I am very disappointed in Fisher and Paykel appliances mainly because they breakdown so often. I have a dishwasher,two fridges,a freezer,a clothes washer and a clothes dryer. Only the freezer has never broken down but it uses excessive electricity and they said there is nothing they can do about it. Items are of varying ages.One frig is still faulty and they don’t seem inclined to fix it. The other items have broken down multiple times.
Next time I purchase an appliance it will not be Fisher and Paykel but are the other brands likely to be any better.
F&P not cheap so choose appliances with better reputation: Choice research is a good guideline but also many other online reviews. F&P used to be great but like everything else since it manufactured not in NZ the quality is not the same.
I suspect this is part of the general decline in manufacturing standards over the past 20 years.
Quantity not quality.
The first fridge I bought (Westinghouse, 1991) came with 20 year warranty.
The next one (Electrolux, 2005) had a 10 year warranty.
I was in the market again last year, and most fridges only came with a 2 year warranty. I was in the market for quality and bought a Mitsubishi which came with a 5 year warranty.
NB. the Westinghouse and the Electrolux were both still working fine when I sold them/gave them away. I upgraded due to changing needs.
Most of us are happy that prices on appliances are so cheap (relatively). But manufacturers no longer compete on quality, only on features and price. And when it breaks down, we throw it out and buy another. It’s a mentality we’ll have to change soon, for the sake of future generations.
I have an F&P two-door fridge-freezer that is 15 years old and has never missed a beat. I also have an F&P double Dishdrawer dishwasher which has also been fault-free over its 10-year life, but I did learn from my sister’s bad experience with hers (flooding) which arose from failing to follow the instructions!
I had a problem with an F&P drawer dishwasher, during the warranty period. Their technicial came quickly and fixed the problem quickly and there’s been no problem since.
Over the years I have had a F & P top loading washing machine and two fridges. The washing machine had an amazing feature - the clothes came out dirtier than when they went in! Service person claimed that it was a badly designed machine as it didn’t have a lint filter. He had some one in the factory dummy-up a filter that dropped in the middle of the spindle where the detergent would go. Marginally better. Bought a Bosch, it lasted five years. Now have a front load LG, a model that was recommended by Choice. So far so good.
The history of the fridge(s) is a long and tawdry tale. Long story short. The first F & P, after four visits from a serviceman over four years, was diagnosed with a missing part - the insulation between the freezer and the fridge which meant during the humid summer months it would leak about a litre of water onto the floor. F & P where not interested in replacing it so I wrote to the MD in NZ. The fridge was replaced, without charge, a week later. After one year the replacement fridge was faulty. The foil between the freezer and the heater element was placed in the wrong place resulting in the back of the freezer compartment melting. It is now fixed. It seems F & P have an assembly problem in their factory. Lesson - I will never buy a F & P product.
It’s a lottery when buying electrical appliances. Some people have no problems, others lemons, regardless of the manufacturer… It appears that nearly all companies, whether Japanese, Korean, etc get their products made where labour is cheap. The quality of the materials, is questionable. They are not made to last, there’s no money in something that lasts a long time.
Today I had to buy a new fridge / freezer, the switch that turns on the light stop working. The light stayed on regardless if it was closed or open, it then stayed off. No problem you might think, it’s just a light and a minor inconvenience, Sorry, when the switch is closed and light is out it turns the fridge on. I think it’s a power saving action, which makes sense to prevent the fridge / freezer using electricity when the door is open. However when your fridge / freezer is out of warranty and no spare part available at a very short notice, if at all, not quite such a good idea. I bought a Samsung, having had many good products from that company, its made in China. Most of the plastic trays and fittings have broken and now the switch has gone. Shortly after the warranty period the blue LED for temperature display on the panel developed a fault and I was missing part of the number. I couldn’t be bothered to have it repaired as it is cosmetic. I looked at the new equivalent model and noticed they had removed the switch, they probably had problems with the reliability. I think it’s no more then 5 years old, I have a Kelvinator fridge / freezer in the garage its 28 years old and still working.
I bought a Westinghouse, which is made in Thailand.I wonder how long it will last. certainly not 28 years.
I bought a new dishdrawer after having had previous one for about 10 years. Design of new one not nearly as good as previous - everything somehow clunkier inside. Works fine though - I just can’t fit things in the way I did boefore.
F&P fridge, about three years old. No complaints about operation, but the paint job is cheap and nasty. It has worn through to bare metal around the door handle. I should add that our previous American fridge still looked brand new when it was wheeled out the door after 10 years.
My 12-year-old Fisher & Paykel two-door fridge has performed faultlessly. But I don’t know whether current models are built to the same standards. You mention the freezer using excessive electricity: I understand older models were particularly inefficient, so the age of your freezer could be the problem.
I have had 3 F&P washing machines in 21 years. After a few years, control panel buttons progressively failed in the first of these. I have worked with electronics since the 60’s and was able to replace the failed switches with switches that I bought at Jaycar for about 50 cents. I subsequently heard from other people that had had the same problem, and F&P’s service people fixed their machines by replacing the control board at a cost of over $200. Neither of the two other F&P washing machines that I have owned has had this problem. One had a faulty switch in the out of balance sensor ( required a new microswitch at a cost of $2 or so - I didn’t bother getting a quote from F&P).
I have had impressively good appliances and impressively bad. It appears that ‘brands’ have lost meaning with globalisation of manufacturing. Quality becomes a lottery as manufacturing shifts between countries that offer the cheapest costs. I am lead to believe that F&P is now 90% owned by Haier: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fisher_%26_Paykel]
It is even more important to have strong consumer protection to be able to hold to account providers of goods that are ‘not fit for purpose’.
