I am fine removing the front panel, that is how I cleaned the pre-pump lint filter in all my previous washing machines.
New washers don't have accessible or any pre-pump lint filter, they depend on the drum holes serving that function, but for rag quilts, the fibres get through those holes and clog the pump! Thank heaven my machine was still on warranty when I learned that.
So. I want to buy an older model that has a lint filter I can clean myself. The washer gets a ton of lint in it for the first rag quilt wash or two and I don't feel good about leaving a laundromat with that mess, besides the fact the nearest laundromat is about a half hour drive away!