The dire state of customer service in the U.S. - a Maytag story

I have another customer service story. Maytag in general has been a good friend for our small family of two. They (used to at least) make good quality appliances. Whenever we buy a new appliance we have first looked at Maytag and ended up buying Maytag. However this experience has changed my mind forever.

A few months after we bought our Maytag Neptune washer, we noticed dark spots on the door boot. They kept growing but I didn't make a big deal out of it. It wasn't effecting the performance of the machine. One day about a month ago when I looked at it closely, I noticed how big those dark spots had grown. I have tried cleaning it with bleach but it looked like the happy mold had found a permanent home. So finally I decided to look up this problem on the web to see if other people had experienced it too. It turns out they had, quite a few of them. Not only that, there was a class action lawsuit against Maytag and the consumers had won the lawsuit. Unfortunately the time to claim for a refund, repair or replacement had long passed, so I decided to contact the Maytag Customer Service to find out if I there might be a newer, better part available that would prevent this problem from happening again. Below are the email exchanges I had with them.

My Neptune washer is suffering from the same problem described in the following websites. http://www.lemonlaw.com/maytag-class-action-suit-resolved.html http://www.maytagfrontloadsettlement.com/

The lower part of my washer door's gasket/boot is covered black with mold. I would like to replace this gasket but if I replace it with the exact same part the problem will happen again. I can't use bleach in my washing cycles due to potential damage to my septic field. I would like to know if there is a newer type of door gasket/boot that prevents this mold from forming in the first place, either a mildew-resistant rubber or a drained bottom part or a combination of the two. Please advise with appropriate part number that I need to order.

Regards, Koral

Dear Mr. Ilgun, Thank you for visiting our Maytag.com customer service page. We appreciate your interest in our products and service. The part number that you have requested is 12002533. Which is listed as a door boot with drain. Out of warranty parts can be obtained one of three ways:

1. We would like to encourage you to visit our on-line parts store for your shopping needs. http://www.maytag.com/mths/products/parts.jsp?cs=0&BV_UseBVCookie=Yes&cf =home&source=/homepage.jsp&message=parts&cs=0&BV_UseBVCookie=Yes

2. Contact our Consumer Parts Center at 1-877-232-6771 (please have model and serial number of the product available for parts identification).

3. Contact an authorized parts distributor in your area. You may locate a distributor directly from the Home Page on our web site. For your convenience, we are providing a link to help locate a distributor nearest you.

My question is, does the part # 12002533 have any improvements over the older neptune door boot which was the cause of a class action lawsuit ? If so, how does it do it ? If it is the exact same part as the original, then the same mold problem would happen again in just a few months.

Thanks, Koral

Thank you for visiting our Maytag.com customer service page. We appreciate your interest in our products and service.

The issues related to the class action suit weighed heavier on the later products. Some of the related concerns involved several home environment factors such as humidity, ventilation etc. These issues have impacted a small percentage of the Neptune front load products in comparison to the sales volume.

Maytag strives for innovation improvements and to exceed customer satisfaction! If you have additional questions or comments, please do not hesitate to contact us.

I am glad to hear that Maytag strives for innovation improvements and to exceed customer satisfaction. That's why I am a loyal Maytag customer for many years. However, you have not answered my question. I have a Maytag Neptune washer with a moldy door boot problem.

Model number: MAH5500BWW

Serial number: A2933319CR

Date of Installation: 10/05/2004

Does the door boot with part # 12002533 have any improvements (mildew-resistancy, better drainage, etc.) over the door boot that I have in my washer ? I would like to replace the boot but not with the exact same part that would exhibit the same problems.

Thanks, Koral

Thank you for visiting our Maytag.com customer service page. We appreciate your interest in our products and service.

You may wish to call Maytag Factory Service at 1-877-255-5511 to schedule a service appointment for this issue. Based on the date of purchase this unit is out of the manufacturers warranty on labor and you would be responsible for the service fee. If you have additional questions or comments, please do not hesitate to contact us.

You are still not answering my question. I don't need to make an appointment with Maytag Factory Service. My local Maytag dealer will do the installation. Before I schedule them though, I'd like to know if the door boot with part # 12002533 has any improvement over the existing part in my machine, so that the mold problem would not repeat. Can you please answer this question ?

Thanks, Koral

Dear Customer,

Thank you for visiting our Maytag.com customer service page. We appreciate your interest in our products and service.

We have investigated this door boot in the Parts Pro and the proper name for this is (kit,door boot w/drain) part number, 12002533.

If you have additional questions or comments, please do not hesitate to contact us.


Is Maytag Customer Service purposefully avoiding an answer to my question ? Can you please read my question and if you don't have the answer can you please forward to someone who has an answer ?

Thank you, Koral

Thank you for visiting our Maytag.com customer service page. We appreciate your interest in our products and service.

We have investigated this door boot in the Parts Pro and the proper name for this is (kit,door boot w/drain) part number, 12002533. This is the most recent part available for your unit. If you have additional questions or comments, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Is this most recent part any different from the part my unit has? My unit's model and serial are included in the previous emails (see below). If so, what are the differences between the old and the most recent part ?

Thanks, Koral

Dear Koral,

I sincerely apologize for the inconience you had to experince e-mailing back and forth for a simple question.

The newer part has a drain kit installed in the bottom which allows standing water to drain and keep the mold dry to prevent mold and mildew. You would stil have to, however, clean the boot every 90-120 days just to make sure no miold and mildew grows back. I personally hope that this answers your question. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have additional questions.


I finally got my answer. Each representative who was corresponding with me was a different person. The funny coincidence was that the last person who responded me and finally answered my question was Turkish. It takes a Turk to understand a Turk I suppose.