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United States Hardware

Samsung Washing Machines Recalled For Risk of 'Impact Injuries' (usatoday.com) 96

Posted by msmash from the bad-machines dept.
The Galaxy Note7 smartphone is not the only Samsung product consumers need to worry about. On Friday, the Consumer Product Safety Commission announced a voluntary recall of 2.8 million top-loading washing machines because of a risk of "impact injuries." From a report on USA Today: According to CPSC, the top of the washing machine could unexpectedly detach during use. Samsung received 733 reports of "excessive vibration" or the top detaching from the chassis of the machine. Nine injuries have been reported, including a broken jaw. The machines were sold at multiple retailers including Best Buy, The Home Depot, Lowe's and Sears from March 2011 to November 2016.
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Samsung Washing Machines Recalled For Risk of 'Impact Injuries' More

Samsung Washing Machines Recalled For Risk of 'Impact Injuries'

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  • I'll get real worried (Score:4, Funny)

    by Rosco P. Coltrane ( 209368 ) on Friday November 04, 2016 @09:04AM (#53212293)

    when Samsung starts selling battery-powered washing machines...

    • It's got a lot more battery than a Roomba, because it's got a lot more suction...

    • Imagine a top loaded Samsung washing machine that can be or is controlled by a Note 7. Now that would be a real blast!

    • Just what we need bad battery's on wheels.

    • Too late!

      Here in New Zealand Samsung did a huge recall of washing machines that were burning houses down. Apparently, when used with a full load, the machines would splash water on the electrics and the resulting current flow could precipitate a fire in which the plastic parts of the machine (top and cover) went up in flames -- setting fire to anything else that was nearby (such as your house).

      Samsung delivered my replacement machine this week (after I had to wait a hell of a long time) and I asked them if

  • 5,321 reports of jubilant female orgasims.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by mwvdlee ( 775178 )

      orgasims

      You mean "fake orgasms"?

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by hawguy ( 1600213 )

        orgasims

        You mean "fake orgasms"?

        I'm pretty sure he meant organisms -- they were jubilant because the washing machines were being recalled. Not sure why it was only the female ones though.

  • Comment removed (Score:5, Informative)

    by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Friday November 04, 2016 @09:12AM (#53212319)
    Comment removed based on user account deletion

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by PPH ( 736903 )

      How the f*** does someone design a washing machine without a limit switch that shuts down the spin cycle in the event of excessive vibration? I've had washing machines in the house since I was a kid and I can't remember a single one that wouldn't shut down quickly. And we'd have to open it* and re balance the load.

      *And the machine I've had for the past 20 years has a brake on the drum, so it stops very quickly (in a second or so) when the lid is opened.

  • Even I'm noticing the downward slide in submission quality. And I tend to notice fuck all.

  • Not surpised (Score:5, Informative)

    by Immerial ( 1093103 ) on Friday November 04, 2016 @09:20AM (#53212365) Homepage
    I was just talking to a repairman last week about how he refuses to repair Samsung appliances. They are so bad that they were breaking before his repair warranty expired, causing him to do free repairs for folks. The clients incorrectly assume it was something he had done, even though it was a different part... fix the water pump, the motherboard fails, etc. It caused him to LOSE money on any repairs. So now he just refuses to work on any Samsungs. The other warning sign for him... all the replacement parts are all new part numbers... almost none of the original parts are listed. They crank them out fast with flaws and then try to fix them after the fact. Just plain horrible engineering!

    • I know I'm a single case, but I've had a front-load Samsung for 5 years solid with no issues. No gears/belts on the motor drive - just a variable-speed motor and a 10-year warranty on that. It was good enough to convince me to be a Samsung refrigerator, too.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by anegg ( 1390659 )

        I wouldn't touch a Samsung appliance with a ten-foot pole. My $800 Samsung front-loading washing machine lasted just 5 years with what I think is medium-level use (2 adults, 2 kids, maybe 5 or 6 loads of wash per week). The bracket that holds the drum in place failed (as it has on many others according to the on-line forums I perused while trying to figure out what to do). Cost to repair? $800...

        $800 washing machines should last a lot longer than 5 years.

    • all the replacement parts are all new part numbers... almost none of the original parts are listed. They crank them out fast with flaws and then try to fix them after the fact. Just plain horrible engineering!

      It's a new form of development strategy: Fail Fast, Release Faster!

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by dysmal ( 3361085 )

      The other warning sign for him... all the replacement parts are all new part numbers... almost none of the original parts are listed. They crank them out fast with flaws and then try to fix them after the fact. Just plain horrible engineering!

      This is a fine example of MVP (Minimum Viable Product).

    • This. I just bought a new Maytag washer/dryer set a few weeks back and the installer said they were nice units. He said most of the new stuff is pretty good, everything but Samsung. Said he won't even install them for the reason cited above. I used to work in a music shop and all the repair guys had their conspiracy theories about what was shit and what is great and chalked it up to that. Had no idea the problem was as pervasive as this.

  • So we need to be Samsung haters now? (Score:5, Informative)

    by jellomizer ( 103300 ) on Friday November 04, 2016 @09:21AM (#53212371)

    Samsung like GE, LG, Sony... Sell a lot of products across many different sectors.
    Linking the unit that makes Washing Machines with the group that makes the Note 7. Is quite unlikely that there is any crossover of skills and probably the culture is different too.
    Engineers who do electronics and phones designs are not the same that do washing machine designs.

    • Re:So we need to be Samsung haters now? (Score:4, Funny)

      by mwvdlee ( 775178 ) on Friday November 04, 2016 @09:40AM (#53212517) Homepage

      Engineers who do electronics and phones designs are not the same that do washing machine designs.

      Indeed.
      Washing machine engineers specialize in blunt force trauma, phone engineers specialize in first degree burns.
      Next up are the TV engineers specializing in seizures and then the printer engineers specializing in ozone poisoning.

    • All this is true, but there is a black (as in the color, not African or Afro-American) comedy about 2 different Samsung products from 2 completely unrelated business exploding. No, I don't hate Samsung, I do think once in a while, things happen and QRE tends to miss things here and there. In case of the Note 7, Samsung proactively recalled them, which is why I do admire them for their upright and ethical behavior

    • Both products are made by the same division, specifically the Samsung Consumer Weapons Division.

      • Too bad they can't sell to North Korea. But wouldn't the South Korean military have an interest in them?

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Maritz ( 1829006 )
      Yeah but you have to 'support' companies like some kind of fucking sports team, don't forget. It's not like they're just out to sell you shit and make money off you.

    • so it's all Samsung. in Asia, commonly the conglomerates sorta-kinda hide the vertical parts makers in chaebol, set up to do the dirty work at less pay and prestige. over here, we call them "franchises."

    • While that is very true, it's possible we're witnessing a pattern of decline in the quality of Samsung products. Despite the fact that the products are coming from different divisions, there could be something rotten going on in their corporate culture that is starting to pervade their products. I still appreciate some of their products but I'm going to be keeping a closer eye on them before purchasing anything new from them.
    • They may be different engineering groups working on these different types of products, but the company culture (which, due to a strict top-down hierarchy, might suppress internal warnings) is the same; so — perhaps there is a good reason to avoid Samsung products in general after all.

  • Samsung in Korean means "The Customer must die"

  • I would love an explaination on how you get a broken jaw from a excessively vibrating washing machine. I am not sure what the person was attempting to do but they were doing it wrong.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Khyber ( 864651 )

      You must not have ever done the laundry in your life. Excessive vibration is usually a sign of an unbalanced load in the wash tub. The cure is to walk over to the machine and open the lid and re-adjust the clothes distribution. I can well imagine the top flying off as a person is walking over to correct what they assume is an unbalanced washing machine load, and popping them in the jaw.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by lucm ( 889690 )

        How exactly could that happen unless they put their face right over the thing? that's probably the same people who look in the barrel of a gun to see why it didn't shoot, or who look in the radiator just after removing the cap.

        • Except you don't expect the top of a washer to fly off.

          • there are minimal fasteners because time is money. generally a couple folded-steel tabs in the front, not too deep because the wires and connections are not too long, and the two or so screws holding the control panel on seal the back. if the tub support is minimal, and it really gets banging on the sides, it could pop the front tabs.

            really, the fix is to have put a cheap vibration sensor on the top or in the control panel, and if there is a whangin' bangin' good time happening inside, it slows or stops t

            • Citation needed. I find it very hard to believe that any engineer would intentionally leave out a trivial safety measure like this. A quick search of eBay finds this. [ebay.com] So clearly some of their washing machines have vibration sensors. In fact, Samsung has something the call "Vibration Reduction Technology. According to their website: [samsung.com]

              VRT® Technology Samsung washers use VRT® Technology (Vibration Reduction Technology). VRT® is a system that Samsung has developed to reduce high RPM vibrations drastically.

              Important

              With VRT®, when the washer spin cycle reaches approximately 400 RPM, it pauses and vibrates for a few moments. As it pauses and vibrates, it checks the load balance, and then the VRT® technology identifies the spot where the load is unbalanced. Once the washing machine "sees" the load is properly balanced, the spin cycle continues and ramps up to maximum RPM with minimal vibration.

              That is pretty much the opposite of saying no to a feature. In fact, they worked hard to develop it and make it work better.

        • Have you ever reached down into a top-loading washing machine? You open the lid and the spinning gradually slows down. You bend down to reach into the washer to the bottom of the bucket (which is where all of the clothes are) to move them around to stop the vibration. Try doing that WITHOUT your face being close to the lid. Granted, you could wait until the spinning completely stopped, but it seems reasonable to assume the lid won't fly off at you while you do that.

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by lucm ( 889690 )

            it seems reasonable to assume the lid won't fly off at you while you do that.

            Famous last words.

      • I can well imagine the top flying off as a person is walking over to correct what they assume is an unbalanced washing machine load, and popping them in the jaw.

        I'm thinking that the Samsung engineers were striving towards a unified field theory technology that combines the concept of a washing machine with the Flying Guillotine:

        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by tsqr ( 808554 )

      Me too. It says right in the manual not to chew on the washing machine while it's operating.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by PRMan ( 959735 )
      She fell off.

  • Missing from instruction manual (Score:3, Funny)

    by ChrisMaple ( 607946 ) on Friday November 04, 2016 @10:00AM (#53212673)
    Do not sit in washing machine. This machine is for washing clothes, not people.

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by uncqual ( 836337 )

      For adults, that's certainly true for consumer washer machines because adults exceed the load capacity.

      In high capacity consumer washing machines, however, you can wash most babies under about one year old.

      Just remember to look up the weight capacity of the washing machine and weigh the baby every couple months to make sure you're not exceeding the machine's capacity. Be careful because if you exceed the washing machine's capacity you will void the warranty on both the washing machine and the baby.

    • Works great on little rat dogs.

      You're Chihuahua gets muddy? Throw him in with a load of towels.

  • When Will the TSA Ban These? (Score:3)

    by mallyn ( 136041 ) on Friday November 04, 2016 @11:12AM (#53213171) Homepage
    Flying lids? Exploding batteries? I can see it. TSA will ban Samsung washing machines from all flights going into the USA :)

  • Want a Well Built - Speed Queen (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Kagato ( 116051 ) on Friday November 04, 2016 @11:31AM (#53213321)

    If you want something well built the last player still standing is Speed Queen. You'll pay for that quality and get a factory warranty to that's 3-4 times better than anyone else.

  • You well deserve all this and more.

  • Seriously, how hard is it to make a washing machine that doesn't accidentally kill or injure you during normal use?

    I own a Samsung dishwasher and except for the fact that it doesn't clean dishes worth a shit, it's really sleek and spiffy. It's loaded with LEDs and displays and it makes beeping noises and has like 20 different washing cycles, but fuck all if it will actually clean a goddamn dish like our old Sears Kenmore dishwasher did.

    So no, it does not surprise me that using a Samsung washing machine coul

  • Accidentally, but expertly, killing us all through banal means... I for one, am building myself a protective bunker out of my dirty underwear until this blows over. (Still working on perfecting the crustiness/stinkiness/loadbearing ratios.)

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