Samsung Sheared Motor off Plastic drum

[drewble]

Need some advice please ,we  have a 3 year old Samsung Eco Bubble machine (£400 approx.) that went bang during its spin cycle. On investigation the belt motor that sits at the base of the plastic drum, has fallen off the plastic drum , and now sits an the kitchen floor with the drum belt. Turns out that the 4 mounting bolts that hold the motor casting to the plastic have all sheared and the plastic mounting points have all smashed to pieces .Machine  is out of warranty (just) and the expected replies from Samsung are weve overloaded it and its not level.

This is our first Samsung (and maybe our last) its not overloaded and very level too and we don't know if its economically viable to fix.

We would welcome any comments please

Andrew

 

[Whitegoodshelp (Andy)]

The motor fixing mounts on an outer drum can't come off if the washing machine is overloaded or not level. That would be a very poor design indeed. The motor should never drop off. If the machine has been making a strange noise on spin for some months though and it was ignored then it's arguably something that wouldn't have happened if it had been attended to early.

The only way the motor could break away is if the plastic fixings just aren't strong enough, or had a fault in the mould, or if the motor started to come loose and has been shaking about for months until it damaged the fixings. 

[Nickyd]

I have a eco bubble exact same problem. Where you able to fix it. ?? 

I may get some 8mm threaded rod and re drill through the bottom. So there's 2 solid fixings not 4 separate ones. 

[DazzyBobbler]

This has happened to our 7kg ecobubble this week too.

The motor has come loose and broken a wire.

Sounds like a design fault

[Whitegoodshelp (Andy)]

Has it been knocking at all on spin recently?

[SkizCa]

7kg Eco bubble Exactly same issue for me a couple of days ago. I couldn't believe that the motor had fallen off I thought the belt may have come off. Tried to log it with Samsung under the 5 year warranty but they will not honour it. Its 4 years old they asked for the proof of purchase which I sent them but I just keep getting fobbed off. I only bought a Samsung  washing machine for the 5 year guarantee but I should have known better really. Next time I will stick to a manufacturer who is renowned for washing machines not a company who dabbles in everything. So now I can't wash anything and have 3 kids so I may have to buy a new one feels like I could be arguing with Samsung for weeks. Yes I registered it for the extra warranty using an email address I no longer have access to and I never received anything from Samsung through the post.

[DJCopi]

My Eco Bubble after a year of battering it insides with every wash finally committed suicide with a 3E (motor) error message.

The problem I found was the two screws that hold the motor in place had loosened enough to allow the motor to slop about, this was in my opinion worsened by the lack of any bushings on the mounting posts giving a 10mm overall slop!.

The continual excessive movement caused strain on the motor connector bracket which sheared and allowed extra movement on the wiring loom eventually leading to the shortest wire to break and give the 3E error.

I fixed the problem myself as the machine is needed daily and we couldn't wait for an engineer even though there is still a year left on the supposed '5 year warranty'

I have uploaded photos of the problems I found in the hope they may be of help

[Whitegoodshelp (Andy)]

Thanks for that DJCopi. This is beginning to look like a common problem. The question I've asked everyone though and no one has responded to is was the washing machine noisy in the months before the bracket broke? Was it making a knocking or rattling sound? It's bad if the motor bolts are coming loose, but if this causes the washing machine to become noisy on spin and the machine continues to be used is that what's causing the bracket to break?

Or are the motor fixings coming loose and not being detectable? I would expect that if the motor fixings came loose it would cause a fair bit of rattling and noise on spin. If at this point the machine was looked at the motor fixings could be tightened up before the bracket breaks. However, the motor fixing bolts should not be coming loose in the first place.

[DJCopi]

An update to my post

Samsung sent an engineer to repair my machine as it was within the 5 year warranty (just) and he replaced the motor and wiring loom.

Apparently the rubber bushes have turned to dust for the front mounts and the rear one's were almost gone, the replacement motor was fitted with plastic bushes for the rear mounts but still rubber ones for the front.

My machine is now back to being quiet and no longer tries to hammer its way out of the kitchen.

From what the engineer said it would seem to be a common problem across various makes.

I should have contacted Samsung a soon as it started making some noise but thought it was just the loads we were putting in the machine and just put up with it until it died.

[Mrs M]

Hello everyone, 

I am experiencing the same problem. I bought my washing machine 3 years ago and it was under 5year warranty which l might have forgotten to register. I contacted Samsung and they sent an engineer whom l payed £95.00 for. He discovered that the motor was damaged which in turn damaged the drum. According to them there's nothing they can do about it despite the fact that it's still under warranty and it was a manufacturer fault. As soon as l phoned their chosen engeneer they were able to tell straight away which model it could be. I was not satisfied and l emailed the person in charge of all repairs they still refused to supply parts, repair or replace. Sadly l lost my Argos receipt which l can not even use to send it back to them. I would like to know if anyone had theirs repaired and how much it  cost them. I have had my fair share of trouble this year and this is just not helping me. Can anyone recommend anything am running out of options. 

[DJCopi]

Did you pay by credit / debit card? with a different product I was able to use the card statement as proof of purchase. Also you could try contacting Argos customer support as when selling the machine they advertise the 5 year warranty  as a selling point. You should also contact your local Trading standards office for help.

 

[Whitegoodshelp (Andy)]

Manufacturers almost always refuse to help in these circumstances. The only redress you have in law is to claim against the retailer you bought it from under the sale of goods act

Out of guarantee – even by a long time doesn’t always mean you should pay

[DJCopi]

The service engineer who repaired my machine told me that they get a fixed fee (£35) to do a warranty repair regardless of how easy or complicated the job, so it is more beneficial to them to say that the repair is not warrantied and charge for labour and parts, I'm not saying they do that just that they could or might.

[Whitegoodshelp (Andy)]

To be honest, if it's out of the manufacturer's guarantee they rarely want to know. Unless it's just out by days, or it's something really serious that may for example scrap the machine at a ludicrously young age they will almost always say it's a chargeable repair. That's why you have to chase up the retailer because like it or not they have legal obligations under the sale of goods act.

[fixit]

After the machine being noisy for some time i came home to the wife saying  the washer was not working it was making a noise but the drum was not going round.Tipped it up belt was off and bolts were out of the motor no sign of any rubbers they had disintegrated and the motor was hanging by its wire.I cut a piece of half inch hose to go where the mount was.I then cut a second piece and slit it length ways so it would fit over the first one(so i had two pieces of hose about an inch long one over the top of the other pushed them into the mounting hole then pushed the bolt through the hole on the  middle of the hose pipe .Tightened it all up and put the belt back on.Its working great but i have ordered the nylon bushes to put in (dont get the black rubber ones) Samsung upgraded them as rubber ones didn't last very long.nylon ones do go but last a bit longer. Hope this is helpful to someone.  

Edited October 5, 2019 by fixit

[adunato]

Just to add that I just opened up the back of my EcoBubble and seen the same issue. Motor sitting on the floor, after the two top screws mould holding it onto the machine frame had broken.

It had been making loads of noise some time ago but then gone quiet for months until now. Will work out options for repair, just wanted to add my case to the list to confirm what seems to be a common issue.

[KieAG7]

My Samsung Eco Bubble Washing Machine did the same in October 2020 when it was spinning at its fastest 1400 RPM. Went with a bang! I too opened mine up to see the motor sitting there on the floor. Bolts just ripped out and 1 moulding at the back of the motor was sheared off. I managed to fix it but it is a temporary fix so it is acting as our secondary machine for light loads and slow spin speeds. This must be a common issue with Samsung Eco Bubble Washing Machines :(. I've now gone to LG and it is so much quieter!