2.3 Million Maytag and Jenn-Air Dishwashers Recalled

[Radio_Lady]

I came home from Las Vegas vacation last night, and found this information in my email. I have one of these dishwashers and you may also have one. Please send this link to your friends. Thank you. Radio Lady in Oregon

2.3 Million Maytag and Jenn-Air Dishwashers Recalled

February 6, 2007

The recall of 2.3 million Maytag dishwashers, which could catch on fire, generated so many calls to the company that it could not handle the volume, a U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission spokesman said.

Faulty wiring in certain Maytag and Jenn-Air brand dishwashers led to a voluntary recall of the machines last week. Dishwashers are blamed for causing 135 fires and four injuries.

Affected dishwashers were sold at department and appliances stores between July 1997 and June 2001 and sold at prices between $370 and $800.

Consumers, who were told to immediately unplug the machines and call Maytag to arrange for an in-home repair, were met with messages to call back later.

"We are working very closely with Maytag to address some operational issues that the company is experiencing," said Scott Wolfson, a spokesman for the Consumer Product Safety Commission, a federal agency with responsibility for protecting the public from product that can cause injury or death. "It's a positive sign that the company is receiving so many calls because we want consumers to be responsive to the announcement, but just as importantly, we want that remedy to be available to the consumers."

Maytag, once the nation's third-largest appliance maker, was bought by Whirlpool Corp. on March 31, 2006, in a deal valued at $2.6 billion.

"We have had high call volume and there have been some delays and some of those continue today, but I can tell you that the system is up and running," said Whirlpool spokeswoman Jody Lau. "We expect to have that reconciled shortly."

She said consumers having trouble getting through by phone should visit www.repair.maytag.com, which will help them determine if their machine is recalled through the model and serial numbers and decide whether to take a voucher for a new machine or request a repair.

MORE AT:

http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2007/02/06/76655.htm

[JDPriestly]

1. Smart move -- producing electrical equipment in third world countries.

Maytags used to be made in Newton, Iowa by people who knew what they were doing, were paid decently and took pride in their work. So this is "free trade" at work. And, I've watched the quality of ordinary things get worse and worse in recent years. It is just astounding. The only good quality items that are imported are Japanese cars. (OK so there are some other good imports, but you get my point.) Not only has free trade cost American jobs, it has flooded us with second-rate goods. Free trade needs to be put on the leash.

[Radio_Lady]

2. Couldn't agree with you more. Business controls everything.

I've got the dishwasher to prove it. Thanks for your post.

[fasttense]

3. Appliances that catch on fire seems to be a new product.

I bought a coffee maker from Wally world a couple of years ago. It caught fire and could have burned my house down but I caught it before it got out of hand. I bought a very expensive treadmill the other day. The grounding bolt for the grounding wire didn't fit the holes. We substituted our own bolt. I bought Norton Anti-virus system a couple of years ago. I had trouble installing it so I called the 800 help line. I could not understand a word the technician said. I don't mind accents but this guy was just not understandable.

Whatever happened to safety and quality standards?

[Radio_Lady]

4. {{Chuckles}} It's sad but true. My next purchase is going to be a home fire extinguisher.

I'll keep it in the kitchen until I figure out the repair or replacement of our dishwasher. I am only going to run the dishwasher on short wash while I am actually in the kitchen.

[Radio_Lady]

5. "Whatever happened to safety and quality standards?"

How can we get answers to your question? I wish I knew.

I find it almost impossible to buy clothing made in the USA. My latest disappointment was a beautiful long nightshirt I purchased at the Pike's Market in Seattle. It was a bright gold color and was marked "Made in Pakistan." I didn't think about it at the time, but washing it brought the unsettling fact that the T-shirt was colored with fading vegetable dyes, which I recall are common in Indian and I guess Pakistani soft goods. (Are you old enough to remember Madras cloth that bled all over everything? At the time, that was a GOOD thing!)

Anyway, the T-shirt was washed with two nightgowns that were pink. The shirt faded all over the pink gowns -- now they are salmon colored, not terrible, but different! I can't get back to the store to ask for a refund, but it was a bitter lesson. Goods made overseas do seem to permeate the USA marketplace. I wish I believed that they are routinely as good as or better than goods that USED TO BE made here.

Thanks for posting.

P.S. I regularly return and replace items that do not match my standards. Luckily, my husband is an electrical engineer who retrained as a software engineer. He is marvelous at fixing things, but we don't stand on ceremony if a company's product doesn't work as advertised.

And, yes, I regularly get telephone support "technicians" in India, the Phillipines, and other locations worldwide. Delta Airlines briefly lost our luggage on one trip last year. The search involved call centers in India, I believe. That was very difficult. Right now, I can't remember any others, but we run into them regularly.

[Radio_Lady]

6. Kicked for those who may have missed this item.