Samsung is Junk!

Automatic Washer - The world's coolest Washing Machines, Dryers and Dishwashers

Help Support AutomaticWasher.org:

whirlpool862

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 3, 2025
Messages
237
Location
Columbus, OH
I know Samsung makes good electronics and all, but ALL of their appliances suck. There is no good Samsung appliance. Their refrigerators are known for icemaker issues and compressor issues. Their front loaders have major issues with the spider brackets and bearings. Their ovens ahead issues with the control board, their dishwashers are also junk. The top loaders are known for suspension rod issues, clutch assembles grinding, drain pump issues, and control board failures.

Samsung never made good appliances, even when they first started making appliances they were junk.

Don’t get Samsung appliances! All of them are junk. Samsung is only good at electronics.

Don’t buy LG if you’re buying anything for your kitchen. All of LG’s kitchen appliances are absolute garbage.
 
I know Samsung makes good electronics and all, but ALL of their appliances suck. There is no good Samsung appliance. Their refrigerators are known for icemaker issues and compressor issues. Their front loaders have major issues with the spider brackets and bearings. Their ovens ahead issues with the control board, their dishwashers are also junk. The top loaders are known for suspension rod issues, clutch assembles grinding, drain pump issues, and control board failures.

Samsung never made good appliances, even when they first started making appliances they were junk.

Don’t get Samsung appliances! All of them are junk. Samsung is only good at electronics.

Don’t buy LG if you’re buying anything for your kitchen. All of LG’s kitchen appliances are absolute garbage.
Samsung electronics..... good?
Not in my opinion and experience, Samsuck flat screen tvs that continuously came into my repair shop for years were all CRAP.
 
I don’t think so…

I don’t think Samsung is junk…

I’ve had both a Samsung gas range and dishwasher and they are both going on six years old…

Working great with no repairs or me needing to do any kind of appliance hunting to replace either!
 
I don’t think so…

I don’t think Samsung is junk…

I’ve had both a Samsung gas range and dishwasher and they are both going on six years old…

Working great with no repairs or me needing to do any kind of appliance hunting to replace either!
Some may have good experiences with junk brands. I bet in 10 years a person will say they never had issues with their 2023 Whirlpool WTW4816FW3 - you know the one that gets control board issues within a year. There are 19 year old HydroWaves still going. Does that mean they are good? No. Some people just have good luck.

Bad appliances can sometimes last, just like how bad cars can. I’m just saying that Samsung, is junk, also 6 years isn’t a long lifespan. A well-maintained appliance should last at least nine or ten years before a major failure starts. I’m just saying reputable brands like Whirlpool are better overall.

Whirlpool is one of the better appliance brands (if you exclude their most recent top loaders). Older VMW’s honestly are not that bad, they used good motors (rarely a failure), their drain pumps often lasted the lifespan of the machine, and a loud grinding noise on the wash cycle was usually just a loose pulley or a clutch issue (which weren’t expensive parts). VMW’s also are not that hard to repair, same goes for VMAX’s. If whirlpool fixed the control board issue on their 3.5’s they’d be fine machines again. The suspension rods on the 3.6 to 3.8 washplate VMW’s didn’t really go out that much. It was only really the older porcelain tub units that had that issue. The stupid 4.8 to 5.3 du ft Whirlpools from late 2019 and onward were always bad, the lids on those are so thin and I see those cracking (WASHER LIDS SHOULD NOT CRACK). That’s already a quality issue. The pump wires are known to fail on the VMW versions. The VMAX versions are prone to slider issues. The older VMAX’s actually had better sliders. The older VMAX machines were decent, and as long as the gearcase was good the repair wasn’t usually that expensive. The latest high end VMW and VMAX units are also known for issues with the control board. I see so many of the MVW7230/7232 models listed on Facebook with failed control boards, as well as them being scrapped due to it. The 3.8 to 3.9 cu ft units would be better if they increased the balance ring size and fixed the control board problem. I think Whirlpool should also put metal drive hubs on all their machines as they are a major failure point.

Same goes for the newer basic GE’s, although the lid locks and pumps tend to fail more on those. The transmissions tend to be fail less on the GE’s than on the Whirlpools, as well as the suspension rods.

The Samsungs not only have expensive parts, but they also fail more. The clutch is known to fail (which is expensive), as well as the suspension rods and drain pumps tend to. Samsung is also notorious for discontinuing parts for their previous machine models.

Usually, if your Samsung washer is grinding on wash, that's an issue with the clutch assembly. It’s expensive, it’s not cheap like the clutch on the Whirlpools. Samsung rods are also ridiculously expensive, and the aftermarket ones are absolutely terrible and may be broken out of the box. The aftermarket Samsung parts are much worse than the OEM parts. The aftermarket Whirlpool rods aren’t good either but they are a bit better.
 
Last edited:
Reputation! - the Bottom Line!

I've mentioned before that the Samsung brand is not one that I'd invest my money in.
So here's my own story about that lousy brand.....

I've personally had issues with a Samsung TV that I purchased at Circuit City back in 2005.
It's a 30 inch widescreen set, with a flat CRT (picture tube) manufactured in China in 2004, and cost me close to $1000.00 - and had to be delivered, because the set weighs 120 pounds. - no way it was going to fit in my Lincoln's trunk.
At the time flatscreen tv's were not popular yet, and were rediculously priced since it was a new technology.
Now mind you, at that time I was aware of faults in Samsung products, their older CRT sets showed up regularly at my repair shop for high-voltage flyback transformer defects, and needed replacement.
Nevertheless I figured their new "widescreen" sets were worth taking a chance on.
And I liked the styling of it.

Well, DUH!..... Right after the short crappy warranty ran out, the set had issues that I wanted to repair, and being a long time tv repairman with decades of professional experience, I decides to contact Samsung Customer Support to get some answers and speak to a tech about this.

All I got was frustration - they knew I was a professional service tech, they knew I ordered flyback transformers from them for customer's sets in the past, yet they gave me a hard time and refused to connect me with their "tech support" people, instead claiming that I have to take the set to an "authorized" Samsung repair facility, and pay more money....when I was capable to do the job myself.
That made no sense to me at all.

The tv had a "bowing" problem with the bottom of the picture bowed up, distorting the bottom of the picture, and had a bright white "dot" that appeared for a minute when turning off the set, which in time would eventually burn a spot in the phosphers at center of the screen.
For a $1000.00 tv set - I was not about to live with that issue!
I was able to get a service manual from another online source, and eventually correct the issues, which were due to design mistakes, no thanks to Samsung!

And there are NUMEROUS websites of complaints against that company's products, not just the bitching going on here.
Y'all can stick up for that lousy brand all you want, I don't give two craps.

....... so it's All About Reputation.

Samsung30inch.jpgSamsungTrash.JPG
 
Samsung electronics are int their appliances. LG began as Gold Star. Hyundai spun off Mitsubishi. Japan booted Korean automotive and electronics.. Lots of Chinese sourcing today. The Chinese can make anything durable, accurate and precise if the company is willing to pay enough. They follow specs. to a T. They are not the shoddy manufacturers they were before before the year 2000. You choose the materials they supply.
 
Samsung electronics are int their appliances. LG began as Gold Star. Hyundai spun off Mitsubishi. Japan booted Korean automotive and electronics.. Lots of Chinese sourcing today. The Chinese can make anything durable, accurate and precise if the company is willing to pay enough. They follow specs. to a T. They are not the shoddy manufacturers they were before before the year 2000. You choose the materials they supply.
So what you're saying is that the "shoddy" mistakes that I found in my $1000 dollar 2005 Samsung tv, along with the lousy treatment that I received by asking them for help for it is not a justafiable reason for calling them out?
Or that the slews of Samsung tv's that came to my repair shop are not a problem?
Or my neighbor's Samsung washer AND dryer put out for trash after only 4 years is a rare happening?

It's a "reputation" that they seem to have aquired, as I previously mentioned.

Another "Chinese" brand.... Yaesu..... makes "High End" very expensive products.
Their audio equipment is visually impressive to look at.
However, they provide no service information to us service technicians.
Strange, huh
Because a $700.00 Yaesu CD player came into my shop one day....
To look at it, it was a work of art, with a stunning appearance.
Inside, it was clearly a bunch of cheap crap, with fake "vacuum tubes" protruding from the case which did nothing but glow, and a cheap $ 8.00 Sony boombox CD drive mech that failed.
You would think that something that cost that much would be made with quality construction.

I've seen a LOT of "chinese" products pass across my workbench over the decades, and have the right to call them out as junk, to warn others of this widespread scam which centers on that country, in hopes that others don't have to deal with the aggrevation.
 
Last edited:
My uncle still has his WF395BTPAWR/A2 front loader from early 2010's. I don't care what anybody says but I really like it. I also like some of their vacuums they've made for both Bissell and Kenmore. And my sister has a Samsung OTR microwave since she moved into her condo back in 2019, still works. In regards to LG, I really do like their stoves and microwaves. I'm not too crazy about their fridges and dishwashers but they do work.

1767465344443.png
 
No Matt that is not what I was saying at all. Did you only read the last sentence or only see what you want to? It should have been clear that I meant Samsung chose the materials, and parts and designed the specs and the selected Chinese manufacturer followed them.
 
No Matt that is not what I was saying at all. Did you only read the last sentence or only see what you want to? It should have been clear that I meant Samsung chose the materials, and parts and designed the specs and the selected Chinese manufacturer followed them.
Well, I will admit that your previous post was a bit confusing to understand.
 
We got about 15 years out of our Samsung flat screen and bought a new 55" one about 2 years ago, so far so good. My friend who had that same old set is still working fine. Can't attest to their white goods but have been happy with our LG fridge and washer. Won't buy any Whirlpool products after two p.o.s. Kitchenaid dishwashers. My sister bought a new Maytag toploader about 8 years ago and it was issue after issue, she just got a new LG wm3400 on my advice. As for microwaves, well I'm still using the same compact "RCA" $69 Walmart special which I gave to my sister in 2008 and brought it to our house after she died in 2010,, and it's still going strong being used umpteen times a day.. Made by Midea me thinks.
 
We got about 15 years out of our Samsung flat screen and bought a new 55" one about 2 years ago, so far so good. My friend who had that same old set is still working fine. Can't attest to their white goods but have been happy with our LG fridge and washer. Won't buy any Whirlpool products after two p.o.s. Kitchenaid dishwashers. My sister bought a new Maytag toploader about 8 years ago and it was issue after issue, she just got a new LG wm3400 on my advice. As for microwaves, well I'm still using the same compact "RCA" $69 Walmart special which I gave to my sister in 2008 and brought it to our house after she died in 2010,, and it's still going strong being used umpteen times a day.. Made by Midea me thinks.
Samsung makes good electronics, but not appliances. The LG’s are fairly good (only for laundry equipment). Do NOT buy any kitchen appliance from LG. That’s a strict no. Don’t buy the AI models, just buy the regular LG’s. The LG washers don’t sound good, that’s one downside about them, the stators have this high-pitched tube TV-like sound to them. The LG washers do hold up well and don’t usually have major failures.

Speed Queen is by far the most reliable brand. TC5 only. The TR ones aren’t necessarily unreliable but they don’t clean clothes that good.

The VMW’s and VMAX’s used to be fairly decent machines. They had their issues but they often held up better than the Frigidaires, the Samsungs, the HydroWaves, etc. the 3.5 cu ft VMWs were decent machines until 2023 (when they started having major issues with the board). The 3.8 versions have a terribly designed balance ring and the same board issues.

Many people say “GE got worse when Haier bought them out”, I don’t think that’s true. In fact, I think GE has gotten better in recent years, rather than getting worse like Whirlpool is. The HydroWaves and the stacks were probably the worst machines from GE.

The newer GE’s are not the best machines, but they are probably the third best outside of Speed Queen. Until recently, i always suggested Whirlpool over GE, and I still do for the fancier units (at least the fancy Whirlpools don’t usually explode). The fancier Whirlpools just don’t have the best user interface nor control board.

Another unit to consider is the Maytag Commercial. Good machine and washes well. One of the few VMW’s that actually wash well. Hopefully it doesn’t have the same board defect as the residential ones do.

The older Cabrios would’ve been great machines but Whirlpool used the worst bearings ever on those machines, they would commonly fail within 6 months or use. If they didn’t use terrible bearings (and seals!) on those they would’ve been easily one of the best H.E. washers. Those things were even more prone to bearing failure than the Maytag Neptune was!

The VMW’s and VMAX’s usually take several years before the bearing goes out, but the older Cabrios would commonly have the bearings fail under warranty.
 
Last edited:
Difficult to read or understand? What purpose would a fake vacuum tube serve? Some new ones are small, as on some phono preamps, but they are not fake.
Some high resolution CD players or transport only no DAC types cost over $1,000.
 
Difficult to read or understand? What purpose would a fake vacuum tube serve? Some new ones are small, as on some phono preamps, butthey are not fake.
Some high resolution CD players or transport only no DAC types cost over $1,000.
In that overpriced hunk of junk CD player that came into my shop, those "fake" tubes were actually real glass tubes, similar to 12AX7's, and epoxied in place to prevent removal.
However they were only wired to make their filaments illuminate for a realistic impressive "appearance".
The rest of the circuitry was all solid state - IC chips that had their identification markings ground off, so that no one could figure out what they were - a common chinese tactic to prevent any service tech from troubleshooting a product.
I've seen this same thing done in tv sets, and radios too.

That cheap plastic Sony CD mechanism had a dead motor, and when I researched the part number of the mech on my distributer's website, it was an unavailable older mech that was used in older discontinued 1980's boomboxes.
If it had been available, it's cost would be $8.00 plus shipping.
Certainly it was not something that would be used in something considered to be expensive High Quality.

The case, enclosure, of this CD player was extremely impressive 1/4 inch thick polished aluminum with massive feet "towers" at each corner, and finely finished anodized, making the unit eye-catching and heavy if picked up.
And the bottom cover plate was secured with at least 20 screws to deter anyone from looking at the mess inside.

You have to understand, they build things this way to fool the consumer that they're getting something of high quality, so they can charge rediculous prices for something.
They put more work into "looks-styling", because they know that people have superficial weaknesses, judging something by appearance.
And this obviously also applies to anything.

I had a cute AM-FM clock radio come in for repair once, and it appeared to be a genuine "vintage" Emerson from the 1950's.
The thing was heavy if picked up, making it seem like a quality product.
But when I took the back off to troubleshoot it, it had a damn concrete brick glued inside with a cheap transistor radio circuit board.
Again, Superficially is used to fool people.
Or as they say: "Looks can be deceiving".
 
I'm on my 4th CD player. A single disc non remote Onkyo in 1990 that was still working in 97 when I thought I upgraded to a Technics 50 disc that one day didn't power on and the blue line was flashing. Bricked! Then found a 5 disc Sony from 93 in 2015 for $5 that I got a good few years out of. Now it plays and skips at will. I air gunned the innards and put fresh white grease on the gearing, cleaned the lens, and it was fine for a while longer. Got a Yamaha single disc last year with usb feature and like it.
 
I'm on my 4th CD player. A single disc non remote Onkyo in 1990 that was still working in 97 when I thought I upgraded to a Technics 50 disc that one day didn't power on and the blue line was flashing. Bricked! Then found a 5 disc Sony from 93 in 2015 for $5 that I got a good few years out of. Now it plays and skips at will. I air gunned the innards and put fresh white grease on the gearing, cleaned the lens, and it was fine for a while longer. Got a Yamaha single disc last year with usb feature and like it.
I have two 1990's Technics single CD decks.
They're reliable and work fine.
However a few years ago I had to replace a few capacitors that lost their value, no big deal for me.
 
My uncle's Samsung certainly outlasted two of my brother's Whirlpools and they were both bought before 2023, as a result he bought a LG. As far as I'm concerned, I'm not as comfortable buying a SQ anymore today due to the amount of problems they have in their electronics and for how expensive they are. But I did liked using my other uncle's TR7 as it washed just as well as my LG. If I had to get a SQ, it'd only be their mechanical models which there are a couple you can still get from their commercial line but they are so expensive. That's one of the reasons why I'd rather get a used one instead.
 
We got about 15 years out of our Samsung flat screen and bought a new 55" one about 2 years ago, so far so good. My friend who had that same old set is still working fine. Can't attest to their white goods but have been happy with our LG fridge and washer. Won't buy any Whirlpool products after two p.o.s. Kitchenaid dishwashers. My sister bought a new Maytag toploader about 8 years ago and it was issue after issue, she just got a new LG wm3400 on my advice. As for microwaves, well I'm still using the same compact "RCA" $69 Walmart special which I gave to my sister in 2008 and brought it to our house after she died in 2010,, and it's still going strong being used umpteen times a day.. Made by Midea me thinks.
Did that microwave ended up replacing your old Radarange? I used to watch your YouTube channel a while ago and I remembered you made a video of one.
 
My uncle's Samsung certainly outlasted two of my brother's Whirlpools and they were both bought before 2023, as a result he bought a LG. As far as I'm concerned, I'm not as comfortable buying a SQ anymore today due to the amount of problems they have in their electronics and for how expensive they are. But I did liked using my other uncle's TR7 as it washed just as well as my LG. If I had to get a SQ, it'd only be their mechanical models which there are a couple you can still get from their commercial line but they are so expensive. That's one of the reasons why I'd rather get a used one instead.
The latest Whirlpools are junk. Probably the low end model with the major control board issues. Even Samsungs are better.
 
I still have the Radarange down in the basement and it used to sit on the kitchen counter. Our kitchen cabinets have a microwave shelf but it only fits a compact oven. So when I brought in the little compact RCA I put it on the mw shelf and moved the RR downstairs. If'n I had room it would be back up in the kitchen because I really like how they work.
 
I still have the Radarange down in the basement and it used to sit on the kitchen counter. Our kitchen cabinets have a microwave shelf but it only fits a compact oven. So when I brought in the little compact RCA I put it on the mw shelf and moved the RR downstairs. If'n I had room it would be back up in the kitchen because I really like how they work.
Those things are definitely tanks, I have a couple myself. And do you still have your vacuum collection from the channel especially the Hoover PowerMax?
 
Back
Top