Cabrio Washer Tub Bearings

[Dutch445]

Well 22 months ago I broke down and bought this new washing machine on sale at Best Buy. Loved the washer's water usage, as we are on a well
that isn't all that great and washers can use a lot of water.

things were good , until a few weeks ago I noticed a noise during
the spin cycle. I'm not home when most of the laundry is done,
and last week I heard it again, and wow, was it getting bad!
A little research and I am finding these machines are noted for
poor outer tub bearing life, probably due to it's 1000 rpm spin speed,
and the repair parts are approx $250, a tech would add another $200 if
I called one in. I did call Whirlpool, and they want nothing to do with me,
since I am out of warranty. (sure, they'll call a repair service for me)

Has anybody else ran into this? I am not afraid of making the repair, I'm more afraid to have to keep doing it in the future. What kind of society
are we now in that expensive items for the home are now disposable?
Televisions are expensive, and i doubt they will last 10-15 years anymore.
not that the technology will be the same.

 

[Cooldmax]

Well I guess I had better luck than you. My cabrio lasted almost 3 years and the bearings were getting noisy like yours. I just replaced it myself last week for around $258. It took me less than 2 hours to complete and is working great again. It is quite sad so many are going bad so soon.

 

[RoyJackson]

Since you guys posted these comments, I went to the Best Buy site and read the reviews of the Cabrio. About 50% were thumbs down, BTW. Most of the naysayers had their washer 20 months or more. I'm thinking most of the positive reviews were relatively recent buyers (less then 20 months) although that's speculation on my part..
Seems to me, Whirlpool had shifted most manufacture to China some years ago...hence the downturn in quality.

 

[zzvyb6]

I have a Cabrio and the noise is not from the tub bearings but sounds like it. Its from the drain pump. It's starved for water because quarters (That's right $.25 pieces et stuck in the tub drain filter channels. Dimes, nickels and pennies make it through but quarters get stuck. Easy to pop the top, pull the center cap, unscrew the tub retainer nut and pull the tub. I always seem to find $.50 in there when the noise starts. That's two quarters for the uninformed.

 

[Cooldmax]

I had 1.75 in the bottom of mine but none made it in to the channels. With the drum removed the bearings sounded awful. It wouldn't take long to pop the top off and check to see if it's the bearings or change. I hope for your sake it's the change.

 

[Dutch445]

I'll do that before i order parts, looks easy to pull the inner agitator
out.
I am quite mechanical, and have heard all sorts of bearings going bad,
automotive/industrial/farm equipment and i surely wish it could be
some loose change. guess we'll find out when i get the time
to dig into it. for now the old "old" style washer is back in
place and will have to do till i get time.

thanks for the heads up

 

[MikeD74T]

Thanks for posting about bearings. Have the Sears version -Oasis. We haven't had bearing problems yet but control problems abound. Have learned to unplug for at least 45 sec to "reset" the computer, then jump start the "start" switch with a screwdriver. Was going to buy new computer & switchboard until I saw the cost & read how quickly they fail again. Piece of very expensive junk.

Wife also has a Chevy Uplander van with some dash lights burned out. Dealer can't even find a part number for bulbs !!! Says they just replace the instrument cluster ?? I didn't even ask for a price. Hopefully the fire will provide enough light.

Our "throw away world" is a little out of control. MikeD74T

 

[dmccarty]

We have a Whirlpool front loader washing machine. I think it is about 8-9 years old at this point. It started being very noisy and we got a service guy to look at it.

He told us to buy a new washer since the repair costs would exceed the cost of a new machine.

That was 9-12 months ago at least. We just keep running the washer. At some point it will fail but we are going to run it until complete failure.

NOT impressed with the quality of the machine.

On the other hand, the washer did pay for itself by using less water. It saved us at least $25-50 a month in water bills when we had city water.

I get email from Sears and they have been having constant sales on appliances for months. Anywhere from 20-30% off. The problem is that there front loading washers, in the same size machine that we currently have were around $1,700! They have STEAM cleaning. :confused2:

I think we can replace what we have at Lowes for $800-1,000.

Later,
Dan

 

[Dutch445]

going to update since i first posted

i still haven't tore into the washer, too many
other winterization projects to do. but i'm getting
almost done.

today in the mail i had a letter from Whirpool. First
of anything I ever received from them. I opened it,
and it was an offer for an extended service contract.

they offered me 1, 2 or 3 year options, with 10 and 15% discounts
on the 2nd and 3rd year respectively. 144 +tax per year.
the only fine print i see, i can't make any claim for 60 days
since my machine is now out of warranty.

so my dilemma, do i buy a year, at 150ish, wait the 60 days,
(old washer is still working in it's place) and then call them?
I'm afraid they will come out with "sir, you called us back in sept
for the problem so it's not covered under your new service contract"

250 plus labor is close to 500 for the repair by a technician. I am hearing
of people just changing out the bearings in the tub, but i know it isn't
factory parts.

 

[Grateful11]

Dang, my wife bought a new Cabrio washer and Dryer back in the Spring. The
Dryer finally went out when the belt, it already had a problem with the timer
and the door latch. I was sick as a dog when this happened with food poison,
couldn't eat and keep anything in for 4 days. Lowe's had the Cabrio's on sale
for $600 ea. I was so sick I just told her to go get whatever I didn't care. The
washer and dryer were delivered the next day and washer had a big gouge and
dent in the front and the delivery guys were like so, she said like heck, bring
another one. Anyway so far so good. I'm glad she bought the 5 year warranty now.

My sister had a large chunk of porcelain to come out of her dryers tub also a
Whirlpool and it was 3 months out of warranty and Whirlpool said tough. So
on a hunch they called Lowe's, Lowe's said bring it back and pick out a new
one. They didn't have to do it but they did, that was awesome I thought.

One of new appliances in our new kitchen, remodeled last Fall, the dishwasher
had a leaky tub, the authorized service guy came out and he couldn't do
anything about and wrote an order for replacement which they did. He told
me he's been in the appliance repair for like 25 years and told me there's
no appliances made today like they were 15 years ago, they're becoming
throwaways.