Whirlpool washing machine recall update

Whirlpool has been regularly updating the Office for Product Safety and Standards on the progress of its washing machine recall programme following the announcement made on 17 December 2019 when consumers were advised to contact Whirlpool. The latest data, as of the end of 5 October 2021, is published below. This is based on Whirlpool’s management information and has not been independently verified by OPSS.

Under the recall, consumers with an affected washing machine are entitled to a free replacement or repair. Old machines will be removed, and replacements installed, at no cost to the consumer.

The reported status of the washing machine recall programme is as follows:

1) 277,715 potentially affected customers have come forward since the recall campaign was announced on 17 December 2019, of which:

• 209,956 have been identified as having an affected machine and been fully resolved
• 7,792 have been identified as having an affected machine but have not yet been resolved
• 61,465 have been identified as not having a machine with the affected lock mechanism

2) 206,206 cases of the affected machines have been fully resolved, of which:

• 201,237 machines have been replaced (free of charge)
• 3,750 machines have been modified with replacement parts

3) 3,359,301 visits have been made to Whirlpool’s designated recall website.

4) 47% of the estimated population of 590,000 machines potentially affected by the safety issue have been registered.

5) The average time taken from a customer making a decision to each resolution type is as follows:

• 9.3 days for a product exchange
• 11.7 days for modifications with replacement parts

6) The average time taken from a customer registration to resolution is 48.1 days.