The model you are looking at is just an updated version of the GWL08,GWL11, and GWL15 models that have been in the USA for about 11 years. There are actually 9 moving parts. I have the HE version of the F&P washer (WL26CW2) and love it. Mine has not broken in 1 year of hard use. Parts are easy to come by (searspartsdirect.com) and are very resonable, and easy to replace. The reason you have not found your model in the Laundry Room is that they are new models. Search the Laundry Room for "Fisher & Paykel", you will find all of the info needed. In general, most that have them, love them.

I had a F&P and it was a headache from day 1. I had a repairman here constantly for various problems including the hot wash cycle by pass never working. I never got a hot wash and that's important with 2 kids;0) It was rebuilt 2x's by f&p but my problems were never completely resolved. I finally got disgusted enough to purchase a Whirlpool washer with less features and my wash has never been cleaner!!!! I would definately suggest looking into another brand of washer- I am happy with my Whirlpool and have had great success with Maytag in the pass. The problem with appliances now is they are all electronic and that's what goes bad. I think the less features you get the better off you are. Good luck...hth.

Do you use softener sheets in the dryer? Try cleaning the sensor bars with rubbing alcohol. There's a diagnostic for the sensor bars thusly: With the power Off, press and hold Auto Dry Down, then press Power. It'll beep once, but no panel lights come on. Press Auto Dry Up five times. A few lights on the panel may flicker. Brush your fingers or a damp cloth over the sensor bars, and the flickering indicator lights will change to show it's sensing moisture. The lights should drop back when the moisture evaporates off the bars. If the lights don't change, then there's a problem with the bars or sensor circuit. Press any cycle button (Delicate, Regular, etc.) to exit the diagnostic. By return duct, I assume you mean exhaust duct. What does the 6-foot distance involve exactly? Is that the distance from back of the dryer to the wall? Or is it the FULL length from back of the dryer to outside the house? If the ducting to outside the house is longer, have you examined/cleaned the FULL length of it to confirm there's not a clog somewhere? The machine can generally detect an exhaust blockage by way of high element temperature due to insufficient airflow. It will signal a problem by beeping and flashing the Auto Sensing light during the cycle, and it should continue beeping and flashing after the cycle ends until any panel button is pressed. If the blockage is bad enough, the elements will overheat and trip the manual-reset overheat protector. The dryer will then run but there'll be no heat until the reset button behind the front panel is pressed. Shouldn't be any need to replace the heating elements (yes, there are two) unless something is actually wrong with them. Was there a confirmed problem with them, or was the repairman replacing them just trying to find a fix to the problem? Wrinkle free element? There's no "element" for that. (Or are you using the word "element" to mean "feature?") The dryer simply tumbles the clothes in unheated air for 30 seconds every 5 minutes, for a maximum of 256 tumble periods. It can't run more than 24 hrs. 5 mins x 256 = 1280 mins 30 secs x 256 = 7680 seconds 7680 seconds / 60 secs in a min = 128 mins 1280 mins + 128 mins = 1408 mins 1408 mins / 60 mins in an hr = 23.4 hrs

For the washer, no, as long as you have a good quality surge surpresser on it to protect the electronics. Having an in-house handyman who can handle the mechanics of a simple repair can also be a consideration. Parts for the washer aren't overly expensive from an online source if one can DIY to eliminate service-tech labor costs. For the dryer, possibly, it's more mechanically complex.