Whynter 11K BTU Dual Hose Portable AC

I purchased this item on June 20, 2015. It was shipped on June 23, and I received it around June 25, 2015. I loved this unit. While it was noisy and annoying that the fan runs the entire time the unit is on, and the lights on the front are super bright and annoying at night (why do they put bright lights on all these machines??), the unit worked great and I loved it. Until the night of July 2, 2016. I was in bed, it was about 2am, and I heard what sounding like something falling inside the unit, then a horrible grating/grinding plastic noise. I jumped up and managed to turn the unit off. Maybe I had been dreaming, so I turned the unit back on. Nope, the awful noise was definitely still there. I pulled the hoses off, and could see plastic pieces sticking out of the exhaust hose port. I pulled a couple of the pieces out, and realized they were from the internal fan! I turned it back on, and still the noise, as it started spitting out more plastic pieces. The fan was literally disintegrating.What scared the hell out of me is a couple of things. This unit is advertised as having a remote where you can set a timer for the unit to turn on and pre-cool your space when you're not even home. I have a dog that I needed to keep a temperate climate for, which is why I purchased this unit, and this particular feature was a major necessity for me. I'm terrified to think what would have happened if I hadn't been home, because as far as I could tell, there isn't a fail-safe switch of any sort that would've turned the unit off. I fear the unit would have led to a fire if this had happened when I wasn't home.Unfortunately, Whynter doesn't give a damn. I emailed Whynter on July 4th, and they promptly replied on July 5th, requesting photos of the unit and how it was connected to the window. I sent the pictures on the morning of the 6th. A week went by and no response, so I called customer service. They said the email got missed somehow and they would follow up immediately. What I received was a "canned" email about how my warranty was up (8 days past warranty) and I could pay to send it to one of their technicians or I could have it repaired myself, including a link to the replacement exhaust fan. Throughout my research, I read other customer reviews here on Amazon about the Whynter portable AC's, and other consumers have had the same exact problem. Apparently, the unit runs too hot and begins to melt the plastic exhaust fan. Over time, the constant heat makes the plastic brittle and it starts to break down, causing the fan blades to break off and get ejected from the machine. This is a KNOWN issue with these units, and sounds like a faulty design leading to defective units from Whynter. In my opinion, because these can lead to home fires or other damage, Whynter should do a complete recall of these from the market. I reached out via email two more times, expressing my concerns and urging them to do more. They have not responded. I did tell them I would be leaving a negative review on Amazon.com, and they were not interested in keeping this customer happy, so here is my honest opinion. I was going to fix the fan in the unit and keep it, but why should I? This thing is clearly a hazard to own, and I don't want to put my home, my property, or my dog at risk.Thank goodness for Amazon Customer Service!!! I called and spoke with Tihan on Monday, July 18. I explained the situation and that I could replace the fan, but I was now fearful of using this unit, because it did not seem to have a fail safe for fire prevention when the new fan melts down (as it surely will do the same as the original one). The unit has less than 4 months of wear on it, so I should expect to replace the fan yearly. Tihan completely understood my concerns, and Amazon will allow me to return the unit to them, upon which they'll return a portion of the cost. It's not a full refund by any means, but at least it's not a complete loss, and I can invest in a better brand and a unit that will be safer. I very much appreciate Amazon stepping up on this one and protecting the consumer, understanding that it's important to keep people safe. Whynter = -10, Amazon = +10!