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Performa PAVT234AWW

by Sally
(Fort Worth, TX, USA)

We've had our washer for about three years and it has always been a pain to use. The basket gets off balance extremely easily and then rocks the washer all over the place.

We have to babysit the washer any time we want to wash a load. Our washer has rocked itself out far enough to pull the drain hose loose (several times) and floods the entire garage.

The last time this happened my teenage son had put in a load right before we left for church and we came home to a totally flooded house. Our neighbor had noticed it running out the garage door (and believe me it took a lot of water to do that) and shut off our water outside.

We have tried all different sizes of loads and it makes no difference. I finally opened the top to see if perhaps a spring had broken and it doesn't even have any. The way it is set up it is no wonder it can't stay balanced.

I will NEVER buy another Maytag!

Comments for
Performa PAVT234AWW

Average Rating starstarstarstar

Click here to add your own comments

Feb 15, 2010
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		maytag sucks
by: Dan

I have bought a top loader maytag performa model pavt234aww . the transmission went after only about 3 years of use. I recieved a new transmission from maytag for free. I then installed it very carefully and the washer seemed to work ok until I noticed how much it would not keep balanced. Now I found water leaking on my floor and took the machine apart to find that the inner drum rubbed a hole in the washers inner tub. I do not like to quit, but this washing machine is a piece of trash in design. Maytag should give all of us a rebate towards a new washer. Now it loks like I wasted all of my efforts to fix this junk. If I give up I will be offering my transmission and parts that are still good to anyone that wants to fix what i can not
Dec 29, 2009
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		add me to the list
by: Anonymous

I too like another person that posted came upon this site to find out what I needed to replace in order to stop the unbalanced spin cycle. The bi-fold doors for my laundry room, one wall, and the dryer are the only things that keep the washed in my zip code. It really sucks trying to open bi-fold doors with a washer up against them.

I just moved into my home 13 months ago which had these new Maytags and let my old washer and dryer go with my other house when I sold it.....that was a mistake.

There is one positive to this however, I did find my answer to my repair question.....buy a new washer that doesn't say Maytag.

Performa PAV2200AWW
Dec 13, 2009
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Super capacity ?Maybe for storage ..
by: Irritated

I bought Maytag because I thought they were supposed to be the best. Wrongo! It hops around more then a punk rocker at a Devo concert. Now when it is in spin cycle it sounds like a a helicopter taking off. I can hear it right now.. I wish I could play it for you. Sounds like its time to shove it off a cliff.
Dec 11, 2009
Rating
starstar 		Never balanced correctly
by: Sean J

My wife and I bought a Maytag washer and dryer in hopes to never have to buy another. Five years later and its time to buy another washer. Maytag is off the list of brands to consider in our house. Like others have stated, the machine never balanced correctly adding stress to the pulley on the motor. Finally the motor, pulley and belt assembly had had enough. The belt melted, nearly in two. For the peace of mind, along with cost of replacement parts, its better to buy a new brand...this time with lots of research.
Nov 28, 2009
Rating
star 		buying this was a mistake
by: william

i bought a maytag washer and dryer a matching pair because of their reputation. a large mistake , first the dryer tub wore through the front of the cabinet and i had to replace almost everything in it including the front , while waiting for it to be fixed i bought a roper for about half the cost of the maytag, when i finally got the parts and fixed it i gave it to my daughter , it looked and worked like new but the roper looked to me like a better machine so i kept it, now my washer locked up when i found out the problem it had a metal bushing in the pump pully that worked up locking everything ,it burnt the belt and melted the motor pully and now i have to buy those and the pump costing about 100. just for the pump i havn't got the other prices yet, but when maytag got whirlpool to build their washers and dryers in mexico , well lets just say there wont be anymore people bragging they have had theirs for 25 years , if they last 2 to 3 years they have been lucky.
Nov 21, 2009
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Maytag Per-thetic
by: Anonymous

It seems I'm not alone in my complaints about my washer. I bought my Performa in 2004. Since then it has been nothing but repetitive headaches. Aside from dancing around the floor, the agitator ALWAYS comes loose and can be found sitting on top of the clothes when the load is finished. Once I came home to a flooded home and couldn't figure for the life of me where the water had come from. I knew it came from the washer but that was it. I took it in the garage, hooked it all up, and did everything I could to get it to flood. It worked fine. Now, above all else, the thing started singing as it danced. Once again, I unhooked everything and set it all up in the garage to discover that the pump has failed. I went to a parts store, got a new pump, and just completed the replacement. If not for my Dave Ramsey baby steps, I'd have been replacing this thing today. However, it works once again and now I will begin the process of saving for a new one. This things makes me insane!!
Nov 15, 2009
Rating
star 		Will never buy another Maytag again!
by: Anonymous

I bought a Maytag Performa PAVT234AWW washing machine in 2004. Same story as everyone else. It is perfectly leveled and still jumps all over the place even with the smallest loads. Sometimes the only thing that keeps it from going across the basement floor are the water lines holding it to the wall. The tranny went out this week from being beaten all over the place for five years. I thought about replacing it but then I'm still stuck with a very loud and unstable washing machine. Thank goodness my dryer is a twelve year old Whirlpool that has never had the slightest problem. DO NOT BUY A MAYTAG APPLIANCE!!!!!!!!!!!
Oct 31, 2009
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Maytag Proforma- Shiney piece of crap
by: Anonymous

I bought my washer 4 years ago,Maytag right,you never have to fix them.......Bull #%@!. The main gear in the transmission stripped (plastic of course). Guess what, The only way to repair it is to buy the whole transmission brand new...217.00 bucks worth of crap. Why do they sell this crap with all this PLASTIC crap in the heart of the machine. Oh yeah, CHEAP parts equal cheap machines equals Big Profits....... I'll never buy another Maytag again!!!!!!!
Oct 12, 2009
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Washer down the drain...
by: Anonymous

Have one of these for 5 years, been trying to deal with the off balance, spinning and grinding for the last year...finally burnt out or something yesterday. Smells like a burnt bandaid!
Sep 26, 2009
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Maytag Disappointment
by: nan

My performa jumps across the floor. My husband says I am overloading it-2 sheets is overloading?
Wonder if anyone is considering a class action suit?
Sep 23, 2009
Rating
starstar 		Piece of carp washer
by: Jeff

We have had this Washer for about 3 years, and last week the motor just died. My brother in law who repairs appliances told me that it is not worth repairing. Toss it out and buy a new washer. What a waste! I'll never buy another Maytag again. Maytag should be ashamed of the junk that they are putting out there.
Sep 09, 2009
Rating
star 		Junk
by: Amy

I think some lawyer needs to get a grip on Maytag we bought this junky washer from Lowes I just and new floor in my laundry room put down but guess what? Yeap a big whole from this pice of junk that cant stay in one place. Now after I paid for this washer and An etra Wartney I on My way to buy a new washer.
Sep 08, 2009
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Disappointed
by: Anonymous

My water pump is making a racket in addition to the noisy timer, and the machine always out of balance have had it since 2003. Will not fix going to buy a new one, very disappointed in Maytag for the Performa washer that does not perform.
Aug 10, 2009
Rating
star 		Off Balance Maytag HMMMMM
by: Anonymous

We bought one in 2004 and nothing but problems NEVER AGAIN will Maytag products make it into our house. It sucks when you have a large family and a poor quality product like this and now the dryer lint screen will not sit in properly! I think Maytag owes alot of people more than a explanation and why are sales men are not saying anything to there customers
Aug 05, 2009
Rating
star 		Bad experience
by: Ruston, Louisiana

I came to this website to find out how to stop our Maytag Performa from becoming unbalanced during spin cycles. A Maytag salesman said the "shipping rod" that stabilizes the basket during shipping was probably not removed upon installation.

I cannot locate any such device and after reading the reviews, I am sure it is simply a poorly designed washer. Sad. Maytag once had a sterling reputation; the gold standard for washers.
Jul 14, 2009
Rating
star 		Fed up with Maytag
by:

I have a Maytag Performa Model # PAVT454EWW. According to evryone on here we have the same opinion...they're junk. I have had problems with mine becoming unbalanced too. We had to replace the motor and pump once on it already. The set is only 4 years old. Now we need a new pulley for the motor because it melted. Well, they want me to buy a whole new motor just to get the pulley. They will not get another red cent from me. I will NEVER buy another Maytag.
Jun 09, 2009
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Same Problems
by: Lonnie

We bought a Maytag PAVT234AWW at the end of 2003. It has the balance and walking problem too. I looked at the installation manual and saw that it says to make sure that the rear legs are free. Mine were locked so I released them. The machine seemed more stable after that so I ran a small test load. It seemed to be stable but when my wife put in a regular sized load, it started to "walk" again. I don't know what else to do. It is obviously a poorly designed washer.
May 22, 2009
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Maytag HE Washer
by: Anonymous

My Maytag washer is 2 1/2 years old......has been jumping around since the beginning. We have also replaced the door, as it had a stress crack. This new door has been reinforced (by my husband) so the same thing won't happen.

I don't think it is draining properly, as it has a strong mildew smell. I leave the door ajar and the detergent tray open, to no avail. Have put it through a cycle with bleach, which works for a while, then the smell is back.

Very disappointed in this product.
May 17, 2009
Rating
starstarstarstar 		Same thing
by: Anonymous

We are having to replace our Performa after 3 years. It was nothing but problems from the start, shaking and hopping across the floor, unblancing loads and not draining. We paid $275 for a repairman to come 6 months ago to fix the "brake". When we called service this time, as the spin cycle is so slow the clothes are still dripping after trying manually 3 times to spin them, we were told the call out fee is $125 plus whatever costs of parts & labour.

Our previous washer was a Kenmore, that we used for over 20 years. I am so sorry we did not replace it with a Kenmore at the time.

You can be sure our new machine will not be a Maytag product.
May 03, 2009
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		DO NOT BUY MAYTAG
by: Anonymous

My Maytag washer will not balance clothes to spin. I will never buy another Maytag appliance.
Apr 11, 2009
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Maytag pavt234aww
by: mike

Our washer gets out of balance too. Bought it in summer of 2004. It did not take long for the balancing problem to surface. I will not buy Maytag again.
Mar 27, 2009
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Performa hiphop
by: Anonymous

Bought Maytag Performa new 4 yrs. ago. Has always gotten out of balance. Will hip hop across laundry room and block door. Only the wall keeps it from pulling out drain hose.
We have a Maytag microwave that stopped heating 17mo. after we bought it. Will not buy Maytag products again or products produced by parent company that makes Maytag, whirlpool, etc.
Feb 14, 2009
Rating
star 		Same Problem !
by: Anonymous

We have the same problem with our washing machine!Cannot wait til we get another brand.It will not be another maytag!
Jan 29, 2009
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Just dumped my 3 1/2 year old Performa
by: Anonymous

I just bought a new Maytag to replace my performa - I was told by several people (including a repairman) that the Performa was one of two washers that made the company go bankrupt....

I am going to try to get my money back---the Maytag repairman was nice enough to tell me that it is a moneypit and to ditch it while I can....
Jan 14, 2009
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Same thing here
by: Jim A.

We bought a new washer 3 years back and mine never stays balanced. Maytag customer service is a joke. They wanted to send a "Maytag" man who doesn't even work for Maytag out to take a look.
They wanted $125 for him to show up and woud give me no estimate of what costs after that would be.
So if he quoted me $500 to replace a bolt and I told him to leave I'd still be out my $125.
I am so sick of crappy appliances. My $2,000 fridge freeze anything placed in the rear of it even though the temp. reads 43 degrees. Poor, over priced products and even worse customer service.
I did do some reseach and a few people have said that it was the "snubber" ( a small plastic disk near the transmission) that has gone bad.
If you see a white dust on the floor of your washer cabinet that could be it. Mine has that.
It's a $5 part so I'm ordering one and am going to try and replace it. I will let you know if I have any success.

Nov 22, 2008
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		same here
by: Anonymous

I think we need a refund. Ours does the same thing and we had it for 3 years now too. The only way we get it from happening is to make sure the clothes we put in are evenly distributed in the basket.

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