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Samsung's appliances have a pretty bad reputation in general, especially the refrigerators and side loading washing machines.

geomark 5y ago
Not around here. TVs, fridge and a/c throughout the house working without issue for more than 10 years so far. A couple of Samsung mobile phones as well that kept going until they were so old they could not receive updates.
nicolas_t 5y ago
Anecdotal but I've had very good experience with Samsung front loading washing machine, might depend on regions of the world though, I've had one in Asia and one in Europe.
- Unklejoe 5y ago
  That's crazy because I've had terrible experience with Samsung front loader washing machines. I own a few rental properties, so I tend to go through appliances a lot and I've had more Samsung washers and dryers fail than anything else. The dryers are the worst. They use a plastic tensioner pulley for the belt, but the pulley doesn't have a bearing...it just rides on a metal sleeve. This eventually wears out and causes the belt to fly off. The washers have this issue I think due to incompatible metals (aluminum mounting to the stainless drum maybe) that causes them to break after about 5 years.
  - rootusrootus 5y ago
    > This eventually wears out and causes the belt to fly off. On my dryer it took less than a year before it tossed the belt.
- pcurve 5y ago
  Seems like LG makes better appliance than Samsung in general... but I guess mileage varies between model and customer.
  - lotsofpulp 5y ago
    Samsung and LG are so big that I would not expect to be able to make an objective statement on either's quality relative to another, not even for a specific product line, much less company wide.
    - lostlogin 5y ago
      Doesn’t a larger sample size reduce the noise?
      - mattmcknight 5y ago
        I think the issue is that both companies make very cheap and very expensive products in various places around the globe. So, we could be reading series of negative comments from people that got an inexpensive model made in Mexico versus people that got an expensive one made in Korea, or something like that.
        pcurve 5y ago
        that's a good point regarding price points... but I didn't realize the price went up to $8000 for a fridge. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEDxRY4xcCI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEDxRY4xcCI Life is Good indeed.
- jdavis703 5y ago
  My experience has been fine after I learned that ankle socks and masks will cause the machine to jam. Now I just hand wash small items and the machine works perfectly /sarcasm> Edit: I’m getting downvoted. Is this a well known thing not to wash small items? (I’ve been using washing machines for 20 years, without a problem until this one.)
  - SECProto 5y ago
    > Is this a well known thing not to wash small items Front loaders specifically - though usually to protect the objects being washed, not the machine itself. The joint around the door tends to pinch small objects. I put masks in a mesh bag meant for washing "delicates"
- rootusrootus 5y ago
  My Samsung front-loader failed the first time in less than a year. Right after that, the Samsung dryer I bought with it also failed. My Samsung refrigerator had the display fail after two years, and the replacement display started failing in a month. I no longer bother buying replacement displays because everyone else agrees they never last more than a few months. No more Samsung appliances for me, ever. And CR's credibility took a major hit in my eyes because I bought the washer & dryer on their recommendation, even after I already knew that Samsung refrigerators were garbage.
- hellbannedguy 5y ago
  Try to stay away from pricy Bosh washers, and dishwashers. I can offer this with a Bosh. If you get a E13 error it's the pump. It's a pretty easy fix. You can get a generic pump for $50. Most disguarded Bosh washers are due to a pump. The computer is second on the list. It's not worth fixing if it's the board. I've been meaning to put a fan on my washer's computer board. There us definitely room in there for a computer fan.
  - caf 5y ago
    Frequently with an E13 it's just an item stuck in the pump outlet plumbing.
  - Clampower 5y ago
    It’s Bosch fyi
- rodgerd 5y ago
  Australia had a spate of house fires caused by Samsung washing machines whose electronics weren't properly waterproofed, shorted, and then burned. I have avoided Samsung products since then.
  - exporectomy 5y ago
    Trouble with this way of deciding is that it's biased by the number of individual products a brand has. Samsung has a lot so they're exposed to more risk of some bad ones even if they're safer on average than their competitors. You used to see this with car brands back when everybody worried about reliability. Somebody would hear a bad story and go round saying "Don't buy BMWs because their fuel injectors fail". Fortunately, most people have goldfish memory, so people still buy Ford cars despite the Ford Pinto's fuel tank fires and they still buy Toyota despite the Prius's uncontrolled acceleration or whatever.
ezconnect 5y ago
I had a Samsung front loader and it's a great washer.
- swayvil 5y ago
  Was it the one that sings a Schubert tune every time the wash is done? That cracks me up.
  - ezconnect 5y ago
    It's a Korean version, I am not familiar with the tune it was playing.
rangerelf 5y ago
Never again will I buy anything Samsung. They have steadfastly refused to fix my fridge's ice maker even though they have admitted it's a design fault, and retailers will not take it back as faulty because the ice maker is not considered vital to the functioning of the refrigerator in general.
- jandrese 5y ago
  Ice makers are notoriously flimsy. Serious race to the bottom by the manufacturers. The good news is that they're easy to replace (undo a couple of bolts and unplug a cable and they usually come right out), bad news is the replacements are ridiculously expensive, like $100 each and come with all of the same design flaws the original had. There is also surprisingly little standardization which makes the replacements even more expensive as there are hundreds of mostly but not quite compatible models to stock and you have to be very careful when ordering replacements.
  - dec0dedab0de 5y ago
    I have never heard about anyone having trouble with an ice maker until I read this. My ice maker has been working fine for over 15 years. My mother's ice maker has been working fine for about 25 years.
    - jandrese 5y ago
      You have old ones from before the manufacturers stopped caring. It seems like ones made in the past 5 years have gone precipitously downhill, especially the GE ones.
    - Johnny555 5y ago
      The Icemaker in my Frigidaire refrigerator has never worked since I bought the house, the problem is that the coils keep freezing over (the icemaker is in the refrigerator compartment so has its own freezer coil to make it cold) I spent a weekend pulling it out, thawing everything out, and then replacing the defroster coil, thinking that would fix it. It didn't -- it worked for about a week afterwards until freezing over again.
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
Fire-Dragon-DoL 5y ago
We bought a 1.5k refrigerator which died after 2 years (warranty expires exactly at that time in Europe). We had extended repair, it died again after another year. Never again!
- pbhjpbhj 5y ago
  Worth noting that in UK under the Consumer Rights Act there is no specific time limit for poor engineering causing a problem that the _seller_ must fix. The limitation is 2 years or how long I've would normally expect such a product to last. A fridge should easily last a decade and so in theory there's a 10 year "warranty" period. The seller can have things repaired, replace them, or offer a refund (refunds can be reduced to account for the use you did get from the product). We need to use legislation and taxation to push for every longer-lived appliances.
  - softveda 5y ago
    Same in Australia
vjust 5y ago
I had heard of exploding Samsung laundry machines. And the house I bought has one. I dread the day it decides to do its thing. https://money.cnn.com/2016/11/04/news/companies/samsung-exploding-washing-machines/index.html https://money.cnn.com/2016/11/04/news/companies/samsung-expl...
com2kid 5y ago
Front loading washing machines just seem like an all around more fragile design that is also less usable. I have an HE top loader. It uses just as little water, but it can wash a lot more clothes when needed. I can push a button and it stops being HE and can fill its tub up to wash blankets and comforters. Also front loaders just can't clean synthetic fabrics that water beads off of. I've seen fabrics come out of a front loader almost completely dry because the tiny bit of water that is used can't even penetrate the outer layer of fabric. Mostly my Ikea comforters, I put one in a front loader I used to have and after a complete wash cycle it wasn't even damp, and it was still very dirty. Finally, front loaders are mechanically more complex. For one, if that seal fails, well, it leaks. The simplicity of a Top loaders means they can last longer, and in the very least top loaders don't get all gunked up around the door seal. I have seen so many front loaders that smell awful because no one ever cleans the crud out of the seal, ick! Aside from space savings, I really don't get the point of a front loader at all. Maybe the tumbling action is better at some types of cleaning?
- kevin_thibedeau 5y ago
  The spin cycle dries synthetics to near dry if the machine is lightly loaded. Works the same on top loaders.
- bradstewart 5y ago
  My wife says front loaders are more gentle, so do less damage to delicate clothes. Maybe due to the lack of the central agitator (do new top loaders still have that)? The big reason I prefer them though: I can put a counter top above them for folding laundry and things. They are an absolute pain in the ass to keep clean and odor free though.
  - com2kid 5y ago
    Higher end top loaders don't have the giant doom spiral in the middle that rips fabrics apart. :)
- dragonwriter 5y ago
  > Also front loaders just can't clean synthetic fabrics that water beads off of. None of the front loaders I’ve used has had a problem with that. Are you sure the one data point you apparently have experience with wasn't just an older and/or relatively low-quality front-loader? > Aside from space savings, I really don't get the point of a front loader at all. They are easier to get stuff out of than a top loader of similar size, particularly for larger ones. I’ve also never seen a top loader with a steam cycle, though I guess its possible they exist.
dredmorbius 5y ago
You can add stoves to that list.

geomark 5y ago

Not around here. TVs, fridge and a/c throughout the house working without issue for more than 10 years so far. A couple of Samsung mobile phones as well that kept going until they were so old they could not receive updates.

nicolas_t 5y ago

Anecdotal but I've had very good experience with Samsung front loading washing machine, might depend on regions of the world though, I've had one in Asia and one in Europe.

Unklejoe 5y ago
That's crazy because I've had terrible experience with Samsung front loader washing machines. I own a few rental properties, so I tend to go through appliances a lot and I've had more Samsung washers and dryers fail than anything else. The dryers are the worst. They use a plastic tensioner pulley for the belt, but the pulley doesn't have a bearing...it just rides on a metal sleeve. This eventually wears out and causes the belt to fly off. The washers have this issue I think due to incompatible metals (aluminum mounting to the stainless drum maybe) that causes them to break after about 5 years.
- rootusrootus 5y ago
  > This eventually wears out and causes the belt to fly off. On my dryer it took less than a year before it tossed the belt.
pcurve 5y ago
Seems like LG makes better appliance than Samsung in general... but I guess mileage varies between model and customer.
- lotsofpulp 5y ago
  Samsung and LG are so big that I would not expect to be able to make an objective statement on either's quality relative to another, not even for a specific product line, much less company wide.
  - lostlogin 5y ago
    Doesn’t a larger sample size reduce the noise?
    - mattmcknight 5y ago
      I think the issue is that both companies make very cheap and very expensive products in various places around the globe. So, we could be reading series of negative comments from people that got an inexpensive model made in Mexico versus people that got an expensive one made in Korea, or something like that.
      - pcurve 5y ago
        that's a good point regarding price points... but I didn't realize the price went up to $8000 for a fridge. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEDxRY4xcCI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEDxRY4xcCI Life is Good indeed.
jdavis703 5y ago
My experience has been fine after I learned that ankle socks and masks will cause the machine to jam. Now I just hand wash small items and the machine works perfectly /sarcasm> Edit: I’m getting downvoted. Is this a well known thing not to wash small items? (I’ve been using washing machines for 20 years, without a problem until this one.)
- SECProto 5y ago
  > Is this a well known thing not to wash small items Front loaders specifically - though usually to protect the objects being washed, not the machine itself. The joint around the door tends to pinch small objects. I put masks in a mesh bag meant for washing "delicates"
rootusrootus 5y ago
My Samsung front-loader failed the first time in less than a year. Right after that, the Samsung dryer I bought with it also failed. My Samsung refrigerator had the display fail after two years, and the replacement display started failing in a month. I no longer bother buying replacement displays because everyone else agrees they never last more than a few months. No more Samsung appliances for me, ever. And CR's credibility took a major hit in my eyes because I bought the washer & dryer on their recommendation, even after I already knew that Samsung refrigerators were garbage.
hellbannedguy 5y ago
Try to stay away from pricy Bosh washers, and dishwashers. I can offer this with a Bosh. If you get a E13 error it's the pump. It's a pretty easy fix. You can get a generic pump for $50. Most disguarded Bosh washers are due to a pump. The computer is second on the list. It's not worth fixing if it's the board. I've been meaning to put a fan on my washer's computer board. There us definitely room in there for a computer fan.
- caf 5y ago
  Frequently with an E13 it's just an item stuck in the pump outlet plumbing.
- Clampower 5y ago
  It’s Bosch fyi
rodgerd 5y ago
Australia had a spate of house fires caused by Samsung washing machines whose electronics weren't properly waterproofed, shorted, and then burned. I have avoided Samsung products since then.
- exporectomy 5y ago
  Trouble with this way of deciding is that it's biased by the number of individual products a brand has. Samsung has a lot so they're exposed to more risk of some bad ones even if they're safer on average than their competitors. You used to see this with car brands back when everybody worried about reliability. Somebody would hear a bad story and go round saying "Don't buy BMWs because their fuel injectors fail". Fortunately, most people have goldfish memory, so people still buy Ford cars despite the Ford Pinto's fuel tank fires and they still buy Toyota despite the Prius's uncontrolled acceleration or whatever.

ezconnect 5y ago

I had a Samsung front loader and it's a great washer.

swayvil 5y ago
Was it the one that sings a Schubert tune every time the wash is done? That cracks me up.
- ezconnect 5y ago
  It's a Korean version, I am not familiar with the tune it was playing.

rangerelf 5y ago

Never again will I buy anything Samsung. They have steadfastly refused to fix my fridge's ice maker even though they have admitted it's a design fault, and retailers will not take it back as faulty because the ice maker is not considered vital to the functioning of the refrigerator in general.

jandrese 5y ago
Ice makers are notoriously flimsy. Serious race to the bottom by the manufacturers. The good news is that they're easy to replace (undo a couple of bolts and unplug a cable and they usually come right out), bad news is the replacements are ridiculously expensive, like $100 each and come with all of the same design flaws the original had. There is also surprisingly little standardization which makes the replacements even more expensive as there are hundreds of mostly but not quite compatible models to stock and you have to be very careful when ordering replacements.
- dec0dedab0de 5y ago
  I have never heard about anyone having trouble with an ice maker until I read this. My ice maker has been working fine for over 15 years. My mother's ice maker has been working fine for about 25 years.
  - jandrese 5y ago
    You have old ones from before the manufacturers stopped caring. It seems like ones made in the past 5 years have gone precipitously downhill, especially the GE ones.
  - Johnny555 5y ago
    The Icemaker in my Frigidaire refrigerator has never worked since I bought the house, the problem is that the coils keep freezing over (the icemaker is in the refrigerator compartment so has its own freezer coil to make it cold) I spent a weekend pulling it out, thawing everything out, and then replacing the defroster coil, thinking that would fix it. It didn't -- it worked for about a week afterwards until freezing over again.

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

Fire-Dragon-DoL 5y ago

We bought a 1.5k refrigerator which died after 2 years (warranty expires exactly at that time in Europe). We had extended repair, it died again after another year. Never again!

pbhjpbhj 5y ago
Worth noting that in UK under the Consumer Rights Act there is no specific time limit for poor engineering causing a problem that the _seller_ must fix. The limitation is 2 years or how long I've would normally expect such a product to last. A fridge should easily last a decade and so in theory there's a 10 year "warranty" period. The seller can have things repaired, replace them, or offer a refund (refunds can be reduced to account for the use you did get from the product). We need to use legislation and taxation to push for every longer-lived appliances.
- softveda 5y ago
  Same in Australia

vjust 5y ago

I had heard of exploding Samsung laundry machines. And the house I bought has one. I dread the day it decides to do its thing. https://money.cnn.com/2016/11/04/news/companies/samsung-exploding-washing-machines/index.html https://money.cnn.com/2016/11/04/news/companies/samsung-expl...

com2kid 5y ago

Front loading washing machines just seem like an all around more fragile design that is also less usable. I have an HE top loader. It uses just as little water, but it can wash a lot more clothes when needed. I can push a button and it stops being HE and can fill its tub up to wash blankets and comforters. Also front loaders just can't clean synthetic fabrics that water beads off of. I've seen fabrics come out of a front loader almost completely dry because the tiny bit of water that is used can't even penetrate the outer layer of fabric. Mostly my Ikea comforters, I put one in a front loader I used to have and after a complete wash cycle it wasn't even damp, and it was still very dirty. Finally, front loaders are mechanically more complex. For one, if that seal fails, well, it leaks. The simplicity of a Top loaders means they can last longer, and in the very least top loaders don't get all gunked up around the door seal. I have seen so many front loaders that smell awful because no one ever cleans the crud out of the seal, ick! Aside from space savings, I really don't get the point of a front loader at all. Maybe the tumbling action is better at some types of cleaning?

kevin_thibedeau 5y ago
The spin cycle dries synthetics to near dry if the machine is lightly loaded. Works the same on top loaders.
bradstewart 5y ago
My wife says front loaders are more gentle, so do less damage to delicate clothes. Maybe due to the lack of the central agitator (do new top loaders still have that)? The big reason I prefer them though: I can put a counter top above them for folding laundry and things. They are an absolute pain in the ass to keep clean and odor free though.
- com2kid 5y ago
  Higher end top loaders don't have the giant doom spiral in the middle that rips fabrics apart. :)
dragonwriter 5y ago
> Also front loaders just can't clean synthetic fabrics that water beads off of. None of the front loaders I’ve used has had a problem with that. Are you sure the one data point you apparently have experience with wasn't just an older and/or relatively low-quality front-loader? > Aside from space savings, I really don't get the point of a front loader at all. They are easier to get stuff out of than a top loader of similar size, particularly for larger ones. I’ve also never seen a top loader with a steam cycle, though I guess its possible they exist.

dredmorbius 5y ago

You can add stoves to that list.