Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
- Andee Otuafi's GE dishwasher malfunctioned two months after purchase and, despite multiple repairs, stayed broken.
- GE initially refused to replace the dishwasher, citing warranty limitations on parts.
- After media intervention, GE agreed to replace the dishwasher, ending Otuafi's ordeal.
EAGLE MOUNTAIN — Andee Otuafi is hand washing a lot more dishes than she thought she would after buying a new GE dishwasher. She says just two months after she purchased the appliance, it stopped working.
"One day, it just started beeping," she said. "And I went over to it, and it was just going through all the cycles and beeping, and I couldn't do anything — like none of the buttons work."
All Otuafi can do to stop the constant shifting of cycles and lights is to open the electric panel and flip the breaker used by the dishwasher. Then it's a two-day wait.
"It wouldn't work for two days," she said.
Her dishwasher comes with a limited one-year warranty from the manufacturer — so, easy fix, right? Call GE and ask them to fix it. Well, Otuafi did. Many times.
"We have had four technicians come look at it," she said. "Every single one of them have blamed it on the panel. The control panel. And every single one of them have replaced the control panel."
Four new control panels, and she says the dishwasher still locks up in that cycle — even when not in use. Exasperated, she wants a new dishwasher. But she says GE tells her no: the warranty only covers defective parts, not the entire appliance.
"I don't understand how that's cheaper for them to keep replacing control panels at this point," she said.
So, Otuafi contacted the KSL Investigators.
We looked all over the dishwasher's standard limited warranty, and, as GE told her, there is no mention of getting a replacement dishwasher. Just replacement parts. But under Utah implied warranty law, if a new appliance stops working, the manufacturer could still have an obligation to make it right.
So, we reached out to GE, and the next day a spokesperson told us they looked into it further and agreed to replace the dishwasher.
And just like that, the days of hand washing dishes for Otuafi and her family of six will soon be over.
"It's just impossible," she said. "I can't use all of my free time to wash dishes."
With warranty trouble, you can always try contacting the retailer for a resolution. You can also file complaints with the Federal Trade Commission and Utah's Division of Consumer Protection.
You can also file a dispute with your credit card company if it's less than 60 days since you bought whatever product is giving you trouble.
