When did GE start to go bad?

[whirlpool862]

In my opinion, it’s when GE introduced the HydroWave. I remember using a GE HydroWave at a vacation house and it was one of the worst washers I’ve used.

It’d make a loud banging noise on the wash cycle, it worked for a bit, but while I was there, the washer just suddenly stopped draining.

I’ve used one of the newer VMW-style GE’s and it actually did a pretty decent job, so I’m not sure about the newest GE machines.

The link to a video I’m showing is just prove on how much GE’s quality has declined in the late 2000s, which is likely what caused them to be acquired by Haier in the first place.

Some people may say “Oh I’ve had my GE HydroWave for 12 years and it still works great”, well that doesn’t mean it was a good machine, I mean there are also many people saying “My Samsung washer is 10 years old and works like new and never needed any repairs”.

 

[cfz2882]

Hydrowave

Hehe,I have had my Hydrowave for about 15 years and just junked a 2011 curb grab NOT saying these are the ultimate washers,but it does wash very well-action similar to a TR SQ.The timer and drain pump are craptastic and suspension creaky on my hydrowave and it is not a high usage machine. i'd say GE washers started to go to crap after about 1990...

 

[Chetlaham]

Long before the Hydrowave. GE took a sharp decline in the mid 90s. Thats when the extreme cheapening and cost cutting began. They discontinued their workhorse filter flo for one of the worst washers ever released- the infamous model T. GE began redesigning their dishwasher pump seals such that they began leaking after only a few years. Every part began being cheapened in every appliance they sold. 

 

There were slight improvements made to what was truly horrific, however the decline in durability continued to go down hill. It truly has been steady decline for 25 years since the initial big drop to where we are today.  

 

 

[whirlpool862]

The model Ts were essentially just HydroWaves with a transmission, brake, and AC motor so I’m sure those were bad too. My brother had a HydroWave that died within two years after he purchased, and he has replaced it with a basic Whirlpool WTW4800XQ4 VMW machine that has been reliable for 12 years but the bearing on the washer has no got noisy and he did have to change the suspension rods at one point.

Everyone in my family had terrible experiences with the HydroWave and they didn’t have them last long at all.

I got my VMW back when I knew nothing about washing machines, it’s a WTW4900BW0 Whirlpool washer that’s been pretty reliable until now when the bearings became loud.

The model T GE’s used very similar tubs, suspension, controls, and even lids as the HydroWaves, and they were about as unreliable. The only thing better about the model Ts is that they cleaned better than the HydroWaves, but their reliability was about the same.

It’d funny how even the newest GE’s are more reliable than the model Ts or HydroWaves and have better cleaning performance.

 

[mrstickball]

The irony is that GE's GTW3-4-5 series is probably the best garbage-tier washer right now, or is fighting the WT61** for that honor given how far Maytag/WP VMW's have fallen (and I don't think any of us want to really suggest a Midea/Samsung at the time).

But about the Hydrowave - its an interesting comment given that at least to the untrained eye, its basically what a TR-series Speed Queen is like with the inverter-based motor driving to the transmission.

 

[gelaundry4ever]

GE gone bad

I believe in 1995 when they released their plastic tub washers.

 

[whirlpool862]

The GE plastic tub washers are the T-Models and the HydroWaves, some of the stackable units also had plastic tubs, like the Frigidaire made ones or the stackable models made between 2011 and 2017.

The newer plastic tub stackables that GE made were prone to bad bearings, but they didn’t use the Hydrowave or T-Model system they used more of a VMW system. The GE HydroWave at the vacation house was the plastic tub model, don’t remember the model number but it was a mechanically controlled model. Spin cycle was fine for a bit but it made loud banging during the wash, but it actually broke down during vacation.

Also, if your HydroWave washes like a TR Speed Queen, that means your mode shifter is bad and that it needs to be replaced, if it makes a loud noise on the spin cycle this also means the mode shifter is bad.

People often flooded Model T’s and HydroWaves with negative reviews online because they were simply bad machines, the newer GE’s get better reviews because they have improved reliability.

There are two parts of the GE HydroWave mode shifter that often fail, one is the coil causing it to wash the whole drum, one is the bearing causing it to be loud on the spin cycle.

The newest GE’s seem to generally be more reliable than the HydroWaves or the T-model machines, although some people do say their HydroWave or Model-T lasted for years, but that doesn’t mean most did and that doesn’t mean they were reliable.

The WCI Frigidaire top loading machines i heard also had reliability issues and they made many stackable washers and some regular units.

Maytag actually got better for a bit when they were acquired by Whirlpool due to whirlpool making actual direct drive machines for them but when Whirlpool decided to make them VMWs that’s when they declined. Maytag is just the same as whirlpool the only difference between Maytag and Whirlpool is the difference exterior shell and the control panel, but they are otherwise the same thing.

The Norgetags/Amanatags had issues with the bearings and seals on their machines, and when the bearings did fail they often failed prematurely, they also had pump issues and transmission issues. The Neptune was also prone to this issue. The Maytag dependable care machines were highly reliable.

Maytag has declined well before Whirlpool acquired them. When they started rebranding Magic Chef machines that’s when they declined.

As for GE, I’d recommend that you the lower need units, the GE profiles DO NOT fill during the rinse cycle. The higher end GE’s just aren’t very good and don’t have as good performance as the more basic models.

I can’t recommend Frigidaire machines, all of them are just manufactured by a Chinese company for Frigidaire and aren’t very reliable.

I would NOT recommend any Samsung or Midea machines. LG top loaders actually seem quite decent. Personally not a fan of front loaders but that’s just my personal preference.

I could not recommend Whirlpool anymore, Whirlpool was my favorite brand for a long time, as you can tell by my username, but their newest machines seem to be very prone to control board failures, especially the models with the six lights underneath the timer.

Higher end VMW models like the MVW6230HW or its Whirlpool equivalents were known for control board issues in the past where the drain pump would come on in the middle of load sensing and immediately end the cycle.

Older VMWs, weren’t that bad tho and actually lasted around 5-10 years on avergae if they were maintained properly, but they weren’t as good as the direct drive in any way.

The older VMAX models seem to be prone for bearing failures in the gearcase, and the newest VMAX machines seem to be notorious for issues with the sliders so not sure if I’d recommend those either, but they are still better than the latest VMWs. The older VMAX units weren’t that bad for the most part but were notorious for bearing issues.

 

[johnb300m]

Interesting babbling brook of “consciousness.”

 

[daveamkrayoguy]

When their washers stopped looking just like these:

-- Dave

 

[qsd-dan]

The very beginnings of GE's fall was probably when Jack Welch became CEO in 1981. The last generation Filter Flo washers were claimed to be very cheaply built. I don't have first hand experience with that statement.

 

[carolina128]

“ The very beginnings of GE's fall was probably when Jack Welch became CEO in 1981.”

With the possible exception of their jet engine business, this pretty much sums up where GE (insert business line here) started to go wrong.

 

[Chetlaham]

Whirlpool862: I fully agree. As much as I don't like GE's modern platform, it is slightly better than the model T and Hydrowave platform which was awful to horrific. Straight vane model Ts had relatively poor turn over during wash. Clothes near the agitator would get pilled, shredded and torn while clothes facing the wash basket would just about sit there with the tub jiggling around them. The cruelest thing of all was when GE placed the words "delicate" on their single speed washer Permanent Press cycles. And had the gall to compliment it by actually making the rinse agitation LONGER  than the Cottons cycle agitation. I think this was done to compensate for their two speed models that actually went to slow speed on permanent press, however if you're going to go through the trouble of having a separate timer also change your sequence.

 

 

Gag, swallow.

 

 

 

 



 

 

As much as I have a liking for single speed models, be truthful and just change the dial to read "casuals" or "light soil" like you had to do anyway 6 years down the road when the inevitable consumer complaints came in.

 

It is small things like this that show either dysfunctionality and incompetence going on behind the scenes or rather judging the well thought out proportional elegance of the dial the deliberate redefining of words behind the scenes to boost sales. Words only meant to gain consumer buying compliance rather conveying honest integrity. Sanitized under the words of "consumer motivation" I am sure to absolve the minds of those lying in the name of profit.  

 

 

 

 

The cork screw DAs were better but still not Whirlpool. GE latter added ribs to the wash basket which I think actually helped cleaning LOL. Before GE discontinued their transmission models, they reduced the number of vanes and brashness on their straight van agitators. The Hydrowaves were more delicate yes, but glorified power soakers when it came to large loads. The reliability and durability issues were still there over-all despite getting rid of the failure prone transmission. 

 

Of course once consumer word gets around, new models pop up appearing to resolve what issues the older models had.  

 

 

And yes I see it to, unlike the 90s and 2000s, modern high end GE washers actually perform worse than their BOL models. 

 

Despite all the ugly history I never imagined Whirlpool would fall below GE yet here we are.

 

[gelaundry4ever]

high end GE

What about selecting deep rinse for fabric softener? I think it would fill then. What is their drive system like?

 

[whirlpool862]

The newer GE’s seem to be similar to Whirlpool’s VMW machine in many ways, not necessarily better or worse than the Whirlpools.

Many GE’s also have the DAA agitators while only a limited selection of Whirlpools do, and they seem to be less susceptible of problems.

The newer Whirlpool VMW and VMAX machines are not very reliable.

 

[combo52]

Reliability of newer, top, washer, designs

Hi Dan in your post number six you have a lot of information and a lot of generalizations. How do you come by all this information?

I would certainly dispute your claim that whirlpool laundry products are currently unreliable. We are a whirlpool dealer and we also work with a major whirlpool distributor we are not seeing many problems in the first few years with these machines curious where this information comes from.

John L

 

[panasonicvac]

Filter-Flo vs Model T

Had both before, and I can honestly say I prefer the Model T over the FF. I did thought the FF was a good machine, but I will say though they have design flaws that makes me choose the Model T over it. As for the T washers being unreliable and terrible, mine never had any issues from what I recall and washed just as good as my Kenmore 90 Series as long it wasn't overloaded. In fact my cousin's WBSE3120B1WW washer and DBXR463EB0WW dryer from 2002 are still going strong, that's my all time favorite GE set. If GE ever brought back the Model T (doubt it), I'd certainly buy one over a Speed Queen classic.

 

[gelaundry4ever]

filter-flo and model T

I have had both before as well, and they have done the job although the model T felt cheap. Both could clean about anything from under the sun.

 

[whirlpool862]

The Whirlpool appliances made before 2020 or so seemed quite reliable if maintained properly, I’ve had my Whirlpool washer and dryer set for 11 years, the dryer never had any issues and the washing machine just recently developed a loud bearing. Never had issues with them in the past.

I have a Whirlpool WTW4900BW0 top load washer and its matching WED4850BW0 electric dryer, manufactured in 2014 and has been very reliable. I bought this set in 2014 and they are 2014 models based on their serial numbers (washer made on 9th week of 2014, dryer made on 4th week of 2014). Didn’t know serial numbers determined the age of the washer until I’ve looked up Whirlpool date codes.

My sister has a Whirlpool WTW4816FW1 washer, her washer also had the bearings recently go out but hers I believe it’s a 2017 but can’t remember the serial number of it.

My brother’s Whirlpool WTW4800XQ4 washer is a 2013 model (made on 11th week due to serial number) and he had to change the suspension rods on it a few years ago and the bearings have now went out in it so it’s pretty loud when it spins.

My Whirlpool kitchen appliances have also been pretty reliable, I don’t hate Whirlpool. Their direct drive machines and even their older VMW or VMAX machines weren’t bad if taken care of properly.

The older floating tub units (like the older Whirlpool Cabrios, Maytag Bravos, or some Kenmore branded units) were pretty decent but the bearing failed on those all the time. The VMAX machines seem to also be prone to bearing issues.

I’m talking about the really new Whirlpool appliances made in 2020 and beyond with the reliability issues. All the models with the six lights underneath manufactured in 2023 to early 2025 have a massive control bleed problem where the washer will just continuously run the drain pump and throw an F3E1 error code.

If you maintain your older VMW or VMAX machine properly, you can easily get 10 years out of it.

 

[mark_wpduet]

To be clear... is this control board issue I keep hearing about that's really bad strictly related to the TOP loaders with the six lights on the bottom... or is it their FL washers too?

About GE... I remember those washers I guess they are called the T models? I didn't know that. They were REALLY popular back in the day. They must have been bargain washers/dryers (I think they were) But even anything bargain back then was still really good. Would you believe I've never EVER used a GE washer other than ONE time at a brief stay at a friends house. I think it was a filter flow. This house was a disaster.. total chaos... they had the washer/dryer in the garage and laundry piled up in the garage floor like you would NOT believe. There was NO putting a dent in any of it. I'm not sure what the deal was with that.... but it was a GE washer that had that lint basket thing that fit onto the agitator... I remember NOT liking it at all. But I was very young and more amazed by my grandma's Kenmore...so I was kind of snubbing the GE in my mind.... I didn't realize at that time what great machines they were. I think part of it was the fact that you had this nice GE washer and dryer in a surrounded by total chaos... so my mind was thinking this is a trash washer, equating it with its surroundings.