CPSC Warns Samsung Washing Machines Could Explode, as Smartphone Recall Continues

Product Safety Alert: Samsung Washing Machines Could Explode

Samsung has been trying to stamp out fires for the entire month of September. They started the month with their cell phones bursting into flames and now their washing machines have been reported to violently detonate as well. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), who claimed to have received more than 20 reports of exploding Samsung washers since 2015, has issued a warning to anyone who owns a Samsung top loading unit. (See the link at the end of this article to see if you are affected.)

A class-action lawsuit has been filed in New Jersey against Samsung over their top loading washing machines to conclude a month that began with one of the largest recalls in smartphone history. In the middle of August 2016, Samsung launched their new flagship smartphone, the Galaxy Note 7. Sales soared from the beginning; over two million units in just two weeks. But that is when the first reports began to come in that some Galaxy Note 7s were catching fire, exploding, causing property damage, not to mention burning their customers’ bodies.

Samsung subsequently halted all sales of the Note 7 in the beginning of September, but some retailers continued to sell the product through September 15^th.  Samsung then issued a voluntary international recall of 2.5 million phones that were sold worldwide, 1 million of which were sold in the U.S. The CPSC announced a mandatory recall soon after.

As of today, 92 incidents of the smartphone exploding have been reported with 26 people suffering from burns and 55 occurrences of property damage. The recall was due to the “serious fire and burn hazards” that came from the new smartphone that caused aviation authorities to ban all Galaxy Note 7s from air travel. (The ban has been since adjusted to only Galaxy Note 7s sold prior to September 15^th.)

Replacement Phones Allegedly Have Issues

Samsung recently announced that 90% of their customers affected by the recall opted for a new updated Galaxy Note 7 or Note S7 in lieu of a refund. But new allegations, coming this week from South Korea, allege that there are problems with the replacement phones as well. They are said to be overheating and the battery not charging properly. More troubling, a new report claims that another Galaxy Note 7 exploded in China this past week, the sixth report of an explosion in that country.

China’s state network, CCTV, has claimed that Samsung has showed “discrimination” toward the Chinese consumer in their handling of the recall. Samsung contends that all of the Galaxy Note 7s sold in China are safe despite these incidents, which is why China was not included in September’s recall of 2.5 million smartphones.

Samsung insists that these incidents are separate issues, but they also are said to be investigating the cases. A Samsung spokesperson said that the problem in South Korea is “completely unrelated to batteries.” But many are calling for a more extensive international recall. In addition, the problems may not be limited to the Galaxy Note 7. A man in California has filed a lawsuit suit against Samsung, claiming a Galaxy S7 Edge exploded in his pocket and caused severe burns to his leg. Samsung has said that the S7 Edge line was not affected by the issue that caused the recall and that they are safe to use.

There have also been a series of new online complaints in the U.S. made that Samsung’s latest Oculus VR android app is causing similar overheating and battery drainage issues that were reported in South Korea. Samsung has recently announced that they have identified the problem and in a statement said that their, “team has issued a fix that prompts people to update the Oculus software.”

The explosions and subsequent fires in the Galaxy Note 7 recall have been allegedly traced to the lithium-ion batteries and to a glitch in their production. When the battery is fully charged, severely impacted, or is in too hot of an environment it may become unstable and can combust. The washer explosions allegedly come from a different glitch relating to the manufacturing of the product. Either way consumers need to be aware of Samsung’s history of these so called glitches.

To see if your Samsung product is affected, please see the links below:

• Samsung Galaxy Note 7 – http://www.samsung.com/us/note7recall/
• Samsung Top Load Washer – https://pages.samsung.com/us/top_load_washer/index.jsp