Not an appliance exactly, but this is exactly my point.
My 2013 model John Deere x304, which is the series you get at a Deere dealer, not at the big box stores, and is supposed to be higher quality, has an little electronic "interlock module" which executes the safety interlocks that keep me from doing things like getting off the mower without setting the parking brake, mowing in reverse (without closing the reverse-in-operation switch), or starting the engine without the brake applied.
All of these functions could have easily been done without a solid state module by wiring the seat switch, brake switch, and PTO switch in various arrangements of series and parallel, maybe add a pole to a couple of them, or add a $7 relay or two. But instead I have a heat-intolerant electronic that costs $120+ to replace and cripples the mower if it fails.
Earlier this year I replaced one because it was locking out the ignition so I had a crank-no-start. I bought the $70 off brand on Amazon which soon proved a mistake because it lasted just beyond the return window before it started doing stupid junk like running the PTO when I didn't engage the switch, so I had to pull the fuse to turn the mower deck off. Then i put the fuse back in and it wouldn't run the PTO at all. Since I couldn't mow I attached the rake and started cleaning up a big area of mulch/twigs/leaves and it started shutting off the engine every time I released the brake. Got on ebay and ordered the Deere module while I let it cool off before it would drive back up to the garage.
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This was all last weekend. The new module came in and I installed yesterday and it once again functions normally.
