Have you been happy with your machine?

First, a baby could not crawl to the machine, figure out how to open it, then manage to crawl inside. Now a baby inside may be a bit harder to see/feel, so let's move to the toddler stage and size.

A toddler could figure this out and get inside, but a toddler is big enough that the minute I try to put my hand with laundry into the machine to load it, I am going to hit the toddler. Plus, I am not going to have enough room to put the regular amount of laundry into the machine, which would cause me to bend over further and actually look inside the machine to see what is wrong/what has changed. I would be able to see a toddler at that point.

So now I think of the other possible "benefit" of it, that being a pet sensor. First off, I know of no pet (except maybe a monkey) that would be able to open the door to get in. As for cats and other such animals that might want to crawl inside while it is in the open door airing out mode post usage, gee, if I had such a size and/or inclined pet, I would always look inside the machine before using it. But I really cannot believe a cat would want to get into a wet, humid and quite possibly smelly environment.

But then again, there are parents who are stupid and/or absent minded enough that they actually forget and leave their baby or young children in the locked car here in the desert while they go in to work or to stores. It happens every year - some poor child dies this way.

Manufacturers should really address the reality and usefulness of some of these new "features." Okay, I'll get off my soapbox now - no pun intended.

I hope your problem with it goes away!

In case you don't already know, the Normal cycle doesn't use the heater, apparently to reduce the reported energy consumption. We never use Normal, rather we use Custom, which is similar but uses the heater to ensure the selected wash temperature. The wide range of wash temperatures is one of my favorite features.

Should also mention that the Pause function is somewhat flaky. Sometimes it'll fail to unlock the door after pausing, and once I managed to trigger a spurious "Door Blocked" error by pausing at an inopportune time. I don't generally have any reason to pause, so I'm not worrying about it.

If the entrapment sensor continues to be a problem, and you report it, please let us know how they fix it. My assumption is there's no discrete physical sensor for this, rather it's a software feature, using rotational positioning or other sensors that are basic to the machine's functioning.

Of course most people don't have a special needs kid for whom this would be a concern and even I'm more likely to look for a hard to open door than shop for such a dubious feature ;-)

All the same, thanks for letting us know that it's causing problems -- I'll take all the info I can get.

• When you load your clothes, and then start the machine, if the clothes settle and turn the drum the tachometer sensor reads the drum movement and stops the machine while unlocking the door mechanism. This is exacerbated by clothes settling when water is administered to the tub if enough drum revolution occurs through water wetting the clothes, thereby causing a lopsided weight situation, hence causing the drum to revolve. The water jet that is above the door is entirely unnecessary (and can be turned off through the firmware) but was designed to exhibit that water was indeed being introduced into the drum as people were concerned that they did not see water, or that there was too low a water level (common to those who switch from a TP to FL). Anything that gets the drum to rotate a certain prescribed distance sets the sensor off.

I sorely find Miele USA customer service lacking and inept. Both my wife and I love our machines, but dislike Miele customer service. We are extremely fortunate to have a Miele Service Technician who is exceptional, honest, and resolves issues without the hassles that Miele customer service gives you. Getting a Miele Service Technician to your doorÑwhile your machine is still under Miele warrantyÑis a hassle as Miele customer service does everything in its power to insist that your issue is "normal." Every service call we have had has proved them wrong. Miele USA needs to do some serious housecleaning of its own organization in the States. I urge anyone having issues to circumvent Miele USA and contact Miele Germany directlyÑyou will get results.

While they are there have them do the following to your dryer:

• There is a large circumference drum seal comprised of rubber and felt that has been changed as it was causing too much friction; this seal is at the front of the machine and easily changed.


• The squirrel cage blower fan has been re-engineered with the vanes redesigned to move air more efficiently and quietly; this too can be easily changed. I'll bet this new fan design is part of the new model 9842 dryer to be released.


• Miele is now increasing the time length of heating time (not the heat temperature) to better dry clothes as too many people are complaining about their clothes not being dry enough. This can be accomplished by a Miele service rep connecting a laptop with the proprietary Miele software to your dryer (this is another very important reason to have an actual Miele factory tech service your unit(s) as they can also upload the latest firmware to your dryer; firmware updates cannot be done by any other means).

The difference in our dryer is night and day with the newly designed dryer fan, and the drum seal. Have both your washer and dryer checked for the latest firmware and uploaded if not.

-My dryer has a build date of 04/09. When the tech was here, I asked him if the dryer had any updates, and he said it was the absolute newest and latest in all aspects. I think the dryer works amazing. SO much quiter than our gas Super capacity we had when these units first debute over 2 years ago. We have the electric T9800, and it is quiet, strong and very efficient.
-In regards to the fan blower and cage, he never mentioned that I was able to change it, or that it needed updating.

So, thanks again...I'm so happy to be able to press Start and then walk away from the W4840!!

Where did/do you find the build date? I see numbers on the sticker inside the door, but I don't see a date.

Thanks in advance!

The Entrapment feature CANNOT be deactivated with Software/Firmware. He was able to re-route the way the water enters the drum, and the water spraying is now not making the drum rotate.

Interesting (has lawyers written all over it so I can see where Miele would not have the techs do so), I know about the valves being diverted, and that one path that washes over the front door's glass is simply for eye candy as Miele did not want those new to front loaders to be concerned that it was not filling with water.

Where did/do you find the build date? I see numbers on the sticker inside the door, but I don't see a date.

When a Miele technician connected their laptop to your machine, their laptop connects via Wi-Fi to a central database where Miele has all the specs on your machine, including build date. During that time the technician also uploads information about your machine such as hours of usage, etc, to the Miele database. The central database will also inform the technician whether there is a new firmware update so they can install it on your machine.

Does anyone know if they really use special software to access it or are they just using a web browser or terminal program? Or is the software included with the wifi adapter they sell? Also does anyone know if they sell the service manual for the W4800 series washers? Thanks.

Kaffine....Yes, it is this lame feature. Call Miele, and schedule a service appt. Our tech said this fix, where the re-route the water spraying, to avoid the drum rotating is a well documented fix. Funny, our techician said I was the first west coast USA machine to need this adjustment, where they have tons of documented cases on the east coast. Odd. Good Luck!

Alex