It"s like the Galaxy Note7 fiasco all over again, even if it"s still not over.
Samsung has announced a recall of 2.8 million of its washing machine units after reports of 730 units exploding were recorded, which led to nine injuries, according to the announcement of the Consumer Product Safety Commission in Good Morning America (GMA).
“We’re talking about ... a very serious hazard of the top of these washing machines completely blowing off,” said Elliot Kaye, the chairman of the CPSC. "It is a lot of reports.”
According to him, the top of the faulty units were not secured enough based on a design failure. This causes the washing machines to act up, with the lid completely blowing off.
Unfortunately for Samsung, the recall affects 34 models of the company"s top-loading machines, which were sold from March 2011 to November 2016.
Melissa Thaxton, who owns one of the affected Samsung machines, shared that she narrowly avoided getting a serious injury as her machine started coming apart during the final spin cycle. “All of the sudden, without warning the washing machine just exploded,” she said. “It was the loudest sound. It sounded like a bomb went off in my ear.”
Samsung offered a statement to GMA regarding the new incident. It states:
“Samsung is moving quickly to offer safe and easy choices to consumers impacted by the recall. Our priority is to minimize any safety risk and address the conditions that lead to the rare instance when the top of the washer unexpectedly separates from the unit."
“We apologize for the inconvenience this is creating to our loyal customers. We have worked closely with the CPSC to offer a consumer friendly recall that is safe, easy and complete with choices suited to the needs of anyone who may own a recalled machine. Our service teams are now scheduling visits to consumers’ homes to conduct free repairs and help resolve any concerns they may have.”
For the moment, Samsung is offering a free in-home repair of washing machines, which includes reinforcement of the faulty top, together with a one-year warranty extension. They can also opt for a rebate to be applied towards the purchase of a new washing machine, be it under a Samsung brand or not. Finally, those affected can request a refund, given that they purchased the washing machine within the past 30 days since the recall was made.
You can check out the full list of affected models here.
Just a few months back, the CPSC warned owners of Samsung washing machines that their unit might be dangerous.
All things said, whether or not Samsung can successfully clean up its image after the incidents that have been happening so far will remain to be seen. For now, we suggest to stay away from Samsung machines, with lids that could come flying off and injure people.