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Whirlpool Water Heaters Consumer Reviews - Page 3

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Whirlpool Water Heater Is Junk. Stay Away!!!
By -

MARIN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA -- Like every other sucker who shops at Lowe's, I also bought a Whirlpool water heater. After only 5 months, the pilot ligh went out. Numerous tries wouldn't re-light it. Went online and saw that the thermocouple is suspect. Called the 800 number on the water heater and turns out, they're contracted with A&E to fix it under warranty.

A&E is just as bad as Whirlpool. The Whirlpool 800 # is actually a call center in India. Only after speaking to an Indian who can barely speak English will you get transferred back to a call center in the U.S., in Austin TX with a case #. The call center is A&E. They led me to believe that by scheduling a tech to come out the next day on an "emergency basis" I'd have my unit fixed. WRONG!

The tech gets here the next day, takes out his computer, uses his cell phone, then gets ready to leave, all without even looking at the problem. He wasn't here more than 10 minutes.

He tells me the part won't be in for 7 to 10 days. I freaked and told him I've been taking cold showers for 3 days now and I was not going to wait for a part that can be overnighted and installed tomorrow. He wouldn't budge. He slipped me a semi-local phone number (in the 916 area code, which is Sacramento) and said for me to call that number to see if it can be overnighted.

I did and the lazy tech who answered said "No, no, no, no..." I don't know how many times. He, too, wouldn't budge. All he would say is for me to call Whirlpool myself if I wanted it overnighted. No sympathy and no nothing. Everything was my fault even the fact that the good-for-nothing water heater is only 5 months old. A&E are worthless! So now I'm out a water heater made by a crappy company with even worse customer service, I have no hot water for the next 7 to 10 days, and a lousy tech company who subscribes to Whirlpool's philosophy of, "So what?" Boy, do I feel used!

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Three Weeks With No Hot Water
StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarBy -
Rating: 1/51

HOUSTON, TEXAS -- We replaced our gas water heater with a Whirlpool brand less than a year ago. Three weeks ago we woke up to no hot water. My husband saw the pilot was out and tried to relight it. It would not light. We called a local plumber. He said he does not work on Whirlpool appliances and now we know why.

We found a Whirlpool approved repairman. He came out, stated it was the flame guard, and had us order one from Whirlpool. They said the part was free, but charged us 60.00 for shipping. The repairman charged us 50.00 to come out. One week later, not the three days promised, the part arrives. The repairman can't come out because he is swamped. We call another Whirlpool repairman. He comes out, replaces the part, but the water heater still does not work. He informs us that it is the wrong part, and it is Whirlpool's fault since their diagnostic procedure is wrong. We order another part. This time Whirlpool says they will pay, but we still have to give 180.00 to repairman.

The new part was supposed to be delivered yesterday. It wasn't. I just called Whirlpool. They did not ship the part because they want to talk to the repairman first. They haven't bothered to call him. They didn't inform us until we called to tell us the part wasn't shipped. We have been without hot water for three weeks and we are out 290.00. I am very unimpressed with their level of customer service and will never buy another Whirlpool product.

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Whirlpool Gas Water Heater With Flame Lock Safety System
By -

We purchased a Whirlpool gas water heater with flame lock safety system from Lowes. It was installed 9-1-09. Model No. BFGIF4040S3NOV. The pilot light won't stay lit. Our first call to Whirlpool was April 13, 2010. Whirlpool sent someone out to check the water heater. The gas valve needed replaced. Since then I have called Whirlpool MANY times. Some of the representatives were nice, but now when I call they are NOT so nice. They are tired of hearing my complaints.

Last call I made I talked to a very nice and concerned representative. She felt it is the manifold door. She sent the part out to us. We are still having problems with the hot water heater not keeping the hot water hot and the pilot light won't stay lit. I feel these hot water tanks are a piece of junk. There are so many complaints about these hot water heaters.

I feel Whirlpool should reimburse every consumer who bought one. These hot water heaters are faulty as seen in THE MANY complaints. Whirlpool has told me so many different things could be wrong with it. From not being installed properly to being to close to the furnace to dust making the pilot light go out. All I know is we are Very Dissatisfied and Very unhappy with this hot water heater.

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2008/2009 Whirlpool & Lowe's Continue To Sell Known Defective Water Heater After Class Action Lawsuit Succeeds
By -

WOODLAND HILLS, CALIFORNIA -- After May 2008 which was the deadline for entering into the class action lawsuit in Ca vs Lowe's and Whirlpool, they cont'd to sell these exact same defective water heater where the pilot light goes out for no apparent reason - over & over again. I bought mine 4/28/08 and paid $411 for the water heater & $450 to install it. I've had the gas com out here 3 x and the Whirlpool contract plumber out here 2x and no amount of fixing can do it.

The heater is in the house in a well-ventilated & immaculate closet so Whirlpool explanations /excuses are groundless. My $411 is due to Lowe's end of April 09 and not only am I not paying them, I'm taking them to small claims court to collect the installation fee and any bad/punitive damages I can win. Write the company CEO Jeff Fettig, 2000 N. M-63 in Benton Harbor Mich 49022. An utter failure who will be responsible for Whirlpool going bankrupt. And their foreign-speaking Customer Service is atrocious. Can't understand them.

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Hotwater Heaters
By -

For anyone having issues, just go to Lowes get the Kit while your at it pick up the thermostat to save yourself another trip. Lowes will give you the Kit, you have to pay for the thermostat, (about $60). Supposedly Whirlpool will reimburse you for the thermostat, but you have to call them, which is a joke unless you don't mind talking to someone over in India. Anyway after replacing the manifold kit and the thermostat, (after my second trip to Lowes). If you are thinking about purchasing a Whirlpool Hotwater Heater, DON'T. Save yourself time, $$ and heartache and just go to Home Depot or a local plumber and get another brand.

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Thermocouple Defect
By -

I have had this water heater for 5 1/2 years and have had to replace the thermocouple three times. Now I discover that there was a recall, and the adapter for the damn thing stripped as it was a left handed thread and they made the thermocouple right - and of course that went to crap as it was ill fitting and aluminum! Now they are sending me a new adapter and a gas valve thing (whatever!) and if that doesn't work then I will get a new unit. (Oh! And let's not forget that the warranty only covers parts! So by the time you pay a plumber you could buy 2 or 3 new water heaters - or at the very least top of the line in the market for the size you need and THEN save money!)

The last water heater I had in the house was the original - 7 years old when I bought it and another 10 before replacing it. THAT is how an appliance should act! I was happy with the 17 years of service without ever having to touch it! Well, I'll take the new unit - sell it and put it towards a different brand. And there I was thinking that buying a Whirlpool was going to be a good thing! As it is an old name in the marketplace. Well, it is apparent that the quality hasn't stayed with the name.

Not to mention the website! I typed in the model number (many times!!!!) and got nothing. It is not a user-friendly site for water heaters. I can only guess why! And forget the 24/7 support. Banker's hours, oh and maybe a little more! Don't try sending e-mails either - never found those on the site!

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Flamelock Water Heaters
By -

79110 -- I purchased my water heater from Lowe's. After 5 days it would not stay lit. I called customer service. At that time they had a plumber that did warranty work for them. He said they always have this problem (thermocouple), he showed up with one already to go. The replacement lasted a week. I called Whirlpool back. They told me they no longer had a repairman in my area so they gave me a po for a free thermocouple. I went to Lowe's and spent an hour getting an OK for the thermo I replaced myself. It lasted 6 days.

I called them again and they said the air flow was not sufficient. I informed them that I was a contractor and that I was aware of what air flow was needed and was told that they would get me a thermocouple. I informed them that I have already replaced it twice. Their response was that they could do nothing else. I called Lowe's. They told me to bring the product back and they would replace it with a new water heater. I reinstalled the water heater and 3 days later had the same problem.

The customer service at Whirlpool is rude. They try to tell people that the problem is improper air flow even though every other water heater brand works in the same area. Whirlpool has no intention in making this right with anyone. They just took everyone's money, knew the product was faulty and kept on selling the product anyway. I will not recommend any Whirlpool product to friends or customers ever. You mess up, admit it. Make it right - that's how a real company does business.

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Yet another thermocouple tale of woe
By -

I am yet another of the countless saps who thought they were getting a good deal on a gas water heater at Lowes. The thing was a real pain to install and fire up initially because of the flame lock appliance. For example, the instructions say to stop using the pilot button after ten seconds if it doesn't fire. Had I not pressed the button for 30 seconds or more to purge the air from the line, I probably still wouldn't have hot water two years later.

Almost two years to the day later, my thermocouple failed. I was able to find one at a local Lowes, and after some trepidation I was able to dismantle the existing unit and install a new one. All was going swimmingly until I tried to thread in the last manifold cover door screw (yup...one screw away). After just two turns, the thing snapped off.

Suffice to say much of the next several hours involved wailing and gnashing of teeth as I fought to remove the fragment from the hole and get another piece of hardware to secure the manifold door. LEARN from my mistakes:

  1. Never buy a Whirlpool Flam Lock water heater. Millions of hits on the internet can't be wrong on this one. It is flawed. I fully expect to fight mine again at some point in the not so distant future.

  2. If you had the misfortune to install this lemon, be INCREDIBLY CAREFUL not to over torque those screws when making the seemingly inevitable replacement of a thermocouple!

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Whirlpool Water Heaters Are Terrible and So Is the Company!
StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarBy -
Rating: 1/51

MICHIGAN -- My husband and I purchased a brand new water heater from Lowe's. From the day we purchased it has not worked properly. The pilot light will go out 7-8 times a day. We called a service company that said there are pages upon pages of complaints online about this product.

Lowe's told us we would have to get an "RA" number to get a refund and all Whirlpool does is play games, you have to talk to a manager to get the RA number, and they won't let you talk to a manager or call you back! I would think in this day and age there would be better consumer protection against selling faulty products. I believe there was even a recall with this product yet Lowe's continues to sell them. Unbelievable!

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Anode Failure TWICE!
StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarBy -
Rating: 1/51

SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH -- Do Not Buy this Water Heater unless you want to replace the Anode every two months. Whirlpool will not honor the warranty for this. We have replace the anode with a BETTER one less than a month ago and the water is smelling again. First replacement after less than 2 months for the anode and have a plumber replace it $150.00... Less than a month later the water is starting to smell again. Cannot afford to replace it each month, will be getting a different water heater and will have to just absorb the cost since they will not honor the warranty.

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Whirlpool Water Heaters Rating:
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1.0 out of 5, based on 14 ratings and
64 reviews & complaints.
Contact Information:
Whirlpool
2000 North M63
Benton Harbor, MI 49022
616-923-5000 (ph)
616-923-5038 (fax)
www.whirlpool.com
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