Whirlpool WFS1055CD / WFS1055CE

Two machines, fought for warranty on the first, both died – Bought the first one 5 years ago, within the first 12 months it died. Power off. 2 weeks out of warranty. Whirpool wanted to have nothing to do with it and in fact used delay tactics to try keep us from claiming our warranty. In the end we threatened them with the ACCC and it was quickly sorted out. Main control board had fried itself so we got a… Read more

whole new machine. The new one lasted up until last night where it too, failed in the exact same fashion. Complete loss of power after a load. This one lasted 4 years. I'll not be buying Whirlpool again. Have gone with LG this time.

Died in it's third year of not much use – Well well well. What can I say here that hasn't already been said. I wish all these scathing reviews had been around when I'd intended to buy this machine four years ago. Purchased this machine from Kambo's in Malaga in December 2010. It worked reasonably well up until last month when it died (no power to the machine) out of nowhere. I did one… Read more

load with it on Thursday and it worked fine, tried to turn it on Saturday and the unit had failed.

That's pretty poor for a machine that barely got used. For some back story - I work FIFO and spend a lot of time away from home - meaning that in the 4 years that I owned the machine it probably only did 1 load of washing every month. I think it would've been cheaper and less painful to go to the laundromat once a month then buy this useless machine.

So I contacted Kambo's for a refund and they were not helpful at all. They kept referring me to the manufacturer (Whirlpool) and would not take the issue seriously. Whirlpool advised them that as no servicing had been carried out on the washer in the last 4 years they could not provide a remedy as I had requested under Australian Consumer Law.

It is obvious the washer does not meet its consumer guarantee under the ACL so I have contacted Consumer Protection to resolve the issue. If the supplier (Kambo's) are still unwilling to provide a remedy for the failure I will take them to the magistrates court. An appearance fee is $92 and you can have them culpable for the costs should you be successful in your case.

Lesson learned - don't buy from Kambo's in Malaga and don't buy a Whirlpool washer.

Designed to last 2 - 3 years – I bought this appliance in Jan 2012... and 2.8 years later it died on me (no power on). It is obvious that the main board was fried. I used this appliance 3 times a week and without any problems, so it wasn't a heavy usage. One day it just stopped working. As other customers here suggested, in Australia you are protected by the Australian… Read more

Consumer Law. In my case, my warranty was out (2 yrs) so this is what I did:

1.- Google and came across to this page.

2.- Read the ACL guides

3.- If you are out of warranty and you feel that your consumer warranty (ACL) based on quality has been breached (I assumed yes since a lot of consumers are experiencing the same problem and it is expected for a washing machine to work for 4 -5 years at least), then you have a major failure and you have the right to go to your supplier (place of purchase) and demand a solution. You can ask for a refund or replacement.

4.- The supplier can't refer you to the manufacturer... they need to engage. In my case, he arranged a call with Castel (the distributor) and they basically didn't care what was wrong with the appliance or the ACL.

5.- Went back to the supplier and asked them to solve the problem for me based on the feedback I got from Castel. First Castel offered to pay for the parts but not labor (quite expensive), so I told them my rights which are "if you are having a major issue, repairs have to be paid by the manufacturer or supplier. If the supplier pays, they can later request a refund from manufacturer".

6.- My negotiation with the supplier was "I will pay only if the technician says that the issue was caused by me incorrectly using the appliance".

7.- I got a call saying that the appliance was going to be repaired for free.

Now, I although Whirlpool solved the issue, I would not buy another appliance because they don't have any offices here in Australia. Also my supplier confirmed they don't work with them anymore due to the same issue.

Use your ACL Rights!

$350 repair ! no way – Classic symptom. One load done, prepare for the next, lights out. Will not turn on. Take to service centre, $60 to look at it, then quote $290 to replace control board, total $350. Thats more 60% plus of purchase price. My first and last Whirlpool. Bought second hand machine for less - and its better!

absolutely disgusted – just over 21/2 years of ownership washing for 2 adults and the machine is DEAD I should have gone to the laundremat i t would have been cheaper .Its about time Whirlpool had a serious look at this appliance as too many people are complaining .I am going to consumer affairs over this really fed up. being a pensioner I can't afford either to have it repaired or replaced the thing don't work after only 21/2 years

Same problem as everyone else – Worked fine for just over 2 years, then power supply to timing board stopped working (ie, power won't switch on). As the reviews here demonstrate, this is a common problem with this model and the design/manufacturing is defective. Make sure the retailer or manufacturer pays for any repairs for this problem, as is their legal obligation (and don't… Read more

let the retailer just palm you off to the manufacturer, which the unscrupulous ones will try to do -- they certainly tried to my case). Otherwise it'll cost you over $300 to get repaired. Very compact; worked fine for 2 years Small capacity; stopped working after 2 years

Can't be powered anymore – I purchased this machine from Appliances Online in 2011. Three years later, it broke down. Briefly, the machine could not be powered on anymore, right after a successful cycle. Given the two-year manufacturer warranty expired, Appliances Online ("AO") played defence, when initially contacted, stating that I may want to contact the manufacturer… Read more

to get a repair. Having mentioned the ACCC for what I believe is a Major Problem AO suggested to also contact them directly for mediation.

There are few clues that made me think this is a Major Problem, in ACCC's terms: 1/ it is not reasonable to think that a $500+ appliance to break down within 3 years (which AO conceded); 2/ I would not have purchased this appliance should I have known about this very issue; 3/ There are many occurrences of this issue reported in this very page (more on this later).

Pushing AO further, I was offered to get a technician onsite for a repair, with callout costs to be refunded. Being limited in time, not wanting to spend hours on the phone and spend $ on this machine, I suggested to have the costs applied towards a compensation which I am entitled to under the Consumer Law given the nature of the problem.

Interestingly, AO stated that "we have never done this before". In the meantime, I had purchased a new machine from them (carefully scanning comments on this website). I was later granted $100 in the end. I also took some time to lodge a complaint with ACCC.

AO's service including the pickup of the "old" appliance prior to the setup of the "new" one, I was told that WFS1055CD's were replaced in high numbers, adding to the comments read here. Reliable over the course of 3 years (not intensive use) Suddenly broke down

Do not buy - Excellent example of "Planned Obsolescence" – I really have to register an account just to warn everybody do not buy this washing machine. Like everyone said here it just died in front of me (literally!) after 2.5 years on light use - Just finished a load and want to want to wash another load then all of a sudden lights went out no responds and that was it, dead. I took it apart and replace… Read more

the PCB board, took me around an hour and it's alive again.

I put the old PCB under the microscope and found no signs of burnt or damage. All the capacitors give positive reading and I cut out some ICs to test and they all seems working. I highly doubt the PCB is actually programmed to fail after a certain "count" that stored in one of the IC but I just don't have the time and effort to find it out. Quick wash, and its compact size Break down after 2 years on light use

Died within 3 years, but now fully fixed – I bought this machine 2 years and 8 months ago from appliances online. I really like the machine and had no complaints until it died last week. It had been working perfectly, but then completely lost power. I read the reviews on here and assumed the power board had died, as this seems a common problem. The machine was outside of warranty, but I… Read more

found the white goods guide really helpful on the consumer law website really helpful.

It basically says that if a white good has a major failure within an unreasonable time frame (I expect a washing machine to last longer than 2.5 years), then the customer is entitled to a repair or refund even if the machine is outside of warranty. It goes on to state that for large goods (which you can't post back to the manufacturer, i.e, washing machines) the call out fee should be covered by the manufacturer.

I called NSW fairtrading and they advised me to call the retailer. I spoke to appliances online (who were great). They contacted Castell who have recently bought out Whirlpool, and with a bit of prompting Castell arranged for an engineer to fix the machine. It took a lot of persistent phone calls to Appliances online and then Castell, but the machine broke last Wednesday and it is already fixed. The engineer advised that the new power board cost about $180, but this along with the labour and call out charge were paid for by Castell.

My only advice is to make sure you mention the consumer law up front. The initial response I got from both the supplier and manufacturer was 'the machine is out of warranty you will have to pay for and organise any repairs'. It was only after mentioning the consumer law and fair trading that they agreed to organise an engineer. I also had to push the fact that I was not responsible for paying for the call out fee. I like the timer and quick wash facilities. The machine washes well. The fact the powerboard died after 2.5 years, the potential for this to happen again.

Worst brand ever! – I bought this machine in October 2011 (thank you Harvey Norman!). Now, out of warranty for a couple of months and my machine stopped working. It's completely dead, I will try to fix it but I don't know if worth it. This was a completely waste of money, and it seems a common problem with this brand. Moral: NEVER BUY WHIRLPOOL AGAIN!

Worst washing machine ever – Three weeks out of warranty and they wont do a thing. They are probably program to break down. Who would ever buy another one. Worst customer service over the phone. This machine was used once a week, washing only for one person, that is a joke.It would have been cheaper going to a laundrymat. The compact size No power or display after two years and 21 days.

Most complaints seem to be just out of warranty – At 2 years and 2 months old with a once a week use on average, this machine worked in the night...in the morning no lights on display allerted me there was an issue...I sent Whirlpool an email which was not relplied to so I called them to see if they would honour their faulty goods, answer was they would not. I live 1000km from the nearest service… Read more

agent so I had a local electrician check it out who suggests it is control panel/mother board...

will never buy Whirlool or related companies again!!!

Off to the consumer affairs site to see if I can push the JUST out of warranty thing as I believe this has been won before!!! small size faulty like maybe programmed to be just after warranty...

Worst performing washine machine that I have ever owned – I purchased my machine 2 years and 2 month ago. In that time the machine has had two major mechanically issues. The first was the control panel which failed after only one year of operation. (we are a 2 people household). Whirlpool replaced the panel and covered the repair completely. However the second issue, the rear bearings which have now… Read more

failed are not covered by the 2 year manufacturers warranty as I am 2 months and 2 weeks out of warranty. I am currently trying to get resolution with Whirlpool, keep you posted. My advice -don't buy this machine, there are better front loading machines available. Front loading machines represent good water usaged. Control panel and rear bearings did not perform for a resonable period of time, especially given its easy work life.

AWFUL! AWFUL AWFUL! – This is the biggest waste of money there is! Our hinge has nearly rusted through as well as the bottom of the machine. When you call their "Customer Service" line they are nothing but arrogant and rude. They pretty much tell you that Whirpool products aren't built to last. They offer to send someone out to look at it but if they feel it isn't… Read more

their fault they will charge YOU for the call out fee. WHIRLPOOL IS A JOKE!

Easily rusted, Rude Customer Service, WASTE OF MONEY

Average – This machine (i had a 7.5kg) was good until the motor went just 1 week out of manufacturers warranty (luckily we go extended warranty, which had issues of its own) but because its not manufactured here it was going to take 6 weeks to repair because the part had to come from overseas, with 4 kids that was impossible for me so i had to replace it.… Read more

but in the 2 years i had it, it went well. Cleaned well, had quick options, time delay, hot and cold tap connection Way too long for a full cycle, quick cycle only took a 3kg load, couldnt do a cold wash, only lasted 2 years.

Constantly stopping mid cycle – Constantly stopping mid cycle. I use 'quick wash' its anything but! It takes over an hour to complete. Clothes come out still dripping most of the time. Which in winter i hang in the bed room on a clothes horse and i have to put towels down so the water doesn't ruin my carpet! Today its started leaking. Hoping whirlpool will sort it out as its… Read more

not even 12 months old yet.

I cant be without a washing machine, having a young child, a day without washing = chaos in the laundry. cheap clothes still soaking wet, leaking, stops mid cycle

bargain washer! – i must say i have herd bad reviews about this washer, but i still bought one anyway, and so far it's still going strong, only had one problem with the door lock breaking, whirlpool were quik to replace this.. however a chime would be good so you know when your washing is done. cheap price and water rating! door is cheap, can't take a full load!

Disappointing, nothing but trouble – I have been nothing but disappointed with this product, constantly stops mid wash and if it does complete it's cycle (2hrs later) the clothes are still dripping wet. After trouble shooting with Whirlpool Service Centre covering too much washing liquid used (causes to much foam and stops the cycle), not enough clothes in the machine ( I thought we… Read more

had moved on to water saving technology?!) and washing with like minded materials: All of these points I feel are petty and oversensitive for a quality appliance brand and have not resolved the issue. I have used many front loader machines (living in share houses with people who I'm sure just shove the whole week's clothes through in one wash) and have never had any issues.

In the process of getting a refund, the washer is only 3 month old.

Constantly stops mid cycle, clothes remain dripping wet, takes too long to wash