Consumers have been subject to the costs of a leaky dishwasher, along with repairs to property caused by resulting water damage, according to a new class action lawsuit filed against Whirlpool.
Lead plaintiff, Elisabeth Cleveland, contends that the company, along with its subsidiaries, KitchenAid, JennAir, Maytag, and Kenmore, knew or should have known about the defect that causes dishwashers to leak water all over consumers’ floors and cabinets.
The Whirlpool class action lawsuit says that Whirlpool has known of the defect for a minimum of eight years, in fact, but has failed to remedy the problem.
Cleveland alleges that she purchased a Whirlpool Model WDF760SADW2 in 2016. She says that she spent more money on what she thought was a high-end appliance in the hopes it would last longer and not need many repairs.
However, a few short years later, Cleveland says the dishwasher began leaking so badly it had to be taken out for repairs. In addition to discovering the defect that causes the leaks, Cleveland claims that the grout under her appliance was damaged.
“The dishwashers were and are equipped with a pump motor diverter shaft seal…oriented incorrectly, accelerating degradation of the seal and creating a buildup of debris that prevents the shaft seal spring from properly sealing the diverter shaft and sump,” explains the Whirlpool class action lawsuit.
The diverter shaft is located at the bottom of the dishwasher tub and is a part of its sump assembly. This piece of the dishwasher is responsible for holding and spraying water while the device is running, further notes the plaintiff.
“Whirlpool designed and manufactured the sump and diverter motor pump assembly with the seal affixed in an inverted position, which exposes it to hot soapy water and debris,” alleges the Whirlpool class action lawsuit. “As the debris builds and the seal degrades, water begins to leak between the sump and the tub, eventually leaking through the entire unit and onto floors and inside cabinetry.”
As a result of this defect, a leaky dishwasher can lose a substantial amount of water through the seal, causing damage to a consumer’s property.
The class action lawsuit points out that Whirlpool, along with its subsidiaries, sells a number of models affected by the alleged defect. The leaky dishwashers are reportedly sold as “high end” models and run from between $500 and $700 each.
Further, the company touts the long service life of its dishwashers, claiming that most do not need a repair for the first 18 years of service. However, the allegedly defective dishwashers often fail within the first four years of service, contends the class action lawsuit.
In addition, the plaintiff says that Whirlpool fails to honor the terms of its warranty when consumers are faced with property damage and other repairs caused by the defect. The complaint points out that Whirlpool’s express warranty states that the company will pay for replacement parts and repairs related to defects in its dishwashers; however, Whirlpool has refused to pay for damages caused by the defective dishwashers within the warranty period.
According to the Whirlpool class action lawsuit, after initial consumer complaints about the defective dishwashers, Whirlpool offered to replace a seal at the cost of less than $10. However, the company has continually upped the cost of repairing the dishwasher for consumers. Indeed, the company stopped selling the seal and instead began offering the entire sump assembly at a cost of $60 to $75, not including installation.
Now, contends the class action lawsuit, consumers are offered a full sump assembly with a new diverter shaft seal at a cost of more than $200, including installation costs. This can amount to one-third of the cost of the dishwasher, points out the complaint. Further, many repair companies are hesitant to replace the sump assembly, alleges the complaint, because of concerns that the defect is still present in the new parts, leaving consumers with a dishwasher that still leaks.
The Whirlpool class action lawsuit argues that consumers had no way of knowing that the high-end dishwashers they purchased were defective and that they faced not only the cost of repairing the machine, but also property damage.
The plaintiff says that she and other consumers would not have purchased the product had they known of the defect and the problems it would cause.
Cleveland seeks to represent other consumers who purchased Whirlpool’s defective dishwashers. She is seeking damages for the defective machines and related repairs.
Did you purchase a leaky dishwasher? Tell us what happened in the comment section below!
The plaintiff is represented by Michelle J. Looby and Raina Borrelli of Gustafson Gluek PPC, Harper T. Segui and Daniel K. Bryson of Whitfield Bryson LLP, Gregory F. Coleman, Rachel Soffin, and Lisa A. White of Greg Coleman Law PC.
The Whirlpool Leaky Dishwasher Class Action Lawsuit is Cleveland v. Whirlpool Corp., Case No. 0:20-cv-01906-WMW-KMM, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota.
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99 thoughts onWhirlpool Class Action Lawsuit Alleges Leaky Dishwasher Defect
Please add me to your class action. I purchased this model approx. 5 years ago. On July 11th 2021 I noticed wet carpet on the dining room side of a partition wall that separates the kitchen. I blotted about 10 kitchen towels of water from the carpet. I immediately shut down my under sink plumbing supply lines thinking that a supply or drain line was leaking. Investigating the dishwasher side I looked under it and noticed water on the floor. I pulled out the dishwasher to inspect connections that were without fail. From this vantage point I could see how the carpet got wet as the divided wall was completely soaking wet. I cut out the damaged wall and dried up the surrounding area. I requested an appliance repair technician who diagnosed the failure. A quote for parts and labor to repair the same problem outlined in your summary of liability was over half the cost of the original purchase price. This does not include drywall and carpet damage (that to a large degree) was mitigated by my immediate response to the problem. As a consideration of the quote I investigated its fairness for price and terms with a possibility of maybe I fix this myself with a little help from a Youtube instructional video. This is how I learned that “I was not alone ” with this problem. Given the age of the appliance and corporate negligence of Whirlpool we elected to purchase a new brand/model scheduled to be installed 08/03/21. Please inform me of what progress you are making regarding compensation from Whirlpool and anything other action necessary to be included.
Please be sure to exclude me from the lawsuit. The more table scraps you put in your dishwasher the more grime and grit there is to wear out the seal.
Didn’t notice the slow leaking until I stepped on a tile one day and water came up through the grout. I ran a cycle with no dishes and saw water pouring out the diverter valve assembly. My floor, sub floor and base cabinets are ruined. Estimated $20K in damages.
Just found out our < 4 year old Maytag dishwasher was leaking at the float valve and must have been for some time, given we didn't know about the leak until we noticed a mushroom growing out of the wall, due to the soaked drywall behind the dishwasher. Have not yet contacted the manufacturer but expecting the same treatment, where they may or may not even offer to replace the component itself but almost certainly deny damage claims.
Bought two of the KitchenAid KDTM3 dishwashers about 5 years ago. Just discovered the leak which appears to have been slowly seeping for a long time before we noticed. Wood floors damaged. Has a class action begun in South Carolina?
I bought a whirlpool dishwasher about 4 to 5 yrs ago and I’ve spent hundreds of dollars on plumbers who up until 6 mos ago repaired and replaced my kitchen sink plumbing only to have the area under my sink where the dishwasher pipes are to drain thru; 6 total times b4 my son noticed the standing water under my sink yet again has destroyed the cabinet flooring and now is an open door to every bug in AZ. I can’t afford to fix such a big job so I’ve quit using the dishwasher.
I purchased a Whirpool dishwasher 3 years ago from Lowes. I recently had a repairman look at it because it was having problems draining the water. Repairman told me I had to buy a new control board. Whirpool told me it was on back order. Cost of the board plus repairs will be over 400.00. Might as well buy a new dishwasher. Very unhappy with Whirpool. Does this fall under the lawsuit?
I bought a Whirlpool dishwasher. Plumber couldn’t install it even though it was brand new. Water sprayed out of the front. He had to disconnect it from the plumbing. We had a service tech visit and check it out. That was months ago. It’s still in a corner of the kitchen waiting for him to come back with the required part. This is a brand new dishwasher. Tech told us they fired their QA dept at the factory due to the beer bug.
I purchased Kitchenaid KDTM404KPS on May 24, 2020.. got up this morning to a soaked rug and damaged wood flooring along with damaged ceiling tiles in finished basement. Same problem as stated the the class action suit. What a disgrace. Will never buy dishwasher made by whirlpool again. This one replaced a 4 year old one that stopped spraying. It was also a Kitchenaid. I had Kitchenaid dishwashers since the 1970’s, and never had problems with them but that was before whirlpool made them.
My Kitchen Aid dishwasher (model KDFE 104 DWH was represented as a high end model when purchased in June of 2016. Three years later after destroying kitchen flooring and a cabinet with water leakage, the diverter motor was replaced by a redesigned part with a tapered shaft and a silicone grease. The part worked for 7 months and the dish washer is leaking again
Builder used kitchenaid dishwashers 4 years ago and so far 6-8 myself and neighbors had slow leak from sump assembly. Since it was slow leak it caused major damage and mold to subfloor, flooring and kitchen island. Cost of one repair was $70k. Most had to pay out of pocket for replacement or repair of DW and damage since not covered by insurance or warranty.