Maytag Dishwasher Recall: My Experience

A few years ago, my husband asked me what I wanted I wanted for Christmas and I said the only thing I really wanted was a dishwasher. We were living without one, and it seemed like the sink always had dishes in it. I was working, going to school, trying to manage two businesses and doing dishes was not really big on my priority list but I liked to have a clean kitchen.

After measuring out our kitchen counters we realized that if we wanted to add a dishwasher the cabinets would have to be reconfigured. When we looked at the floor and the kitchen counter, we realized that we would have to probably redo the kitchen to put in a dishwasher, but since that was what I wanted, my husband said, I'll make it happen.

I wish I had a quiet dishwasher!

When I was a kid we had a dishwasher and it was loud. We had to pull the chord to the telephone out of the kitchen and into the living room when the dishwasher was running. When my husband asked what kind of dishwasher I wanted, I said I didn't really care, I just wanted something that was quiet but would clean the dishes.

My husband came home with a quiet Maytag and when the time came it was installed. The first time I ran my new Maytag dishwasher I was in glee! I filled it up, added the dishwashing detergent, closed it, and then I noticed all the buttons on the machine. I didn't really know what they meant so we pulled out the owner manual and figured it out.

Fire safety hazard recall

The other day I was reading an article and I saw the notice about the Maytag recall. I didn't think it was our model but I really didn't know. I went to the dishwasher and looked at the front of it. There was no ID number there. I opened it up and I saw a sticker that had several numbers on it. I wrote the top two numbers down (the model and the ID number) and then I went back to the article and compared the numbers. Sure enough, ours was on the list. I yelled to my husband, our dishwasher is on the recall list, it could catch on fire. He yelled back, "Oh yeah, I meant to check that."

Day 1 - Maytag Recall experience

Our Maytag is on the recall list, what do we do?

I read the article on the Maytag web page (for listing of model and codes click link) and I told him we had three options, 1) use the web to get a repairman 2) send them a note and they would send us a rebate check one for 250 or one for 350 depending upon what kind of Dishwasher we were going to buy. Since there is nothing mechanically wrong with our dishwasher and it works well, the only problem is the electronics we decided to go the retrofit route.

I logged into the website, and it asked me to input the ID numbers, and then it waited as it checked its database and then it confirmed that our Maytag dishwasher was one of the ones on the list. Then it asked for my personal information such as Name, Address, Phone Number and Email.

Once I submitted this information, the website presented a question about whether we wanted the rebate or the repairman and after I chose the radial dial with the repairman listed on it, it brought me to another page.

This page gave me the next available appointments in my area and the service companies that would be performing the retrofit for the recall. I picked the first available and it came back and confirmed my service order. I heard about the recall, I went on their website, confirmed my dishwasher was involved, I picked a date for service and they are coming. Talk about customer service!

When it is all fixed, I'm going to run my Toyota Floor Mat through and see how it comes out. Some companies seem to get it right, and others get it oh so wrong. If I were going to buy another dishwasher, the way they handled this recall is enough for me to put my trust in them and buy another one.

Day 2 of my Maytag recall experience

Today is June 9^th and it is my little sister's 42^nd birthday. I got up two hours early to clean my kitchen, empty the dishwasher and wash the floor so the contractor that Maytag scheduled me with would have good working conditions. (I'm not supposed to be using the dishwasher because it is a potential fire hazard but I've been using it for a few years now with no problems and I haven't stopped this week although I know it is risk. I am no longer running it when I go to bed or if I leave the house.)

According to the Maytag website, I was supposed to be available from 9 am to 5pm, so instead of taking my sister out for her birthday lunch today, I invited her over. I tried to hold off messing up the kitchen until the last possible moment, and then I said, the heck with it, it is my kitchen.

After lunch, I piled all the dishes in the sink thinking the repairman will be here any minute. It is now 5:00 pm and I have not seen or heard from a repairman. I could have washed the dishes by hand if I weren't so lazy.

I called the repairman's office at 4:57 and got a machine that suggested they had left for the day. Fortunately I had taken a screen shot of the web pages and therefore I had the number handy.

A few minutes after five, I received a call from Sarah who worked for the contractor. She told me she didn't have me in her appointment book and had no record of my request.

Being afraid of a double booking, she tentatively scheduled a visit with her repairman for me for tomorrow afternoon. She said she would call Maytag tomorrow to advise them there was a problem with the booking.

She then said that she only had two of the repair kits available to her because the supply is limited so if your dishwasher is on the list, you may want to call right away.

https://repair.maytag.com/prjjck10/default.jsp?siteCd=RCU_EN_US&id=R173BV

We will see how tomorrow goes but at this point, my impression from the other day on how Maytag has been handling this fire safety hazard has just dropped a peg, though I still say they are managing their PR (pubic relations) campaign with this recall, better than the car companies have been doing.

Day 3 of my Maytag Dishwasher recall experience

This morning, Sarah from Able Appliance Service from Rowe, MA called me and confirmed that Bob the repairman would be at my house this afternoon. She told me he had an appointment from 10:00am-2:00pm in my town, and then he would be over.

Bob arrived an hour early at 1:00pm and I let him in. He went right to the dishwasher and tore it apart. He installed the retrofit heater kit, put the machine back together, and by 2:00 he was done. I signed off on the paperwork and he was gone.

Relatively painless. No cost to me, and the service, once the appointment was confirmed with the contractor went without a hitch. My recommendation is when you go to the Maytag website to sign up for an appointment with one of their registered contractors if you have a dishwasher under recall, they give you the phone number and address of the repairman. Go the extra step and contact them and confirm they received the appointment information so that you don't waste a day waiting around. Other than that, it was a good experience.

Source:
Maytag.com
Able Appliances Service