maytag class action lawsuit

[gelaundry4ever]

Hello everybody. I have read many complaints about the Maytag Neptune washers and dryers. Many people were very disappointed because they didn't last long, had mold and mildew issues, didn't clean properly, and vibrated all over the place. How do you feel? Do you agree or disagree? Your opinions are welcome. Thank you.

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/homeowners/maytag_washer_neptune.html

 

[wayupnorth]

Well Jerome, I have a 1984 Real Maytag washer and dryer, bought new. 1 repair on the washer and they both still work like new. Todays Maytags are just the name, Dependability they are NOT!

 

[appnut]

Some of it was design issues--they were brought out a bit too early to market.  But each subsequent model series up through the MAH7500 improved significantly.  But by in large, the majority of issues were user error problems.  My boss just replaced her original Neptune in August and never had one problem.  The bearings were going out.  She followed all the guidelines.  Did not wash in cold water all the time.  Left the door and dispenser open between loads.  Never any smell or mold issues.  Yogitunes loves the used Neptunes he's found.  Now, the Samsun-produced Neptunes that were sold right before the Whirlpool acquisition were a whole different story. Many people did not, nor did they want to understand how to wash in a front loader.  Similar with the Calypso products.  Those were the best high-efficiency top loaders in performance and they did get the bugs worked out over time.  But people compalined and didn't understand them either.  If Neptunes had had a window, I would have bought them in a heartbeat.   

 

[gelaundry4ever]

True...

While that may be true, the majority of people have done everything by the book on how to properly use it, only to be disappointed. I could be wrong, but I believe the neptunes were replaced by either the Bravos or Epics, even the performance series. Even after all of that, they still weren't happy. There were even a lot of control board issues.

 

[cfz2882]

neptune a great washer

I have a 1998 MAH 3000-bought non-working and repaired,mine would wash but would not lock the door or spin-had the usual shorted "wax motor"/damaged control board problem-this was more a parts vendor problem or bad communication between maytag and the manufacturer of the wax motor than a quality or design problem:the "wax motor"consists of a small(~ 7/16" dia.x ~1/8"thick) electric heat pellet mounted to a wax chamber with piston,the piston moves out when chamber warmed by the heat pellet.The wax motor causing the trouble operates the door latch,two others operate the dispenser on a 3000.A drop of insulating paint around the edge of the wax motor pellet would have prevented the problem-mounted over the door opening,the wax motor gets damp and 120v "flashes over"the uninsulated edge of the heat pellet burning out a tiny triac and resistor on the control board.Correcting this failure is pretty easy and cheap Also noticed washer would abort full speed spin if cabinet could move too much-after solid,level footing established,no problem with spins or balancing.BTW very cool sounds from "switched reluctance" motor during spin runup.

 

[DADoES]

 
Later Neptune models (5500, 6500, 7500) are fine.  Earlier models (3000 and 4000) are good too when updated with the retrofixes.

 

[arbilab]

Did anyone actually GET a Neptune class-action settlement? Cash? How much? Compared to the grief, if any? Wait, lemme guess, a discount coupon for another Maytag? Just what you wanted.

I bought a washer in 1998. If Maytag had a window I would have bought that but I went with my gut-- no window, no sale-- and bought ElectroFrigiWhite. Which despite known weaknesses has been no tribble atall (Scotty, Star Trek).

Didn't just dodge a bullet, but a 50-mm shell.

 

[askolover]

Samsungtags

SUCK!  I had one for 2 days and returned it to lowes because it just wouldn't balance...no matter how much or little was in it!  That's why I will NEVER buy a Samsung washer.  2005 it was, the motor had gone out in my Asko so we got a new Neptune....decided to just buy a new motor for the Asko and sent the Neptune back.  Horrible washer.  I have a few friends that had the original Neptune made here, they loved them.  I used a few in a laundromat too.

 

[DADoES]

 
The Samsung-sourced Neppies are, of course, different animals than real Neptunes.

 

[yogitunes]

the class action lawsuit settlement was a replacement with the Neptune TL version....washer only!

I opted for the 5500 series with matching dryer......never an issue after that....

 

[jetcone]

Love my MAH3000

bought it new. I replaced the wax motor and components before they hemorrhaged. Now a friend is using it as a daily driver because Sally Speed Queen has moved in. 

 

Always admired the washability of the original Neptunes.

 

 

 

[gelaundry4ever]

getting worse.

You thought Maytag was bad with their Neptune? Wait until you hear this. Since 2006, Whirlpool now owns Maytag. Gone are the days when they cared about quality until the mid '90's. Now, it's about quantity.

 

[vacman1961]

We had one of the original Neptune"s, we purchased a MAH3000 sometime in 1997, that washer needed a control board, wax motor, rubber boot changed, inner door changed, and every time it broke, I was unable to work on it because of health issues. The last and final time it broke was in 2002 when I was recovering from a quadruple by pass. I called my friend who is an appliance wholesaler and asked him to send over the top of the line Whirlpool Duet washer and matching gas dryer with pedestals. He sent them over, set them up and removed the Neptune"s. Within 6 months we got a letter about the class action law suit, I explained that we no longer had the Neptune"s, they said that was OK, just produce repair bills on what we paid to have them repaired. I submitted them and within a month I was sent a check for almost $900.

 

[gusherb]

I lived with a Samsungtag for 9 years. That 9 years SUCKED. broke down many times, had no catch screen before the pump so it would just suck coins and stuff in and strip out the plastic impeller (others are not so careful about emptying pockets), replaced that twice, one time it decided to lock my clothes in (actually twice) and it wouldn't even allow me to manually override it through the service menu, so I had to resort to breaking it. Of course from day one it shook and sounded like an airplane ready for takeoff. Later on when the struts got worn, or god knows what, it could barely handle a medium sized load (it could barely handle a large load when it was new) and you couldn't operate it on max spin anymore because it would practically level the house every time it would spin up to full speed.

So when I finally convinced the powers that be to replace the thing already (and they thought that Samsungtag still worked just fine, but did it to "please me"), that's why I went straight for a SQ. I needed a break from front loaders after that.

 

[volvoguy87]

Neptunes.

The Neptune is one of the worst understood washers out there. The first 2 series (MAH3000 & MAH4000) were rushed to market before they worked all the kinks out. The 5000-7000 series are far better. The Neptunes were 1st-Generation (of the modern era) front loaders. Since the NNeptunes were the 1st high efficiency washers many owners had encountered, they were unfamiliar with how to best use and care for them. Their performance is quite good, when used properly, but there was a steep learning curve that proved difficult for many owners. They were revised so much that figuring out the parts lists and substitutes for them can be a challenge. They are proving themselves to be pretty durable. I still wish they had windows in the doors.

After Maytag killed the Neptune design, they retained the Neptune name on Samsung-built washers. This was a huge mistake! In the appliance parts company where I work, Samsung and LG are considered to be the absolute worst of the worst. Poorly thought out designs, bad construction quality, and lousy parts support are hallmarks of Samsung & LG major appliances. The rule of thumb at my company is that LG & Samsung major appliances tend to have a useful lifespan of 3-5 years. The real Neptunes also tended to rinse better, and perform better in general, than teh Samsung replacements.

My $0.02.
Dave

 

[yogitunes]

if it doesn't come with a window....improvise, and make one yourself....

 

[jetcone]

So

Yogi you don't have any balance issues with taking the door counter weight out of the equation??

 

[yogitunes]

I honestly don't know why that thing is there......just seems more like a center of gravity pull to keep the door in shape....

if I am correct, the 3000 didn't have anything inside, all hollow

the 4000 added a venting system type tube....still don't know why, the dispenser is open to the outside at all times....

and the 5000 and up got this spring doodad added....but yeah, they claim its for balancing, yet not really hooked to anything for balancing as far as the tub or suspension that's connected from the tub to the base...

funny thing to notice, the tub is actually bowl shaped, yet the clothes stay near the back during spin, but by centrifugal force, they should spread out towards the wider part near the door...sort of like a solid tub throws the clothes up towards the wider part of the tub, they don't stay near the bottom.....

 

[johnb300m]

counterbalance

The counterweight in the door can interact with the whole washer as an assembly by counteracting the harmonic frequency of the unit in spin. It would help keep it slightly quieter during high spin. It's similar, I believe, to the swaying counterweights in skyscrapers.
As the tub shakes in spin, the whole cabinet can vibrate at certain frequencies. The door, being attached to the cabinet, acts as a unit assembly, and helps counteract the harmonic vibrations from the cabinet in opposite of the vibrations from the tub.

It does "something" but it's hard to know its effectiveness unless we scientifically studied a unit with controlled spins, sensors, algorithms and running this rig with the counterweight in and out of the door.
Newer machines have obviously gotten around this issue via other suspension solutions.

 

[launderess]

Neptune, the washer that brought down Maytag

Sadly IMHO the whole Neptune saga showed just how bad things had gotten at Maytag (at the top)and spelled the soon demise of that once great company.

First generation machines should never have been let loose on the public. Once complaints began coming in Maytag should have ceased production, pulled every unit off floors and even offered to purchase back sold units. Then the whole thing should have been totally reworked from top to bottom. Maytag eventually did some of these things but it was too little and too late.

Maytag should have also well known 99.9% of the American market had no experience or even knowledge of H-Axis washing machines. Thus it was going to be a step and new learning curve to get Mrs. American Housewife up to speed on how her wash day was going to be different. You cannot leave doors closed on H-Axis washers when they aren't in use; PERIOD. Laundromats and commercial laundries "air out" their machines overnight. Those that do not develop the same musty/mold smell as domestic units treated the same.

Maytag also should have abandoned the "Neptune" brand name after it became so clearly tainted. A totally new machine should have had a new name to disassociate itself from that hated appliance.

 

[arbilab]

Or renamed it Uranus with the accent on the 'anus, to show a sense of humor.

I bought a FL in the early Neptune days. Rejected Maytag cuz it didn't have a window and went with ElectroFridgiWhite which never failed. Or stank. Or locked me out of the door except in spin. Or cost as much but almost. Or needed more than shocks and springs-- not fluid rings or antiresonant cabinet-- to keep it from galavanting about. Or fried its main board, it didn't have one.

Wait, I don't know for a fact the cabinet was NOT antiresonant. And I somewhat-compulsively monitored spins, having weaned on a slant Westy. Spins being the most entertaining. Better than what was on TV in 1954.

 

[mikeske]

Neptune MAH 7500

Oh I have a MAH 7500 and it has been put out to pasture in shop. That one was a lemon from day one and my wife absolutely hated that machine. One good thing to say was I glad I bought a extended warranty with that as my wife and I got real familiar with the service repair folks.

Lets see we had it three months and the main control board fryed on it. Service repair was out the next day and ordered a new board a week later they installed it and it fryed right away. So they found that the main motor had a short and it was repalaced 3 weeks later. (Our old Maytag with the leaking transmission was pressed back into service)

So the third main control board and a new motor went in.

A year later the third board went out and the water pump was making noise and here we go again. New parts only took two days to get in and the following day the POS was running hopefully for a while longer.

Three weeks after the 4 year extended warranty expired the main boot seal decided to spring a leak and the control board was acting up. I hauled the entire machine into my shop and parked in a corner and went to Appliance dealer and bought a Speed Queen top loader. We had it going on three years and the only thing I have done is replace the hoses last week as a preventive measure.