I have owned a Hotpoint aquarius 1000 for approx 8 years and found it to be a reliable machine but the door hinge that you refer to is its weak spot and not all that strong.In my opinion the hinge being made from an inferior metal is prone to failing. I have during the course of 8 years have had to replace mine no fewer than 4 times.I cannot understand why Hotpoint have not modified this particular item before now,it being a big let down to an otherwise reliable machine.A replacement hinge will set you back £10.00 but replacing it can be a nightmare as when unscewing it you will find that the backplate ,which is on the inside of the machine, will fall away making it quite difficult to hold it in place whilst fitting the new hinge.Learning from experience i have found that by applying a little glue to the backplate makes it a five minute job to replace. ( Why didn,t Hotpoint think of doing this when the machine was first assembled if they couldn,t afford the cost of fitting a decent hinge in the first place ) I hope that this will prove to be helpful to you.
Bernard Powell., October 2011
