Whirlpool dishwasher door wont open

[goodolpete]

Hi, I've got a 6 year old MFI integrated kitchen with a Whirlpool dishwasher that has a door attached to the drop down front. The door slides up and down the front as you open and close the dishwasher. For some time the door has occaisionally stuck half way down, which I got over by lifting the front back up and moving the door. Last night I tried to open the dishwasher and it would not open. I've tried jiggling the door, and lowering the adjustable legs at the bottom, but it's attached somewhere else and wont move. Can someone suggest how I can open the door please? Thanks, Pete

[R]

Complain to MFI.............

Oh...

As you were ...

[John]

The clue and the opportunity to fix it was:

For some time the door has occaisionally stuck half way down, which I got over by lifting the front back up and moving the door.

Perhaps a spray of a silicone lube would have fixed it - I guess that now something has broken.

[Andrew Gabriel]

Very common fault with Whirlpools (and IKEA rebadged ones) is the door brake breaks. These are plastic pulleys which a steel band runs over as you open and close the door. The pulleys are fixed and don't go round, and that generates the friction for the door mechanism. The plastic breaks, and that can leave the steel band jamming in the frame, jamming the door.

If the steel band snaps completely, the effect of the door counterweight spring is lost, and the braking is lost, and when you open it one day, it comes crashing down on your shins with its full weight (you don't realise how heavy it is whilst the counterweight spring is working).

Yours sounds more like the fault is with the added door front, but I mention the inherent weakness in case it's that.