SaferProducts incident

Failure type

Fire / ignition

Incident narrative

SaferProducts.gov consumer incident report 20241213-A225A-2147334637. Severity: Incident, No Injury. Product: Whirlpool WTW4816FW3 (Whirlpool top load washing machine). Incident: Whirlpool washing machine WTW4816FW3 control panel failure caused washing machine to run on its own. This washing machine was in light use less than a year. I noticed the smell of burning electrical components coming from the laundry room, then shortly thereafter there was a growling noise coming from the washing machine. After unplugging the washer, waiting a bit and plugging it back in, the washer would make a "click" and the growling noise would resume. The same thing happened when using the start button to reset the machine. When the washer was attempting to run on its own none of the cycle function lights were on. This is a fire hazard. The machine appears to be trying to continuously run the drain pump which will eventually overheat and catch fire.