Fisher & Paykel WH8560P3

Disappointingly poor service from fisher & Paykel washing machines – This washing machine one year old- under warranty- clearly damaged part. Complained and service booked for replace the part after 10days. Fair enough so far. Service man came on the day of the appointment without the part. I don’t know why he even came to the house when the job clearly says that the part needs to be replaced. Wasted my time and… Read more

unprofessional l. Gave silly answers when I asked why is he even at the property attended when he does not have the part.

Called customer care, they say sorry and promised to fix or call back in 24 to 48 hours. Called 3 times after that and don’t have answer. Still escalating issue every time I called. I have never seen such unprofessional technicians and customer service in my life.

I have newborn and 2 school going kids and old age parents, paying from my pocket and going to cook laundry 3 times a week, wasting my money and time.

This is disappointing, making a family of 7 suffer with newborn and kids. Nothing good is going to happen for the company and team who are responsible for this.

Designed to fail just outside 2 year warranty perios – Rubbish. Only ones writing good reviews haven’t had it more than 2 years. And that’s all you get out of this $1000+ washing machine. It’s a disgrace as previous machines have (as they should do) lasted 10 years plus. Manufactured to fail just out of warranty period. Morals of this company disgraceful selling this rubbish at this price. Show details

Is this a sustainable machine? – I can not comment on reliability or longevity as I have only had it a few months. However from my use, I can comment on a number of issues others have consistently mentioned about this and other machines. My star rating is for these issues only and should not be taken as an overall recommendation. You may also find this a useful general buying… Read more

guide especially if you are interested in sustainability issues like water/energy use, long lived product, repairability and consumer rights.

First to what others are saying.

Wash Times

These have not been extended as some reviews (perhaps more for other brands) mention. The issue appears to be associated with the smart drum motor, especially on the spin cycle.

Smart Spin

The idea is that the machine detects imbalances and attempts to redistribute the load more evenly for smoother effective spinning. From my observation the machine first does a relatively short spin, then after redistributing the load goes into a longer second spin. Where imbalances remain, perhaps the machine will go into a second redistribution thus extending the overall wash program time. However this has not happened yet. Don't know if it makes any difference, but I am careful to place the items evenly in the drum when loading.

Noise

It is a relative term, but I rate this as quiet for most of the wash program. The sound of water splashing and the occasional braking when the motor slows can be heard up close. This was overwhelmed by the sound of the kettle six metres away when I was a metre and a half from the machine. A little more shudder can be heard for a few seconds at the start of a spin cycle.

Spin Smoothness

When beginning to spin the machine noticeably shudders for a few seconds during "take off" then quickly reduces. The shudder and vibration are more obvious and extended during the first step of the smart spin cycle mentioned above. Mostly on the second step the shudder quickly reduces to a mild visible vibration that sounds like a loud purr. The machine does not appear to have shifted from its original location due to the vibration.

While the machine has a maximum spin speed of 1400 rpm, I find that the 800 rpm is sufficient for my 'Everyday' wash that I line dry. This also reduces vibration.

Timber floors

Yes when placed on my timber floor, the vibration is obvious up close and at times can be felt lightly further away. Others may find this disconcerting or annoying. The instructions say not to put the machine on a plinth. The installer confirmed that this was to avoid any possibility of the machine 'walking' off the plinth during use. I am looking for a plinth with a raised border that may contain any walking while reducing vibration.

Water and Energy Rating

While not the absolute best, the water rating (4.5/6) is most important for me as I am on tank water and every drop counts. The water rating is a good guide, but the detail is important. The water rating is based on use of a particular cycle. Usually as in this case a full 8.5 kg cotton wash of almost two and a half hours using 73 lites of water. However many of the other wash programs have a much lower capacity, as low as 2 kg (Wool, Quick 15). What is not clear from the table in the manual is how much water is used in these lesser capacity or even any of the 13 wash programs. For example might Quick 15 use twice as much water per item of clothing or kg of wash compared to an 8.5 kg wash? This is important consumer information that should be provided as it would allow users to more accurately gauge a machine's water use according to their typical wash routines.

I also went for a larger 8.5 kg machine when a smaller unit may have suited my single person household as my pattern has always been to do large washes at the end of the week rather than many smaller washes throughout. I can't be sure because of the data gap, but I imagine that this has helped to minimise water use.

Energy rating is also 4.5/6 based on a 'cottons' wash at 40c on 'Eco' setting (approximately 2.5 hours) and used seven times a week for a total 226 kwh a year. While of less importance to me as I wash during the day and have solar panels, my pattern of 1-2 washes a week using 'cold' water setting on 'Everyday' wash (59 mins) suggests that my energy use is substantially less. Again applying your known use patterns can help you make the right choice of machine.

There is an 'Eco' option that reduces water and energy use at the expense of a longer wash time. On the 'Everyday' cycle, this added 10 minutes to a 59 minute cycle.

Living in a subtropical region means much smaller washing loads in summer when sun and water are usually overflowing compared to the winter/spring when rain and sun are reduced. Can't win them all here, but does suggest that taking your local climate into account can also assist your choice.

Build Quality

Overall seems very good though the facia over the front control panel is a little loose to the touch.

Bells and Whistles

At its heart the washing machine is fairly straightforward technology and the more added features the more that can go wrong. For example, failing switches for features may make the machine unusable while the core of the machine remains viable, but potentially 'uneconomic' to repair.

On the other hand many of the newer features on washing machines have the potential to assist with sustainable use and make life easier for busy house parents and others. Though I will mostly not use the 'steam refresh' function except perhaps during the wet season, it helps to reduce water use and extend the life of clothing. Similarly the 'rinse+' and 'spin+' mean a wash doesn't have to go through separate programming or even a whole extra wash. The 'Eco' function is good though there is no disclosure of how much water and energy is saved.

Astounding that some brands did not include standalone spin and rinse cycles. At least one required consumers to connect their machines to the internet download an app that required you to sign up so that you could then download these additional standard features. At best this is gimmicky marketing that makes life difficult, not good. However the principal motive appears to be yet more harvesting of consumer information essentially so that manufacturers can market more product at us. Enough!!

In essence the choice of features really comes down to whether they work for what you need, but if you don't need it consider that old mantra. Keep it simple...

Cleaning and Maintenance

Will help to extend the life of any machine. In particular make sure the door seal is wiped down after each wash. Suggest also leaving the door ajar to avoid condensation build up. I have noticed a grimy residue build up on the inside of the door glass. Whether from dust attracted to the drying door or a residue from a wash, it should be kept clean as it will likely shorten the life of the door seal if left. Regularly check the machine remains balanced so as not to stress the drive motor.

The manual also provides guidance on keeping inlet hoses clear of obstruction and cleaning the pump filter. The unit has a 'drum clean' cycle and a reminder after 100 washes to run the cycle to clean the interior of the machine.

Service Support

Terms of the manufacturer's warranty state that repairs are to be carried out by certified Fisher and Paykel service personnel. There were also statements that suggested that such personnel may not be available beyond a 200km radius of a capital city. As a rural dweller, I rang their Australian office and was able to confirm that a certified technician was resident in my local town. A comfort, however not foolproof as I discovered several years ago when a local agent for Beko failed to ever turn up after I had made my final choice based on local support. Perhaps get to know your local repair person and ask which products they are certified to repair.

Warranty

Fisher and Paykel offer a two year manufacturer's warranty on parts and labour only 'at no cost to the owner for servicing within Australia'. A careful reading is that replacement only refers to particular defective parts, not necessarily entire defective machines. An additional eight year coverage applies to the direct drive motor (see below).

But wait you have more Consumer Rights

Once again I am astounded how little consumers know about their consumer rights provided by law. These cover much more than most manufacturer's warranties do and can include replacement of items as well as compensation for any foreseeable loss due to a 'major failure'. Also covered are replacement or repair due to 'unacceptable quality' that doesn't involve a 'major failure'. For the many who have raised issues that machines fail shortly after the manufacturer's warranty expires, keep in mind that you are likely to have access to this Consumer Law, especially as most consumers would reasonalbly expect that a major purchase like a washing machine should be of sufficient 'quality' and 'fit for purpose' to last more than a couple of years.

Also keep in mind that it is the manufacturers who get to decide the terms of their warranties including the processes for claims. Perhaps it is not surprising that so many issues relate to exceptionally long processes and poor responsiveness to repairing defective goods. However under the Consumer Law the processes are more clearly set out. For example, you can return or raise your claim through the retailer who sold you the product, you do not need to keep the original packaging or register the product with the manufacturer though obviously keeping the receipt and date of purchase details is important. So if your machine breaks down a couple of months in and the manufacturer is not responding reasonably, consider upping the claim under the Consumer Law.

More information on the ACCC website https://www.accc.gov.au/consumers/problem-with-a-product-or-service-you-bought/repair-replace-refund-cancel

Expectation of a long life

The core of my laundry has been a 40 year old Kelvinator compact top loader with a single control, a rotary mechanical timer. It has seen off two previous front loaders and has been in full time use again for the last four years. The need to conserve tank water has led me cautiously back to a front loader.

This machine (like many) advertises a 10 year guarantee on the direct drive motor, though the warranty states this is an extended eight year coverage that kicks in when the initial two year warranty expires. This should signal the minimum expected life of the machine. As with previous machines and as so many comments in these reviews confirm, most machines are deemed replaceable way before that. Not because the motor dies, but because other bits like control panels, electronic switching, doors etc fail. Makes the 10 year promise a bit hollow a lot of the time. In this case for example the extended drive warranty expressly excludes the 'drive controller'.

According to the reviews at the time I began my search for this machine, the top rated machine on this site appeared to consistently fail around the two year mark.

To be clear there are some consumable items associated with long term use of a machine. Things like rubber hoses and door seals. However, it should be easy to replace items such as control panels that are relatively cheap to produce and with a good plug in design could be something that most consumers could do themselves. Reducing excessive use of electronic switching or at least ensuring they are of a robust and long lasting design would also help. Currently the only listed spare parts for direct consumer replacement are the rubber inlet hoses.

Brand

I did a lot of research. It helped from the start that I have been very happy with a Fisher and Paykel fridge that is running good as new after 15 years. At the end, comparing like for like, this experience was the deciding factor, however it also clear that finding a machine that meets your needs is most important.

For me this machine ticks boxes on build quality, operation and sustainability. Additional information on water use for all cycles would be an important improvement as would improving and reducing the cost of consumer repairability. If it is still working well in ten years time, I will consider giving a five star rating then.

A ongoing problem with intermittent issues – When renting as a consumer, I don’t have any control over on what happens in businesses and services.But what I can say is that if it’s a honest business and a good business and did the right thing in there buisiness it probably wouldn’t have been necessary to do these reviews.Please note that the machine is still under warranty and the warranty… Read more ·  1

expires in July this year. Fisher and Paykel are coming to look at the machine next week to decided what to do.

Very Good Machine – This machine replaced a Whirlpool front loader that gave us exceptional service over many years. So we have a good benchmark. This machine fully meets our requirements and the capacity is perfect for our needs. My wife is more accustomed to using it than I am, but she confirms that she is completely satisfied with it and has only positive comment… Read more

to offer. We use it on most days, and sometimes more than once a day. We have used several different cycles and we have washed items varying from delicates to garden and food soiled and stained items. We are both very comfortable with the control panel and like that we can select water temperatures up to 90 degree C and spin speeds up to 1400 rpm. It is super quiet and washes very efficiently. It's performance is very good and fully meets all of our needs. We are a retired couple so our washing generally comprises casual clothes, bed sheets, and gardening and yard clothes. Note that we did find on installation that the water outlet in the base of the machine is positioned on the opposite side of the machine to our Whirlpool, and is further away from the plumbing at the laundry sink. As a consequence the waste water hose provided with the machine was too short. The machine sits right alongside the laundry sink and the waste water plumbing is right there, adjacent to the machine. Therefore at an additional cost we had to buy a waste water hose extension from the retailer. This could have been avoided had the manufacturer allowed slightly more length in the provided waste water hose. But other than that slight negative we are very happy with this appliance. It now remains to be seen if we will get the reliability and longevity from this appliance that we enjoyed with the Whirlpool. However we are very happy to recommend this appliance.

Great machine and design – Clothes washed are not heavily soiled. School uniform, daywear and office gear. I find it very easy to use however, I do have to turn it off then back on immediately to do the next load (eg whites then coloured load). It doesn't reset by turning the dial. Show details

works off-grid with gravity water pressure – Hello! we live off-grid, with solar power as our only electricity source and roof-water tanks as our only water source (gravity-fed,no water pump). Our old F&P top loader finally became irreparable (after about 20 years, several repairs (rats chewing cords, old inverter not regulating electricity properly). I looked at other brands, no ties to F&P… Read more

but if, like us, you have low water pressure, (we have between 20-30kpa, depending on level of tanks), and solar power, I am writing this to save you heaps of research time...the only modern-type washing machine that I could find (decided against a tiny twin tub) that is happy with low pressure is F&P (or Haier-same company diff name, but I found the F&P to have better advantages for us). We went for a front loader this time as it uses about half the water as our old top-loader., and this model has some fast cycles comparable with the top loader.

This machine only has one water inlet at the back. For us, that was good because we only have one hot tap in our entire house, which in not to the washing machine! But now I can use hot water in the machine--how? because when the sun is shining and we are making power, I can set the washing machine to heat up the cold tank water once it is in the machine. Beware though, the power consumption to do this can be up to 2500W for many machines --check your inverter can cope. Ours goes up to 3000W so we are fine, on a very sunny day! Next issue--some of the models want to always heat your cold incoming water to a minimum of 20 degrees, calling this a "cold" wash...and there is no option to alter that on many models---but there is the option with this model (and some others in the range). Because on a cloudy day I might have enough power to USE the machine on a cold only wash since it only uses 100-300W to do the cold wash, but not enough power to heat my icy cold tank water to 20 degrees. This model has the option to re-program the "cold" (aka upheated to 20 degrees) to tapcold--it does not try to mess with the incoming temperature. woohoo!

Thus, this machine is working on solar (I did a 90 degree machine clean wash today no probs) and also on low pressure tank water. I have only done a few washes in it but also I can report it is very quiet and has cleaned our clothes like never before --- the kids white socks look brand new! I am very happy atm ...I will report back if there are any issues once I have had it for longer.

Exceed My Expectations – Quiet & very efficient front loader washing machine. The everyday cycle only takes 59 mins. Lots of wash cycle settings. Connected to cold water so washing machine heats to temperature. Economical. Would definitely recommend this product. Show details