Samsung Electronics Co is in discussions about “potential safety issues” concerning some of its washing machines after a class-action lawsuit complained the appliances were exploding, the company said on Wednesday.
The news comes after the South Korean electronics giant recalled millions of its Galaxy Note 7 smartphones following a series of battery explosions.
Samsung is “in active discussions” with the US Consumer Product Safety Commission on issues with top-load washing machines manufactured between March 2011 and April this year, a company statement said.
“In rare cases, affected units may experience abnormal vibrations that could pose a risk of personal injury or property damage when washing bedding, bulky or water-resistant items,” it said.
Samsung recommended consumers use the “lower speed delicate cycle” when washing bedding or bulky items until it can offer additional information or remedies.
The commission confirmed it is in discussions with Samsung and that they are “working on a remedy for affected consumers.”
A US law firm has filed suit in New Jersey “alleging that some Samsung top-loading washing machines explode in owners homes,” leading to potential injury or damage, attorney Jason Lichtman said earlier on Wednesday.
“Users have reported Samsung top-load washers exploding as early as the day of installation, while other owners have seen their machines explode months or even more than a year after purchase,” the firm said in a statement.
PHONES
Samsung yesterday said it would resume sales of new Galaxy Note 7 smartphones in South Korea this week, hoping to turn the page on the troubled device after an ongoing global recall prompted by battery explosions.
The company on Sept. 2 suspended sales of the oversized “phablet” and recalled 2.5 million units shipped worldwide after faulty batteries caused the phones to explode while charging.
With the recall underway in 10 nations where the device had been launched, 60 percent of users in Samsung’s key market, the US, had swapped their handsets for replacements provided by the company, as of Tuesday.
Eighty percent of Note 7 customers are expected to complete the exchange this week in South Korea, where sales of new phones equipped with fault-free batteries are to resume on Saturday, Samsung said in a statement.
The new Note 7 is to gradually hit stores in other markets, including some European countries on Oct. 28, the company said.
Taiwan’s foreign exchange reserves fell below the US$600 billion mark at the end of last month, with the central bank reporting a total of US$596.89 billion — a decline of US$8.6 billion from February — ending a three-month streak of increases. The central bank attributed the drop to a combination of factors such as outflows by foreign institutional investors, currency fluctuations and its own market interventions. “The large-scale outflows disrupted the balance of supply and demand in the foreign exchange market, prompting the central bank to intervene repeatedly by selling US dollars to stabilize the local currency,” Department of Foreign
Intel Corp is joining Elon Musk’s long-shot effort to develop semiconductors for Tesla Inc, Space Exploration Technologies Corp and xAI, marking a surprising twist in the chipmaker’s comeback bid. Intel would help the Terafab project “refactor” the technology in a chip factory, the company said on Tuesday in a post on X, Musk’s social media platform. That is a stage in the development process that typically helps make chips more powerful or reliable. The chipmaker’s shares jumped 4.2 percent to US$52.91 in New York trading on Tuesday. The Terafab project is a grand plan by Musk to eventually manufacture his own chips for
Some robotaxi passengers were left stranded in the middle of fast-moving traffic in a major Chinese city after their driverless vehicles stopped running, according to police and media reports on Wednesday. A preliminary investigation indicates more than 100 robotaxis came to a halt because of a “system malfunction,” police in the city of Wuhan said in a statement, without elaborating. No injuries were reported. One passenger told Chinese media that their robotaxi stopped after turning a corner. An instruction on a screen read: “Driving system malfunction. Staff are expected to arrive in 5 minutes.” After no one showed up, the passenger pushed
Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電) yesterday said it plans to resume operations at two coal-fired power generators for three months to boost security of electricity supply as liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply risks are running high due to the Middle East conflict. The two coal-fired power generators are at Mailiao Power Plant in Yunlin County’s Mailiao Township (麥寮). The plant, operated by Formosa Plastics Group (台塑集團), supplied electricity to Taipower’s power grid until the end of last year. Taipower’s decision came about one month after Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) on March 10 said that the nation had no imminent
RSS