The Whirlpool Corp. is facing a new class action lawsuit filed against it by a customer from Illinois who says a dishwasher defect, which the company refuses to correct, has damaged his home.
Complaints about the diverter shaft seal, which comes installed in several of Whirlpool’s brands and models, have been made for at least the last several years, but the company has done nothing to change the design, issue a recall or extend the warranty, the class action lawsuit says.
Among the brands that have the allegedly faulty diverter shaft seal are Whirlpool, Whirlpool Gold, KitchenAid, JennAir, Maytag and Kenmore.
“Since at least 2015, as part of its marketing campaign, Whirlpool has boasted to consumers about the durability of these ‘high-quality’ dishwashers, claiming that ‘No One Has Fewer Repairs 18 Years in a Row,’” the class action lawsuit says. “However, Whirlpool designed, manufactured, distributed, marketed, and sold the dishwashers with a uniform defect that can and has caused [them] to leak and damage consumers’ cabinetry, flooring and other property.”
Lead plaintiff Christopher Redmon says he purchased a KitchenAid dishwasher in 2017 for $799, and in June of this year it began to leak, sending water running across the kitchen floor and pooling under his kitchen island.
“When Mr. Redmon inspected the dishwasher, he discovered that the water had soaked the insulation, caused rust and corrosion underneath the dishwasher, and discolored the grout of the ceramic flooring below,” his class action lawsuit says.
Lawyers for Redmon say Whirlpool has to have known about the dishwasher defect that caused the leak in Redmon’s home because customers have been complaining about the same malfunction online for at least eight years.
The class action lawsuit contains numerous citations of posted complaints on websites, including AppliancePartsPros.com and Shopyourway.com. But Whirlpool has continued to manufacture the dishwashers with the defective seal assembly and, rather than recall it or extend the product warranty, sells replacement kits for owners to do repair it themselves, Redmon claims.
The core of the dishwasher defect problem, according to the class action lawsuit, is the appliance’s pump motor diverter shaft seal is “oriented incorrectly.” The seal is part of the dishwasher’s sump assembly, which is housed at the bottom of the tub and collects and disperses water during a wash.
The way the dishwashers are manufactured exposes the seal to hot, soapy water, which degrades the seal over time and leads to increasing leakage, the class action lawsuit claims.
Whirlpool, Redmon claims, refuses to replace or repair the defective dishwashers “and instead offers to sell a full sump assembly with a new diverter shaft seal attached to it to the customer.” The cost of the replacement kit is between $60 and $75, but the cost to have it installed by a professional costs about $200, Redmon says. Those costs are left to the customer to pay, the class action lawsuit says.
Redmon is seeking the court’s approval to pursue the case as a class action lawsuit. Though he does not specify how many potential Class Members could join the litigation, he claims thousands would be eligible. The Class would be limited to customers who purchased one of the dishwashers in Illinois.
The class action complaint accuses the Whirlpool Corp. of breach of express warranty, breach of implied warranty, breach of contract, unjust enrichment, violations of the Illinois state consumer fraud and deceptive trade practices law, negligence and fraudulent concealment.
Do you have a Whirlpool, KitchenAid, JennAir, Maytag or Kenmore dishwasher that’s had a faulty diverter shaft seal? Has the leaky seal caused damage to the flooring or cabinetry in your kitchen? Tell us about it in the comment section below.
Lead plaintiff Redmon and the proposed Class Members are represented by Edward A. Wallace and Tyler J. Story of Wexler Wallace LLP; Gregory F. Coleman and Rachel Soffin of Greg Coleman Law PC; and Harper T. Segui and Daniel K. Bryson of Whitfield Bryson LLP.
The Dishwasher Defect Class Action Lawsuit is Christopher Redmon, et al. v. Whirlpool Corp., et al., Case No. 1:20-cv-06626, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
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48 thoughts onWhirlpool Slapped With Class Action Lawsuit Over Dishwasher Defect
1600 $ kenmore Elite (manufactured by Whirlpool and part of the lawsuit ) purchased 2017. Started leaking as described damaging floor and drywall. Sears repair responded and advised $550 repair. We declined. Purchased a new dishwasher 2021 and installed. Add Us
Whirl pools dishwasher purchased 658.00 in 2010 now has been under since 2015
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I had to replace our Whirlpool dishwasher after less than 3 years because of it leaking as described in the lawsuit. We purchased the new pump mechanism (at our own cost) and installed it and the leaking continued. Purchased dishwasher Aug 21, 2017 and replaced it summer of 2020.
I have a whirlpool w10698637A dishwasher with the same leak problem.
We have a Kenmore Dishwasher 665.134
We have had major water leakage so bad that our our ceiling fell through in our garage which is under our kitchen dishwasher area we didn’t know there was an issue until the water had built up and ceiling fell, we have also had to replace the cabinet flooring because excess water rotted the wood, it is still leaking and I felt like giving up because it was constantly wet but couldnt figure out what the problem was so I would put down tons of paper towels and Dri Rid trying to get as much moisture as I could and the Pergo laminate flooring in front of the dishwasher is separating (only that plank hmmm) we have had professional plumbers and also friends here trying to figure out what the issue was because it wasn’t coming from the sink when we turn on the sink or the outside faucet. It was like it would build and burst/dump on days I was cooking and thus using the dishwashing alot. Let me know if you want pictures of our fallen ceiling as we cant find anyone to fix it due to covid… ughh
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The seal was leaking from our Gold series Whirlpool dishwasher & our cabinets on the bottom are completely molded from the leaking water. If there is an active lawsuit, I would love to be involved.
This exact thing happened to me. Our whirlpool dishwasher was leaking from the seal and the water was leaking from under the dishwasher and seaping into our cabinets. We had redo our whole kitchen. All our lower cabinets on one side of the kitchen were molded from the water leaking. The was mold all on the walls behind g the cabinets. It was a nightmare. Homeowners I insurance didn’t cover any of the repairs