I am back here from 2004 because my Kenmore HE3 has just run into its first serious problem. Whirlpool made this front-loader, and Sears put their name on it. I think all of these machines are trouble, and you got lucky if you get more than a few years out of them. Mine is suffering from bad bearings - and this model 110.44832 200 happens to be one of the few where you cannot just replace a $75 bearing set - you have to buy the external drum part that happens to have the bearings along with the drum. The repair guys say the part alone is $400, so I am about to just go buy a new FL. I see the part online for $260, on 'back order,' so I may get a new front-loader, order the part, and fix the old washer, and sell it off on my own time line. Youtube has videos for a lot of these repairs if you are willing to try it. On my HE3, the water pump died - I got the diagnostic code from the panel, and got on the internet, and figured that out - I went to a Sears appliance place and bought a replacement pump for maybe $50. when I opened up that pump, which has a filter you should clean regularly, I found a tiny sock from one of my little boys. Yes, the washing machine allowed a tiny sock to get sucked into the water pump somehow. That clogged and killed the pump. These HE3s and HE3ts have lots of notes on the web about the cast aluminum 'spider' bracket, which grasps the inner tub inside of the outer tub, decaying. I have not had that problem. But this experience is worthless now as I go to shop again - those problems have probably been solved, and the currently available machines probably have even newer, more creative design flaws. If Whirlpool had decided to stick with this HE3 design, and adapt design problems as they emerged, they could have a rock-solid washer we all wouold be raving about. But no. While some allow you to simply replace bearings, my model cannot. The pump can suck up a little sock. The spider bracket is cast aluminum which corrodes. The drive pully is also cast aluminum and breaks. I think I have avoided some of these problems because I balanced my front-loader so well. So, Mine lasted from fall 2004 to now, spring 2012. That is about as much as you can expect, America. The repairs are incredibly expensive. They put you right on the edge of deciding to pay a lot for repair or to go buy new - that maximizes the money out of your pocket. When this pile of metal was working well, it was great. Cleaned VERY well. Spun clothes so dry, you did not need to run dryer as much. We have left the days of appliances that might last well beyond 15 years. We all have stories of washing machines, fridges, water heaters, and dryers that lived from 1950 or 60 or 70 up to 20 years. Not any more. Have materials gotten worse? Are our engineers dumber? Do we lack comparison shopping ability? No. No. No. All it would take is one company to decide to stick to one good design and eliminate flaws year by year. And buy market share by keeping repair costs low along the way. We would flock to it, and tell each other eagerly.

Baseballmom, these washers are my personal preference to but, for their known quality, and performace. If you want a HE top loader, the Maytage is the best in my opinion. Its a super large capasity, not plastic lids, huge opening and yes the ones with internal heater are the 850 series for sure...maybe the 700 series, but not sure. LG is a grat brand too, none of my friends who have them, have any issues with them and they have had them for over 4 yrs. One thing to remember when you read wash performance on any of these HE machines is that many owners do not read the owners manual. They just use it and then complain of poor results. One "poster" on here admitted. "One day I will sit down and read the manual" Its not rocket science trust me. When people talk about mechanical failures brioon machines, it would help if they include a model number. The older bravos, cabrios, oasis has some issues, since then I beleive they have been worked out. Internal heaters are a big plus in a HE machine, of course some people will tell you it makes no differnce. Most Fl issues are operators induced problems, not the machines design.

Marc, we, too, have Whirlpool Top loader that is 15 years old...we're looking so I wrote to whirlpool and their response is as below... Thank you for visiting the Whirlpool website, we appreciate hearing from you. There is good and bad to the newer front load washer. The good is they can clean allot of clothes in one wash and wring them out well so that they don't take long to dry. The bad is that they are made in Germany so many of the parts, when needed, have to be shipped overseas to us here. We make them in our plant in Germany. Although we continually strive to use the best components available in all our appliances, any electrical/mechanical component can malfunction, and it is impossible to predict just when this might occur. To protect our consumers against the possibility of a defect in materials and/or workmanship at the time of manufacture, we provide a warranty with our productÂs that states that we will repair or replace any part that proves to be defective within a specified period of time. It has been our experience that manufacturing defects will appear and should be reported well within warranty, at which time repairs are made at no cost to our customers. Top loaders have a much better track record. All our top loads are manufactured in our OH plants. You can't fit in as much clothes but they are the dependable ones. The transmissions are allot stronger than they used to be. If you choose a top load washer, go for the WTW5900S or WTW5800S. These washers have a three speed motor. If you want a delicate wash, you'll get it with a three speed motor. Let me give you examples on the speeds: One speed- 180 strokes per minute Two speed- 180, 120 strokes per minute Three speed- 180, 120, 90 strokes per minute I wish I could make the decision for you but ultimately, you have to get what is best for your uses. Whirlpool does stand behind all our products with a strong warranty. We assist customers out of warranty many times for different situations. No other manufacturer does that. We hope you'll choose one of our products and stay a member of our appliance family! Have a great weekend! Again, thank you for contacting Whirlpool with your shopping questions! If you have further inquiries, please feel free to reply to this email or visit our website at http://www.whirlpool.com. Whirlpool's web site offers several on-line services, such as product information, dimensions guides, owner's manuals, and installation guides, for our consumers 24 hours a day 7 days a week. End of quoted letter...I posted some of this information on this thread and someone responded that it's not all made in Ohio but in China/Mexico...I don't know why they would tell me differently when they admitted Germany for the frontloaders..but this may help in your information gathering! :) Tara

Troy, You just wrote to me personally so I will reply here and to your email. I love my Whirlpool Duet HT Washer WFW9400 that bought on 11-06-04. It holds so many towels and washes bedding and my dog beds with no problems. When my doggies (small ones) were sick, I washed their bedding in the sanitation cycle but since it takes so long using that cycle I mainly use the normal cycle with hot water or the short cycle when I do not have a small load. I have allergies so I always use the extra rinse cycle. My clothes come out soft and now never need a softener added to them. I looked up the invoice information and was surprised I had it so long. Time really does go fast. I never had any problems and never had to use the warranty or the extended warranty that I bought from PC Richard. I also love the matching Whirlpool Duet HT® GGW9250PW Vented Gas Dryer, 7.0 cu. ft., 27", 120v, Energy Star, Dove Grey on White that I bought that is quiet and never ruins my clothes. I love being able to fold clothes using the top by having front loaders. I tried both regular detergent and HE detergent and I see no difference in the performance. I would love a steam washer or steam dryer to get out wrinkles but my unit does not have that feature. I just put clothes in the dryer under the air fluff cycle when I want to get some wrinkles out since I dislike ironing.