When washing dark colors there is a soap residue left on clothes,i have tried using very small amounts of soap as well as different brands of soap

I have found with my aquasmart that if you use the 'high efficiency' the water does not cover the clothes sufficiently which is why the soap residue (noticeable more on dark clothes) is visible. I don't use high efficiency. even on conventional sometimes I still have to check that the water level is high enough. Also **use only liquid, low sudsing detergent and do not put it on the clothes-use the dispenser only. As for my machine... Time for the repair man to check the sensing I think

WC Gold Coast

surprisingly i have the same problem

First check that the drain hose dumps into a standpipe that is taller that what the water level should be so no water is being lost. Next, I think I would try a different brand of detergent. and also for those in the northwestern US, detergent is known to be a problem due to restrictions in the formula. And I know what you said about how much soap you use, but it could be that the amount recommended on the soap box/bottle does not match the requirements for your machine, and the right amount also varies with water quality as in hard or soft, try using less.

Do you also use a softener? That is dispensed in the rinse, and softens the water, maybe too soft to get the soap to rinse clean.

After speaking with someone with trouble shooting experience in these matters, I now believe the problem lies NOT with the washer but with a bad batch of laundry detergent which fails to dissolve properly in the water.  

what you are seeing is suds getting back onto the clothes. make sure you are using HE type soap and not using too much of it.
if you are seeing suds inside the unit, when it is running, then it will "re-deposite" dirty soap residues back onto the clothes.
you need to run a rinse and spin cycle or even a heavy duty cycle with hot water to rinse out any soap that is left in the unit.
not a major problem, just use it differently and it will be ok.

ck drain hose end of drain hose should be at least 36 ins from floor also be sure drain hose fits loosely in drain water may be siphoning out resulting low water level to wash/rinse ..also recommend using liquid detergent dry doesn't dissolve good in cold water and even though it may be recommended for front load the lower water levels used may not be enough to dissolve it properly

theres a new product just hit hte market www.affresh.com try this stuff speciffically designed for the frontloaders and endorsed by whirlpool, makers of your machine

I have the same problem. Can't get soap out my clothes. I have a Sears Kenmore frontload washer. It seems to work fine but something isn't right. Repair man came few days ago & said NOT to use the brands they say "For ALL HE Washers" ALL being the key word. Only use the ones that only say HE. I changed back to Gain instead of Sam's brand, but I still can't get soap out. I really don't think its the detergent. I washed my daughters towels & had soap in clothes after complete full wash was done. I'm lost & have no idea what the problem is or how long its being going on before I noticed.

Sounds like an ink pen was left in the clothing during wash and leaked out when put in the dryer