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Samsung Products Keep Blowing Up, Literally

By George Khoury, Esq. on October 07, 2016 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

Samsung has a history of being a premier brand that consumers love and revere for quality, but lately, the brand name is becoming known for products that literally blow up. Last month, numerous reports of the newest Samsung smartphone exploding and catching fire kept the brand in the press. More recently, it has come out that even the replacement devices may be defective. And now, this past week, the brand's washing machines are making headlines for exploding.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), a federal government agency charged with protecting the public and consumers from the risk of injury or death caused by dangerous products, has issued a warning to the owners of Samsung washing machines produced between 2011 to 2016.

Samsung Washing Machines Explode in Consumers' Homes

Currently, it isn't known exactly which models of Samsung's washing machines are exploding, except that the problem seems to be isolated to top-loading machines. When the machines explode, parts become dislodged and are projected out from the machine. Thankfully the machines are not exploding in a fiery blast, however metal parts shooting out of a machine and spinning at extremely high speeds can be fatal, and definitely will cause damage to laundry rooms.Thankfully there have been no reported injuries.

The CPSC warns that consumers should only use the "delicate" cycle when washing certain bulky items as the lower speed of this cycle minimizes the risks of impact injuries. Additionally, Samsung has set up a website to allow consumers to enter their machine's serial number to check whether their machine is one of the unlucky exploding ones (the serial number is usually located on the back of the machine, either on the side or top of the back).

Samsung Galaxy Note 7 Recall

On September 15, 2016, the CPSC issued an official recall for Samsung Galaxy Note 7 smartphones sold before September 15, 2016. The CPSC warns that the phones can overheat and catch fire. At the time of the recall, there were approximately 100 reports of overheating, which included numerous reports of customers being burned and even more reports of property damage.

Prior to the official recall, on September 2, 2016, Samsung issued a warning to consumers advising that Galaxy Note 7 users should stop using the devices, power them down, and have the devices replaced through their recall program. Those travelling by air in the US were advised that the FAA was requiring all Galaxy Note 7s to not only be turned off for the duration of the flight, but the power switch needed to be protected to avoid accidentally turning the device on.

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