the owner of Samsung because you are critical of everybody and defend the products right away? Let me tell you that I will never buy anything from Samsung ever again. We bought a WA456 and the matching dryer less than 3 years ago. I've had 2 service calls on the washer, the first one being the badly designed drain pump bracket breaking and having water all over my floor. The washer was under warranty so they replaced it with the same bad design. They have since changed that part for the pump to bolt up to the frame of the washer but I'm out of luck since they didn't have a recall on it and my washer is no longer under warranty. The 2nd service call was for a wire off the motor, another very common problem with these washers. And now I have a washer that just takes up space because it will power on but will not start when I press the start button. I can't find much info on that issue other than my main control board could be bad. 3 issues in less than 3 years from a brand new washer is unacceptable to me. I spent almost $1700 for this set and at times it doesn't work and I'm hauling laundry to the laundromat. Now I have to pay for an extended warranty to Samsung for them to come out and fix their piece of crap again. Absolutely ridiculous!!!

  • kodiak13
    9 years ago

    I have a Samsung washing machine bought almost three years ago and it works wonderfully. Something that I have noticed is that one person can have a great experience with a brand and someone else will have a terrible time. Really seems to be a crap shoot. I made my choice based off more good reviews than bad and bought the extended warranty. Just relieved it's worked great because our prior washer broke yearly and sometimes it was more than once a year.

  • rpsinfoman
    9 years ago

    Anytime you have a laundry appliance integrated into an upstairs living space you always run the risk of water leaks and damage. Regardless of brand, FL, TL, conventional TL, the risk exists. LOL, back in the day washers and dryers lived in the basement, usually near a floor drain and utility tub.

  • Colleen Holland
    9 years ago

    Luckily I didn't have the type of damage that others have stated. But still there should have been a recall on the drain pump assembly. Samsung is aware that it is a bad design and a very common problem. They went as far as to come up with an alternative to fix the issue but I will more than likely have the issue again because mine broke before they fixed the issue so it was replaced with the same bad design the washer originally came with. And it probably is the luck of the draw with these washers. I personally got a lemon which infuriates me because of the amount of money that we spend thinking this set will last a long time.

  • rpsinfoman
    9 years ago

    I completely understand. Ran into bad design issues with a very expensive, highly rated Bosch dishwasher. NEVER and I mean NEVER again. Back to Kenmore, Kitchen Aid, or Whirlpool when I finally get sick of reapairing the cheap badly designed control panel, door latch assembly. It will break again. I'm beginning to believe cheaper is better, skip the extended warranty, and replace more frequently.

  • sarasvatidream
    9 years ago

    Samsung is a Korean company, not Japanese.... I also have Samsung washer and dryer purchased at Lowe's in 2011. The washer's model number is WF350ANW/XAA02. It has had a couple of issues, too and now it's not draining well unless I drain A LOT of water from the drain tube on the front bottom right corner everytime I run a load. It's getting to be such a hassle. I will never buy Samsung products again. Next time, I am getting Whirlpool.

  • taters1maters
    8 years ago

    I have had the same problems .I bought mine in Dec 2013 The brace under the machine broke first thing.then the plug in on what makes it spin.4 times ....I've had 2 technicians and numerous calls to Samsung more problems now and of course Sometimes the water barely covers the clothes and then sometimes it looks like it is going to run over Now the tub is jumping when it spins and of course now I am getting numerous error codes .I did my research and was so excited to get a new washer after 16 years .Shame on you Samsung for not recalling these washers .I worked on my other whirlpool few times ,so I'm not ignorant to the spoils of a repairman I'm a widow ,and took my little savings and bought what I thought was a great product. Now I'm stuck with the other 155,000 disgruntled consumers....I'm an advocate for what ever is going to fix this . You drop the boulder SAMSUNG.

  • gyork60
    8 years ago

    I bought my WA400PJHDWR feb 2014 and it now has a leak and its UPSTAIRS in a condo development with people below it at risk of water damage. They need to recall and repair these critical in good faith as they have a problem they are well aware of. I see a service bulletin ASC20130222001 and I think they need to protect their name as they may be about to become defendants in a class action suit. I emailed the CEO and also their corporate office on August 4th 2015 so will try and post what happens here. Cheap plastic weak parts are not what keeps a company profitable.

  • gyork60
    8 years ago

    same thing for my WA400PJHDWR washer about 16 months old, as it leaks at the pump on bottom. I sent the CEO of Samsung Mr Parks an email stating they need to recall and fix these in upstairs locations since they know about the problem with this cheap Chinese plastic part.

    People are having THOUSANDS of dollars damage from these junkers.

    Yes these are made in CHINA like so many things that break soooo fast!! When will we learn? My American made Whirlpool front loader in different house I LOVE with zero problems in 5 years now. No more Samsung for me EVER! Samsung paid for repair out of warranty with my angry threats of class action suite. Big surprise its made in CHINA not Korea. Will sell it used before it floods neighbors below in the condo next time.