March 21, 2007
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has announced a recall of about 270,000 Maytag and Samsung front-loading washing machines because of a fire hazard.
Water leakage onto the electrical connections to the washing machine's thermal sensor could cause an electrical short and ignite a circuit board, the agency said.
Maytag has received five reports of incidents involving ignition in the circuit board. Samsung has received one report of an incident involving ignition in the circuit board. No injuries, fires or property damage outside the washing machine have been reported.
The recall involves certain Maytag and Samsung brand front-load washers. The Maytag washers have model numbers beginning with MAH9700 or MAH8700. The Samsung model number WF306BHW or a model number beginning with WF316. Not all serial numbers are subject to the recall. The model and serial numbers are located on a tag at the bottom of the door opening. Maytag models with a serial number ending in the last two letters identified below are subject to the recall:
2005 | GA | GC | GE | GG | GJ | GL | GN | GP | GR | GT | GV | GX |
2006 | JA | JC | JE | JG | JJ | JL | JN |
Sample Maytag Serial Number: 10123456GN
Samsung models with the six-digit number 100001 through 799999 prior to a letter at the end of the serial number are subject to the recall:
Sample Samsung Serial Number: 230854AL300026B
The machines were sold by major department and appliance stores nationwide from April 2005 through August 2006 for between $1,000 and $1,200.
Consumers should immediately contact the firm for information on how to receive a free repair. Consumers should not return the washing machine to the retailer where it was purchased.
Consumer Contact: For more information, consumers can call Maytag toll-free at (800) 868-5109 between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, or go to Maytag's Web site at www.washerrecall.com - Samsung customers can call (800) 515-7902 between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, or go to Samsung's Web site at www.Samsung.com/washerrecall