3 Million Samsung Washing Machines to be Recalled In US

In another stunning setback for one of the world’s top consumer brands, U.S. authorities issued a recall Friday of close to 3 million Samsung washing machines. The recall was announced after numerous injuries – including a broken jaw –caused by “excessive vibration” were reported.

The recall comes a month after the South Korean manufacturer issued a recall to its Galaxy Note 7 smartphones. The Note 7 recall was due to a problem that set off the phones’ batteries to overheat and catch fire. Since then, the company discontinued production of the device completely. Meanwhile, it was estimated that the debacle would cost it $5.3 billion.

Furthermore, its washing machine recall would cover models sold in Canada. No injuries had been reported in that country, Samsung said Friday

The company issued a separate recall of washing machines in Australia in 2013. It stems from reports of electrical problems in certain models that caused fires. Last year, Australian authorities called that problem “a major safety failure,” after getting complaints that the company was offering repairs but not a replacement or refund, as required by Australian law.

The current recall comes following weeks of deliberations between Samsung and U.S. authorities about statements that the drums in certain top-loading washing machine models can become unstable and cause severe vibrations. This shuddering, in some cases, causes the top of the machine to disengage from the chassis.

Attorneys representing consumers in Georgia, Texas and Indiana, who say their washing machines “exploded” while being used, hit Samsung with a lawsuit over the summer.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in a statement Friday, cited 733 reports of Samsung appliances that experienced “excessive” vibration. Nine of them recounted injuries, including a broken jaw and a busted shoulder.

Samsung said the problem happened when a high-speed spin cycle was used to wash bedcovers or other large items. The company’s U.S. subsidiary said in a statement that it is working with retailers and the commission to notify consumers about the problem.

Initial Action from Samsung

“Our priority is to reduce any safety risks in the home and to provide our customers with easy and simple choices in response to the recall,” said Samsung senior vice president John Herrington in the statement.

In the recent recall, the company is offering consumers an option between a free repair and a rebate just before the purchase of a new washing machine. A full refund is being offered to consumers who bought an affected model in the last 30 days.

The recall involves 34 models of top-loading washing machines produced between 2011 and this year. They were sold at Sears, Best Buy, The Home Depot, Lowes and other stores for prices between $450 and $1,500.

 

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Samsung reach end of Galaxy: Note 7 recall could cost $19bn

Samsung today axed its flagship Galaxy Note 7 smartphone after being unable to stop its faulty batteries catching fire and exploding.

When reports came in from all over the world of the phones catching fire the South Korean tech giant initially announced a recall of the devices.

Then when it emerged that customers reported that their supposedly ‘safe’ replacements were also catching fire it seemed there were few options left for Samsung.

Safety

The tech company announced that it would permanently stop production of the Galaxy Note 7 for the sake of consumer safety.

Yesterday it announced that it was “adjusting production” of the troubled devices but it said today in a statement:

“Putting consumer safety as the top priority, we have reached a final decision to halt production of Galaxy Note 7s.”

Existing Note 7 customers were warned to immediately “power down and stop using the device”  and were told they could apply for a full refund or swap the phone for other Samsung products.

Experts estimate that today’s decision could cost $17bn in lost sales plus up to $2.2bn in customer refunds.

Greg Roh from HMC Investment Securities said this was a huge blow for Samsung.

Damage

He said: “If it’s once, it could be taken as a mistake but for Samsung, the same thing happened twice with the same model so there’s going to be a considerable loss of consumer faith.

“The reason consumers prefer brands like Samsung and Apple is because of product reliability … so in this case brand damage is inevitable and it will be costly for Samsung to turn that around.”

Analysts believe that disillusioned Samsung customers are more likely to switch to rival Android manufacturers rather than migrate in large numbers to Apple.

At first it all went well for the Note 7 with widespread praise for its curved screen, super-fast charging, waterproofing and high-end cameras.

That was until reports started coming in of the devices smouldering, catching fire and even exploding which first led to a  “voluntary replacement programme” which was soon ramped up to an official recall.

Exploding

Samsung may have recovered at that point but when the replacement phones also began to develop similar faults, the writing was on the wall.

South Korea’s safety agency is still investigating why the replacement phones have been exploding, and an official said the replacement phones may have a different defect to the problem with the original Note 7s.

If so then that is a double blow of bad luck for Samsung’s latest flagship smartphone.

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