Thanks everybody - you're welcome and I'll post another report some time later in February about our Bosch dishwasher. robert laundry: The European market has very strict requirements as far as energy consumption goes. Every dishwasher (and most other major appliances) carry so called Energy Labels. In order for a dishwasher to achieve an A rating for energy use (very low) the temperatures have to be lowered. At the same time, however, the label also provides information about the DW's cleaning and drying performance. So while the temps have to be lowered - washing and drying times have to be extended in order to achieve an A rating for washing & drying. However, all this applies only to one specific cycle usually called Eco, Save Energy or similar. Other cycles are faster, though.

Hi Peter-- Thank you for your note. Yes, I have read about your experience--unfortunately, not until after I had already ordered my machine. (I was active on the Forum last fall, then decided to come back and post my review as one always wonders what happened to people and what they decided and how it worked out) It was then that I read your posts. What a nightmare, indeed! I am hoping that if I need service, Best Buy will come through for me. I chose Best Buy because I noticed that they had a lot of LG machines on the floor--washers, dryers, refrigerators. Using Laudry Forum advice, I asked the manager of large appliances: do you have experienced repair people for LG? He looked surprised and said: Yes, of course. LG is one of our biggest sellers and so we have a support system in place. That reassured me. I hope I don't rue my trust. In any case, I do hope that you find a good replacement machine. I did not respond to your post asking for suggestions because I don't have much to offer. I just know that I was going to go with Thor, but Thor, it seems, was even worse than LG; see my post last fall in the Combo Washer/Dryer thread. No response to my email, and when I actually called, they were annoyed and could never give me a single name of a single repairman. And I live in Chicago! Come on! The Askos scare me bec. of report of leaks from them. Equator seems kind of cheap. Maybe Bosch or Miele for you? MMK

Do look under the machine just to be sure there isn't a some sort of stray object involved. The motor rotor is exposed under there, and has a sort of ribbed design as shown in this picture. Something rubbing against those ribs would make a noise as you describe. There could also be something caught in the cooling fins for the pump motor. The pump runs during EcoActive at start of the wash period, and of course during drain, but it doesn't run during agitation so probably isn't the culprit. To remove the inner basket: 1) Detach the lid. 2) Carefully remove the two lid bumpers, and then the screws that are exposed. 3) Raise up the top, but be careful of the supply hoses attached at back of the console. Don't put undue strain on them or the water valve could crack. You can disconnect the hoses, but it may not be necessary if you're careful. Also BE CAREFUL of the out-of-balance lever that extends down from the console at the right rear corner. Pull the tub toward the left front so the lever can clear over the tub. May be helpful to have an assistant hold the top up while you continue with the disassembly. 4) Unclip the bias spring from the front left suspension strut. 5) Remove the tub ring by unsnapping it all around. 6) Remove the softener dispenser, reach down into the agitator and unscrew the winged nut, remove the agitator. 7) Now the inner basket should simply lift out. 8) Don't forget to reattach the bias spring. And be careful again of the out-of-balance lever when lowering the top back down.

So, I have had my Ariston AWD121 for a little over 12 years now. I do have to open up the machine, remove the fan unit and clean the lint and dog hair out of both that and the condensing container every couple of years, but other than that routine maintenance, I have not had any problems with my machine. It cleans the clothes, it is very stable with minimum vibrations, and it washes and dries a load in about 2 to 3 hours, depending on whether the items are heavy or light and the wash cycle selected. FYI, I am the same person as chicagobent, but had to set up a new account as my old account did not seem to survive the Houzz takeover of That Home Site. As my machine is now 12 years old, I am getting concerned because it seems that Ariston is not really sold in North America anymore. The above comments from 2014 about them not leaving the US market appear to no longer be true. That said, the Splendide WDC7100XC seems to be made by Ariston and seems to be the updated version of what I currently have. I would not buy an LG combo unit because almost everyone I know who did has had huge problems with the machines leaking. Hopefully, I will not need a new machine any time soon.