Update on August 30, 2009:This update is a little late but nevertheless I thought it was useful to revise this update. I got the Door Error, problems with the Drum (high noise) and the Counter Problem fixed by a Washing Machine technician about 8 months ago (early Jan-09) - someone who also attends to LG’s service requests, but he did this outside of his commitments for LG. It cost me a good Rs 10000/- (yes, read that as Ten Thousand rupees). You’d say that I should’ve instead preferred to buy a new one. I thought about it and the reason why I decided to spend that much money was on the assurance from the technician, who mentioned that once fixed, I would not have any issues for the next 3-5 years. And since the washing machine is a 7-Kg Front-Loader machine and you don’t get a good quality Front Loader of 7Kg capacity for less than Rs 20000/- these days, I decided to go for it.For 8 months now, I’ve had no issues.
So, I hope I’ll be right with my decision.Update on July 15, 2008:I guess LG’s customer service has gone from good to bad in a space of a year! The washing machine again ran into problems with the drum and the counter. While the customer service representative attended to it after I filed a complaint number, he’s not been able to set the washing machine right, after 5 weeks of diagnosis. I can be patient with the time, but the frustrating part is that the technician does not seem to be concerned about solving the problem. When I call him, he says he needs more time (this happenned for every week that I called him, for the past 3 weeks). I have filed a complaint # again to address this.
LG has not gotten back on it. It’s not suprising to me that LG does not provide Annual Maintenance Contracts for washing machines that are > 5 years old.Update on May 24, 2007:After 5 years, I experienced my first problem with the washing mashine. The machine started to display "DE", meaning "Door Error" on the display and would not start the wash cycle. I called up the LG customer service who were prompt in sending a serviceman at my doortstep in 2 days. The service man checked out my washing m/c and informed me that the Door Switch was not working and needed a replacement. The very next day he got a new Door Switch, installed it on the washing machine and it’s again back to business.
The Door switch cost me Rs 980/- and it cost me Rs. 330/- for labor charges. So, the cost of parts for a front-loader is slightly on the higher side. As of now, LGs customer service is satisfactory.Review as of April 15, 2007:We’ve (my wife, mother and me!) been using the LG-1050F washing machine for about 5 years now. In summary, it’s worked out quite well.I’ll try and provide a realistic review of this product, so that it gives you an idea about the kind of facilities you should look for, when you buy a front-loading washing machine.The good things about
LG-1050F:1. A fully automatic washing machine -- You just have to stuff your clothes into the drum, set the wash type and wash settings and hit the "Start" button. The washing machine then starts off it’s job and calls you (beeps 5 times) only after it’s done -- there’s nothing you need to do in between. Incase there’s a power-cut during the wash cycle, it is intelligent enough to start where it left off; in other words, there’s no need to start a fresh wash cycle all over again.
Additional load (7Kg) -- You can wash more clothes in 1 wash cycle than in other systems. When you stuff your clothes into the drum, ensure that you leave some space on the top of the drum, to do it’s job efficiently. Do not stuff in such that there’s no space for the clothes to rotate in the drum when the washing machine starts operating. You’ll see dissapointing results if this advice is not followed.
Good quality of wash, provided that the right quality and quantity of detergent is used. Trust me, if you don’t use detergents that are specifically meant for front-loading systems, you’ll surely end up with dissapointing results.
I find that front-loading washing machines consume lesser water to wash more clothes than top-loading systems. This is very useful, as we all know how important, water conservation is in INDIA.5. Easy of use -- You only need to power on the system, chose the wash program (coloreds/ whites/ synthetic/ delicates/ wool), set the wash (pre/ main), rinse (super/ normal) and spin (400/ 600/ 800/ 1000) setting, set the wash type (rapid for quick wash) and hit the "Start" button.
That’s it. You can also set the temperature settings if you want your clothes washed at a higher temperature. But, this is automatically set, based on the wash program chosen.6. Sturdy and reliable enough to wash thick blankets and carpets. I’m not sure if top-loading system perform as good a job as front-loading systems, when it comes to blankets and carpets. I feel that for thick blankets and carpets, front-loaders do a much better job.The bad things about
LG-1050F:1. The fact that you need to use detergents that are specifically meant for front-loading systems, which is more costly than those used for top-loading systems.2. Sometimes, when soft cotton clothes or delicate clothes are washed, the clothes end up with a lot of wrinkles, making it difficult to iron them after they’re dry. I find that this happens inconsistently and only with certain types of cotton clothes -- I still haven’t figured out which types (but mostly, the delicate and softer ones).Tips/Solutions to common problems:1. Sometimes, the system displays a "no inlet" message with a RED led indicator, which means your water filter attached to the water inlet is clogged. This happens when you use muddy/dirty water or hard water. You can clean the filter and place it back and this should solve your problem. The water in my area is so hard (sometimes muddy) that I’ve decided to take the filter off! The only other reason why this error is displayed, is if you’ve not turned on the water supply at all!
- The system sometimes highlights the "Door Lock" indicator and doesn’t start the wash. To get over this, open the door, push the clothes fully inside OR if the load is too high, remove some clothes to make some space and shut the door again.All in all, quite satisfied with the product. I’ve never had to call the customer service for the past 5 years; so, I can’t comment on LG’s concern for their customers. I’ll update this review incase I end up interacting with them.LG for Washing machines? -- Well, it worked well for us! Give it a try.