Miele WTH130

Miele Support Is Sadly Lacking – Our experience with earlier Miele washing only models was a good one, but since moving to an apartment with limited space has meant the only alternative is the combined electronic washer/dryer. The original machine in the apartment became problematic, so we replaced it with this current model, just over 2 years ago, and took the extra 3yr warranty option. Our experience to date has been very frustrating. The software is poorly designed, and randomly erratic, eg during a wash cycle, a software error can appear, and there is only one way to get around it, which isn’t written in the user manual. A normal person would expect that turning the power off will fix anything, but for this machine it means continuing where it left off before being switched off, presumably being helpful if there is a power outage. Fine, that is a good thing but why isn’t there a separate master reset function? There is a way of doing it, which isn’t in the manual. Dr Google says you have to activate the emergency door release, open the door (subject to the water level being below the door sill) then powering off. The first time our 2 month old washer decided to “go crazy”, I looked for the yellow door release in the filter door to no avail. A support visit discovered the lever had been installed inside the cabinet where it was invisible. Two years later and with occasional inexplicable issues including one more support visit, we reached a major problem. We were getting all sorts of errors, and wash cycles that were failing almost every time. I diagnosed a problem with the water inlet control valve, and the only way to get through a wash cycle was to turn the water off at the wall tap every time there was a water fill, which can be 2 to 3 times per wash. Don’t do it at the right time, and if that is at the last rinse an hour or so into the wash, and it throws a water type fault code and you have to run another cycle. It took 10 days for the earliest possible support appointment, and he diagnosed a water inlet valve failure. There is no spare in Australia so it has to come from Germany, the earliest possible date is 5 weeks away and that is not guaranteed. Miele MSC (warranty certificate) says 5 years of peace of mind. This product is not fit for purpose, and big corporate Miele charges a lot of cash to buy them, and is providing poor service. Don’t believe me - go to sites like TrustPilot and read customer reviews from Europe and they feel the same way. Sadly, I am not sure that any of the alternative manufacturers are any better. Look at Canstar and they sing Miele praises and say customer reviews give them 5 stars. ProductReview shows a very different story across the Miele range. Is Canstar being paid by companies like Miele? Finally, I spoke to Sales in Miele HO who asked me to email the issue details and ask for someone to call me. 1 week and a reminder email later, I have not received a call.