So I was feeling a little froggy the other day and decided to drop Whirlpool Corporation an email. You know, just say hello to an old friend, see how things have been (I used to sell the hell out of Whirlpool appliances when I worked for hhgregg years ago), see what they would tell me about their shitty Oasis/Cabrio/Bravos washing machines and the infamous f51 error codes.

I don't really think I was asking for much. The email is below.


I went to the Whirlpool website and found the contact information, filled out the form as requested.

My name is Brad and I write a blog about washing machines. I am writing to inquire about the f51 error codes that many users have experienced in their Cabrio/Oasis/Bravos machines. I have a few questions that I would like to ask, and a response would be greatly appreciated.

1) When did Whirlpool Corp realize there was a problem with the RPS on these machines?

2) Was a cause determined as to the cause of the problem?

3) Was this problem ever realized during the development phase of the machines?

4) How is Fisher & Paykel related to this problem? What I mean is, to what extent was F&P involved in the development/production of these machines?

5) For people who experience the F-51 after their warranty has expired, how will they be handled?

6) This problem has been ongoing for over a year, and yet machines are still hitting the market with the problem. How is this possible if the problem has been known about for so long?

7) When will the problem be fixed at the production level to ensure machines currently shipping do not develop this problem?

Thank you for taking the time to respond. I do not wish to be confrontational. Rather, I am simply trying to gather as much information as is possible.

I sent the above on Thursday of last week, and received a response this past Monday, 7/7/08. The response:

"Dear Brad: Thank you for visiting the Maytag web site. We appreciate hearing from you. We are sorry to learn of the problem you are experiencing with your Whirlpool washer. In order to further assist with your inquiry, please respond to the email with the following information. Model Number: Serial Number: Purchase Date: Thank you for allowing us to assist you today. You are a valued customer and we apologize for any inconvenience this concern may have caused. If you wish to schedule a service appointment, please contact our preferred service provider, A&E Factory Service, blah blah blah..."

Needless to say, that wasn't exactly the response I was looking for. I mean, I figured I would get a can of corporate bullshit, but I wasn't exactly thinking I would get it in such a manner as to completely bypass every single question I posed in the message. Silly me, I am so naive.

My reply:

I am not an owner of a machine. I write a blog about washing machines and have some questions which are listed below. Thank you.

Whirlpool's reply, which arrived today:

"Dear Brad:

We appreciate the interest you have in our products and services. However, each situation is evaluated at the time that it is reported. Consideration of assistance is dependent on variables such as past service history by a factory designated service representative, age, time lapsed since the last repair, nature of current problem diagnosed by a factory designated service representative, etc., at the time that the concern is reported.

According to our records Fisher & Paykel has not been involved with any aspect of production or design of our washers.

Thank you for allowing us to assist you today. We hope you find this information to be useful."

Surprisingly enough, I did not find the information to be the least bit useful. And as I write this, my phone just rang and it was an automated message from Whirlpool asking me to take part in a brief survey. At first I was mildly surprised, and I figured Whirlpool was letting me know (in their bland, corporate way) that they know who I am, and know where I live. Then I remembered I gave them my phone number when I sent them the email. Dumbass.

Anyway, the thing I found most interesting was the statement that Fisher & Paykel has not been involved "with any aspect of production or design of our washers". Now, I'm willing to give this person a pass, since it's not exactly common knowledge, although maybe it should be since she works for Whirlpool and all. It's been almost five years since Whirlpool and Fisher Paykel formed a strategic alliance in distribution and technology in order to stave off the Asians (LG, Samsung, and the ChiComm's Haier). The technology used in the Cabrio/Oasis/Bravos washers is the same technology used in the Fisher & Paykel washing machines.

I'm going to keep plugging away, moving up the ladder, and will keep you posted.

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I found a blog here on Blogger written by a gentlemen who has had the F51 error codes. He's got a lot of great information on this page.

Between his blog and the information left by Mr. Baxter in the comments section of this previous post, you should be able to get the problem resolved. Of course, the million dollar question is who will end up paying for the repair.

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From Marilyn:

I loved my Cabrio until a month ago. At first I thought I was doing something wrong even though this has not happened before ( I have had it for 10 months) At first it was the occasional error code - now I can't do a load without it!!!! I have read a lot of blogs about this problem and am not feeling very good about this matter. The warranty lasts for 1 year. I have two months left - what if this is a problem that they can't solve or that happens again? It seems they need a recall and an extended warranty for this problem to all the owners.

Most of the people have talked about 2 to 4 weeks to get the parts. I refuse to go to the laundry mat to wash clothes with a $1000 washer in my basement!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I replaced a 2 year old Maytag ( cost $750) because of a design error that caused a seal to go bad that caused the transmission to go that caused the motor to sieze - according to Maytag none of it was covered!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am calling the local appliance store I purchased this piece of junk at Monday morning and hopefully they have a good enough reputation in the area to deal with Whirpool so I don't have to!

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Hi, was reading the postings and saw your request for a reply. We have a Kenmore Oasis, Model 27042602, and we, too, were plagued by the infamous F-51 error code. Not having purchased the extended warranty, and not wanting to pay for a service call that probably wouldn't even resolve the issue (as I'd read in other blogs), we were having to run back to the machine several times to hit "Stop / Start" to finally get through many a load. Believe it or not, we went through this for several months, until the procedure ceased to work anymore.

I did a lot of Googling, and somehow I got the impression it might be a
simple matter of a bad connection at one of the electrical plugs (I HOPED it was something that simple, anyway). At this point I had to get brave and open up the machine. It took only the removal of 3 screws to gain access to the control panel, where I unplugged, reseated, and wiggled every connection several times. Then I tilted the machine forward onto its face to get access to the open bottom. It took only the removal of one allen-head screw to remove the motor cover, then four bolts to remove the part of the motor that has all the coils. This gave access to two electrical connectors, one of which was the motor position sensor. I repeated the unplugging / replugging / wiggling procedure on both connections, then put things back together. And guess what? We haven't had a single re-occurrence of F51, or any other "F", ever since!

My guess is that it was re-seating the motor position sensor connection that
did the trick. In any case, we feel blessed, and I'm so happy my wife no
longer has to struggle with this machine--which she otherwise likes very
much (although she wishes it had spin speed control, and a rinse-only cycle
for removing set-in wrinkles). She loves how dry the super-fast spin leaves
the clothes, because it saves dryer time and cuts down on the gas bill.

Lennie

Wow, Lennie, thanks for the note (and the comments). I have had the suspicion myself that simply reseating the motor position sensor would do the trick. As such, I don't understand why control boards across the country are being replaced when it is probably just a matter of taking out the sensor and then plugging it back into place.

If anyone else decides to try this, let me know how it works out. And obviously, only do this if you have some basic mechanical skills and the proper tools to do the job. And be careful. For the love of Pete, unplug the machine first.

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I continue to see more and more searches every day in reference to the f51 error codes on the Oasis and Cabrio machines. I've done a bit more looking (amazing how Google, Ask, and Yahoo can give such different results at the top), and have found several more references to the f51 codes. I'm guessing these errors are costing Sears and Whirlpool a LOT of money in warranty service.

The most common fix is to replace the speed sensor and the control board. I read a post at another site that indicated tests should be conducted to determine exactly which parts need to be replaced. However, it appears as if many servicers are taking the shotgun approach and just replacing both.

For the 27082, it looks like those components are part numbers 8565188A (speed sensor) and W10112113A (control board). Those parts will apply to other models, but not likely to all.

Do you own a Kenmore or Oasis or Whirlpool Cabrio? I would love to hear from you. Which model do you have? What do you like or dislike about them? Have you had any troubles?

Shoot me an email at power_draw01 at yahoo.com.

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I know a lot of people are having problems with getting the f51 error codes on their Cabrio and Oasis machines. I know this by looking at the traffic coming to this site, and a whole heapin lot of it is a result of Google searches referencing the f51 error code.

Here is a link to a tech sheet outlining the various error codes on these machines. Give this to the "technician" (I use that term loosely) when he tells you he doesn't know what the code means.

So what does it mean? Pfft. Beats the hell outa me. "Dammit, Jim, I'm a doctor, not an overscheduled, undereducated appliance monkey." But knowing A&E Factory Service (service company for Sears and Whirlpool), they don't know either.

Good luck!

*END*

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I've been reading up on the Kenmore Elite Oasis / Whirlpool Cabrio high-efficiency top load washers. Judging from what I have read, it is difficult to say whether these machines are disasters waiting to happen, a la the Calypso washers that plagued laundry rooms across the country for far too long, or they are decent machines that need just a little tweaking.

In reading the reviews over at epinions.com, what I find most surprising is the fact that there are very few reviews in the middle of the road; people either love it or hate it.

It's no secret that Fisher & Paykel has a hand in these machines. I'm just not sure to what degree. F&P moved their laundry production facilities to Clyde, Ohio, where Whirlpool builds their top load washers. I had heard that F&P was only supplying motors to Whirlpool. But if that's the case, then why in the hell move to Clyde, Ohio. Furthermore, I have read dozens of accounts of an F51 error code, and the cause of this code is evidently a common problem F&P had with their machines.

Curious.

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