Miele Main Bearing... Gone !!!

[toploader55]

I was totally shocked as the other day I was listening to the 4842 ramp up to 1300.
I couldn't believe what I heard. Called the repair from the dealer I bought it from, and the tech agreed, "Yup. It's the bearing.".

I called Miele and reported the problem. Their tech drove up from New Jersey and he couldn't believe it either. The tech mentioned that he's never heard of a bearing on a Miele going until it had at least 6-10 years of heavy use.

Miele said they would pick up the machine, take it to New Jersey and replace the bearing... in which I asked the tech's supervisor's name.

After a pleasant conversation, I firmly said "You will replace the machine, not repair it." I than reminded him that after spending almost $2,000 for the machine and it is only 4.5 months old, I think it should be replaced.

The New Machine arrives this Thursday.

I never thought this would happen, so...OK let's have it. "You should have bought a SQ". LOL

 

[mrb627]

W3033/35 Series

Honestly, I think the 3033/3035 machines are a better built machine than the 48XX units. Far less issues with the smaller units.

I took a large load of bath towels to my local Miele dealership last weekend. This was the largest load of towels that I had ever done in the Speed Queen. To my surprise, the W3035 machine swallowed them up and ran through a complete wash program without a balancing issue or a bang of any kind.

We then put them in the matching dryer. The wet load was just slightly more than half full. Less than an hour later, they were done. I was beyond impressed. So much so, I bought a set.

Malcolm

 

[toploader55]

Malcolm,

Interesting...

You know the "Bigger is Better" theory does not always apply. (My God, have I set myself up for making that statement).LOL

I sometimes have to prove to myself, that the TOL series is not always the best thing.

Glad to hear you bought the set. Good Luck with them. I'm just glad that Miele did not hesitate on replacing the machine.

 

[rayjay]

3033/3035

Hi Malcolm.

I too was looking at the 3033, but a friend of mine aked "Why would I want a smaller machine than my LG?". I looked at the 3033 and it looks large enough.

Now the big question.... Does the machine use more water than the other large top loaders out there. Is there more water in the rinse?
Which model did you get?

I live abour 40 min away from the Miele showroom in Princeton. It is a beautiful place. I am aware that you can bring a load of wash to the big 48XX machines. I have to see if I can bring a load to the smaller ones.

So, all in all you are happy the way they are performing at home?

Thanks for you comments.

Ray

 

[rayjay]

Miele

I have to say I am impressed with Miele driving from New Jersey.

They want their customers to be happy.

 

[mrb627]

Yet to Deliver

I wont receive my set until middle to end of next week. But I can report on them at that time.

Malcolm

 

[toploader55]

Hi Ray

Yes, that says a lot about their customer satisfaction.

Could it be too good to be true ?

 

[rayjay]

Hi Eddie

A few years ago I worked with a woman that has a daughter that works for Miele.
They have to go under a lot of training for repairing the appliances.
Howver, they treat there empolyees well.

Do you have a show room in your area?

A few years ago a friend and myself went to the show room in Princeton. There were two openings for demos and a dinner. It was great!!!
They did a demo on the steam oven, convection oven etc. WE had a great meal

Grilled chicken Caesar Salad, Tortellini Alfredo, Roasted Filet of Beef with a great sauce, a berry custard for dessert, and our choice of coffee from the wall mount coffee system. They also did a load of wash in the big front loader.

We had dinner on table lines, and dishes.

If you have that in your area, look up and see if you can attend.

Ray

 

[rayjay]

Hi Malcolm

Thanks Malcolm

When you did your load of towels, did the machine add more water to at least the rinse cycles?

Cannot wait to hear back after you get installed and use.

Thanks

Ray

 

[toploader55]

Ray,

I will do that.

The Tech was nice enough to give me a Promo code for anything I buy through Miele. Other appliances and Persil too. (Which Miele recommends for their washers) He said this Promo has no expiration date.

I thought that was Nice too.

 

[mrb627]

Rinse Levels

I wasn't really able to detect whether the water level was increased in the rinses. I certainly believe the machine was programmed at factory defaults. The water level didn't creep up 1/4 of the door which is what I had expected. But the towels were properly rinsed none the less.

While my towels were washing, one of the salespeople walked up and tossed a single bath towel into the 4842 and started it. I thought to myself, this will never work. Well, the machine tossed the towel around a couple of times then took off spinning. My mouth fell open. Then, when it came time to dry it, I expected he would select the timed dry setting. Nope. Took the default Normal program on the dryer. I figured it would fail moisture detection and stop early. Nope. Dried that single bath towel in right about 25 minutes. Again, mouth hanging open.

Malcolm

 

[nmassman44]

The thing with Miele dryers is that it uses the entire drum to detect moisture. Not just a pair of sensor bars like the rest do. Plus if you start a Miele dryer with nothing in it, it will shut down in 30 seconds. It's that sensitive. On my T9800 dryer the drum size is ok but if one washes a full load in the washer then the load for the dryer has to be done in two loads. That said the dryer is fast. If you use the Turbo setting that's high heat. Airflow is the highest in the industry and depending on what you use for a vent it will move a hose.
The washer drum does well but it's not pet hair friendly. It will leave the hair in mats on the drum. And if you use the Extended wash option, the clothes will look very tired coming out.
My Miele 4800 arrived dead on arrival. Motor klyxon switch was defective. The Miele tech came up from Massachusetts and replaced the motor. I was in Maine today and was looking at them. They are not being used anymore.

 

[toploader55]

Malcolm,

The machine itself is fantastic.

The preset cycles, the Custom which lets you design your own,balancing is never more than a minute, it really is a great machine. I did program in Water Plus and another one, but you are right, the machine rinses very well regardless. I know you'll enjoy your new set. I also use the Sensitive Option which is an Extra Rinse too. Most of the time I set the spin on high which I think is 1,000 RPM. Maximum is 1,300. On high, Towels in the Kenmore Dryer take about 20-25 minutes to dry. Other items for the most part, 20 minutes.

I just wish I could find a way to keep the interior light on while it's running.

I would love to know why that bearing went south.

 

[tomturbomatic]

Congratulations Malcolm!

 

[thomasortega]

Bad bearing in a Miele?

I'm simply shocked!

 

[northernmary]

Bad Apple

Hello All,
Even miele do have the odd “Bad Apple” it’s what they do to put the situation right and the service you receive. From what I have read above they have gone out of their way to put the issue in hand right. It was nice of the bloke to leave you a promotion code to use on anything you like, below is a picture of my miele W5740 I received 6th march 2012.
At the end of the day any manufacture can produce a faulty product I don’t think a brand should be tarnished there is enough miele haters out there as it is .
NorthernMary

 

[seamusuk]

From a UK/Euro point of view.........

Hey Guys

Without having a dig at the difference in our respective laundry habits the question is why Miele made the 4 series for the US market at all? My W5740 takes a 7kg/15.4lb load and fits in a standard size 24"x33.5"x23" cabinet. Is there really the ingrained misconception that Euro design units are "Small"??

Seamus

P.S Where were the 4 series actually made?

 

[ronhic]

Seamus

I believe that it partly comes from the US move away from a weight measurement to one of cubic capacity in an effort to make manufacturers more transparent in what their machines can hold...

Note, I said HOLD...not wash.

Tests here about 20 years ago proved that American manufacturers appeared to slap any old KG capacity on a machine to the point where in one test, Choice couldn't even close the lid.

Anyway, all of us with European style machines know that big isn't always better...

 

[launderess]

I've Said This Before

Miele's main headquarters in New Jersey has a repair shop that includes all the required equipment including winches for dealing with a bearing swap. The things would not be there if the situation were not required so yes, Miele washing machines do have bearing failures. The only question is the cost of the work versus simply giving a whole new machine.

Was told by Miele's customer service department and repair persons who have come to one's home Miele mainly only does bearing replacements on washing machines within warranty. After the washer reaches a certain age the cost of repair (parts, labour and transport to and from)probably equals or exceeds a new unit so most customers don't bother.

 

[launderess]

Large Front Loaders & The American Market

One of the reasons Miele and other front loaders never sold well in the United States was the capacity issue as compared to the dominate top loaders.

American housewives have largely kept to the old ways of saving laundry for one day per week or so then having to wash mountains of laundry. For that you want a washer that holds allot of laundry and process it quickly. Most home front loaders have very long cycles (compared again to top loaders) and were preceived as not holding the same amount of laundry.

Depending upon load size a standard 11lbs capacity European front loader should be fine for many American homes, but apparently the market demanded differently. Thus you saw the introduction of Whirlpool's Duet, Maytag's Neptune, Bosch's Nexxt and so forth.

There is also the thing that American homes wish to wash large bedding items at home such as comforters, duvets, quilts and so forth. Given the average bed size in the United States is queen or king and even within those ranges bed linens are getting larger to accomodate the rising depth of mattresses (all those pillow topped/plush jobs), you're going to need something larger than say an 11 pound front loader.

Being as all this may our Miele salesperson echos what one has heard elsewhere, the 48XXX series was not a huge seller. Many customers felt it was too large versus the 30XX series and that that latter was better built and or provided more value for money. This could be one of the reasons why Miele is pulling the plug on the 48XX production.