Whirlpool dishwasher lasted a whopping 4 years!

[JoeP]

Pardon me while I vent!

So 4 years ago almost to the day, our KitchenAid dishwasher let out its circuitry smoke and died. Scorched board, burnt electronic smell, had to replace it. We got a basic Whirlpool that gave out last night and dumped about a gallon of water on the floor. Wife smelled something and I found it "on" but not working (burnt circuit board), couldn't even drain it. Ended up bailing out the tub and washed the dishes by hand last night.

Found a decent Bosch at Home Depot and we'll be getting that in a couple weeks.

I know "they don't make them like they used to" and "you're lucky if you get 5 years out of a dishwasher" but something like burned out circuit boards is a problem that should have been solved 20 years ago! It's become a race to the bottom.

[Fishindude77]

I've got a 35 year old chest freezer out in the shop that's still going strong.
Bet my new stuff won't last 10-15 years.

[MonkeyMama]

I don't even think our last dishwasher lasted 4 years.

I did just track it down and our Bosch is 8 years old. I wouldn't have guessed we had it that long. Just seemed like we were going through dishwashers so fast. We are very hard on our dishwashers, using 2x most days. I am sure this dishwasher has been ran at least 4,000 cycles.

Other newer appliances are hit and miss. I don't even want to say how many original appliances we still have in 22yo home. Don't want to jinx it.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

a lot of friends are telling me that. Fridges are only last like 5-7 years. Washing machines and dryers too like 5-7 years. They talk about their old stuff and stuff their parents had that last like 30-40 years but still keep going. I don't know what is going on. Knock on wood we seem to be okay. I hope if it does break it doesn't do damage for us.

I feel like 5 years is the new norm

[ua_guy]

Manufacturers of major appliances have introduced "designed obsolescence". It's an environmental and economic travesty, and a few of the big names have been sued over it, yet the practice continues.

Bosch is one of the better brands and we've generally had good luck with their stuff, so I hope the OP has a similar experience.

[bjl584]

I got a stainless dishwasher for free about 6 years ago.
All it needed was a new gasket for the door.
$20 and I was up and running.
It's still going strong today.
I have no idea how old it actually is.

[myrdale]

I'd challenge you to try and fix it yourself.

If you can find a local appliance repair shop, give them the model number and take the board in with you. Get them to order a new one. You're probably looking at $20 in parts. In most cases all it takes is one capacitor failing or a resistor overheating or the like and you're dead in the water. Maybe it was a power surge? Maybe it was cheap components?

Personally, I've been in my house 17 years now, I've never had an issue with my dish washer. It looks just as new as the day I moved in. It even has the styrofoam packing still on the inside.

[srblanco7]

We purchased new front load washer & dryer from Lowe's last August. Washer always seemed a bit "off" (was somewhat noisy from day 1). After multiple tech visits, multiple calls with "customer service", and continued normal use, the washer eventually stopped working entirely. This resulted in more tech visits and quite the saga of phone calls with Samsung before they finally declared it "unrepairable". In the interim we moved the washer and pedestal to the garage and rented a unit from rent-a-center.

Once it was declared unrepairable - the problem was kicked from Samsung to Lowe's. Where Samsung was a nightmare to deal with, Lowe's was terrific and quickly provided a full refund for the Samsung washer and pedestal. We now have a top load Maytag washer which seems to be working (knock on wood) fairly well.

In dealing with the rent-a-center folks as well as the lowe's staff that took away the broken washer - their collective feedback seemed to be to avoid Samsung (as well as LG) for washing machines. Thus the Maytag.

[kork13]

In dealing with the rent-a-center folks as well as the lowe's staff that took away the broken washer - their collective feedback seemed to be to avoid Samsung (as well as LG) for washing machines. Thus the Maytag.

I've always wondered why companies like that wander so far outside their expertise ... LG & Samsung are both electronics companies. How do you go from making phones & TV's to making major home appliances (oven, washer/dryer, fridge/freezer)? I know that in S. Korea they are much more omnipresent, but still, that leap doesn't make alot of sense to me. I've always stuck with traditional appliance companies...

[srblanco7]

I've always wondered why companies like that wander so far outside their expertise ... LG & Samsung are both electronics companies. How do you go from making phones & TV's to making major home appliances (oven, washer/dryer, fridge/freezer)? I know that in S. Korea they are much more omnipresent, but still, that leap doesn't make alot of sense to me. I've always stuck with traditional appliance companies...

You're a step ahead of me kork. Lesson learned.

And it's worth noting there are "badged" appliances out there....for example, the GE name is now owned by Haier a Chinese manufacturer.

[crazyliblady]

Pardon me while I vent!

So 4 years ago almost to the day, our KitchenAid dishwasher let out its circuitry smoke and died. Scorched board, burnt electronic smell, had to replace it. We got a basic Whirlpool that gave out last night and dumped about a gallon of water on the floor. Wife smelled something and I found it "on" but not working (burnt circuit board), couldn't even drain it. Ended up bailing out the tub and washed the dishes by hand last night.

Found a decent Bosch at Home Depot and we'll be getting that in a couple weeks.

I know "they don't make them like they used to" and "you're lucky if you get 5 years out of a dishwasher" but something like burned out circuit boards is a problem that should have been solved 20 years ago! It's become a race to the bottom.

I am also suffering from dishwasher issues. I am not sure how old it is, but it is at least 5 years old. Some of the prongs on the rolling trays are rusting and breaking off. It is also not getting the dishes clean. Today, we learned that the wash pump is malfunctioning and needs replaced. So, I went online and bought a new pump and just got an email saying it is backordered even though it was in in stock when I ordered.

Arrgh!

[crazyliblady]

I am also suffering from dishwasher issues. I am not sure how old it is, but it is at least 5 years old. Some of the prongs on the rolling trays are rusting and breaking off. It is also not getting the dishes clean. Today, we learned that the wash pump is malfunctioning and needs replaced. So, I went online and bought a new pump and just got an email saying it is backordered even though it was in in stock when I ordered.

Arrgh!

Okay. Things are looking up on the dishwasher front. I found another new wash pump on ebay and even with expedited shipping, it is cheaper than the first one. I will have a functioning dishwasher by next Monday.

[myrdale]

Okay. Things are looking up on the dishwasher front. I found another new wash pump on ebay and even with expedited shipping, it is cheaper than the first one. I will have a functioning dishwasher by next Monday.

Very nice! Keep us updated.

[crazyliblady]

Very nice! Keep us updated.

Update: I managed to order and receive a new part off of Ebay for about $73.00. It came yesterday. Today, we had an independent appliance repair person come to the house to install it for use. $80.00 for installation

[james.hendrickson]

That's frustrating to hear about your dishwasher giving out after only 4 years. It seems like appliances these days just aren't built to last. But I'm glad you were able to find a decent replacement at Home Depot. Have you considered looking into getting an extended warranty for your new dishwasher? It might be worth it to protect yourself from any future circuit board issues.

Extended warranties are usually a bad deal from a consumer standpoint.