Product review (2 stars): Front loaders Beware!
When we bought our Maytag front load wash machine, one of the selling points was the large capacity.  What bullhockey!  It can fit five large bath towels, but the weight of five wet bath towels is too much for what the machine can handle.  Over time the bearings wore out.  It began with a roar and progressed to a sound akin to a jet engine taking off in my laundry.  Birds flew off in alarm, small children began to cry, the noise was so loud.  This happened over the five years we had the machine.

Just because the washer has the capacity to do large loads does not mean it has the engineering to do them.  These are not your mother's Maytags.  We let the machine burn itself out and bought a GE top loader that works on the same principle.  It doesn't have an agitator, so it can fit large blankets and bath towels. The weight of the load is distributed all around instead of lumping at the bottom. It works on the same long soak principle as a front loader.  It doesn't have an electronic panel that can go haywire in a damp basement. And we bought the warranty.

So if you like front loaders, buy the appliance warranty, because, Honey, it's practically guaranteed that you are going to be on a first name basis with the serviceman.  If it's not the door, the drain, the electronics, it's bearings.  These are just not ready for prime time yet.