It does sound like the OP may have experienced either a design or manufacturing defect with her HE4T. The whole point of the pump is to remove water from the machine, not leave it sitting there to go moldy! However, I take issue with people who state that mold and mildew are inherent problems of FLs. I grew up with FLs in the UK; first a Philips-Whirlpool, then Hoover and finally Miele. My family never experienced problems with moldy washers, even in a house that got quite damp in the winter. Now I own an LG steamwasher (bought right after I got the house) that lives in a tiny laundry room in my garage. In fact - to even open the washer door it has to be perfectly positioned in the laundry room doorway. Following every load, I take a clean rag and wipe any excess water from the gasket and washer door. I then leave the rag to dry over the open door. I seldom use bleach (and then only a 10-20% soln.), although I do run a sanitary cycle about twice a week. I have never had any mold or mildew in my washer. This is in a house that had so many mold problems when we bought it that I joked it should be called STACHYBOTRIS. There was black mold in the laundry room, along the drywall in the garage as well as the ceiling. In fact the whole garage ceiling had to be torn down; revealing mold spores on the wooden beams. So although there is NO shortage of mold spores ready to colonize my machine this has not happened. WHY? 1) The machine is kept as clean and dry as possible between loads. 2) The door is open as much as possible, but at least 1-2" 3) I run an extra hot sanitary cycle and extra rinses at least twice a week. 4) I dilute my fabric softener and use less just enough detergent (even if DH doesn't!) 5) I keep a dehumidifier in the garage/laundry area. 6) Every time I go near the laundry I use my $6.47 temp/humidity meter from Wal-Mart (in air filter aisle) to make sure relative humidity is less than 50%. If it gets to 50% or above, I turn up the dehumidifier (I reccommend Whirlpool - I gave up on LG!). If I can keep my FL mold free in a house that was a mold hell-hole 18 months ago - I find it hard to believe ALL FLs have to suffer from mold/mildew. *This is not meant to detract from the OP, who seems to have a genuine complaint* BTW - I do think that perhaps some American FLs have excessively large door gaskets compared to European FLs. Since there seemed to be a particularly American assumption that FLs always leaked (and diesel cars are all smelly and underpowered), I wonder if the new wave of US FLs (2000-present) were deliberately designed to have bigger gaskets. This could contribute to water being trapped, but for most people a few extra steps can prevent this becoming a mold issue. And believe me - I KNOW about mold (in the kitchen, bathrooms, closets, AC ducts, garage, walls, crawlspace.......) Thank goodness for dehumidifiers and may the previous owner of my house be cursed with black mold evermore for hiding ours with paint and trim!

The old timer had this same problem? What cycle are you using? Timed drying for X number of minutes? Or an automatic cycle for a target dryness level? If automatic, does your machine use temperature sensing of the exhaust air, or true moisture sensing (sensor bars inside the drum)? The problem may not be the timer ....

Thanks for your reply. The burnt wire group was in the front of the machine, to the right of the lint filter casing. The vent is short to the outside and ridgid metal. There was a short length of flexible metal right behind the dryer to the in-wall vent, but it wasn't crimped and none of the vent piping had any significant amounts of lint. The dryer was new - we are the orignal owners; I don't know anything about a thermostat. Below the burnt fused wires there is a piece of white plastic that burned and fell off. There's lint all inside the casing of the machine - 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch? Thanks for your help.

For every appliance I have ever owned, I have always bought Ext. Warranty. Sometimes I have needed it, and sometimes not. My Mom had 5 year Ext. warranties on her very expensive, top of the line GE washer & dryer. The dryer gave her a lot of problems about 4 years into ownership. After Sears/GE tried several repair attempts, they finally gave her all her money back and she bought a new dryer. Money WELL spent on an Ext. warranty! Years ago, I needed a substantial repair on a Miele oven. I believe they told me the repair was well oven $1000.00. My $249 Ext. warranty covered every cent of the service, labor and parts. ALWAYS think of Ext. warranties like car insurance. Most of the time you will never need it, but man when you do need it.....You are so darn happy you have it!! :) -Larsi