Whither, KitchenAid dishwashers?
Our 4th KitchenAid dishwasher in the past 19 years, recently repaired.
I’ve long been a fan of KitchenAid dishwashers. Our first one was in a rental home in Annapolis in the early 1990s. It was at least 20 years old back then and worked like a charm for the next three years. It was still working fine when we left that house.
Our second KitchenAid was in the house we bought here in Roanoke when we moved here in 1994. That one, was at least 15 years old when we moved in. But it worked great, too, for at least 7 years.
When it quit at the ripe old age of 22 we replaced it with a GE that was a piece of junk. That one lasted 3 or 4 years. When it crapped out, about 7 years ago, I said to my wife, “Let’s buy another KitchenAid — they last forever.”
So we did. It cost $500 and it worked for 5 years. Then it wouldn’t get anything in the top rack clean. We had a repairman out twice and he couldn’t figure out what was wrong with it.
We bought another KitchenAid — this one cost $700 — less than two years ago.
Just after Christmas, the top rack collapsed. It has wheels that are mounted on plastic pegs that are snapped onto the metal top rack. The wheels run along metal slides that are bolted to the dishwasher’s interior walls. The problem was, the plastic pegs that hold the wheels onto the rack had disintegrated.
The warranty on the dishwasher is for one year, except the racks, which are warranteed for 5 years. So I called Kitchenaid.
The customer service department sent me a new rack — but not the plastic pegs that snap onto it, as I had specifically requested. So I called them again. This second time they sent all the plastic parts I needed.
Before I had a chance to make the repairs, the dishwasher stopped working. It still made noise and everything — but no dishes were getting clean. So I called KitchenAid again and spoke to a nice customer service rep.
I politely told her the story above — and that I used to be a big KitchenAid fan, because the first two we had were so rugged and reliable. But that it seemed like they weren’t so reliable way any more.
She told me that my dishwasher was out of warranty (we did not buy the extended service plan) but that because of my history with the company, she would make an exception. She dispatched a repairman to our house, and said the expenses would be covered by KitchenAid.
The repairman showed up a few days later. He works for a small appliance-repair business in Salem. He said the motor was bad and he’d order a new one. A little more than a week later he was back with a new motor. The motor unit in these machines is more or less like the engine in a car. It’s the guts of the machine, and includes the moter, the pump, the disposal, a filter, etc. The units pop in and out pretty quickly. It’s no more involved than changing a car alternator. Bonus: he also fixed the top rack.
While he was working, I started telling the guy my KitchenAid tales of woe, and asking him about dishwashers (he repairs all brands). He said my first two KitchenAids, the ones that worked trouble-free for decades, had been manufactured by Hobart. The next two were manufactured by Whirlpool, which bought the brand from Hobart in 1986.
He said he had fixed the pegs on the top rack on at least 100 latter-era KitchenAid dishwashers in the past two years. Full motor-unit replacements are not that uncommon either, he said. When homeowners have to pay for that themselves, that costs somewhere around $400 — which is a lot for a $700 machine
“For what brand do you get the fewest number of repair calls?” I asked.
“Bosch,” the repairman said without hesitation. Those cost around $700. “Next would be Samsung.”
Our repaired KitchenAid dishwasher is working fine now. We are satisfied. The repairs didn’t cost anything, after all. The repairman told me his instructions from the company were “Make the customer happy.” Thank you, KitchenAid.
But there are many KitchenAid customers who feel differently. Their problems are varied and numerous: fuses that regularly burn out; the seemingly ubiquitous wheels falling off the top racks; the motor units that go bad.
For those reasons, we’re not holding out much hope that this fixed KitchenAid dishwasher is going to last as long as the first two. With a little luck, we might get 3 more years out of it — like we got 5 years out of the third KitchenAid. Alas. KitchenAid ain’t what it used to be.
When it finally quits, we already know what we’re going to buy to replace it.
And it’s not a KitchenAid.
March 8, 2013 - 6:00 AM
Unfortunately, this story could be told about a number of various brands of various items. Brands that ‘used to mean something’ in terms of reliability, etc. now are only pale imitations of their predecessors.
Maytag is an ideal example of this as well, in the appliance world. For the record, they are also owned by Whirlpool, since 2006. Maytag was about to go under, and it came down to a Chinese company or Whirlpool as the bidders for the rights to the brand. Whirlpool won, and then moved most of the production to Mexico, where the quality control restrictions are not as… shall we say… strict.
In the appliance industry, we’re sort of where we were in the automotive industry back in the 70′s/80′s/90′s and beyond – the name that ‘sounds foreign’ is the best quality product, while the old time supposed standard for US quality is not.
It’s a shame, really.
When looking for a silver lining, Dan, at least the customer service personnel for KitchenAid seemed nice by your account, and I’m guessing that function was not farmed out to some 3rd world country where English is not the primary language.
I guess we take consolation where we can find it as consumers these days.
It could have been worse Dan.
http://www.wsbtv.com/news/news/local/federal-government-investigating-kitchenaid-dishwa/nGMfj/
P.S. Kitchenaid is a wholly owned subsidiary of Whirlpool Corporation.
Ron May, I especially like the following statement -
‘Harris said, even with a 7-year-old model, it should never catch fire.’
I mean, if it’s TEN years old, sure, flames might shoot out of it randomly. But not at SEVEN years. They don’t normally start shooting flames until their 9th or 10th year. So this one definitely skews down the average…
he he he…
Wanted to buy American for our “new” old house but settled on German Bosch. Only 1 yr. old mind you but it is so quiet I have to get right next to it to be certain it is running. It is next to our TV room but we can run it w/out worry of interfering with sound.
Also, due to an installation error (I was the installer) had a repairman come in and he too said Bosch is the best.
I have heard the same about Bosch. We refer to our dishwasher (whose brand shall remain nameless) as a dish sterilization unit, since we have to get most of the dirt off the dishes before we put them in. it’s reliable enough. It just doesn’t work that well.
It seems like American appliances are built with very premature obsolescence in mind. I spent what to me seemed like a lot of money on a stainless America brand toaster. I have to stand there holding the handle down and praying it sticks so I can walk away for a second. It’s ridiculous.
My grandfather’s first job was as an engineer at Bosch and even after moving here, he wouldn’t have anything different. I guess I should pony up next time and get one.
Just as an FYi – for all the flag wavers, Bosch dishwashers are made in New Bern, North Carolina. So, the company is HQ in Germany, yet they employ more US workers making dishwashers than Whirlpool, Maytag, KitchenAid, & Kenmore combined.
Food for thought the next time anyone decides to ‘Buy American’. You going to buy from the company whose excutives live overseas yet employs US workers and invests in US plants? Or from the company whose executives live in the US, yet employs foreign workers and builds their dishwashers in a foreign country?
Yeah, CR, just like the most American made car being produced today is a Toyota.
Wow, that is an excellent question Crooked Road and sure is food for thought!!
The components in these appliances, cars, and other consumer goods come from all over the world these days. Once upon a time I had to replace the motor/pump in a GE dishwasher. Ironically, the failed motor was made by Siemens, a German company that competes with GE in many different businesses. I have also found electrical connectors made by Honda in a Buick I was working on. The name of the manufacturer doesn’t mean much any more. Do your research and buy the best you can find, whatever it is.
crooked road | March 8, 2013 at 9:51 am
Just as an FYi – for all the flag wavers, Bosch dishwashers are made in New Bern, North Carolina. So, the company is HQ in Germany, yet they employ more US workers making dishwashers than Whirlpool, Maytag, KitchenAid, & Kenmore
Absolutely right. And the overall quality of dishwashers, washers, dryers, and refrigerators has declined markedly since Amertican companies have shipped the jobs manufacturing them overseas IMO.
Here’s a question I’m too lazy to research myself: I’m aware that clothes washers and toilets have been re-engineered for more efficient water usage, and the problematic trade-offs that’s had. What about dishwashers in that regard?