Samsung’s fall got off to a rocky start — putting it mildly — when their flagship phone, the Galaxy Note 7, had to be recalled because it had a tendency to catch on fire.
It seems that the Note may be getting some company in the accidentally incendiary hall of fame — care of another Samsung product.
According to new reports, U.S. regulators have issued a warning that some top-loading Samsung washing machines may have “safety issues.” The “issue” it seems are reports that some machines are exploding.
The warning, from the Consumer Product Safety Commission, covered machines made between March 2011 and April 2016. It did not specify a model. The warning also doesn’t suggest not using the machines — but instead washing everything on the delicate cycle on the logic that lower spin speed “lessens the risk of impact injuries or property damage due to the washing machine becoming dislodged.”
Reports thus far are coming in from Texas, Georgia and Indiana that customers were suddenly disturbed by their machines going “boom.” The Texas complaint notes that the explosion was like “a bomb went off” and that it had damaged an interior wall of her garage.
As of yet, Samsung has offered limited responses to the situation.
“In rare cases, affected units may experience abnormal vibrations that could pose a risk of personal injury or property damage when washing bedding, bulky or water-resistant items,” the statement says.
Samsung also said its customers “have completed hundreds of millions of loads without incident since 2011.”
A lawsuit has been filed in federal court in New Jersey. The court filing also claims Samsung “has moved aggressively to collect and destroy all evidence of the defective machines” after they exploded. The law firm filing the complaint has not yet responded to media inquiries.
The news comes as Samsung is announcing plans to replace 2.5 million of its Galaxy Note 7 smartphones.
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