A Bosch dishwasher control board that caught fire. From CPSC website.
So as I posted earlier I discovered that Bosch had a voluntary recall on its dishwashers to fix the defective control board. I felt so sure this was my issue that I told all my neighbors. The homes in our neighborhood were all built by the same builder so our dishwashers are likely to all be Boschs.
Then I got home, punched in my model’s serial number and was surprised to see it wasn’t included in the recall. How could this be? My dishwasher’s control board clearly malfunctioned, with the heater relay melting itself off the board, yet it wasn’t recalled?
With this in mind, I decided to let both Bosch and the Consumer Product Safety Commission know that other models may be affected, not just the ones in the 2009 recall. I filed a public report on the CPSC website, number 20130308-D1763-2147458060. That done, I picked up the phone to call Bosch.
Upon reaching Bridgette on Bosch’s recall hotline, I was told that because my model wasn’t included in the recall, Bosch could not replace the control board. They were happy to send out a technician for free to “analyze” the failure, however. While my neighbor Tim’s electronics chops made my board as good (or better) than new, the board design might be to blame for the malfunction. I trust the board to function as new but as I came to find out, “new” means prone to overheating.
I decided to ask for a new control board. Rather than take it out on Bridgette, who was polite and understanding, I took my case to Bosch’s Facebook page, where I complained that my dishwasher almost caught fire and wouldn’t it be great if Bosch could pay to fix it.
Possibly without knowledge of my Facebook rant, I got a call this afternoon from Bosch’s executive offices in Irvine, CA. Stan Arrolloado was collecting information on the failure and asked if I had any photos to share. I sent him three, two of the burned control board and one of my manufacture label. I told him I would send one of the burned relay but I didn’t have that pic at the office.
I will be fetching the burned relay from my neighbor tomorrow and sending Bosch its pics. Hopefully the company will offer to replace my defective control board and all will be well. If not, I will think carefully whether I want to invest $15,000 in Bosch-brand solar panels for my home. I’m hopeful that good customer service will rule the day.
Bonus link: This report of a Bosch dishwasher that did catch on fire appeared on the CPSC website today. This is mighty damn scary!