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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
I noticed our LVP in one part of the kitchen was separating. We both had Covid over the summer and lost taste and smell. About a week ago I noticed a water smell. Concurrently, I received a postcard in the mail to submit our info to consumer outreach. The smell is getting worse and I am at a loss as to what to do. After reading these comments I can only imagine what must be happening underneath.
I BOUGHT A WHIRLPOOL DISHWASHER FROM BEST BUY. 2 MONTHS LATER MY KITCHEN WAS FLOODED. HAD WATER REMEDIATION DONE AND MY LOWER CABINETS RIPPED OUT. BEEN WORKING WITH SEDGWICK, BESTBUY INSURANCE COMPANY THAT HAS DONE NOTHING. tHEY JUST SENT ME EMAIL ITS BEEN REFERRED TO WHIRLPOOL. IVE HAD ESTIMATES UP TO $45000 TO REPAIR EVERYTHING, i am trying to get it done for closer to $12000 but after claim was opened on 5/28/22 very difficult getting anywhere with sedgwick. IVE HAD 4 or 5 emails in 4 month, almost impossible to get them on the phone. THEIR LAST EMAIL SAID WHIRLPOOL WOULD BE CONTACTING ME WITHIN A WEEK im 77 and exhausted, my kitchen is still ripped apart.
I had exactly same problem with a $1000+ dish washer started to leaks in about 12 month and damage the wood floor. How was your case ended? Did you get the damage paid?
Bought Maytag high end steel tub third rack dishwasher. Did the installation myself so it would be done correctly. Had a plumber come and redo the old drain lines to the sewer. 14 months no problem. Last week the unit made some weird electronic noises and threw a no drain error. Sump or pump on bottom was leaking badly and was not leaking from any hoses but the sump itself. Very disappointed. 1000 dollars a year to wash dishes I guess. We did not purchase the expensive extended warranty from Whirlpool due to the extreme costs and had already had issues with service not being able to provide technicians to fix our fridge that broke down two days in. That cost us 1900 dollars and Whirlpool corp just tossed all our emails and calls and gave us no support. Great American company. No more will we ever buy an American appliance. Thanks Whirlpool for your incredibly shitty service and now reputation.
I have a 2014 Whirlpool dishwasher that leaked and overflowed on my wood floors when not running. I do not run it alot. I had the repairman who could only guess that it was the intake valve not shutting properly replace that for $250.00. Now I am past my 30 day warranty on that part and see the small leak happening again. I put paper towels inside the washer(stainless steel inside) and see that is leaking from the bottom left inside gasket. I came across this class action suit and would like to know if it is still open to join. Totally fed up with worrying about my wood floors.
Our seal pump went in our whirlpool dishwasher which is somewhere between three and four years old. Our entire kitchen floor was soaked underneath the plywood stretched all the way through the kitchen into our bedrooms before we could realize it. Had to claim it to the insurance company. They have now ripped up all of our cabinets how to remove a washer and dryer and dry out underneath our staircase what a nightmare .Taken our entire kitchen apart ripped up our brand-new floor which we just had put down two months ago we are talking thousands of dollars in damage. We are just now at the stages of trying to get it dried out with a company running their big air machines. We have lost our kitchen and in our particular case we have a young girl in a wheelchair in our house makes it very tough. When everything gets put back together thousands of dollars later trying to figure out if this pump will leak all over again within 3 to 4 years. We had the repair man come and replace the entire assembly section in the dishwasher hoping the new one is better than the old one. We don’t wanna go through this again in four years. The biggest problem is the pump sits so low that it doesn’t leak directly onto the floor so until you have major major damage or you crawl underneath your house to check it every day you would never know it was leaking until damage is super extensive.
I purchased this Kitchen Aide dishwasher end of 2018 with an extended warranty. Of course no obvious issues with the dishwasher until after the warranty ran out. Suddenly I started finding puddles of water at end of cabinet from the dishwasher. I have stopped using it but have not had it serviced to verify the source of the leak. Whirlpool is not helpful at all, claims there is no limited warranty and basically Im on my own. When did it become ok to have to replace your appliances in less than 4 years? BTW. I’m also fighting for my refrigerator that was also purchased at the same time. I has no refrigerant and has taken the service team over a month to diagnose the source of the leak. I am praying that’s it, because all the appliances were replaced at the same time.
I recently discovered my whirlpool dishwasher leaking, got it fixed by a technician but the leak has caused mold on the cabinet besides it and the wall behind it causing me almost $4000 in additional repairs.
Any people here who have been able to get it reimbursed from whirlpool?
Please help me. Purchased an expensive new dishwasher $600-700. Used it only 2-3 times and it started leaking.
I am very upset with whirlpool. After several calls they send a very bas tech who didn’t fix it.
Two years later and I don’t have a dishwasher.
Please help me. Purchased an expensive new dishwasher $600-700. Used it only 2-3 times and it started leaking.
I am very upset with whirlpool. After several calls they send a very bas tech who didn’t fix it.
Two years later and I don’t have a dishwasher.
4 1/2 year old dishwasher obviously had a leaking issue not noticed until it damaged our floor! Leaking around pump! Now looking at major repairs of floors!