I have a 5 year old Miele Novotronic Premier 520 washing machine that over the past 3 months started to make a lot of noise when it is in spin cycle and when it has stopped there is burning rubber smell and the rim of the drum is hot. It does not happen all the time but is getting more frequent now. I checked the rim of the metal drum and found there is burnt rubber particles and I suspect there is a tremendous amount of friction between the metal drum rim and the rubber rim in contact with the drum. Any help to fix it? Would there be "lubricant" between the drum rim and the rubber skirt that has been consumed to cause the friction?

P. Chan, March 2014

Five year old Miele. So much for lasting at least 20 years. I have one that has lasted 30 years, but the newer ones are nothing like as durable. In the old days they came with a 10 year guarantee, now it's 2 years. LG and Samsung mostly come with a five year guarantee. So the bean counters have even got to Miele. This problem is most probably the inner drum spider corroding and throwing the drum off kilter so it rubs on the door seal. Miele will sell you the whole assembly including bearing and drums etc for a small fortune. Cheaper to buy a new, perhaps more basic model of Miele. The basic ones have less to go wrong anyway. Like Mercedes, the older models were best. German quality standards are not what they were. Sad but true.

cfc2000, January 2022

Thank you Lincoln Appliance.

P. Chan., March 2014

No. The noise you hear on spin is the bearings that are worn out. This is allowing the drum to spin off centre or to wobble unevenly. The edge of the drum is now rubbing on the rubber skirt damaging the rubber. The bearings and tub seal will need to be replaced to stop the noise and also to stop further damage to the rubber. Do not just keep on using it other wise it will become too expensive to repair.

Lincoln Appliance NZ, March 2014