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LG Electronics review: fire in dishwasher 28

R
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2:40 am EDT
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We have a LG Dishwasher that caught in fire last Saturday. What is more surprising about the situation is that the dishwasher was off at the time. It ran a load of dishes over 12 hours prior to the fire. I was actually in the dishwasher getting a measuring cup out 20 minutes before we found the fire. It is clear that it was the dishwasher that started the fire and it is on my report from the fire department. LG seemed to want to work with us on Saturday, but when I called on Monday, they told me that the warranty ran out and they will not help. (the Rep was rude too.) He later called back after talking to his manager but now we are letting the insurance take care of the company.

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28 comments
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Justin Hedrick
, US
Jul 04, 2022 12:35 am EDT

My LG dishwasher caught fire this afternoon. Luckily I was standing right there and heard the electrical hissing and popping and saw all the smoke pouring out. I turned off the breaker but by that time my house was full of thick smoke. At least it didn't burn my house down.

I'm shocked to learn this is such a common issue. I've had nothing but problems with LG appliances and I'll never buy one again.

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SkipInSB
, US
Nov 20, 2023 12:58 am EST
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

I have an LG dishwasher Model #LDS5040ST that has had several similar issues. The first time the dishwasher shout down and had smoke coming from the bottom of the dishwasher. I found a melted electrical connection at the motor. I cleaned the connection and the dishwasher seemed to work okay. A couple of weeks later, the same thing happened. I found smoke coming for behind the dishwasher door panel. I disassembled the panel and found another connection melted and wires melted. It appeared that the wires were too short that may have caused the problem. I cleaned the connections and replaced the burnt wires with larger wires. The dishwasher worked well for about a year and a half until tonight. After being gone for two weeks on vacation, we started the dishwasher. it sounded was louder than usual and was groaning. After about 10 minutes it shut off and started smoking. I again took the door panel apart and found the wires I replaced 9 months ago melted again. This is a scary situation, I cannot believe LG has not issued a recall.

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JoJohann
, US
Feb 23, 2022 10:03 am EST
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

Our LDF5545ST model also had the wires burn in the electrical box. I'm currently in the process of trying to get a refund from LG for this but I'm not holding my breathe. I am horrified to read all these stories about the same issue. I as on the fence about whether or not to take the replacement or push for a full refund, but now I know I do not want another LG dishwasher. I can't find a technician anywhere close to me to work on it anyway. Even LG repair tech is scheduled for March 23rd, schedule on February 19th. So I wait for over a month for a tech to come out, then what, maybe he'll say to rewire...I don't think I feel safe with that option. So frustrating.

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Bruce Hobbs
Lacygne, US
Jan 12, 2022 2:45 pm EST

I have an LG LDS5040ST that stopped working. I removed the lower right cover plate to check voltage to the main board. White wire was burned off and black wire was singed. The inside of the cover plate was burned. This is a very dangerous situation and potentially live safety issue. Photos attached.

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Leticia Navarro Cervantes
, US
Jul 24, 2020 2:18 pm EDT

Our LG dishwasher also caught on fire and went up in flames . Fireman came and put out fire. They said fire was from dishwasher motor not home wiring. Thank Hod my husband got up at 1am to get a drink of water and noticed smoke coming out of it . This happened on a July 23rd 1am, 2020.

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GiaD
, US
Aug 01, 2018 9:38 am EDT
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

LDF7774ST model caught on fire, thankfully it just tripped the fuse and the fire did not spread, but the wires in the front junction box are burnt to a crisp. I have had the dishwasher for less than 12 months (~9 months of use) when this occurred. Initially had the electrician who built the house come out because I thought there was an issue with the electrical. The outlet worked, but they realized when they plugged the dishwasher into a different outlet that it tripped the fuse, so the dishwasher was identified as the source of my problem.

Called LG and had a technician sent a week later (by the way, he was HOURS late), who opened the junction box and told me that my house could have burned down, but it wasn't LG's fault. He said that the dishwasher was "improperly wired" with no further details and that it voided the warranty. I called my electrician back and they said they do not wire the dishwasher aside from plugging it into the power source. I reviewed the instruction manual with a friend who is an electrical engineer, who agrees the issue appears to be a manufacturer malfunction and not the result of an improper installation.

I called LG back and requested they send another service technician to provide a detailed explanation of how the machine was improperly wired and they tell me they can do that, but I need to pay for it. I'm on the phone with a manager trying to fight this. How can you say the warranty is voided without providing details?! Ridiculous.

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maizinbo
, US
Nov 01, 2018 12:53 pm EDT
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Replying to comment of GiaD

I have the same model LDF7774ST that started to burn but I was home and caught it in time. Has there been talk of a class action suit or did anyone get LG to cover and repair costs or anything?

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D Cooke
, US
Apr 05, 2018 6:35 pm EDT

I smelt an awful smell when I came home and we realised a fuse had blown. When we turned it back on smoke started coming from the LG Dishwasher LD1452TFEN2. We had an issue with it being clogged, when installed they left a huge kink in the hose so during this and about to call for repairs we came home to that! Shocked at the thought of it burning our house down! I have emailed LG... we shall see! Not happy!

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Janette Taylor
, CA
Nov 23, 2017 2:37 pm EST
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

From Canada - Purchased our LG Dishwasher on July 12, 2012, Model Number LDF7932ST. I'm just sick reading these comments. Our house burned down to the ground on November 2, 2014 while we were away. The only thing we could tell the fire marshal at the time that we found odd in the weeks/days prior to the fire was that we had to sometimes open/close and kinda jiggle our open dishwasher to get it to turn on. It only happened a few times and we intended to call about getting it serviced but then it worked fine. We never received a recall on it and I'm only finding out about dishwasher recalls now because our new Bosch dishwasher was just recalled. Anyone have any suggestions for getting LG to compensate?

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Shawn Sage
, US
Feb 15, 2018 12:19 pm EST
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

We have a dishwasher Model LDS4821ST, our dishwasher stopped working. Upon investigation, it was found that a fire had occurred in the door of the dishwasher. Reading this post, I AM GLAD I WAS HOME, yet it makes me sick. Has anyone started a class action law suit on this?

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Janette Taylor
, CA
Feb 15, 2018 2:24 pm EST
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more
Replying to comment of Shawn Sage

Thank God you were home. What a terrible ordeal. I'm so happy you and your family and home are safe. No class lawsuit that I know of but your model is a little different then mine so you might have luck searching your model in that regard. Take care Shawn and thank you for your comment.

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Skidoocarol
, US
Oct 21, 2017 2:06 pm EDT
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

Our LG dishwasher started on fire today. Thank God I was home, or it would have burnt the house down. It burnt my wood cabinet and melted the front panel where the controls were. This was a new dishwasher when we remodeled our kitchen.

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Hollingerzzzzz
, CA
Oct 19, 2017 11:40 am EDT

I am from Canada.

Our LG dishwasher caught fire as we were sitting in the kitchen doing bible study with friends visiting from my wife’s church. There was this little popping sound and the next thing I saw was black and acrid smoke billowing from the top of the door. We would have gone to bed had it not been the visiting friends and shuddered to think what could have happened had we gone upstairs with the timer set. Called LG the next day and they only responded that since the appliance is out of warranty, their obligations are no longer applicable.

I can understand if it was something that we did to cause the fire but it was just normal set and wash and the last thing we expected was a fire in the dishwasher. Needless to say, it was pointless to repair it as we have lost confidence in this dishwasher and we would have to sit and watch it if we need to do the dishes. I can’t imagine the fun and joy of sitting in front of the machine and watch it going for 2 hours just in case a hockey game broke out.

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Randalla
, US
Jun 03, 2017 4:25 pm EDT
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

Waiting for second repairman. Dishwasher caught fire in the junction box at the bottom of the door behind the same small silver panel. First repairman told me it was mice that caused the fire. I laughed at him. I couldn't help it. There's no room for mice in that little silver junction box with all those wires and wire caps. Just ridiculous. No signs of mice, no poop, no chewed wires and no electrocuted or burnt mouse body. LOL I called Home Depot and explained what the first guy said. Now they are sending the LG technician. Our fire also happened at 2 am while using the delayed start option. Good luck everyone.

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Y. N/A
, CA
Nov 10, 2016 5:31 pm EST

Tonight our LDF model dishwasher started smelling like burnt plastic. Opened it (it was running) to see if the smell came from inside and it didn't. I immediately stopped it and unplugged it.

I hopped on a live chat with LG support and they are going to send a technician to check it out. Unit is not much more than 12 months in service since purchase (but more for sure) so it's out of warranty, but they agreed to cover labor anyway. I didn't hesitate to let them know that this was very alarming and had I not been here to smell it, I might have had an even worse surprise. Especially with 3 1/2 years old twins sleeping upstairs.

If they don't find the exact cause of the smell, I'm throwing it out to the garbage and buying a new one, not going to mess around for a second with that kind of scary problem.

Will update when the tech has checked it out.

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Karla M
, US
Nov 04, 2016 4:37 pm EDT

Model # LDF7551ST My husband and I bought all new LG products for our kitchen at the end of 2013. Last Tuesday, November 1st, 2016, I was home with my children and all of a sudden something smelled like it was burning. I went into the kitchen and there was smoke (not steam) coming from the dishwasher. The smell was terrible! I opened the dishwasher slowly and more smoke came out. I turned it off and kept an eye on it. Later that day once it had cooled, I emptied it of it's contents and pressed the power button to see if it would turn on. No power. I spent a couple days researching causes of power failure to no avail. Today 11/4/2016 I called LG customer care. They asked me to do a diagnosis with them over the phone. So today, my 7month pregnant self got on the kitchen tile floor and opened the bottom front panel of the dishwasher to check the wires as the lady at LG told me to do. The red wires looked fine. Then I opened the little silver box to the right front that holds the white, green and black wires and the wires were FRIED to a crisp! Thank goodness I was home on that initial day when the dishwasher was smoking and that I turned it off! Imagine if we were not home or in our beds asleep! We could have lost our home or worse! When I called LG today the lady there said, "Well it's not under warranty any longer, but we can send a service person out to you." Are you kidding me? Why haven't these been recalled? Why are they not taking responsibility for this? I told them I want to speak to a manager and they told me that I first need to send in a receipt (proof of purchase) and photos of the damaged wires. They did not care at all that their product could have burned my home down or potentially injured one of my children. All they kept saying was, I'm sorry but it is no longer under warranty. Anyway, I emailed the proof of purchase and photos to LG and I am supposed to get a response within 48 hours. We shall see... I will post an update when I hear from LG.

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DTurn
, US
Aug 23, 2020 5:02 pm EDT
Replying to comment of Karla M

We purchased this exact model in 2013. Last night we smelled burning electronics coming from the LG dishwasher. (Upper right corner) Today the cover was removed and they found the wires connected to the control panel are completely melted. This is so DANGEROUS. IT WAS LUCKY WE WERE HOME when this occurred.

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Drfter1
Austin, US
Aug 01, 2023 10:12 am EDT
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more
Replying to comment of DTurn

Mine had the exact same problem. Lg ldf7551. The other day we came home and smelled burning. I thought maybe something being made of crappy plastic was in there. Yesterday I came home and the wife said it smelled bad again. I sniffed around and noticed the smell from the door. I opened it up and found the wiring to the control board burned up. I am an electrician and have seen a lot of electrical fires mainly caused by improperly installed receptacles or switches. Not factory wiring on dishwashers. Never. Nonetheless I will be repairing today as a bandaid until new one arrives. It is 10 years old and has given me no troubles. I understand that constant expansion and contraction along with vibration on the terminal connection caused the issue. So there is a logical explanation behind it. Seeing though as it has lasted 10 years of constant daily use and went from our old house to our current one I ordered another lg. I know of many people that have had major issues with other brand dishwashers that didn’t last nearly as long.

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E Tanner
, US
Aug 15, 2016 2:07 pm EDT
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

LG#802KWNM00615, Model LDS5811ST/02 129 V Stainless dishwasher caught on fire. Had to have previous service on this same machine at Heber Appliances in Heber, UT. When we reported first failure lg would not stand behind warranty. Home Depot would not stand behind warranty. Now the dishwasher nearly caught our home on fire. Can't something be done about this. The door panel on the lg is black near the controls. We have not pulled it out yet but we are very lucky my husband was home or we would have been homeless and our pets and children would have been burned. I am very unhappy about this appliance and will post pictures when we get them of where the appliance charred and left black marks. My husband luckily pulled the cord to stop disconnect the appliance. The home has an awful electrical small right now and we intend to see if it did further damage before moving forward with some sort of claim. We are not happy with what could have happened here and intend to follow through with this via whatever means it takes to do so for replacement and damages to home. Posted by E Tanner, bearpawbiz@gmail.com. on August 15, 2016 Any other complaints or similar incidents please join in.

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redfan
, US
Sep 04, 2019 2:45 am EDT
Replying to comment of E Tanner

I had the exact same model caught on fire, started from the top right corner (main circuit board?).

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Uoset
, US
May 10, 2016 2:02 pm EDT
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

I just replaced the heating element and 2 weeks later the second element burned out. Searching I found I should change the board out. I opened the front panel and noticed melted wires on the terminal with the part ID number. We feel like we got off easier then some of you who posted here.

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Sonya Springer
, US
Dec 29, 2015 4:46 pm EST

My LG dishwasher also had a fire in the door. We smelled something burning and sure enough it burnt right through the stainless steel door into the washer basin! My rack is also rusting out. Service professional that was called out to look at it said it was a very dangerous situation and could have caused a house fire and that we were very lucky. Calling LG and my attorney now that I have found all these recent complaints similar to mine. LG should definitely recall this dishwasher.

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Sarah Watson
, US
Dec 05, 2015 11:38 am EST

We just found smoke billowing out of our LG dishwasher similar to the model above. We called and they didn't care, the only thing they cared about was whether it was under warranty

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zach7685
Greenville, US
May 12, 2015 8:45 pm EDT

This dishwasher has been the worst I have ever had. Aside from the countless leaks and the racks rusting out, catching fire is the worst feature of all. Luckily I was home and smelled the smoke before it caught counter on fire. LG should recall such a dangerous appliance!

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nancy wegis
Las Vegas, US
Nov 25, 2011 12:04 am EST
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

lg dishwasher model number lds4821 dt/bb/ww caught my home on fire. 11/20/2011

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Kate Brac
Brighton, US
Feb 27, 2012 4:51 pm EST

I am waiting for a repairman now.
Second fire in the door of my LG LD dishwasher..
Now I am afraid to have it fixed.
Kate

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CPierce
75165, US
Feb 08, 2012 6:22 pm EST

We recently had the same issue with an LG dishwasher. Luckily, my husband had stayed home from work or who knows what the outcome would have been. I had set the delay, as I have done many times before (usually at night, when we are home) and when it started it ran like normal. When my husband stepped out of the shower he smelled a foul smell. He got dressed started looking for the cause of the odor, and heard hissing and popping coming from the dishwasher. When he looked at it, there was smoke billowing out from the top of the dishwasher. He quickly turned off the breaker and went to investigate. When he opened up the dishwasher, smoke poured out. When I got home that evening the odor reminding me of a chemistry lab. It was very noxious and unnerving.

Upon calling customer service about the issue, we were told that it was not under warranty and they gave us the number to service center 60 miles away. Unsatisfied with this answer, my husband explained to the RUDE CS agent that this is not the first incident. That he had done some research and found out that LG dishwashers had been reported as catching on fire. This did not phase the CS agent, in fact he said
since the warranty was out he couldn't do anything and gave us the number to his manager/supervisor. We are gathering what information we have as well as other cases and going to see what can be done about this problem. Someone is going to lose more than a house one of these days, and LG will be to blame!

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Tom Daytona
Daytona Beach, US
Nov 17, 2011 2:00 pm EST
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

My dishwasher started on fire Tue Nov 15 had I not been home or asleep My house could haved burned down When I called LG all they cared about was whether it was under warranty they had no concern about starting my house on fire If i set someones house on fire I go to jail