What is a direct drive?

Direct drive removes the belt, pulley and coupling from the drive train — the rotor bolts straight to the drum. Fewer moving parts means fewer wear items and a quieter machine, and manufacturers who use it (notably LG) often back the motor with a ten-year warranty. The trade-off is that when something does go wrong in the drive system, the parts are electronic rather than mechanical, so diagnosis leans on error codes and a multimeter instead of looking for a snapped belt.