This sound is about to put me into an asylum.

[murando531]

This knocking/popping/whatever-you-call-it sound this washer is making is about to have me needing heavy medication. I've been patient and tried to ignore it and stop worrying about any little weird noises because of the machine being so different than anything else, but I know without a doubt that THIS noise wasn't intended with the design.

For anyone who didn't see my post on the original subject of this washer, it's a Maytag Bravos XL MVWB725. It performs beautifully, and I've grown to love how the machine works and have learned the do's and don't's in order for it to work properly. Since around January, it's been making a sound that I can only describe as though someone is tapping their knuckle on the plastic of the agitator, and yet it only makes the noise when the basket is rotating slowly, or in the first part of it ramping up to speed in the spin. There isn't a thing I can see that could be making the noise, because the outer tub can be completely still and it will knock away, and there isn't a thing that I can see underneath that is loose or moving. If you rotate the tub by hand ever so gently without causing the tub to rock, you can feel the pop. The best way I know to describe it is like your ankle popping, you can't see anything happen but you can hear and feel it.

I've taken some video, and this one was the most clear. I let it rotate slowly, then stepped it to medium speed, and then full speed. Notice that it does it a little until a certain point and then goes away completely. At the end when I stop it, and then start the slow rotation again is when it really starts making the noise, around 2:15.

I'm at a stalemate. It does it so intermittently and yet when it does it sounds like someone is knocking on the door. And I most certainly don't want to just ignore it only for it to turn into a major failure in the bearing.

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[joe_in_philly]

It almost sounds like billiard balls hitting each other. Are there metal balls in the balance ring?

 

[rapunzel]

Leave the room, shut the door and put on some headphones with your favorite tune.

 

[mrb627]

Sounds like

The mechanism that interlocks the tub to the impeller is slipping or ratcheting.

Malcolm

 

[brisnat81]

That noise just sounds like noise that a top suspended tub makes.

If you grab the suspension arms and shake them can you emulate the noise?

It doesn't sound that unusual.

 

[henene4]

That really sounds like a balancing ring issue. I mean, the sound is kind of hollow, plastic-ish and involves something metal or at least rather solid. Hard, dense, movable material and hollow plastic really only boils down to balancing ring for me.
But if nothing helps, you might get a replacement. Something different, maybe?

 

[combo52]

Noisy washer

That sound is not normal [ unlike the noisy drain pump ] did you send this video to WP, I would do this and also mention that it is already on the internet and about to be put on You Tube, I am sure it will get fixed or replaced.

 

[murando531]

I didn't think it was. I've emailed a friend at WP and asked his opinion before I start the ball rolling with sloppy technicians having to come into my house.

I spent two hours last night taking it apart down to the drive shaft. An hour of that was spent struggling to get the dee-ay-em top open, until I found through research that this is the ONLY Bravos/Cabrio model that doesn't simply pop open by tabs at the front, as nearly every video and demonstration shows. This one requires unbolting the hinge at the back and pulling the entire top forward, and then it lifts.

Anyway, got down to the bare driveshaft. Not a single thing out of the ordinary about the agitator or basket, nor the tub engagement hub, and the driveshaft is clean as a whistle, aside of course some grease. I couldn't get the sound to appear, but at the same time it's impossible to spin the shaft just by hand. I also laid it forward and couldn't find a thing loose within the rotor and stator, and yet with meticulously putting everything back together, it's washing a load of towels right now with the "Keebler elves" knocking away underneath.

My biggest suspicion is that perhaps there is just enough of a imbalance in the tub that it causes it to "chirp" against the shaft as it teeters back and forth, which could explain why after getting up to speed, it completely goes away because the centrifugal force holds it still. It must be such a microscopic movement, but by echoing through all the plastic in the system, it amplifies the sound to what you heard in the video.

I'm hoping that I can muster up my assertiveness to convince them to just send a brand new machine. I was already peeved at the delivery people taking it out of the box in the middle of the street, stomping the styrofoam base out from under it, which for all I know could have done something to inadvertently cause what is happening. Then the fact that it is now on its third pump and yet no one, not the technician nor the Whirlpool service center he called have any clue as to why their own drain pump would sound like this. And the cherry on top, while blundering around the machine while it was laid down with a rolled towel at the lid end to allow us to pick the ungodly heavy thing up, he rocked and banged the machine around enough to push a dent into the corner of the front panel.

A brand new, nearly $1000 machine shouldn't have problems like this within the first few months, nor should it have them basically right out of the box. So if anyone is willing, please send good vibes my way. I love the machine, just don't love the unnecessary issues with it so far.

 

[henene4]

Trying to deliver...

... got a connection error

 

[frigilux]

Replacement machine: Insist on the new model that dispenses a Xanax when you press the START button.

 

[henene4]

I just watched your new videos...

It appears to me your basket is of center. It hit me during the soak you showed. You can see the top ring not rotating 100% in line. Though some discrepancy is normal, thus seems the most likeliest to me by now.

 

[logixx]

Sounds like...

you should have the entire thing replaced. Isn't there some sort of Lemon Law that should cover situations like this?

 

[combo52]

This Washer Is Not A LEMON

It has NEVER broken down, it has never failed to wash a load of clolthing yet.

 

The two drain pumps that were replaced were a combination of owner over expectation and bad service [ WP should have never replaced the 2nd one ]

 

Yes the machine is making an unusual noise and incorrect noise [ if the video is real  ] and it will be up to WP, the and the dealer if the machine gets repaired or replaced [ but it is repairable ].

 

In the many years I worked with WP we had occasions where WP would just pick up an appliance, give the customer a full refund and include a letter with the refund check suggesting that the customer might find greater satisfaction with another appliance makers appliance. LOL, but true.

 

BUT this washer does not come close to being a LEMON, believe me I have seen a lot of people that have been wronged by an appliance maker, it it usually involves, many trips to a laundromat, many out of pocket expenses, personal injury, or property damage.

 

[beekeyknee]

Be careful. It might fly apart and tear up the room. I wouldn't hang around that thing. An old Frigidaire I trust at those speeds, but not that. Too flimsy for my taste.

 

[murando531]

These could all be true statements, combo52. Because video taken on my "all powerful" HTC One M8 and its "professional-grade" editing software could be so easily modified to add in noise just because I have all the time in the world to make up issues that couldn't possibly be true. And it could also be completely viable for the technician that stood right beside me and called a Whirlpool service outlet, who also seemed to have no idea why the drain pump would be making such racket, to be in cahoots with me, and we're slowly but surely seeing our devious plan to fruition to wrong Whirlpool and Maytag for no reason.

 

But sadly, as much as I would LOVE to have the time for all that, it simply isn't realistic. As much as I and I'm sure everyone else here appreciates your wisdom and advice, save the snarky accusations for someone that ACTUALLY needs them. I find it interesting that in the course of 6 days, your comment changed from supporting my issue to blatantly making a mockery of it. Bless you and your day.

 

My entire concern regarding everything that has transpired with this machine so far is the fear of ignoring such signs and symptoms, only to be thrown under the bus the day AFTER  the warranty plays out, and being left with a useless machine that won't be covered, and even worse, a destroyed laundry room. As the most recent videos I've posted have shown, the noises have progressed to screeching chirping sounds that are now happening at the high spin speeds, in addition to the previous knocking/thunking noises as the tub slowly rotates. There isn't a thing out of place under the agitator plate, the tub engagement hub, nor the basket itself. The basket has only a miniscule amount of play if pushed side to side, which is normal for every Oasis machine I have interacted with.

 

The money paid for this machine was by no means trivial, and though, yes, I have high-expectations because of Whirlpool's reputation in past years for solid construction and because of my experience learning about and working on nearly every WP dishwasher, washing machine, and dryer design since before I started kindergarten, I do understand that there will be certain creaks and bumps and noises that will be made in a machine no matter the grade of construction. As I would think many would agree, the sound of a Keebler elf hammering the side of a rusty old Red Rider wagon while spinning the unlubricated metal wheels as fast as he can is NOT a normal, nor acceptable sound for a machine that has seen barely 3 and a half months of careful use.

 

[henene4]

I think you should really take the basket into consideration.
Again, look at the video of the soaking cycle. you can clearly see the tub moves in perfect union with the sound. And you can hear the sound appears pretty much every half rotation, only its louder once, than more silent again.
Have you spoken to WP&#92Maytag&#92 your dealer already?

 

[murando531]

henene4 - I do. I called yesterday, and after about 10 minutes of hearing "uhhhhhh...ummmmmmm" from the other side of the phone (and yes, he instructed me to unplug the machine for a few seconds.. -_- ), he scheduled me a "senior technician" who I'm waiting for right this moment.

Honestly I thought it had to be related to the basket as well, but after taking it out and hand turning the drive shaft, the "thunking" is still there, and yet I still can't figure out for the life of me where the noise is coming from exactly. I don't have the proper tool to remove the rotor, but whatever the sound is, along with the screeching popping noise it makes now during the spin, seems to come more from under the machine than above, even when there are no clothes.

 

[murando531]

Man had absolutely no idea what in the world it could be.

Not that he seemed exactly knowledgable. He's a senior technician that has been with this particular service company for 25 years, and yet during the course of this almost 2 hour visit, he did not seem to know anything about how to truly operate on the machine, nor how to do something as simple as put the machine into a Drain/Spin Only cycle, so of course we stood there for almost 20 minutes just waiting for it to spin.  I stood by and kept my mouth shut, and then during that time I showed him the videos of what it has been doing. Then, he put the machine into automatic diagnostics, but not before I told him that the procedure to do so was not to mash every button he could as fast as he could, but to simply hold one button for 3 sec, release for 3, repeat, until voila. After he realized that what I said about the machine not spinning in auto diag., therefore rendering that 10 minutes useless, I had to show him what manual diagnostics was, and apparently it was something he had never seen before.

In addition to all of that, the guy was painfully rough on the machine and its surroundings, because now I have a nice chip in the corner of the porcelain on my previously pristine dryer after he slammed the washer into it twice. There are also scuff marks now on my tile floor because he used a short crowbar to pry the machine up in the front and the back, because he felt that though the machine is already leaning forward ( as that's the only way the basket will be center and not dump water into the floor from the detergent dispenser ), it needed to be leaning even more. Now as it stands right now, the washer can be wobbled with just the slight push of your hand on the top.

What else. Ah! After being on the phone with Whirlpool because he saw that upon gently turning the tub by hand it will clunk and knock 3-4 times with each rotation, they both decided that they had no clue what it could be, nor what the screeching could be during the spin, and he has now ordered a new stainless steel tub AND rotor and stator. And for some reason I just have this sneaking suspicion that: A.) the problem will not be within any of those three parts, as he checked them himself, as have I. He took the basket COMPLETELY out and manually set the machine to 25 rpm spin with only a naked driveshaft (again, I had to show him how to do this), the knocking and popping is STILL there. He also leaned the washer against the wall, which now has a beautiful indentation, and checked the rotor itself and even hammered against it to ensure its tightness. And B.) that by the time this is all said and done, I will still have a defective machine, and in the process, no telling how much other damage to my property.

I think what really pissed me off was the fact that he didn't even know how to open the top properly. His method was to remove ALL FOUR screws on the green hinges, and take the hinges completely off (even after me saying multiple times "I'm pretty sure that you keep the bottom screw in and the top can just hinge open like a car hood") but alas, one of the plastic spacer discs that rests between the cabinet and the top are now broken off, and there's no telling how much stress was put on the electrical cables and vacuum tube because the LID WAS LITERALLY HANGING FROM THEM. I won't even get started on how many times he slammed and banged the stainless steel basket against the cabinet during his hasty reassembly.

The dude is the epitome of the reason why I hate having appliance technicians step into my house, and because my laundry room and both machines have each had a degree of damage in the course of a two hour visit, I'm even more livid at the whole situation.

 

At this very moment I've channeled my rage into constructive explaining and ranting on the phone with tech support. I'm on hold right now because she is forwarding everything to her supervisors, including the links to the videos I have on YouTube. At this point, I've already expressed my distain for this particular technician and instructed that he is not allowed in this house again, and that if the machine isn't downright replaced, I'll make sure to leave the reviews that I've been holding back on every website and outlet that I can possibly find, and that the videos I've posted will also have the details of this experience added into the descriptions and tags. I've always chosen Whirlpool's products, and have always recommended them to the people that seek my advice, which is a pretty decent number of people considering that most everyone that knows me also knows of the passion and fascination I have with these machines as well as the knowledge I've acquired in my lifetime, but so far my faith in the company has been destroyed because of the hassle and headache I've had with what was supposed to be a pleasant and exciting purchase.

 

[henene4]

I can totaly understand you. Just be happy that you didn't destroy your machine your self as Panasonuc told us we would have done.
Sounds like a lot of damage he produced. Take pictures! And next time a technician comes around, document the exact condition your laundry has been in before and after. This way, you could always make some trouble.
And, a friendly advise: As you are annoyed enough by now, just take your time and have your own little fun being the best worst customer they know. Just give them hell, be as annoying as you can and just treat them like they treated you and your machine. And, most importantly, have fun while doing that.
(I know this is considered quite rude and being a pretty friendly person my self, this is the last haven in such situations. But I know everybody felt that way before. And once you liked blood, usually, you can't stop anymore.)