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KitchenAid Dishwashers

KitchenAid • Cooktops • Coffee Makers • Dishwashers • Hot Water Dispensers • Microwave & Range Hoods • Mixers • Range Hoods • Refrigerators • Stoves & Ovens • Wall Ovens • Washers & Dryers --- • Whirlpool

Arthur of Pembroke, MA November 4, 2008

Arthur of Pembroke MA (11/04/08)
I purchased a Kitchenaid Dishwasher from Sears on 7/16/05. Mod #KUDIO1ILBL6, Ser # FS2635202. On 1/3/08 the unit started making a loud humming noise and it seems to be getting worse. The unit is only used by my wife and I and has never been abused. I checked all the necessary items on the unit and found no foreign matter.

The unit still washes the dishes OK but the noise is nervewracking. It sound like a motor or pump bearing I am very dissappointed in this unit and I will never by another Kitchenaid product after reading all of the reviews

Dean of Syosset, NY November 3, 2008

Dean of Syosset NY (11/03/08)
Model # KUD01FLSS1 KitchenAid Dishwasher The pulley system for the door of my dishwasher failed, almost hitting my dog and my 2 year. It seems the pulley assembly to give tension to the door are string and very cheap plastic pieces (offical name is - link door balance:part # 8270022). I feel it is a Manufacter defect and KitchenAid should fix it for free.

Repair company wants to charge almost 400.00 to fix two plastic parts and string. The door of the dishwasher is now tied down with rope and has not been used in a month. It is a safety hazard and I am at a loss, as to what is the next step. I can't afford to buy a new dishwasher, I wish I could. Even if repaired the cheap parts will fail again.

Kris of Glenwood Springs, CO October 31, 2008

Kris of Glenwood Springs CO (10/31/08)
We purchased a KitchenAid dishwasher (Whisper Quiet) in 2000. I LOVE it. I can pack it full of dishes, wait a week and it cleans impeccably. I don't even have to rinse the dishes or scrape food from them. OK, if I put the crockpot in it, sometimes it doesn't get that clean. But no big deal.

Here's where the problem comes in. I called KitchenAid to purchase the exact same dishwasher for another location and they gave me the model number KUDS03CT. Wrong. Lowe's installed the dishwasher in March. We used (or tried to use it) twice. It never worked. Lowe's said it was the water pressure in our place. (It's not.)

We decided we wanted a different style of door so Lowe's took it back and replaced it with the exact same model, different front panel. Four washes (or lack thereof) later, it still doesn't work. We had the A and E repairman out last week (it's now Oct 2008) and he took the whole thing apart. The repairman wasn't sure why it wasn't getting enough water up into the dishwasher to wash anything. It could have been the pump, a flow filter or the motor.

He suggested we could order new parts but he could not guarantee the parts would be any better than the (new) original parts. Without the water, the dishes were left dirty, the glasses scummy and the inside not clean. Again, this is brand new! We bought it in June and used it 4 times until Oct.

Rather than get a third lemon, we decided to get another brand. So next week, we're having a Bosch installed. What irks me is that Lowes, KitchenAid AND the company that schedules the repairs all said they'd never heard these types of complaints. Funny, I thought I complained back in March when we returned the first dishwasher. We researched Whirlpool (fire danger recall), Maytag, (same thing), Asko (same thing), KitchenAid which obviously didn't work. Whirlpool owns Maytag and KitchenAid. So there's a huge difference in how these things are made.

By the way, this was the one of the top of the line models - 800. The salesperson at Lowe's worked with us thankfully and now will take the 2nd dishwasher back and credit us the difference. I've made no fewer than dozen trips to Lowes, countless phone calls to KitchenAid, scheduling the service (three times now), researching dishwasher complaints, unloading a packed dishwasher 6 times with no water in it and having to hand wash all of those dishes.....it's been a mess.

By the way, we had a KithenAid dishwasher from 1995-2000 that worked beautifully. We've since sold that home. There's something about the way (or where) these new ones (since 2000 or 2001) are made that makes them worthless....

Rich of Kitchener, OTHER October 30, 2008

Rich of Kitchener, Canada (10/30/08)
On Oct.26 my daughter started screaming that there was smoke coming out of our 4 year old Kitchen Aid dishwasher. The smoke quickly stopped pumping when I opened the door and powered off the circuit breaker. Lots of smoke and horrible smell but the place was aired out by the morning. A couple of days later the serviceman arrived and opened the control panel to find a charred circuit board and melted connector.

The circuit board is covered by the 5 year warranty but the wiring harness that was melted by the defective board is not! Labour is also not covered so this repair will cost me about 350. I called Kitchen Aid (Whirpool) and they confirmed that there are no service issues with that component so No they cannot cover anything but the pcb.

My contention is that this was clearly a defective component and the harness damage was adirect result of the defective pcb. This is not an area of the dishwasher that is subject to wear and tear.

In reading this forum is is abundantly clear that Kitchen Aid dishwashers pose a serious safety risk with these defective control panels. I have collected all of these incidents and I will be submitting them to the Canadian Standards Association and Underwriters Labs who inspect and certify all electrical components for sale in Canada and the US. Pehaps WhirlyPool will listen to an agency that has the power to shut them down, since they obviously ignore consumer complaints.

Pam of San Antonio, TX October 16, 2008

Pam of San Antonio TX (10/16/08)
On October 14,2008 at 1:15 AM my Kitchenaid Dishwasher almost burnt down my house and killed everyone and everything in it. Fortunately, I was still awake and standing at my sink when I heard a loud pop, and then black, smelly, toxic smoke began to pour out of the door of the dishwasher near the control panel . I tried to turn it off, and it would not shut off--it just kept smoking. I called the Fire Department and they responded quickly. You see, not only was my house, my life and my nephews life in danger, but I have endangered Parrots that can die from toxic fumes.

The cost of my parrots range from 1,000 to 10,000 each. My nephew and I worked quickly to open all doors and move as many parrots as quickly as possible. The respiratory system of parrots are sensitive to fumes,smoke, chemicals,etc---they can die immediately or their sinus cavities can become damaged and have a bacterial infection set in weeks later. This is very hard to treat, and can be fatal.

When the fire department arrived, they could not stop the dishwasher--they turned off the breaker, disconnected the dishwasher and removed it outside while it was still smoking. The stench was horrible-I am so worried about my birds.The fireman said that if I was asleep, it would have burst out in flames & the damage would have been unthinkable.

I have been airing out the house, and I can't get rid of that toxic smell. All my parrots are still alive, but I will not know for weeks whether or not their health has been compromised by this event. I have been in shock since this event-almost loosing everything, and I have no idea of the severity of the health of my parrots. I feel completely violated by Kitchenaid. This was their top of the line dishwasher that was stainless steel on the inside and had a special sanitizing rinse (I bought this for my birds).

I called Kitchenaid this past July concerned that my Sanitized light was blinking instead of staying on. I paid for a service call. The factory service company told me that their was nothing wrong. This is the area of the control panel that started burning. I contacted the Product Safety division of Kitchenaid, and they sent out their service company to check out why it started burning. The entire control panel(the brain) and much more burnt.

According to the technicians notes:part failure- main board, touch pad, fuse, sub panel,harness/wire assembly, sub control panel, sub fuse kit, and pump and motor----what is left that didn't have a product failure!!!

This is well documented by the factory service technician as well as the fire department. The technician told me that this was one in a million--that he has seen dryers catch fire, but never a dishwasher. After reading this web site, I see that I am not alone, and that the consumer is in danger.

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