LG=Life's Good? I think not!

[partscounterman]

One of the two air conditioners in our office went tits up a couple of weeks ago. The boss finally went out and got a new LG AC to replace the old Panasonic unit. A couple of the warehouse guys and I grunted the old one out, slipped the new one in and I finished up the install.

Today, I come in and the new AC is blowing big drops of condensate water out the cool air vent in the front. Of course this isn't right. The unit is installed sloping slighty to the back, so the water should run out the back.

So I page through the instruction book that no one was ever going to read, hoping to find a clue as to why this machine is spitting at us. I was delighted to discover that this AC has a FIVE year warranty on parts and labor. Here in Hawai'i, 5 years is pretty much the life expectancy for an air conditioner.

So I dial 1-800-GO-TO-HELL and end up talking to some raghead in Bumphuct, Egypt who proceeds to ask me one million questions about how big my room is, when did I buy the unit, how high is the humidity in the room, etc, etc, etc. She then puts me on hold and hangs up on me. So I call back and get a male raghead who proceeds to ask me the same thousand questions. He then ask me if the unit is installed in a window or a wall. I tell him it is through the wall. He then tells me that the warranty is void since we purchased a "window" unit, not a wall unit.
WHAT EFFING DIFFERENCE DOES THAT MAKE???? I hung up in disgust.

Anyway, I will NEVER buy LG anything and I recommend the same for my friends here. I will probably tear the damn thing apart and fix it myself. HHHrrrummmph. GRRRRR.

 

[partscounterman]

BTW

I have the exact same air conditioner at home, only with the "Hampton Bay" brand name stamped on it. It has been running with no problems the entire three years we've been here. It does not spit at me.

 

[westyslantfront]

hi david...i could never get used to a korean washing machine...i am from the 1950's when washers were made in the US...norge, philco, bendix, thor, etc...
and i certainly would never buy an LG washer!!!

Ross

 

[retromom]

LG -A-GoGo

David you are cracking me up!!! I was really close to replacing the aging Whirlpool fridge with an LG. I heard from quite a few people that their customer service was not very good; pretty much non-existent in the states. We ended up with a GE instead. Based on your experience, am I glad we did!!

 

[oxydolfan1]

I'm sorry to hear this...I looked at the LG Tromm washer and was actually pretty impressed with it.

If I'm not mistaken, my air conditioners are "Goldstar" (LG) made, Kenmore badged. No problems (yet).

I have an LG Slimfit TV I like, but it's too new to tell.

Their quality seems a cut above the Samsung/Maytag FL, which doesn't look great to me, or the Maytag/Daewoo fridges, but maybe a cut above isn't good enough for the prices they demand.

I live two towns away from LG's headquarters in New Jersey. If they're anything I can do to help, please let me know!

 

[jmm63]

I have an LG dishwasher purchased last year and its been great so far. Any problems I've had with it have been an easy fix, but just to play it safe, I took out the extra 4 year service protection agreement on it.
But I will say, there is a difference between a "through the wall unit" and a "window unit". On a through the wall unit, all the "breathing" parts are placed towards the back (evaporator etc) so the unit will operate properly. A window unit has vents on the sides and top that are probably blocked the way its installed now, thus causing an operating problem. Just my 2 cents.

 

[oxydolfan1]

Another thing you can do is post a scathing review of the unit at epinions, which I've heard the multinationals DO worry about.

 

[maytagbear]

I would not

buy anything from LG.

Not even a lungful of free air.

If they want market share here in the US, they'd better improve their customer relations training and their service.

Lawrence/Maytagbear

 

[partscounterman]

Wall/Window

I certainly understand what you mean Jim about the difference between a wall installation involving a sleeve, which would cut off the circulation of air to the vents. When I think about it, this really is a window install, as there is no sleeve-just a hole in the wall the same size as both the old Panasonic and this new thing. I didn't even bother with putting on the vinyl side curtains junks. There was also the small plug at the back of the unit that I removed and installed a drain hose. Besides that, even in the short time I've been here, I've installed PLENTY air conditioners and have never had this before-around here air conditioners get replaced as often as you mainlanders replace your long johns!! LOL

I fiddled around with it a bit when I got back to the shop this afternoon. I TRIED to improve the slope of the unit as best I could-but it is sloping already. It seems maybe only slighty better; it still seems to be blasting a fine mist. I cannot tip it anymore as it is pretty tight as it is. I SHOULD have known I would be on my own one this one as I recall our beloved Launderess griping that that LG service was tough to come by even in the center of the free world...so whaddaya expect in the middle of a sugar cane field? (It is almost scary how remote this is here sometimes.) I guess I just felt that trying to deal with this was not MY kuleana (responsiblity). What really got me was that they had no intention of sending anybody over to look at the the thing-but I 'spose their nearest service tech is on Oahu.

(Sigh) I guess it IS my problem as no one else at work will do anything about it-they would just leave the damned thing spit and the next thing you know we will have a Hugh Jass mildew problem in there, I mean this is the tropics after all HELLO.

Oh and last thing before I shut up about this-I've had to take the front off a couple of times now and each time the cheesy plastique tabs get bus' up even more each time -you cannot help it. So now I tape the cover on the thing already with clear shipping tapes, so it looks like a big piece of crap already. Oh well, will blend in with the current (cough) "decor"

 

[partscounterman]

Oh, and I do agree that their washers look cool.

They are the only brand of washer/dryer combo available here,an idea that makes some sense here were we are not entirely dryer dependant.

My friend Andy just got an LG washer and he likes it. Hope he has better luck with service if he ever needs it...

 

[oxydolfan1]

Remember when a new brand would introduce itself to the American market and the price was actually CHEAPER, and there was an incentive to take a chance on an unproven brand?

(On the other hand, I guess that could be applied to the Adora as well....)

Sigh.

 

[neptunebob]

I think Adora is kind of a kinky name for a washer, as if it is looking at you.

 

[retroguy]

LG

David....

I'm sorry to hear of your bad experience. I hope you dont spend your day in close proximity to the blowing mist. Have you tried maybe drilling holes on the bottom of the case for better drainage? Never having worked on an A/C unit before I dont even know if thats a bad idea or not? My only experience with LG has been CD rom drives/DVD burners. They do optical drives quite well.

DJ

 

[partscounterman]

I'm thinking 'bout doing EXACTLY that-drilling holes, that is.

 

[peteski50]

LG

I already posted a mouthfull about the horrible service in the delux section. It took almost a month to get my washer / dryer combo fixed. Even though LG is a quality made product everything will sooner or later need service and LG is the worst. I still want to persue going after them but I dont know exactly what to do. I did send a letter to the consumer affairs but heard nothing back. My advice to all is stay away from LG because of lack of service.
Peter

 

[oxydolfan1]

Even in the tri-state, they haven't established a service network yet?

That's pretty irresponsible. Best Buy is pushing their machines like crazy, and I'm sure they're not the only ones to do so (I'm in Bergen County, New Jersey, and people seem much more willing to plunk down the cash for them then the Duet/Kenmores or Bosch models, from what I'm hearing....)

 

[jasonl]

LG makes pretty much all of the AC's now. I had a Sunbeam (read LG) Window unit that would drip water from the bottom onto the windowsill. I just stuff a towel under it and change the towel whenever I did wash.

Now I have central air which I guess is an LG iinside but it's quiet and works well.

 

[chromacolor]

I don't care for LG

I don't care for LG stemming from how horrible their products are in their electronics division. I mainly collect TV's as I used to work in my Uncle's TV/Appliance store in the late 70's early 80's. We sold Zenith TV's which hands down was the best set on the market at that time. In the mid 90's LG (known as Goldstar) bought a controlling interest in Zenith,before purchasing it entirely. When that happened Zenith went from being one of the best sets to the WORST. LG made such BAD picture tubes that most failed within a few years. After destroying the Zenith name they dropped it and started branding everything LG. When they started selling products in the US they were known as Gold Star which was a discount brand that was pure junk. Knowing they were selling junk, they used the Zenith name to get a better stronghold in the market, when they screwed that up, they went to the LG branding. I did buy an LG dehumidifier for my basement (that was all Home Depot carried) and it broke and overheated in a week. I thought my house was on fire when I discovered that surprise.....

 

[oxydolfan1]

Chromacolor, I had to choose between an LG 30" SlimFit and a similar Samsung. Think I made a bad choice with the LG?