Other People's Experiences with Amana or Maytag
Appliances and Service
My own personal review of Amana (Maytag) refrigerator is here. What follows is from my inbox on other people's experiences with either Amana or Maytag appliances (they're the same company). They are listed by date for each email and people's names have been removed to protect their privacy.
April 24, 2006
I purchased an MAYTAG Fridge in Jan. 2001. The SEARS Inc; Brought it out, DROPPED IT!! Out of their truck, Took box off, and left it there on our stoop, in the RAIN!! Said they were NOT allowed to carry it up flights of stairs....? I was living with my elderly mother at the time. And I tell you we waited for hours to gather some men up to help us inside with it!!
After all that trouble, I had called SEARS and told them what their Delivery People had done, they PROMISED to give me an 10% off of the $1200.00 I had paid for it. I did not see that 10% off EVER!! In fact, they had me paying someone else's SEARS CARD for months!! I finally got it thru their thick heads, and it was SUPPOSEDLY FIXED........
The Ice Make Died twice!! The Freezer Died several times!! The Fridge Died several Times!! The last straw was when it nearly burned down our home!! It now sits in my brother's basement/garage.
I have been paying on this piece of crap for SIX YEARS!! I had it with CARE ONE Debt. Consdation Corp; For nearly 3 Yrs. the BAL. NEVER WENT DOWN!! JUST UP, AND UP, AND UP!! Then I noticed that I had been YET AGAIN paying on someone Else's SEARS CARD!! So I yanked it from MY CARE ONE, I had Two Cards, Ea; had the SAME ACCOUNT NUMBER ON THEM. They pulled that
$1400.00 off of the one I Yanked, and put it on the other card??!! So I yanked that one from CARE ONE. Now all I've been getting is harassing Phone Calls.
I will NEVER, NEVER, EVER BUY ANYTHING FROM SEARS INC; OR MAYTAG FOR AS LONG AS I LIVE, EVEN IF THEY WERE THE ONLY STORE LEFT ON EARTH!!!! I WOULD RATHER DIE!! THIEVING SOBS!!
March 3, 2006
Oh well, I guess growing up in the US Maytag meant quality.
Since buying a Maytag refrigerator in 2001 we have had (i) replace broken compressor & fan in August 2004 - under warranty however the house call (we live in the country) was $100 and the labor was another $100!
Now in early March 2006 we are about to go through the same process.
We strongly recommend to anyone who is thinking of buying Maytag - you are thinking about the "old Maytag" - the new Maytag features low quality, low service, high prices.
Finally the next time it breaks we will buy a German brand - we are totally disgusted with American companies. We have switched to Toyota after our experience with crummy Ford and GM cars.
Unfortunately we still have to deal with US phone companies.
February 22, 2006
Its nice to hear about your Maytag story and mine only gets worse and this is 4 years later than your experience. I unfortunately bought a front load washer that Maytag admits was poorly designed, prone to failures as a class action suit was filed against them and the court decided in the customers favour. Only Maytag has not stood by the lawsuit in my case and many complaints have been coming in from customers to Crawford claims administrator here in Canada. Maytag still has the rude and abnoxious service people. So here is my story that hopefully you will post on your website. Jan23 the machine stops working and I call Maytag. Anything settlement related has to go thru the claims administrator. So off the phone with them and on to the claims administrator. Have to fill out forms and then they pass it on to Maytag and Maytag then calls to say that its authorized and a service man will be out. He comes out and talks to the technician at Maytag who says it's the motor and control board. Waterloo appliance repairman doesn't have the part and it takes a week before he gets the motor. Another day off work 1 week later the motor and board are replaced and the machine still doesn't work. Calls the Maytag technician and he know says it's the door latch locking mechanism. Waterloo Appliance repair man doesn't have the part takes another week to order it and schedule another service call. So its up to 3 weeks now without a washer, clothes are getting dirty so family is not looking to pretty and the wife is not happy. Waterloo Appliance man comes in replaces the door latch still the machine doesn't work. So he calls the Maytag technician and he says the problem is back to the motor and control board must be defective. So you guessed it takes another week to order another motor and control board.
Now the story gets real interesting. Waterloo Appliance says they will not come and replace the motor until Maytag pays for the door latch assembly. I have taken time off work again and now they say they are not coming. I am furious and have to call Maytag to resolve the issue. Maytag says the latch is not covered under the settlement agreement but I tell them the latch did not fix the machine so it was the fault of the Maytag technician that did the false diagnostics. So here I am with out a Maytag washing machine Maytag refusing to repair it and the repairman refusing to come to my house to fix the machine.
I sure wouldn't want to be a Maytag stockholder right now and for that matter a Whirlpool stockholder when they finally take the lousy company over. Like you they have lost another customer and the future customers of my children as they are wearing dirty clothes with a sign on them that Maytag won't fix my washer.
February 18, 2006
Thanks sooooooooooooooooooooo much for the warning about the quality and service of the Maytag refrigerators. I was considering buying one of the new French door type with the ice maker in the door for over $2,000. Now I will wait until another manufacturer puts one out.
I purchased a Maytag washer and dryer about 5 years ago and they are GREAT! Maybe they should have stayed with the washers and dryers.
I guess the "lonely repairman" got just too lonely and the company decided to create business for him by producing inferior appliances.
February 14, 2006
Paid close to $1000 for a model number MAH3000 Neptune Washer about 5 years ago thinking that it would last a lifetime.
Every other year, the same thing, wax motor and controller failure. It costs about $275 to replace both.
The mold is still there after the so called "fix" with a new PHA Kit installation.
So, they just went bad again. I am taking the machine to Goodwill (probably not doing anyone a favor) and putting a note on it reading take at your own risk. Them I am getting in my Pickup and traveling to Sears to purchase a new Kenmore.
No more Maytag's for this family.
Maytag should be ashamed.
February 2, 2006
I have a $5,000+ dollar KitchenAid Refrigerator (serviced by Maytag) which we purshased in 2003. About 6 months later the compressor had to be replaced, I went for the entire month of July without refrigeration & FIGHTING with Maytag to get their service people to fix it. 4 weeks ago the refrigerator broke again (it froze everything) and we went another 4 weeks without !! We just could not get Maytag's service people to do anything. We finally called our own repair man and paid for it ourselves. My friend has a Maytag refrigerator and her's wouldn't keep her food cold enough. Since Christmas she has been fighting with Maytag. Her husband finally got parts and fixed it himself.
January 31, 2006
I just wanted to let you know that I also have a problem with Maytag's lack of quality. I bought a gas range on March 28,2001. I was cooking chicken today and it shut off and gave me a F1 fault code. I called the local dealer where I bought it and was told it was the controller. I was told it probably wasn't worth fixing due to the cost of the parts and labor(250 parts and 160 labor). I called Maytag and filed a complaint but they said "sorry we can't help". I hope the word gets out and people stop buying their overpriced junk. I know it is out of warranty but I was just looking for some help with the repair. Thanks for listening.
January 19, 2006
The compressor on my Amana is also malfunctioning. I can get an appointment
two weeks from now but if I want to be squeezed in tomorrow, I can pay an
extra $30 and wait all day for them to come. Like that? Of course, they are
going to diagnose the problem first for a fee of $143 but it could be more
depending on the problem and how long it will take to fix it.
I don't think I'm going to buy an expensive $1100 refrigerator if it's not
going to last but 5 years.
January 18, 2006
I just recently had a similar ordeal with my "Whirlpool" dishwasher.
When I read your comments it brought back horrible flashbacks of what I
had to go through with Whirlpool to get my 14 month old $1000 dishwasher
repaired. My dishwasher was repaired 3 times and because I did not get
the extended warranty on it, I was not covered under the "lemon" clause
and they would not exchange it for a new one. Personally, I would
never, never buy any whirlpool appliance either. They definitely are
rude and do not stand behind their products.
July 16, 2005
Thanks for the heads-up. I was just signed up to take one final look (on the Maytag website) at the fridge I was going to buy today, when I came across your website. I absolutely will not buy a Maytag or Amana now.
"Consumers Reports" ratings also indicate a high rate of repair. The rating didn't bother me that much because I believed they were a big company and would stand by their product. After reading your website, I am appalled. I hope the CEO and stockholders are aware of your site and the impact their poor service is having on future sales.
Thanks a lot! - Lee N.
July 7, 2005
my 1997 Amana side by side refrigerator recently failed. The Sears
technician that came out to diagnose the problem said the failure (sealed
refrigeration system leaking somewhere) had occurred due to the sealed
refrigeration system being exposed to sulfur gases present in the house.
When I inquired where the sulphur gase was coming from, he said it was
coming from the well water which we use to irrigate the lawns here in
central Florida. He said that because of the thin wall copper tubing and
the silver solder that the manufactures were using, they are seeing many
failure of these systems in this part of Florida. Oh by the way, he quoted
me a bill of $700.00 to repair the refrigerator. Of course I declined to
have it repaired since the warranty on the repair was only good for 90
days. What a de stressing situation. I too can join you in assuring
Amana/Maytag that I will never purchase another one of their products.
Period. Whirlpool for me.
Thanks - Jerry J.
July 1, 2005
Enjoyed to here that we are not the only ones that will never purchase another Maytag product if avoidable (never say never). Our regrigerator is 14 months old. After numerous problems with the icemaker, a serviceman came out to fix it. Wanted to charge us although it was under warranty. It broke again one month after the warranty was up. That ran us over $200.00 for a new moter. Here it is, less than 6 weeks later and it is broke agian.
I just love the workmanship, quality and willingness to give help that this wonderful country of ours is so willing to give.
Thanks for letting me sound off. Best of Luck to you !!!
July 1, 2005
I bought on sale a Kenmore bottom mount refigerator back in February 2004 and paid $1200.00 on sale. That frig has a Maytag compressor (which I just found out) since my just a little over year old frig completely died. I have been living in my condo for over a week with 2 coolers trying to preserve what food I could and basically lost everything else. When I called for service over a week ago, the first appointment available was July 2nd but since the temperature kept dropping and my food was defrosting, I knew it was bad so called the next day to say it was now an emergency as I had no temperature at all and all the food was deforsting. They said they only considered it an emergency if, "I had a medical condition that required medication to be kept in the refrigerator". Needless to say I was so angry and frustrated that I continued to call every day trying to get someone out to fix the frig. Finally, almost a week later, they sent someone and never bothered calling me at the number I had listed for my office but called at my home to say a repair person was coming that day to check the frig. Of course, I was not there but at work so I missed that day altogether. Now I am not only frustrated that a year old frig would die and the service so horrible but now was upset because of their stuupidity. FINALLY!.. Someone came the next morning and within five minutes said I needed a new compressor. I was totally shocked to think that a frig that was only 1 year old needed a compressor. When I made that comment to the repair guy his answer was, "well, it's an electrical part and only has a certain life span", to which I said BS!!!!! I told him for that, they should just give me a new frig. They will be installing a new compressor which came from Maytag on July 2nd and I am seriously concerned that this new compressor will die in another year and I'll have to go through this again. Can anyone provide me with information as to why these are such inferior products. I am very tempted to get it fixed and sell it.
Sue G.
June 19, 2005
I agree with you on Maytag appliances. I purchased a side-by-side fridge in 2000 for $1244.82. About 4 months later the ice maker quit working. What was happening was that the ¾ inch filler hose was freezing and not allowing the trays to fill. After 3 repair calls, the repairman (same company that sold me the appliance) came out with a new hose that had a 1/8 inch slit about 2 inches long on the top of the hose. This was the engineering fix from Matag, as this particular unit had an apparent design flaw. The engineering solution from Maytag didn;t work either, however, I found that if I periodically reached into the freezer and bent the hose back and forth, the ice-making would resume for a while.
About a year ago, it started flowing water out of the slit and into the bottom of the freezer. This was an occasional problem, and not worth a $100 service call.
Last week, after an evening out, we came home to the strong smell of wiring burning. Our through-the-door ice machine was in the process of igniting. I unplugged the unit and found that the motor behind the plastic control plate had shorted out and had (and was continuing to) melted the plastic and wiring in the unit. I suspect if we had arrived home much later, there could easily have been a fire.
Maytag probably should stick to washing machines, although, I won't be buying anything with a Maytag name on it in the future.
Larry M.
June 10, 2005
Maytag service: to be avoided
Avoid using Maytag service (800-462-9824). Find someone else. Maytag Service is a disservice to a great brand product. Here's what happened to me.
My Amana refrig had some problems. Maytag's number came up when I went to the Amana manual and website.
I scheduled for June 1, but was told I would have to pay a $30 kicker for overtime, expecting the guy to show up, say, after 5 PM.
June 1, 2005: The technician showed up at 3 PM. At first the technician did not want to work on the refrig because he couldn't pull it out far enough: the ice line might break and flood the floor. He was going to leave. I wasn't concerned about the broken icemaker, so I went outside to turn off the water source to the ice line. I asked him for a wrench, which he refused to do. I went to my garage and got a wrench.
The tech proceeded to work, quickly deciding the thermostat and fan needed replacement. He did not look under the frig. We talked about the door gasket, but he wasn't firm that it needed replacement, so I did not authorize it. He then wrote up the parts order and ran my card. "Whoops," he said, "I charged you $100 too much. I can't rerun it. You need to call back and get Accounts Receivable to refund the $100." He said the parts would cost $100 but he/they wouldn't charge for that until they were installed.
I called and was told A/R would confirm the refund. As of June 9th, they still haven't done that.
June 3: The second tech came out. I was at work. He called to say the fan and thermostat were not the problem; the door gasket was the issue. As far as I know, he did not look under the frig. He couldn't understand why the Tech #1 thought otherwise. But Tech #2 then said he couldn't come back to replace the gasket until June 18. In the interim, we were spending $20 per day on dry ice to keep things stable.
June 6: I called the number to complain about the discrepancy between the two techs' diagnostics. I reminded them about the $100 overcharge. I was told, no, the $100 was for parts. I told them that tech #1 said parts are not charged until installation. I spoke with two supervisors, explaining how frustrating the overcharge, misdiagnosis, and dry ice expenses were. They refused to offer any discount. I then told them I would put this report on www.complaints.com and that such bad publicity to the Maytag brand was far more expensive than crediting me for the service and/or the dry ice expense resulting from misdiagnosis. Suddenly, during these chats, they discovered the gasket was available for install on June 8.
June 8: Tech #3 arrived shapely at 7 AM. The first thing this tech did was to check under the frig. "Well, here's a big problem." He then proceeded to brush out nearly a bushel of thick dust he said was clogging the functions of the parts under the frig. He replaced the gasket and installed a thermostat because it was still on the order (although the fan somehow was, properly, deleted from the parts order).
The refrig seems ok now, but this process lasted two weeks. If I were a VP of Marketing for Maytag Service, I would have refunded the install charge to avoid this appearing on Complaints.com. But the supervisors, oddly, could not compute that issue and didn't care to solve the problem.
I'm still waiting for the credit on the overcharge.
Roger P.
May 19, 2005
I cannot thank you enough for posting your experience with Maytag/Amana
along with other customers. We are getting ready to purchase all new
appliances for our kitchen and I was prepared to buy all Maytag.
A young salesperson in the local HomeDepot told me Maytag is now produced in
Korea and the quality has gone down so much they do not even put Maytag on
the floor. They have had repeated new refrigerators delivered and when the
delivery guy plugs them into the wall, the unit fails. I thought he was
just trying to sell me on a Kenmore or Whirlpool. So in checking consumer
reports and online reviews.. (your site is the best) I won't come anywhere
near Maytag!
What a rip off. The salesperson also said Maytag was living off their past
life reputation...not good enough today. Maytag will probably go under
because of all the bad reviews. You did a great job.
Thanks!
- Val B.
May 16, 2005
Thanks for the write-up on your refrigerator from Amana-Maytag.
I was considering buying an Amana from Sears today but as a
result of your letter I will not buy it.
It was Model number 80503 15 cu ft for $580.
Thanks again for sharing your experience.
Regards Jim H.
PS: I was told by a friend who had his refrigerator repairman
tell him that Whirlpool has a compressor that is still manufacture
in the U.S.
I have not had a chance to verify that as of yet since I can't find
a salesman who knows what compressor is in the refrigerator he is
trying to sell, or much more were it is manufactured.
March 29, 2005
Last Wednesday, the Maytag repairman came to fix the automatic ice cube maker on our Amana 15 year old refrig/freezer –He came out and determined that it needed water valve. He turned off the freezer and unknown to me he never turned it back on-(this turns off frig/freezer completely)-I left to go out of town after he left, and husband came home and said everything in frig/freezer was room temp and had to be thrown out-When he came back this AM to replace valve, I asked him about it and he said he couldn’t recall if he had turned it off or not-that he goes too many places to recall each one. Then he said he would have to turn water off to frig to replace valve-He couldn’t find where to turn off on water heater, so I had to unpack everything out of hall closet so he could go down in crawl space to see if there was something down there-after I got everything packed out, he couldn’t figure out how to get down there and get back out, so I had to pack everything back in closet-so he turned off water to whole house-but there was still water that came out back of frig, so there is now a huge mess-why didn’t I just go out and buy a couple of ice cube trays and forget it-this is costing me 150$ incl part and all the groceries that had been in unit. I am not happy-do you know who I contact to voice my concerns (even tho from your website it doesn’t appear that anyone gets any satisifaction)-I worked in cust. Svc. For 30 yrs with IBM Corp. so I know how to get things done. And I am persisitent as day is long.
- Lou M.
March 2, 2005
I have a three year old Maytag stove that has an electric igniter instead of a pilot light. I
don't know whose brilliant idea this was, but it just does not work. Every year I have had
to have this igniter replaced without fail. Again this year I have to have it replaced. That is
four igniters for the stove that "needs no repairman ". What is this company putting over on
the American public? and why do we put up with it? they should not be allowed to bilk the
public anymore. The store I bought the stove from said that he is not going to pay for the
repairs ($90.00) each time. That is $360 for a stove I paid $500. I want the BBB to look into this farce of a company and Ralph Nader as well. Someone should protect the public from these rip offs. I am going to write Maytag and see if I get any results from them. Maybe
they had a recall or something. This is not the American way. A company should stant behind its product or go out of business.
February 26, 2005
Thank you for taking the time to write your informative e-mail. I purchased a Maytag washer and dryer about 2 years ago, so far no problems, hope it stays that way. I was trying to decide whether to by a Maytag or Whirlpool refrigerator and decided to do some internet research. Still not sure what I will end up purchasing. I wasn’t aware that Maytag sold under the Amana name. That is also helpful.
- Patty S.
January 21, 2005
One year old Maytag refrigerator just expired two days after one year warranty passed. Have no way to get any service from them. It was a gift from grown children last year. To echo the previous sentiments, no more maytag. I thought the untimely passing of the 4 year old amana washer was a fluke.
Sadder but wiser in VA
- Lauret R.
January 3, 2005
I am so glad I am not the only one with the Maytag from hell! My refrigerator decided to dispense water on its own in July. Luckily we were home and could disconnect it. They tried 2 times in July to fix it without success. Then they said they would contact the company and get back to me. In NOVEMBER I called them back and asked if they had forgotten about me and my frig. They had. They came back out in December and tried to fix it, to no avail. Said it needed another part also. Finally on December 21 they came and replaced 2 parts and said it was fixed. Dummy me believed them. On January 1, we went to visit our son who lives 2 hours away. Four hours after we left, our daughter came down to borrow something. Imagine her surprise when she stepped in 3 inches of water on our carpets. It seems the frig decided to dispense water when no one was around to find it. Our lower level is our family room and the water [over 100 gallons we extracted] ran through the water line hole in the floor down to the room
below. The ceiling collasped, and my carpet in two rooms was drenched. I just got done talking to Maytag, they offered to fix the frig again. I told them no thanks, if that is what happens when you fix it. I would rather have it broke!
I told them I wanted them to repair the damage it caused and the lady told me she would send in a request and I would get a letter in 7 to 10 days from someone. Fat chance. The company that sold us the frig [Ralph's Maytag in Tiffin, OH] was no help either. He told us that if it is any consolation Amana and Maytag are now together and they are a better co. That makes the thousands of dollars worth of damage seem so much better!!!! My insurance agent [Ed Hanley, State Farm] has been a godsend. He is doing all he can to help us out. Sad part is, I don't feel our insurance should have to pay for a Maytag problem. The computer board that is causing the problem is a known problem for Maytag. Our repair tech said this morning that they have had a lot of problems with these.
So, if you have a Maytag frig with ice and water dispenser in the door, watch out, they like to run when ever they want!!!!!
-Sandy G.
