Sick Zanussi Washing machine

shamwari

We bought a Zanussi washing machine in November '08 after our previous one died following years of sterling service. The new one is just out of guarantee (by 4 weeks) and over this weekend became very noisy like the drum bearings are worn. Tests spinning out an empty drum, and spinning the drum itself by hand seem to confirm that there is indeed a mechanical issue of some sort.

I'm a little peeved that such a new machine is already giving trouble and just as it is out of warranty. Is there anything I can do to get the retailer or the manufacturer to repair this on a "goodwill basis"? We have always bought the above brand following years of very good service, but to have this machine give trouble in these circumstances is very disappointing indeed. Incidentally, the particular model was not a cheapie, it was a midrange one picked in the belief that spending a few quid more on quality would translate into a longer lasting machine. No so!!

Any suggestions on what I should do here?

gar.k

Sounds like bearings alright. You are looking at about 150-200 Euro for repair.
Go back to where you bought it from and get them to put pressure on Zanussi service for a goodwill repair.

Avns1s

It sounds like the bearings in the drum. Open the door and try to "lift" the top edge of the drum. If you can feel any movement whatever, then the bearings are shot.

I had a similar issue with a slightly (but not much) older Zanussi washing machine, again not the cheapest in the range. I just got the bearings and the seal and did the job myself, only cost about €15 but its not an easy job to do!!!

I would go back to the dealer and try your case.

BTW Apparantly using liquid detergents is causing the bearings to go more quickly!

shamwari

Avns1s wrote: »

It sounds like the bearings in the drum. Open the door and try to "lift" the top edge of the drum. If you can feel any movement whatever, then the bearings are shot.

I had a similar issue with a slightly (but not much) older Zanussi washing machine, again not the cheapest in the range. I just got the bearings and the seal and did the job myself, only cost about €15 but its not an easy job to do!!!

I would go back to the dealer and try your case.

BTW Apparantly using liquid detergents is causing the bearings to go more quickly!

Interesting that liquid detergents might have a role in this, although I can't understand why this would be the case.

Is there anything online to advise how to replace the bearings? Worst case scenario I'd have a stab at doing it myself. I would consider myself fairly competent (did a head gasket and timing belt replacement on the car recently!) so I'd hope a washing machine would be a bit easier to do !!

gar.k

liquid detergents have nothing to do with it.Its usually down to overloading the drum with clothes. Dont think you will find anything on line. Zanussi washing machine is probably the easiest to replace bearings but for a first time you will find it difficult. Before you try it i would strongly recommend going back to the shop, you would be suprised how much influence they can have on the brands service companies

byte

DId you trying ringing the service centre? There shoudl be 5 years parts cover on the machine. You pay labour charges.

shamwari

byte wrote: »

DId you trying ringing the service centre? There shoudl be 5 years parts cover on the machine. You pay labour charges.

I'm unsure what the warranty is although I expect that they will say that it is the bog standard 12 months. As the fault was noticed only yesterday, I won't be speaking to the service centre till tomorrow.

As for drum overloading, we don't overpack the drum and indeed, using the same approach, we got years out of our last machine without it's bearings going . It's motor packed up and we opted not to repair it because of its age and the likelihood that more bits would start failing over time. Also, the machine is level on the floor and there is very little vibration when it spins out. Other than this fault, it has been perfect all along.

gar.k

the standard warranty is 2 years.Zanussi give a 5 year parts warranty as far as i know. How old is your machine?

gar.k

sorry just noticed your original post says november 2008. Ring the dealer and service centre, id be fairly confident that they will look after you

shamwari

Spoke with the customer services dept of the retailer who tell me that the machine only had a one year warranty. However they are going to ask the service dept of the manufacturer to repair the machine on a "goodwill" basis, particularly as I have always bought Zanussi. They cannot guarantee anything, but we'll wait, see, and hope !!

Ancee

you will definitely be covered for parts for 5 years. we had similar problem lately on 2 year old machine and service man said parts were covered. They had to take machine away and it took about a week and cost about €120 for labour. He said it was caused by overloading drum which we never did.

shamwari

Just to update on the outcome to this. I contacted customer services of DID and they in turn contacted Zanussi who sent out an engineer. The engineer was a subby, and was not instructed to do it as a good will gesture. Therefore, as far as he was concerned, it was a chargeable job.

I then asked him to look at the washing machine to see if he diagnose the problem without fixing it as again, I wanted to know what was wrong and to get the dealer to take the hit. The engineer then discovered that the problem wasn't a drum bearing, and was in fact one of my young childrens small socks had found its way between the inner and outer drum!! The engineer was able to remove the item and restored the machine to rude health. As this was a "consumer" issue rather than a specific component fault, I had to take the hit for the job which cost me €60. I'm not too unhappy that at least we know have a normally operating washing machine.

Thanks all for the advice.

byte

Glad you got sorted out.

Zanussi definitely have 5 year parts cover, but you still pay labour charges. So, even if parts needed replacing, you'd have paid the guy €60+ anyway!

Ruby99

Hi

Just wondering if anyone has come across this problem.

Because of the freezing temperatures my Zanussi Jetstream washing machine is playing up.

It was outside in the garage. I have now brought it inside. When I select a wash option - it jumps straight to drain.

Ruby99

Thanks for the advice .. a part needs replacing ... I can't believe I'm looking forward to doing a stack of washing!