The Electrolux brand is under fire after the Company was forced to recall for the third time dishwashers which if left on could burn a house down. So concerned was the New South Wales Government that they have forced the appliance manufacturer to issue an immediate recall.
The Electrolux brand is under fire after the Company was forced to recall for the third time dishwashers which if left on could burn a house down. So concerned was the New South Wales Government that they have forced the appliance manufacturer to issue an immediate recall.
NSW Fair Trading Minister Linda Burney says Electrolux, Electrolux Dishlex and Westinghouse dishwashers sold since April last year have a fault that can cause plastic components to melt.
She says there have been 53 incidents reported. Ms Burney says the Government and the company are concerned that consumers do not appear to have heeded two previous recalls. “Electrolux is taking this extremely seriously and this is an unprecedented third recall,” she said. “We’re saying to consumers, if you have this dishwasher in your home, it will potentially burn your home down.”
Electrolux claim that owners of the affected dishwashers are now being urged to turn their machines off and not use them until they have been serviced by an Electrolux technician. Product recall notices will appear in national, metropolitan and daily newspapers during the next few days advising anybody who owns one of the dishwasher models in the serial number range, 70700000-72400000 – whether previously serviced by Electrolux or not – to ring toll free number 1800 001 218 to register their details and arrange a service call.
The first voluntary product recall was issued in early December following identification by the Electrolux quality program of a faulty wire connector within the appliance. In extreme cases, the connector may overheat and cause a small, self-contained fire or melting of plastic components within the control panel.
A second recall was issued late last month (February) following a poor response to the first but, in the past two days, two separate incidents involving the affected dishwashers have resulted in appliance fires activating smoke alarms in Sydney houses. The fire brigade was called to both houses which were evacuated.
Electrolux is seeking the assistance of state government Offices of Fair Trading and Regulatory Affairs to alert the public to the issue and warn them of the importance of responding to the company’s product recall notices. Of particular concern are homeowners who usually turn their dishwashers on when they go to bed or leave the house on weekends and holidays.
Australia’s biggest retailers are also assisting Electrolux locate customers to whom they have sold the affected dishwashers and these people will receive personal letters from Electrolux within the next few days.
Ian Forte, from the Electrolux National Quality Team, emphasized that the company was urging dishwasher owners who had previously responded to the product recall to again call the company’s service hotline. “We are taking this secondary action because we want to double check that all the affected dishwashers have been properly repaired according to our quality experts’ instructions and the problem does not recur,” he said.
