Tips for spotting a real agitator that nobody talks about

I bought one of these pro units last month thinking I was finally upgrading from my dying Whirlpool Cabrio. You are spot on about that agitator. I tried the grab test in the showroom after reading your advice, and it is exactly as you described—just a single molded piece of plastic that doesn't have the independent top-corkscrew motion. I went ahead with it anyway because of the warranty, but the performance was immediately underwhelming on my husband’s work jeans.

I started following your tip about cutting the load size down to about 50% capacity, and it actually made a visible difference. I used to pack it to the top of the stainless tub, but now I stop right at the halfway mark. When I watch the cycle trough the lid, the clothes finally start to roll properly instead of just sitting in a clump at the surface. It’s annoying to do twice as many loads, but at least the dirt rings on the collars are actually coming out now. I also noticed that using the Deep Water setting is mandatory with this new agipeller setup. If I leave it on Auto-Sensing, there isn't enough liquid for the clothes to even reach those bottom fins. I am still a bit bitter about the $1,200 price tag for a machine that requires so much babysitting, but keeping the loads small is definitely the only way to get that old-school clean.

I ran into the same issue with my new Maytag. The agitation is pathetic on the 'Normal' cycle. What worked for me was ditching Normal entirely and just running everthing on 'PowerWash' with the 'Extra Rinse' toggled. It’s the only way to get the motor to acutally put some muscle into the stroke.

I also noticed those laundry pods are a disaster with this agipeller setup—they just get caught in the folds and don't dissolve becuase there's no real scrubbing. I switched back to liquid detergent and it stopped leaving white streaks on my darks. It takes longer, but the motor sounds way more aggressive on that setting.

Man, don't even get me started on the 'Warm' setting on these new boards. I've checked mine with a thermometer and it's barely lukewarm 'cause they're trying to save energy. If you want actual hot water, you've gotta use the 'Heavy Duty' cycle or it just mixes in way too much cold. It's like they're making it impossible to get a real hot wash unless you're doing a two-hour cycle. Between the weak agitator and the cold 'warm' water, it's a miracle anything gets clean. Has anyone else noticed the water temps being way off?

While the mechanical robustness of the transmission is touted as the primary selling point for this supposed thirty-year lifespan, one must scrutinize the actual thermal management of the control board's power stage, specifically the lack of substantial heat sinking on the motor-drive MOSFETs wich are subjected to significant stress during those high-torque agipeller reversals. It is quite a cynical marketing ploy to engineer a gearbox capable of decades of service while simultaneously utilizing a proprietary PCB that lacks the requisite over-voltage protection to survive a common utility surge. Has anyone acutally pulled the rear panel to verify if they are still using the FSP-style wax motor for the lid lock, or have they finally transitioned to a more reliable solenoid-driven assembly?