Samsung washers: what CPSC incident reports show

What this page is counting#

Every number on this page is a share of CPSC SaferProducts incident reports for Samsung washers, 2011-2026, n=540.

The CPSC SaferProducts database records reports of harm, not a census of units in service. It is a safety reporting channel: people report what is dangerous, so fire, smoke and burn hazards dominate it. Nothing here is a failure rate, and nothing here says how often Samsung washers break — only what was reported, and in what proportion of those reports each part is named. A narrative mention of a part is not that part failing. Method: /methodology.

What CPSC reports say about Samsung washers#

Five hundred and forty CPSC SaferProducts incident reports name a [Samsung washer](/blog/samsung-washer-dryer-combo-error-codes) between 2011 and 2026, and what stands out is how little of that corpus resolves to a component. Nothing exceeds 4%: the drain pump or hose at 4% and the control board at 4% — twenty-two and twenty reports — then wiring or the power cord at 2%, the lint trap or vent and the motor at 2% each, and the heating element, the igniter and the water valve or line at 1%. Three of those rows are dryer parts. A lint trap, a heating element and an igniter belong to a dryer, and they reach a washer corpus because many filings describe a stacked or side-by-side laundry pair as a single appliance and name whichever component the writer held responsible. With a corpus this large and shares this small, the great majority of these reports name no tracked component at all. Two recall notices sit on the record, published in 2016 and 2022 and reproduced below as issued.

Which parts the reports name#

Share of CPSC SaferProducts incident reports for Samsung washers, 2011-2026, n=540 whose narrative mentions each part. A report naming a part several times counts once.

Method: /methodology.

Recalls on record#

Recall notices CPSC has issued for this brand and appliance, listed as published. This is a list of documents, not a rate: it says nothing about how many units were affected as a share of any population.

• Samsung Washers: CPSC recall 17028 (2016-11-04) — Samsung Recalls Top-Load Washing Machines Due to Risk of Impact Injuries; source: https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2017/Samsung-Recalls-Top-Load-Washing-Machines
• Samsung Washers: CPSC recall 23080 (2022-12-22) — Samsung Recalls Top-Load Washing Machines Due to Fire Hazard; Software Repair Available; source: https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2023/Samsung-Recalls-Top-Load-Washing-Machines-Due-to-Fire-Hazard-Software-Repair-Available

What the certified listings say#

111 Samsung washers are catalogued in the certified-product listings. A certified-product census is not a census of units in service, and these specs are unrelated to the incident reports above.

Method: /methodology.

What an owner can act on#

Start with the recall check, because both notices concern top-load machines and one is a software repair rather than a part swap. The 2016 notice covers a risk of impact injuries and the 2022 one a fire hazard with a software remedy available. A recall list is a set of documents, not a rate, and it says nothing about what share of any population was affected — but whether either reaches your machine is settled by the model number, and on most washers the plate is under the lid or inside the door frame. A software remedy in particular is one an owner can have applied without the machine leaving the house, so it is worth resolving rather than filing away.

The drain pump and hose head the component list, and the symptoms are unglamorous but worth acting on. Standing water at the end of a cycle while the pump audibly runs usually means a blocked filter or a kinked, crushed or high-looped drain hose behind the machine; a rattling or grinding pump often means something hard has reached it. Water left in a machine is also water on the floor if a seal is disturbed, so clear the filter and check the hose run rather than repeating the cycle.

The control board is judged by behaviour: a panel lighting selections nobody made, a cycle restarting or switching programme unprompted, a machine that fills or spins with the lid raised, or a warm-plastic smell after a run. Cut power at the breaker and leave it off — a lid-lock or fill circuit acting unpredictably is not something to test with another load. The same applies to a cord with a flattened jacket or heat marks at the plug face.

Because the dryer components reach this corpus through paired installations, extend the check to the dryer half of a stack: clear the lint screen every load and look at the duct run behind and above the pair for a crushed section, a disconnected joint, or lint packed at the elbow.