Why do modern appliances break down all the time?
Modern appliances fail constantly because their electrical components, fuses, and heating elements wear out repeatedly, unlike older machinery that lasts for decades. Dealing with these endless repairs forces households to spend valuable time swapping parts or abandon the appliances altogether.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1Replacing burnt connectors and thermal fuses
- 2Switching to different brands like Bosch, Whirlpool, or Speed Queen
- 3Running new thicker wire or solid core to fix resistance issues
- 4Filing complaints with the Better Business Bureau
- 5Calling service technicians repeatedly for ongoing repairs
- 6Keeping spare parts like capacitors on hand to fix components independently
- 7Buying separate appliances like a countertop burner or a standalone dehumidifier to combat issues
- 8Performing frequent manual cleaning and maintenance
- 9Ordering replacement parts and waiting weeks for technicians
- 10Run the appliance until it stops working and then throw it away
- 11taking the door off during reassembly
- 12buying a new replacement contactor instead of cleaning the existing one
- 13Running the hidden engineer or diagnostics mode to look for error codes
- 14Searching YouTube for appliance troubleshooting and diagnostic button combinations
In their words
Unedited, most upvoted first, each linked to the thread it came from.
“I've got a 40 year old Kenmore dryer no issues but my fiance's dryer this it the 2nd time happening.”source ↗
“My wife got tired of me replacing the fuses and heating elements on our old dryer regularly even though I kept parts on hand and it only took a few minutes.”source ↗
“In the three years I've lived at this brand new place I feel like I'm always fixing some new appliance failure.”source ↗
“We got tired of fixing our Samsung dishwasher.”source ↗
“I had a new unit installed two and a half months ago by a reputable company. I’ve had 5 service calls since install. First one being a week after install. All 5 times were because the outdoor unit stopped running. All 5 times were different causes. BBB has been notified.”source ↗
“Samsung appliances are notoriously impossible to get service for.”source ↗
“I always dread having to remove and replace the dryer front.”source ↗
“Nightmare model to reassemble. Kudos.”source ↗
“putting a new drum in and trying to get that front panel on is a special hell I wouldn’t wish on anyone”source ↗
“I discovered on Sunday that my AC stopped running.”source ↗
“The house temperature kept rising through the day and became warmer than outside.”source ↗
“Not seeing anything that cheap in Canada. OEM is $83 CAD plus $24 shipping.”source ↗
“My Samsung washer-dryer combo (yes yes I know now, I won't do it again) is three years old and began screaming and spitting out black stuff.”source ↗
“Then I discovered I had accidentally broken the water level sensor. Annoying, but cheap, so I replaced that.”source ↗
“Thinking everything was all fixed, I proudly started a load, and...the drum was stuttering and stopping.”source ↗
“PLEASE don't tell me this is the bearings. I really can't bear to tear the whole thing down again.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
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- 3How to tell if a new apartment washing machine is broken
- 6How to track appliance warranties and maintenance between tenants
- 2Fixing lawn equipment with missing or mismatched parts