Brand new GE TL washers not so good? An FYI...

[revvinkevin]

About 3 weeks ago my next door neighbors bought a new top load GE washer & dryer (through Sears, not that it matters) because they wanted something with a "normal" agitator in it.

Washer model GTW460ASJWW - supposed to be a "deep fill" model.

They were delivered 2 weeks ago and since then they've done two loads in them. They couldn't do a 3rd load because they couldn't get the washer to start again. The service tech came out to check the washer and said "the main circuit board failed and the part is back ordered the next 2+ months."

No way they are going to wait, so they contacted Sears about returning the machines. They got a full refund plus got an additional $100 credit and bought slightly fancier model Whirlpools as replacements, which are being delivered today.

Yesterday a truck came to pick up the GE pair and I walked over to chat with my neighbor. He was talking to the driver as they closed the truck. As the truck drove off, my neighbor said the the driver told him "we've been picking up A LOT of these GE's lately....."

That right there says A LOT to me.

Kevin

 

[stricklybojack]

.
Does GE( or any of the manufacturers) ever get these back and look them over to see what exactly is going on, or do they already know from the moment they chose the cheapest board maker out there?

 

[suburbanmd]

Temperature

3/4 of the temperature knob scale consists of less-than-warm settings, i.e. variants on a cold wash, ugh.

 

[revvinkevin]

variants on a cold wash, ugh.

Yeah I noticed this too when I looked at the machines the day before they picked them up.

Also Interesting to note the drum in the dryer is plain galvanized steel, not painted or coated (that I could tell).

Kevin

 

[alr2903]

Thanks for the info Kevin, OH no, I had high hopes after someone posted the GE guy talking about them.  The galvanized dryer drum might not be that bad... if the price was right.

 

[revvinkevin]

The matching dryer - GTD42EASJWW

The interior.

That "white ring" between the drum and the airflow grill, looks like plastic. I didn't notice this (didn't really look) when I briefly glanced inside the dryer.

 

[stricklybojack]

.
I think these were discussed here before...but I don't think anyone was speaking from real experience.
I saw the BOL deep fill model at a store and thought it had a chinsy feel to it.

The last, seemingly awkward line in this video from reviewed.com may have inadvertently hit the nail on the head.

http://laundry.reviewed.com/content/ge-gtw680bsjws-washing-machine-review

 

[gusherb]

Family friends of ours got a TL GE washer back in April and it's already leaking and not washing/spinning properly. She wanted a speed queen in the first place but her husband picked the GE set out and they were told SQ was not available. (I about had a bitchfit when they told me someone said that to them). So now she's using the broken GE as her excuse to get that SQ hopefully.
She said her husband is gonna call GE first and see if they'll repair it. ....I have a feeling they'll be getting that SQ...

 

[revvinkevin]

I just noticed on GE's website the drum is "Aluminized Alloy".

 

[murando531]

Why am I not surprised...

 

[rp2813]

Ditto

 

[mjg0619]

I'll third the 'not surprised' motion. I noticed these machines the last time I was in Home Depot and they looked super chintzy, almost like knockoffs of the Whirlpool Cabrio in appearance.

Almost makes me want to go downstairs to the laundry room and kiss the Maytag for being such a dependable performer.

 

[johnb300m]

I actually AM surprised that these things are neither well received, nor seem to be showing to be durable :/
I was really hoping GE answered a lot of the annoyances in top load laundry in the modern day with a nice compromise.
Seems like they came up short.

And to the comment on whether 'they' know or not?
I guarantee you, the ENGINEERS know how good or BAD these are.
Oftentimes their hands are tied by crap management :/
I've lived it. Many times.

As for the dryers.
The drums are indeed ALL metal, with plastic baffles.
that white section of the drum is a white powder coated paint.
Last time I saw the dryers in person, they seem to have a metallic aluminum powder coating baked onto a likely steel alloy drum.

 

[gelaundry4ever]

Really?

Really? GE used to be built tough. They're not what they used to be.

 

[askolover]

the inside of that dryer is virtually identical to my old '98 model, just the color of the drum is different and the lint filter shaped differently.

 

[user 3941]

Well oddly enough, these new machines are getting rave reviews from users. Could be just an isolated thing going on. Those delivery drivers/technicians always seem to think they know everything lol. My coworker just got a new refrigerator...her old one was a Frigidaire and the ice maker kept breaking (which I've seen happen on every brand). They guy that delivered her new one said he has seen them break alot. Whatever.

I can't really comment because I haven't used these new machines but I wouldn't be afraid to try one that's for sure.

 

[stricklybojack]

.
For Joeypete:

 

[johnb300m]

joey maybe you're right!
Those guys are only picking up bad machines all day. So maybe they only see the bad stuff and don't see the thousands of machines working fine in homes all over?

 

[mark_wpduet]

Gosh

It they really are nice looking machines - too bad they are flimsy

amazing the control board failed that quickly - they couldn't even make the control board last until after the warranty was over - SAD - I mean, the 2 plus mos back order PROVES a problem with these boards...

I have to wonder if a surge protector would have helped since I haven't had a single error code since my Duet has been plugged into one...but seeing is how the board went that quickly, I doubt it.

 

[DADoES]

 
Many electronic-control systems have built-in surge protection ... aka the line filter component.

 

[stricklybojack]

.
I only saw a BOL machine which, as I posted, seemed chintzy. Most BOL's do. the larger TOL which you see in the video (linked at my first post in this thread) may be a different story.
And, it would be good to know the rate of failure instead of the number. If most machines sold are one brand/model, you would expect more failures by number, and conversely fewer failures by number of less popular products.
I suspect GE tracks the failure rate and makes sure it's in line with what they paid. If not the vendor who made the offending part may absorb some or all of the loss depending. As in, "we paid for a part to fail within the agreed upon rate over time, your part is not meeting that specification" or some such legal sounding jumbo jumbo. Like non-refundable airline tickets, the cheapest stuff probably comes with little promise to perform for very long, buyer beware.
Sourcing agreements can be complicated. This speculation comes from witnessing and reading a lot about the 'new normal' of our economy, not direct experience. [this post was last edited: 2/13/2016-12:03]

 

[murando531]

When I was working in the appliance department at HD for that ungodly four months of hell, the TOL GE Adora, that has since had its name dropped to just the "5.1 cu.ft" model, still had that same chintzy feel.. For some reason GE has allowed their suspension systems in their washers for the past 20 years to feel unstable and make horrible creaking popping noises when the tub is moved around. The Adora was the same. Lid, dispensers, control panel, everything.

I agree, their machines look nice and the aesthetic designs aren't bad, but that all takes a 180 flip when you actually get hands-on with them.

I almost never blame engineers with these issues. If we lived in a perfect world, and machines were built as the engineers INTENDED them to be built, our home appliances and automobiles would be entirely different than what they are. Big management gets their hands involved and strips them down, replacing anything they can with a cheap, flimsy alternative, and they won't have the first clue as to why the thing was built that way in the first place. But they don't care, so long as manufacturing costs are low, profits are high, and the majority of sales is funneling straight to their pockets.

 

[johnb300m]

creaky GE suspension

I can speak on this one, because it used to annoy the heck outta me when I'd play with machines at the stores. The GEs always had that stiff, creaky, metallic scraping suspension noise.
Until.
UNTIL! ...
I had a couple GE washers in apartments I've lived in.
Their suspension was incredibly quiet, light and pretty well balanced under normal conditions.

That creaky, squeaky, scrape-y sound from GE machines in the stores, is because the SHIPPING ROD is almost always left in those machines on the floor.

 

[combo52]

GE Laundry Appliances and Quality ??

IMEO GE has not sold a very good to excellent laundry appliance either built by them or sourced from another company since 1995 when it comes to long term reliability.

 

Yes GE has had some very good performing appliances such as their Canadian full sized dryers, BUT these dryers have about 1/2 the potential life span a Whirlpool or Speed Queen built dryer.

 

GE has not been the least bit serious about laundry appliances in over 20 years and it shows. IMEO GE still has some of the best electric [ and gas ] cooking appliances, some of their DWs are also pretty reliable, but usually have performance problems when it comes to cleaning.

 

GE has also built [ some ] good refrigerators in the past 20 years but most of the higher end products can be very troublesome and EXPENSIVE to repair, their Monogram built-ins are about the worst BIRs you can buy in terms of reliability and again are expensive and difficult to repair.

 

It will be exciting to see what Haier does with GEs appliance division, but one thing for sure I dough that the laundry line-up will suffer.

 

John L.

 

[gelaundry4ever]

cycle agitation/spin speeds

How does the agitation/spin speeds differ on the darks, colors and whites cycles?

 

[washer111]

During my trip to the USA, my friends had just bought the GE set being discussed.
They bought this because it was "Made in USA," was reasonably priced and not filled with doodads, dingdongs and wubba-wizoo's, plus it had the deep-fill options and extra rinse too (helpful for washing babies' diapers etc). My friends were also insistent on getting a machine where YOU could control the water level.
I suggested SQ - and they did consider it, but couldn't find anything within their price reach.

To be quite honest, it felt far more solid than anything I've seen for sale here in Australia (excluding Miele or SQ).
While I don't like singing and beeping machines, these weren't too bad in that department.

Cleaning wasn't too bad (in fact better than I expected), although I suspect I would need more time with the machine to figure out the best cycle, temperature and soaking arrangements for my laundry requirements.

It seemed as though the machine gave you tap-hot, a decent warm wash and presumably a nice controlled-cold (I didn't test that because I HATE cold-water laundering).

Fill levels can be deep or "regular," that said, even without the deep option, the fill level was very generous and I wasn't concerned about excessive abrasion from too-low levels.