after reading all the posts on the kenmore elite calypso appliances....i am convinced that i need to have my purchase addressed in some way. we bought the appliances in 2003...and from the get go, have experienced the problems expressed in the many letters written in this site.... call me a slow learner...but i never suspected it was the washer that was defective....after all i bought Sears Best...the Elite Calypso. i have had problems from the get go...with mainly, any thing with looped threads....i have had brand new bath towels come out of the washer with its loops and the pile cut and pulled out....i have gone as far as returned the towels to the stores i purchased them from complaining about shoddy work...and got my money returned....no questions asked. the problem continues and i suspected that perhaps there was something in the washer that had a raised metal edge or something that was pulling out the threads of my towels and rugs..... and out of desperation i went online to question if any one had the problems i am continuing to have with my washer. and boy was i amazed at the many reports on the faults of the Calypso. i was never notified of a class action against the makers of the calpyso...it may be too late for my problems to be addressed...but now what do i do? i have never put in a complaint to Sears on this problem, because i did not know till recently it had something to do with the making of my washer..... any advice on what steps if any i should take? thank you for any advice you can offer me to get this problem taken care of. i guess my first step should be to go to Sears and notify them of my problem. i know, i know, 5 years is a long time to finally discover that Satisfaction Guaranteed only happens if you uncover the problem with your purchase and ask for help.

I don't have an answer for you, but wanted to tell you how lucky you are to have an appliance repair company that will send out a technician to diagnose the problem for just $50. It's at least twice that where I live in NY.

I have the HE5t without steam. I don't have any reason to have the steam function. I love my new washing machine, I've had it a bit over a month. I do dry the boot after the last load of the day and leave the door open when not in use. I use normal for most of my loads, I have also used Heavy Duty, great for hubby's outside clothes and Whitest Whites. I used the Sanitary function one time just to use it and it 'cleaned' as well as Whitest Whites. I have run the Clean Washer cycle one time, but I don't think that it needed it. The water comes up higher on the window and I had no suds, probably because I've been using Charlie's Soap exclusively. I sure wish that I had a light in my washing machine!

Old parts can either be serviceable used items (if you trust the techs at the selected service), or new-in-box parts that have been sitting on a shelf for years (remember, these machines haven't been produced since 1986, although replacement parts were produced for some time after and a few items are still available). Machines of this design were produced by Whirlpool under the Whirlpool and Kenmore brand labels. Mechanical parts are largely interchangeable. Proper examination of the wig-wag involves testing it for continuity with a meter and checking that the rivet in the guide/plunger is intact. Also occasionally happens that one of the wires to the solenoids breaks (especially after 40 years of wigging-wagging). This post was edited by dadoes on Thu, Oct 9, 14 at 8:02