By Barry Eitel
SAN FRANCISCO (AA) – U.S. regulators announced Friday that Samsung is recalling 2.8 million top-loading washing machines because the appliance’s lid can suddenly detach and potentially injure users.
The news comes just weeks after the company announced a highly embarrassing global recall of millions of its Galaxy Note 7 smartphones that were an explosion hazard. The blunder torched the South Korean company’s third quarter financial report that saw its revenues drop 7 percent from the same period last year.
The latest recall notice involves 34 models of washing machines that cost about $450 to $1,500 each. The appliances were sold between March of 2011 and this month.
“The washing machine top can unexpectedly detach from the washing machine chassis during use, posing a risk of injury from impact,” the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said in its recall notice Friday.
Government regulators said Samsung received hundreds of complaints about the issue, which caused several broken bones.
“Samsung has received 733 reports of washing machines experiencing excessive vibration or the top detaching from the washing machine chassis,” the recall notice said. “There are nine related reports of injuries, including a broken jaw, injured shoulder, and other impact or fall-related injuries.”
The issue usually happens when a heavy or bulky item is being washed. Samsung has agreed to provide in-home repairs, send rebates for new washing machines of any brand or send full refunds to anyone who has bought a recalled appliance in the past month.
Samsung is still in the midst of the recall of 4.3 million Galaxy 7 smartphones that was further complicated when consumers complained that replacement phones also caught fire.
The company said this week that it still does not fully understand why the smartphones ignited and that it does not know what to do with the millions of dangerous phones it has successfully recalled.
