I had a top-of-the-line 2004 (or thereabouts) Frigidaire dishwasher whose interior and wash system looked like yours. It did a fine job and was the quietest machine I’d had up to that point. It was my first experience with alternate-rack washing and dedicated half-load cycles for either the bottom or top rack.

Its weak spot was not cleaning performance, but the motherboard, which had to be replaced three times. Symptom was always the same: The start pad quit responding. While waiting for the new part to arrive, I’d use the delay start pad as a work-around. The 30-minute wait for the cycle to begin was annoying, but at least it allowed the machine to be used.

After the third board was installed—machine was maybe 4-5 years old—I gave it away and replaced it with a TOL Maytag, which nearly started a kitchen fire when the heater began to engage for hours at a time, even when the machine was off. That was scary. Had the recall work done, but no longer trusted it, so it went out the door.

At any rate, your Frigidaire was acquired for a great price when you needed it most. Congratulations!

I haven't owned one nor do I repair them but what I know is the experience of a friend of mine who had one in a new house they bought.  Within a year it was repaired three times so out it went.  She said the cleaning was just OK but also complained about the dishes being wet.

The other thing I have observed is that when I look at dishwashers on craigslist for example, there is a really high percentage of Frigidaire.  I just looked on our list and there are four out of about 20 that are listed.  I guess if they are offered for sale that often there must be a reason.

Glad you got a good one and if it gets you over the hump that's all that counts.

I found these timers on ebay.....according to repairclinic this is your model maytag.

for some reason it won't link.  Every time I put the link in it just goes to a search page.  Anyway, there are 3 timers on ebay.

part number 12001533

Hi Dustin, Well I think you answered your own question along with a lot of others that have chimed in. When you started this thread I figured you would soon figure out why FD DWs are not highly regarded.

And once you get one of the DWs listed below you will also see the many flaws in the design and performance of even the MT DW you had. The MT standard tub DW like their Tall Tub models that came later were both interesting designs with a lot of interesting engineering designed into them, but both had many reliability problems and both are disappearing fast from Americas kitchens.

As far as the best practical slightly vintage DW, I think that most will agree is a 1985-2006 WP Power-Clean or Kenmore Standard tub Ultra-Wash DW.

John L.

This is a friendly place for discussions 99.9% of the time.  Every once in a while, we’ll have a little flare up but that’s to be expected when you have so many opinions for and against any topic.  When I don’t like a post, I usually just ignore it.  If you run away, you give them the power they are after.  In my opinion ignoring them is much more powerful.

The reality of the situation is when you post on this site you are likely to get as many opinions as there are replies.  We all have different criteria by which we measure things.  In addition to that, some people will analyze the shit out of something before making a decision (like me I am one of those I just don’t post it all) and some make decisions purely on impulse.

You should buy the machine that meets your criteria.  Me personally, my Bosch experience couldn’t be any more opposite than yours.  Our Bosch will clean anything we throw at it.  Yup it takes 3 hours, but I’ve adjusted.  When I need something quickly I either use the Speed cycle or wash it by hand.  It’s not the end of the world. 

So, here is my opinion on this topic.  I haven’t read every one of your posts but it seems to me that you have tried a number of dishwashers in your house.  Maybe I have you confused with someone else and if I do, I apologize.  But if you have, and every one of them has produced poor results then maybe you should look beyond the dishwasher for your solution.

There are so many variables like water hardness, detergent, rinse aid, incoming water temperature, etc. you may just have to find the right combination for your situation.  I had to do a lot of experimenting to find a combination that worked well for me because I have very soft water and everything foamed.

You started your post singing the praises of the Maytag you had.  I don’t know what model it was but the Maytag I had for about a year in the old house was great.  Is it an option to fix the old machine and continue to use the machine that worked so well for you?

Because a user interacts with a DW a lot when loading, unloading, being near the machine when in use and the sounds it makes and even what it looks like there are going to be opinions all over the place of which machines are best and worst.

I have read engineering studies on Vacuum Cleaner design and you have the same issues with vacuum cleaners, some people love a certain model and other people are ready to throw it in the dumpster, and again it is partly because you interact so much with a vacuum so much when using it, Washers & Dryers do not have as much interaction when using them with the user and while many users have strong opinions it is a lot easier to live with for most users.

Our experiences of Bosch Accsentra DWs that we have worked on and discussed with our clients.

Number one service call, DW is not cleaning well, this has usually been a bad inlet valve with the DW not getting enough water and clogged filters and wash arms.

Other problems, wheels falling off the lower rack, broken detergent dispensers, broken plastic control panels, wording wears off plastic control panel, the machines are also difficult to keep level and attached to cabinets due to cheap flimsy overall construction.

Many people complain about limited loading options and smaller capacity and poor drying results, overall I would rank Bosch Accensta DWs about equal with the cheaper Frigidaire DWs.

Best new DWs for least money, probably the cheaper WP products, best overall new DW are probably the current Maytags, That said I have seen no current DW that does not have possible significant shortcomings and will probably never buy a new DW for the rest of my lifetime. 

Dishwashers hit their peak of performance in the US in the 1980s and this great combination of performance, durability and energy efficiency continued well into the 1990s. There are so many of these great lightly used machines out there going for almost no money that if you can fix things there is just no reason to ever but a new DW that is so ultra-tuned for noise and water consumption that they often have performance issues.

John L.

This could certainly turn into one of those wildly debated topics, so I’ll get in ahead of that and add my two cents.  I echo Henrik’s comments about the silverware seems to be cleaner in the third rack vs. the silverware basket and that unloading is a lot faster while only touching the handles.

Your gonna sort going in or coming out.  If I take a couple of extra seconds to organize them when I load the third rack, then unloading is a breeze.

I think it’s just a personal preference.  I like opening the door a small way and sliding out the top shelf to add a spoon vs. having to open the door the entire way to pull out the bottom rack part of the way to add the spoon.

My 2008 LG turned me into a ‘third rack’ guy for silverware. I was cooking a lot back then and the cutlery rack allowed me to liberate the bottom rack of its large silverware basket permanently. 

It wasn’t a matter of which rack provided better cleaning; for me it was all about the real estate gained. As far as speed of loading and unloading flatware, placing the pieces individually never really bothered me.

Sigh...God, I loved that LG. Largest capacity of any dishwasher I’ve ever had. Cleaned the grimiest pots and pans superbly. Had a very effective short cycle. Was so quiet...and it had interior lights! Talk about a cheap trick to make the stainless steel interior absolutely gleam, but I loved it.