I noticed that my dryer wasn't heating anymore all of the sudden. Checked the voltages, etc... not a power issue. I used the dryer's diagnostic mode to find out that it detected a short in the thermostat.

After opening everything up, it was quite a bit more than a simple short. The thermostat and thermal cutoff were burnt to a crisp. The heater element itself had shorted against the metal housing and exploded into about 20-30 pieces.

I have some new parts on the way, but why would this have happened? The vibration of the dryer shaking the element against the housing? Anyone have an idea? I'd like to try to prevent this from happening again because it seems like it could have ended worse than it did.

Thanks!