Whirlpool Defective Dishwasher Seals Illinois Class Action

Whirlpool makes kitchen and laundry appliances, such as washers and dishwashers, and sells them under different brand names, including Kitchen Aid, JennAir, Maytag, and Kenmore. Its website touts the company as the “industry’s best-selling dishwasher brand.” But the complaint for this class action alleges that the company has been selling dishwashers with a defect seal that causes leakage that damages floors, cabinets, and other items.

The class for this action is all persons in Illinois who own or owned a dishwasher made by Whirlpool with an inverted diverter shaft seal.

The dishwashers at issue include some 900 models, under the Whirlpool, Whirlpool Gold, JennAir, Kenmore, KitchenAid, and Maytag brand names.

The company boasts of the durability of its dishwashers, including, on one website page, the claim, “No One Has Fewer Repairs 18 Years in a Row.”

Unfortunately, the dishwashers at issue “are equipped with a pump motor diverter shaft seal … oriented incorrectly, accelerating degradation of the seal and creating a buildup of debris that prevents the shaft seal spring from properly sealing the diverter shaft and sump.” As a result, the diverter shaft seal does not “seal off water between the diverter shaft and sump,” causing “significant leakage through the Diverter Shaft Seal, flowing out of the dishwasher, damaging cabinetry, flooring, and other property.”

The complaint contains a diagram of the location of the defective seal in relation to the other internal parts.

According to the complaint, the diverter shaft seal’s manufacturer’s instructions ask for the seal “to be affixed in an orientation towards the tub so that there is protection from hot soapy water and debris during cleaning…” However, it claims, Whirlpool has caused the seals to be put on “in an inverted position, which exposes it to hot soapy water and debris. As the debris builds and the seal degrades, water begins to leak between the sump and the tub, eventually leaking through the entire unit and onto floors and inside cabinetry.”

Whirlpool’s warranty on dishwashers is good for one year. Even so, the complaint alleges, “Whirlpool refuses to replace or repair the Dishwashers and instead offers to sell a full sump assembly with a new Diverter Shaft Seal attached to it to the customer.” With installation costs, the complaint claims, this runs around $200, which is too large a proportion of the cost of the entire dishwasher, it says.

The counts include breaches of warranties and breach of contract, as well as violations of the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Trade Practices Act, among other things.

Article Type: Lawsuit
Topic: Consumer
Tags: Defective Home Appliance, Dishwasher, Leakage