SaferProducts incident

Failure type

Fire / ignition

Incident narrative

SaferProducts.gov consumer incident report 20151223-0424C-1541467. Severity: Incident, No Injury. Product: Maytag MDB7749SBQ0 (Dishwasher). Incident: Maytag Dishwasher Model# MDB7749SBQO; Serial # F31102087 Between the original installation date of 04/12/2013 and 07/13/2015, the touchpad control panel was replaced under warranty (4) times by different companies due to defective wiring. The ribbon cable's conductors repeatedly failed due to corrosion within their plastic insulation. And on 12/15/2015, the dishwasher's wiring and/or electronics controllers caught on fire. My home's circuit breaker for the dishwasher circuit tripped and cut off power before the fire spread beyond the inside of the dishwasher door. My home's electrical panels and branch circuits are protected by a whole-house surge protector that was installed by local power company on the meter. The dishwasher has been the only problem. I have concluded that Maytag / Whirlpool either did not effectively and or robustly spec the electrical components for manufacture, or that despite the specs, Maytag / Whirlpool was cheated by manufacturers of the electrical components. I bought an extended warranty through Consumer Priority Service. Late on the evening of 12/15/2015, I uninstalled the fire-damaged dishwasher and moved it to my covered porch after I filed my claim with CPS because the fumes from the burned plastic would not dissipate and the fumes were giving us scratchy throats and headaches. CPS sent a repair tech on 12/21/2015 to itemize parts that would need replacing. Those parts include wiring harness W10496098, electrical control panel W10595570, electrical control assembly W10811166. It is unknown at this time whether replacement of these parts will