KitchenAid

If anyone is wondering what a defect-related injury and permanent scar is worth to KitchenAid / Whirlpool, its $500 - but that settlement would have required selling my soul, signing an untenable non-disclosure agreement, and trusting them to fix a common safety problem. After several unproductive rounds of communication with both Whirlpool Customer Service and Claims, I did not agree to their NDA and instead filed a complaint with the Consumer Product Safety Commission: https://www.saferproducts.gov/PublicSearch/Detail?ReportId=462****

To summarize this literally painful journey, my wife and I leased a very nice condo with a KitchenAid refrigerator (another never-ending quality problems rant for another day) and dishwasher.

As I was standing on the side and opening the dishwasher door via the front handle, the hinge mechanism bound and then released without warning. This caused me to lean forward unexpectedly while the side of the door impacted, and subsequently cut into, my shin. The hinge was never smooth, but this was the first time it bound and then released without warning. After treating my injury, which is now a permanent and very sensitive scar, I inspected the dishwasher to find an unexpected sharp edge and point on the upper front corner of the door where it could easily come into contact with flesh such as hands, torsos, legs, or even childrens faces.

This condition was generated by several poor design and manufacturing practices which led to an overhang of the plastic control panel and a protruding sharp edge and point.

I am an engineer who has both studied and taught Failure Modes and Effects Analysis, so this is a more than reasonable assessment. Anyway, it may seem like an unlikely combination of events that led to my injury, but examination of other brand-new KitchenAid dishwashers revealed this sharp edge and point condition was quite common - 1 out of every 3 I looked at. It is a design configuration that also appears to have been used on many Whirlpool-branded dishwashers over the years. I personally think they should be recalled or at the very least inspected by Whirlpool at their cost.

I contacted Whirlpool Customer Service and after hearing injury they were very anxious to get the unit back for analysis.

So anxious, they offered our landlord a free replacement KitchenAid dishwasher of similar specification. Except they charged him for a far inferior Whirlpool model that didnt come close to matching the original one in features, performance, or appearance. They refused to answer our complaint about their broken promise of a free replacement.

Along the way, Whirlpool tried to get me to sign a very restrictive NDA in exchange for $500. To boil down their lengthy boilerplate, it essentially meant that I could never tell anyone, anytime, anywhere how I got the big scar on my shin, I could not file any future medical claims if my injury got worse, plus I had to remove or refrain from posting any online mentions of the incident such as our Consumer Product Safety Commission filing or this report.

I refused, then asked what they were going to do about this defect, then never heard from them again. It appears, however, that sharp plastic edges are still a problem as I have observed them on display samples in both Lowes and Home Depot in January 2025 more than a year after my complaint.

I hope everyone reading this inspects their KitchenAid and Whirlpool appliances for exposed sharp edges and points, and if you do, or did, get injured, at least you know what to expect.

Over the years, we have easily spent $25,000 on KitchenAid and Whirlpool products, many with quality problems, but this was the first safety issue. Given Whirlpools response, we will never purchase another one again.

I bought a KitchenAid package consisting of a dishwasher and a counter-depth refrigerator, which I purchased in May 2023. All of them were at the top of their product line. This is the third house that I have outfitted with all KitchenAid appliances, so I have considerable experience with them.

All three of the most recent appliances have product quality issues. Right after delivery, we noticed that the range door was crooked. I reported it as a warranty problem, thinking it needed to be adjusted. The appliance technician said it could not be adjusted and that it was within KitchenAid's specs.

In less than a year, we noticed that the label 'water' was wearing off the water dispenser. Also, within the first year, we saw that the front dishwasher panel was rusting on the top by the control panel. Again, I reported a warranty issue. The appliance technician said that KitchenAid considers that cosmetic and it is not covered under the warranty.

I contacted KitchenAid Customer Service and was told the same thing - it's considered cosmetic and not covered under warranty. I spoke with a supervisor, imploring him to replace the panel which will eventually rust, and extend me goodwill as I was a loyal KitchenAid customer having spent approximately $40K on their appliances. He was unmoved and offered to send me some stainless steel polish. I told him I had bought my last KitchenAid appliance, to which he replied that they would hate to lose me as a customer.

Attached are photos for documentation supporting my statements.

I cannot in good conscience recommend buying KitchenAid appliances.