Whirlpool will probably honor the claim, but I'm not sure they will repair it. Instead they may give you a new dishwasher which would stink because the new ones are nowhere near as good as yours.

it is a irrefutable warranty claim. Probably have to pay for a trip charge and cost to reinstall. I have not seen WP dispute a failed tub claim. Keep us posted with how they handle it and what model you have and what they give you.

^Agreed, definitely post your old and new models. Even if you have a Superba (top of the line at the time) I would not be surprised if they try to give you the cheapest model in today's lineup.

My model is KUDJ230Y0
I don't think it was top of the line as those had electronic controls which I was advised against back in 1992 or 1993.

I have some photos of the problem (with captions below photos) at: http://simon-pics.smugmug.com/Other/Dishwasher-Rust-Photos/n-H3HZm/

I talked to Kitchenaid today and they scheduled a local service company to come out to inspect it on Friday. We'll see what happens.

Here is a link that might be useful: Photos with captions

I think KUDJ was the middle of the line? It still had a timer dial if I remember correctly, but had a good amount of cycles/options. Above it were KUDS (Superba, push button controls with rapid advance timer) and KUDA (Architect, electronic controls).

The 23 series which you have is one of my favorite KitchenAid series. It was introduced under Whirlpool's ownership. It still has the good build quality you'd find in a Hobart KA, but it uses Whirlpool's PowerClean pump module which performs far better than Hobart's pump did.

This post was edited by hvtech42 on Wed, Dec 31, 14 at 19:06

The technician sent by Kitchenaid came out this morning. He quickly determined the tank was rusted through and examined the other damage caused by the rust. He checked and the part availability and found it was no longer available. He emailed me a service call receipt indicating that and told me to call Kitcheaid/Whirlpool to see what they would do for me. I called them and they said the next step was to give their parts location department 6 days to find the part and if I don't hear from them within 6 business days to call back. I told them it was pretty clear they wouldn't have this major a part for a 22 year old dishwasher but they said that is the procedure they need to go through. They couldn't tell me what they would do for me if they don't find the part.

Also, the technician asked me if I was told I there would be a service call charge. I wasn't and told him so. He said their was a charge and when I mentioned to him that I thought there shouldn't be since it is a full parts and labor warranty he quickly said he could mark down that I refused payment so I did that. (Service technician was very cordial and helpful but had not run into this old rust through situation before and was surprised to find the warranty was 300 months!). The phone rep I talked to today at Kitchenaid said that if they found the part that the service company wouldn't do the repair until I paid for the service call. I told her that that didn't sound right since it is a parts and labor warranty. She said I'd still be responsible for the service call for them to diagnose the problem and at that point I said let's cross that road if you can find the part.

At this point it appears everyone agrees it is covered by a warranty but I'm on hold for a little over a week until the 6 business days for the parts search are up.

That is ridiculous that Whirlpool won't pay for the service call. I could understand if it was a "nuisance" call where there wasn't anything actually wrong with the tank, but if it is indeed broken, you shouldn't have to pay for the diagnosis.

Thanks hctech42. Those were my thoughts. I will say that someone on another appliance forum indicated that he thought a service charge was the norm. Their argument made me stop and think about it but I still feel that it should be covered. The warranty is identified as a "full" warranty and not as a "limited warranty".

It would be helpful to hear other's feelings about the service charge.

In any event I'll see what happens as this unfolds.

I feel a warranty is defined by the manufacturer in the way it is written in the manual. If you still have a copy see if it uses the word limited in its description. If it should define what it covers. It may not define what it doesn't cover and in that case a charge is applicable. Most limited warranties only cover parts and labor. Not trip charges or diagnosis fees. The new product would be treated as such. In a box requiring installation. Ask if you have the option to install yourself.

The warranty clearly states that it is a "Twenty-Five Year Full Warranty from the date of installation" and the description indicates "replacement parts and repair labor". It doesn't state specifically that it includes or excludes a service call for this, or even for the broader first year warranty. However it does have a section which indicates certain "Service Calls" that "Kitchenaid will not pay for" and none of those exceptions fit my situation. So that seems to infer that service calls are covered for the full warranty repairs. The warranty also clearly states that the product is designed to be repaired in the home.

In any event I'll see what develops. If this thing can really be repaired or replaced under the warranty and my only cost is the base service call charge then I'll pay it. If they give me no satisfaction at all for any reason then I wouldn't be inclined to pay it.

Here is a link that might be useful: Manual with warranty on last page

When a warranty is written ambiguously it is up to the manufacturer on how to fulfill the warranty. I would like to see no out of pocket expense on your behalf. But even if there is I consider this a win. That's awesome!!!

The same terms are used in the 1 year warranty as is the 25 year warranty.

Since you are not required to pay a trip charge for the first year and the same language is used for the 25 year you should not have to pay any trip charge.

If this went in front of a Small Claims court, the manufacturer would lose.

When any contract is written ambiguously, it is interpreted in favor of the party that did NOT write it. I disagree completely with the above statement. Under the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, "Under the terms of the Act, ambiguous statements in a warranty are construed against the drafter of the warranty."

There's probably a more complete warranty document somewhere. Is this a pro-rated warranty? If it failed after 24 year and 11 months, would they replace the unit free of charge? Would anyone expect them to do so?

No point in arguing over this, it is very clear that Whirlpool *should* pay for the service call, and talking to the right person on the phone and arguing enough would probably get them to do it, no small claims court needed.

There is no way they are going to find the part. You are getting a new dishwasher. It may not be free, but it will at least be heavily discounted.

JFCWood - the 25 year warranty on tank rust through warranty is a Full Warranty. "Full" has a legal definition based on Federal law that I believe calls for repair or replacement at no charge to the consumer. (see the There is no mention of pro-ration in the warranty. The only warranty document that exists is on the back cover of the manual and there is a link to that on one of the posts I made above.

If you're curious about the Federal law on warranties Google the Magnuson-Moss act (15 U.S.C. § 2302)

hvtec - You are very right. I'm very interested in seeing how this all rolls out and I'm not going to worry too much about it until I see how the process goes and what they'll do for me. I was surprised myself when I looked at the manual (initially to see if it described out to remove the upper shelf) and saw the 25 year warranty. So anything I get should leave me ahead of the game. But the fact is that it is Kitchenaid's warranty and I expect them to honor it.

I hope this all works out quickly. You might want to research their models to see which one you prefer just in case they let you pick from a couple.

GE replaced our Profile refrigerator under the lemon law and I was able to pick from 2 different models. I asked GE if I could pay the difference and get more expensive refrigerator but they claimed they didn't have a procedure that would allow that.

They just referred this to product exchange department today and it will be another 3 to 5 days before I hear back from them.

Apparently the parts location department didn't get very far as they put a note in the file on Jan. 5 (first business day after my last call) indicating the part number was not valid. Let’s say I was a wee bit disappointed there had been no follow up at all on this after that note was put in the file over a week ago. I would have thought someone would have at least called me or the service technician to tell them the part number was wrong!

Anyways I checked the part number and it seemed correct according to an old part list I had so I asked the phone rep (CSR) to check it against a parts list and she too found the part number was correct even though their system indicated the number wasn't valid. I pointed out that this is a 22 year old part that the technician already determined was no longer available. After putting me on hold for a while to discuss with someone else there, they decided to turn it over to the product exchange to decide what to do. While I'm again in a holding pattern for a few days, I'm hopeful that this is now at the department that can resolve this.

All I will tell you is that it is January and it is molasses season. It will happen. Im happy for you!!!!

Just heard back from Kitchenaid. While the process took about 3 weeks, going through a few departments, they are going to replace our dishwasher under the 25 year tub/tank rust through full warranty! They said they are providing a new mid level model and will be delivering the dishwasher and installing it at no charge to us.

Because our old dishwasher has a wood panel they offered us a panel ready model. But after I looked that up I saw it would require a large custom panel very different from what we have now so that it would be difficult to get one that matched our existing cabinets. So they are supplying a similar model in stainless steel which I asked about. Both were mid level models which have MSRP of just over $1K and sell for a hundred or so less.

While I would have liked a quicker resolution, I’m very happy with the way they’ve supported the 25 year warranty on our 22 year old dishwasher. I’ll post another follow up when the dishwasher is received and installed - I’m not yet sure how long that will take.

Way to stay on top of KA!