Speed Queen FL on the fritz *again*

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stricklybojack

stricklybojack

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 24, 2014
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1,811
Location
South Hams Devon UK
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Oh boy here we go. My wife said "something is wrong with the washer, and I smell something burning."
Sure enough there was a burning smell, while the 'wash' and 'rinse' lights flashed in unison.
The drum was motionless. She thought the smell was like rubber burning, I couldn't tell for sure.

I unplugged it right away and called the local service center. The service manager wanted the serial number, so I open the door and...flooded our wash room!
It was filled seemingly to the brim, at least half way up the glass in any case. Thank god for the drain in the floor.

When I told of this machine having the motor control board replaced once already, the tone turned grim.
"Ya...you may have a lemon, SQ may need to swap you for a new machine, you might have to make some noise though."

A new board is no fix unless whatever contributing factor is also addressed, that is if the MCB is determined to be needing replacement...AGAIN. We shall see.
Egads, this is not good. This time the machine was plugged into the surge protector someone on this website recommended, after the last blowout. A quality surge protector whose lights are showing green as they should.

We have had no other appliance fail in this house for electrical reasons in 45 years time, and this machine was running only a half sized load of kids cloths...and probably has only run about 70ish loads thus far in it's short life.

[this post was last edited: 1/25/2017-14:30]
 
WOW! Another happy speed queen customer! Seem to be quite a few of you. Certainly makes me happy I DID NOT buy a speed queen. Maybe if you squawk enough, they might give your money back and you could get a good machine. It worked for someone else back a few months ago. She bought a completely different kind of machine and has no more trouble now.
 
While I appreciate reading your post, I'm afraid that instead of sharing this with everyone on AW.org, I would be first on the phone with Alliance in Wisconsin, wanting to know just what they intended to do to make this right, especially after what the service tech said to you over the phone. For a much as you spent on this machine I certainly hope that you can get a satisfactory resolution. If Alliance is as good as so many seem to think, they will make this right for you. Good Luck!
Eddie
 
Opening the Door...

Should not have flooded the laundry room.
Water level should never be that high in this machine.
What model is this?

Malcolm
 
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Our first problem was fixed by unplugging the machine for a day or two until the service tech arrived, he plugged it in and declared nothing was wrong with the machine. I was not there and subsequently guessed my 87 year old mother wasn't used to the pausing drum motions of her first ever FL washer and wrongly figured something was amiss...now I am not so sure. That was a year ago.
THEN the machine failed with all the lights flashing in unison...that was the first motor control unit.
I watched the new one get installed and was not confident the tech was very familiar with our model of Speed Queen. I think he even said he was more comfortable working on the TL machines...but that's only a guess. He was guided through the diagnosis from SQ over the phone it seemed. That was over the summer.

And now this. I chose a different SQ warranty repair outfit this time that claimed to do more SQ work than any other in the region.
Hard tellin' not knowin'...
 
Over Filling SQ FL Washer

You either have a bad inlet valve  [fairly common on this series ] or the air-dome at the rear of the outer has some type of build-up in it blocking it which keeps the pressure from sensing how much water is in the washer. { a blockage here is usually related to a combination of local water conditions and poor detergent choices, usually too little for water conditions }

 

The other reasons could be a bad water level switch or air-dome hose that is loose or has a small hole in it.

 

In any event while this is disappointing it is easy to fix and will not harm the longevity of this washer, this type of thing can happen to any FL washer, we see it all the time on WP Duets.

 

If they want to give you the newer model of this washer I would take it, But if it was me I would really like to know what went wrong, especially if it is a blockage problem in the air-dome [ your fault ]

 

After 40+ years of servicing major home appliances I have seen almost NO LEMONS it is really highly unlikely that nearly every machine can come off the assembly line in perfect condition and then one comes off the line with multiple problems. Most so called Lemons are a combination of shipping damage, poor installation, and poor service. For many years we would buy back appliances exchanges from WP where they had exchanged an appliance and we would fix and resell them with a full factory warranty and we almost never had another problem with the appliance.

 

John L.
 
anything that is built, today as well as in the past, your never going to find something that is 100% on the money, without a dud in there somewhere....

as in first thoughts, NEVER buy the first generation, or first off the assembly line....thats just common sense....theres always going to be glitches until they work out the bugs....

of the millions of machines built, if a few hundred end up being duds for one reason or another, from a company stand point, their doing pretty good...

oddly enough, Alliance has been supportive with customer service to fix or replace.....

then again, you have companies like LG with their exploding machines, telling their customers where to go.....

its just a chance you take with any purchase you make for anything....
 
+1 to what Martin said. Any product made (that we all can afford) will have a percentage of failures that must be accounted for.

The Speed Queen machines are generally well designed and heavily constructed although a bit crude. Their quality control is very likely not as good as the Asian companies (this is true of MANY American made products). But in the long run the SQ machines are going to well out last the lightly made import machines. Especially since those companies are likely to discontinue part support earlier then Alliance will.

I don't like the word Lemon either as it tends to be just a catch phrase that people use when they don't see the whole picture. Problems stem from bad design, construction or inferior/defective parts. Assuming the machine is reasonably well made, seeing the same problem repeat is more likely bad service. Obviously seeing the same part fail frequently would hopefully have the company make an engineering revision.

Years ago I worked with a woman that had a little Dodge Omni 024 that apparently ate front brakes like they were going out of style. She had replaced the rotors a few times and the calipers twice. One day she pulled into work and the rotors were glowing red. She was bitching about how she had a 'lemon' and I pointed out that she likely just had bad service. I asked if they have ever replaced the master cylinder (they hadn't). It was clear that the brakes were staying engaged. She took it to the dealer and they replaced the master cylinder and voila the problem never returned. Bad service isn't a lemon.
 
<blockquote>
Funny thing that we hear about so many lemons of speed queen on here, isn't it? I mean for such a fine machine that has no lemons

 

</blockquote>
Even funnier is how many on here have raved about switching from an over hyped over engineered HE algore pleasing machine to a crude, SQ TL and have never looked back.

 

I guess it depends on how one defines "....so many lemons......"
 
What you are comparing a speed queen top loader to, is a piece of crap that was NEVER meant to work like a traditional top loader and could not POSSIBLY do even a decent job at anything! Not a fair comparison. In THAT comparison, of course the speed queen top loader comes out FAR above all others! Compare them to a front load machine and they will lose in every category except how quickly they get the job done. Front load machines are the best now and save water too. If all I could have was a top load washer, speed queen would definitely be the clear choice.
 
It's also generally accepted that you'll get far more people to voluntarily talk about things that they had a negative experience or problem with than people who have no problems at all or had a positive experience. Think about it, if everything is working fine, and you're not a fanboy or the like, you're not likely to go to any trouble to find out about or join AW.org or even Amazon.com and leave a review. But whoo boy - if it broke, especially more than once? You're far more likely to go looking to see if everyone else had a problem, and if so comment.

So given the ratio of positive to negative reviews? Speed Queen is probably amazing IMO. I've seen 2 or 3 posts, one of which was a cross post, of a SQ failure and return. That's just not unexpected, especially as you start to see them get into the market.

I will say these failure modes of FL don't really make me in any hurry to want to switch to FL. It would take an explosion style failure in most cases for me to flood the floor from a TL - opening the lid to see the serial# isn't going to flood the floor for instance!
 
All of that about negative experiences is quite true, there are many more positive experiences than negative ones. However, trying to make speed queen machines out as the ONLY front loader one should EVER buy is ridiculous. They may be built as a more heavy duty machine is some ways, but they lack capacity and features that are important to many people and they clearly have issues. Their front load machine doesn't seem to be any better for home use than any other machine is as far as dependability goes. The top loader is a completely different story. It is very easy to be the best top loader when you are the ONLY top loader that washes clothes like a traditional washing machine. Doesn't make you the BEST, just makes you the ONLY choice. If there were still other machines around like Maytag or Whirlpool belt drive machines, they would NOT be either the BEST or the ONLY choice in top loaders. They NEVER have been the BEST machine since automatics started being manufactured or the most heavy duty.
 
"Ya...you may have a lemon, SQ may need to swap you for a new machine, you might have to make some noise though."

I love to work in a company that replaces the product immediately at no cost for the customer before the customer has the chance to start describing the problem.

#thelaundryalternative
#bestwarrantyserviceinUSA
#weNEVERtrytofix
#wereplaceimmediately
 
Speed Queen Is The Best Full Sized Front Load Washer

Ever sold in North America for home use.

 

It is the only full size machine with a Stainless Steel outer tub.

 

It is the only FSFL washer where the main bearings and seal can be replaced easily without total disassembly.

 

It is the only FL washer that is used by the tens of thousands in commercial settings.

 

It is the only FL washer sold to home owners with a full 5 year parts and labor warranty.

 

Yes we are all washer nuts here and some of the features on WP, MT, FD, Samsung and LG FL washers are fun, but 90% of Americans do not give a F... about that they just want reliable washing and drying performance.

 

Hi Bruce, I find it very funny that you constantly recommend Korean-Chinese washers and dryers and yet supported DT.

 

Hi Thomas Comparing a Speed Queen FL washer to the little plastic washers your company is selling is like comparing a portable vacuum cleaner to a pickup truck and while both can technically be repaired one is always repaired, when you have a problem with the PUT they don't give you a new one and crush the first one, LOL. Even if this SQ FLW were to get exchanged it will be repaired and go on to live a long happy life.
 
First of all, I have NEVER been or said that I was a Trump supporter. Secondly, sometimes you can make something so heavy duty and commercially sound that you forget some of the important attributes it might need to appeal to people and function easily. Besides that, I cannot see that speed queen's front loader is so head and shoulders over anyone else's. I also fail to see what possible difference it makes whether the outer tub is metal or plastic. Metal does rust, the many top load speed queen washers I saw and worked on proved that to me. Those outer tubs rusted out exactly where the seal is and had to be tossed. Many of them suffered this fate early in their existence. I have only had my LG made machine for over 3 years now, so I cannot really tell you how long it will last. But I do know that it has already outlasted at least a couple of speed queen machines so far by some of the posts in here. I don't expect it to last forever or probably over 10 years, very little ever does these days. I also bet that it is a LOT less expensive to buy a plastic outer tub than it is a metal outer tub should you need to.[this post was last edited: 1/27/2017-09:34]
 
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This machine has left me high and dry without washing ability in the house for over two weeks so far (and counting), for 2 non-operator error failures, and it's only been in use for a year and a half.
I have 5 and 7 year old boys and an incontinent 88 year old to contend with and paid a huge premium NOT to have this kind of thing happen.
We had a working 27 year-old DD Whirlpool that only broke once in that time (water inlet) and when it did so it managed to not spill a drop, that we gave away to make room for this SQ...oops. Shoulda made room some place in the garage and we would be washing dirty laundry now instead of looking at another week of being unable to do so.
What you are missing here John is that my trust of this machine is nearly shot, and depending on the outcome of this go round, I may never feel comfortable that it can work reliably again...which is the opposite of what I paid for in the first place.
This is why the "lemon" or "dud" reference came up. The motor control unit is a cripplingly expensive part, over $600 plus install if not under warranty.
I may ask for a warranty extension at least, no matter what happens, because this seems clearly an "early production-we-are-still-working-the-kinks-out-bear-with-us" situation.
This remember is the newly designed 3.3 drum model, ordered just weeks after they were released, that took months to deliver as the factory was behind on orders.
SQ should encourage it's service centers to have all these typically defective parts on hand so repair turn-around times are lessened.
In another post I made here, just a day or two before this incident, I suspected some people just have bad luck with some brands and should move on...I hate to say it but I think SQ is on the brink with ME in this regard.
In other news our (older than this SQ FL) Samsung French dooor refrigerator soldiers on with nary a complaint, as does our even older Bosch Dishwasher and our nearly 20 year old Sony TOL tube TV.

[this post was last edited: 1/27/2017-12:30]
 
Sorry, but for the price people pay for a speed queen machine, I would expect much better than the service it seems that they provide and expect not to have a lot of trouble with it in the first place. From seeing the posts in here, it seems they have a lot of sales/service places that either do not know what they are doing or are dishonest and try to sell new ones when the old one can be repaired. I also think they have very poor quality control which is typical with manufacturing companies in the USA now. That is also the reason I drive a Toyota. I might also add that I have had my LG made machine for over 3 years now washing what sounds like the same kind of stuff you are without a single problem. The incontinent pads are hard on it I am sure, but so far so good. I too have an 88 y/o and lots of laundry.[this post was last edited: 1/27/2017-09:42]
 
Speed Queen!

From my observations on FL washers this newer Speed Queen unit is one that seems just right. On the previous models their was just not enough settings. Now you have the ability to adjust the soil level (wash time) plus get a prewash and 2 extra rinses. The only thing I think that should be added is a heater! Otherwise what else do we need to do laundry?? Keep It Simple! And the capicity is large enough. These other big monsters out their are totatly ridiculous. And I wouldnt be so opposed to them if they were combos. Most of these machines should have a drying fuction. (that would make more sense) - I have a LG 24" combo and am happy with the washing performance. And you take your chances on anything you are going to buy! I recommend that all take a extended warranty on anything you buy!! Instead of all this energy saving control. Their should be strict Quality control. Aside from these newer Speed Queen machines I feel the Frigmores were the best in terms of simplicity and fuction, it is to bad they stopped making them.
Peter
 
peteski50

The capacity is NOT ridiculous if you have a king size down filled comforter that has to be washed on a regular basis. It saves a trip and the expense of going to the laundromat. That is a great savings indeed! Having a cycle that will heat the water to help in sanitizing and cleaning is also a great help too. I have nothing at all against speed queen machines, I just don't think they are all that and a bag of chips.
 
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Thinking I may get these for back-ups to give me confidence I won't have to go through this again.
Sadly that decisively kicks the SQ into the, 'fancy but unreliable' territory, like say a French or Italian sports car...if you know cars. A lot of 60's and 70's Dad's caught tooling around in Mom's old reliable while his foreign job was in the shop I recall as a kid here in California. Back in Minnesota, where we moved from, given the weather conditions, such cars were virtually unknown at that time.

Perhaps the Range Rover is the best auto analogy. Something with tough "heritage" but rings up eye popping service charges from jump street...until they are towed to the crusher with not a lot of the miles on the clock. While a Toyota Land Cruiser in the same circumstance would have been trouble free and just getting broken in, being a third of the way through it's typical usable life span.[this post was last edited: 1/27/2017-11:40]

http://sandiego.craigslist.org/nsd/app/5960070798.html
stricklybojack-2017012711111304489_1.jpg
 
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And to answer Laundress:

I opened the door to get the serial number unaware the machine had bizarrely filled up with water.
There were no suds in this water so I DID'T SEE IT IN THE GLASS. But as Malcolm pointed out, this shouldn't happen at at all in any case.
Then Combo John damned with faint praise by stating that was a COMMON issue, not to worry, easy fix. But what about the burning?
I digress...I still wait for the tech to makes his FIRST appearance because the other commonly failing part, the now apparently toasted door latch switch, is enroute down from Los Angeles...I guess.

Oh and I was told over the phone, "do not drain the machine"...cuz I asked already.
Thanks for your interest everyone, a team of experts is on the case 24/7 and I no doubt believe the machine is fixable after a full tear down in the shop as Combo John has also informed us.
That said, i no longer have the pleasure of simply thinking the van will roll up, and after some tinkering we will be good to go. It's possible but experience tells me this will take at least two trips given "unexpected further issues" resulting in the need for other parts "we don't normally stock blah blah blah"...which is the new normal when you design digital electronics into a metal box full of water and early adopting customers do the lion share of your beta testing.
[this post was last edited: 1/27/2017-12:32]
 

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