Whirlpool Dishwashers Improperly-Oriented Seal and Leakage Pennsylvania Class Action

Whirlpool makes dishwashers under a number of brands: Whirlpool, KitchenAid, JennAir, Maytag, and Kenmore. The complaint for this class action alleges that certain Whirlpool dishwashers are made with an improperly-installed seal that can deteriorate and leak and cause damage to cabinetry, flooring, and other property.

The class for this action is all persons in the state of Pennsylvania who own or owned a Whirlpool-manufactured dishwasher with an inverted diverter shaft seal.

The Whirlpool washers in question include more than 900 models, including the following:
Whirlpool Gold® and Whirlpool Models beginning with BLB14DR, IUD750, IUD850, WDF5, WDF7, WDL785, WDT7, WDT9, WDTA5, and WDTA7
JennAir Models beginning with JDB8, JDB9, and JDTSS2; Kenmore Models beginning with 662.13, 665.12, 665.13, 665.14, and 665.15
KitchenAid Models beginning with KDFE1, KDFE2, KDFE3, KDFE4, KDTE1, KDTE2, KDTE3, KDTE4, KDTE5, KDTE7, KDHE4, KDHE7, KDTM3, KUDE2, KUDE4, KUDE5, KUDE6, KUDE7, KUDL, KDPE2, and KDPE3
Maytag Models beginning with JDB8

The dishwashers are marketed as high-quality products, with the Whirlpool website quoted in the complaint as saying, “No One Has Fewer Repairs 18 Years in a Row.”

When plaintiff Amy Larchuk bought her KitchenAid dishwasher in September 2016, she looked for one “that would be long lasting and not required many repairs[,]” the complaint says. She bought one of the machines at issue in this case and paid more than $500 for it. She also paid more than $150 for an extended warranty that is to expire on September 20, 2022.

Unfortunately, the complaint alleges, a pump motor diverter shaft seal in the machines at issue is “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.”

Because the seal cannot seal off water between the diverter shaft and pump, the complaint says, the machines “experience significant leakage through the Diverter Shaft Seal, flowing out of the dishwasher” and causing damage to the surroundings.

According to the complaint, sometime around April 2020, Larchuk noticed a small amount of water leaking from the dishwasher. The amount of leakage increased over the months, the complaint alleges, “and water began running to the basement ceiling below the Dishwasher, damaging the ceiling joists.”

When she called Whirlpool, the representative told her that she could not replace the dishwasher under her warranty but could only have a repair. However, the complaint alleges that the repair parts would also have the defect, it would not permanently solve the problem.

The complaint alleges that “Whirlpool has known for at least eight years that the Dishwashers contain one or more design and/or manufacturing defects” including the “defectively designed and manufactured sump assembly with the inversely oriented Diverter Shaft Seal[.]”

The counts include breaches of warranties and breach of contract, among other things.

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