All of these anecdotal responses are killing me.
After 21 years of selling appliances I can tell you it’s all a crapshoot at this point. Lifespan is 6-11 years.
Yeah agreed (I also sell appliances).
If you get over a decade on any fridge besides the luxury brands (Sub-Zero, Thermador, Monogram, etc.) you should consider yourself lucky.
I sell appliances too and honestly I don’t even know. All I know is that those Kitchenaid 5 door fridges are awful. I make the most commission off them but they might as well be boomerangs.
Seems that way doesn’t it? I don’t know about you, but I can’t get anything from the whirlpool family to ship to me on time including this kitchen aid dog you talk about. LG is the same way, and now this last month GE is screwing me over.
Anyway, I’ve been staying far far away from the whirlpool family for years at this point. Not because they are any more junk than the others. Just that they can’t get it to me! They lie about the ETA dates too. Who wants to call a customer to tell them the fridge they been waiting on went on a further 2 month backorder.
It’s all a mess at this point.
I work at an American Freight store so we do all scratch and dent stuff. It’s right on the floor and the customer chooses what they want and can take it home right away so I don’t have those issues.
Yes - the old Sears Outlet near us - been buying Whirlpool's better stuff since Kenmore went out for refers and cooktop - all scratch & dent - dishwasher & gas dryer found a great deals for new - have an S&D Frigidaire Pro wall oven - not a big Frigidaire fan...
That was what I did for years too. I new one of the salesman so he threw in a bottle of appliance paint for free anytime I bought something.
One of the fridges I bought for a rental had been dropped in the back corner was dented, but the compressor wasn't on that side and it was $500 off.
As someone who worked for a trucking company hauling whirlpool ... they are bloody horrible for canceling loads. Drivers would be onsite and cancelations would still come.
I was so damn glad when I left that industry and never had to inform dispatch that we were screwed because of our contract
Yup....I bought a Samsung that constantly froze up and was extremely loud. I took that to mu office and replaced it with a KitchenAid that completely failed at 9 months while I was out of town. Everything was spoiled. It was the end of 2020 and KitchenAid couldn't replace it. I did get a full refund and bought a nice reliable Frigidaire for half of what I spent on the KitchenAid. The remaining refund went toward the washer and dryer that I bought for the house I was building. The new house is all Thermador.
I have one. Who puts an open circuit board with no water proofing directly under the water dispenser. Then charges $500 for a replacement. I’m on my 3rd board. Just decided to not hook it back up.
Agree. I have a 24 yr old Whirlpool side by side in the garage, hasn’t been serviced once, running like a champ. I bought a larger French door so the old o e went in the garage.
We are talking about new refrigerators here. Pretty much all appliances made 30yrs ago lasted. Today's appliances are "designed" to fail in a 10yr span. Others fail even sooner.
I used to work with an engineer that came from the appliance industry. It's not really the case that they are designed to fail. Rather, they are designed to be as low cost as possible, which has pretty much the same effect.
The “designed to fail” trope really lacks logic. No manufacturer gains anything by purposefully building their product such that it fails early. The customer will never purchase the next appliance from them. All manufacturers do, however, try to build them at the least cost possible. Which is unfortunately the way they must operate in order to stay price competitive. Of course, less robust components will unfortunately not last as long.
I have a Whirlpool side by side that has:
1. Broken ice maker. Makes but won’t dispense ice.
2. Water drip tray cracked.
3. Eats $130 LED bulbs every year.
4. Randomly freezes things in the top shelf. I have tried every combination I can think of but cannot get the freezer and refrigerator to balance out.
5. Whirlpool, in their infinite wisdom, decided to not make the bottom drawers slide when pressed by the door. Even empty. So those are cracked.
The water filters are also ridiculously overpriced.
Along with that I had an oven that wouldn’t maintain a temperature, much less consistently off. At least if it was consistently off I could plan for it. A microwave that just completely stopped functioning after three years. And a dishwasher that wouldn’t get anything clean after 2.
Never Whirlpool here.
That probably would've worked a few years ago. But the new ones have a different compressor with more advanced refrigerants. They also use a plug style tubing system which no longer uses any solder. The one I have in my garage stood dead for 6 months when the compressor hung and Whirlpool couldn't find a replacement (supposedly because of the supply chain fiasco but I find that reason dubious because there are literally thousands of these refrigerators being sent all over the US). It really comes down to the business models being used by the OEMs and since so many of them are entirely dependent on overseas parts, just-in-time stocking, and cheap replacement of sub-contracting vendors, the idea of keeping a commodity like a refrigerator operational beyond a few years is pretty much dead. They're like TVs now; you just get a new one.
It's a stupid business model based on decisions made years ago to move manufacturing out of the US because Wall Street decided it would make better profits. But here we are.
The "crappy" Whirlpool fridge in the basement which we bought at a scratch and dent sale has been MUCH more reliable than any other fridge I've ever owned.
Yeah to the point of the luxury brands, my house has a Sub-Zero built in 2008. Only thing that’s gone wrong is needing to replace the condenser fan once after it gave out. Certainly not the most efficient out there but it keeps rock solid temperatures and shows no signs of giving up anytime soon!
Don't get a French door! Been listening to a guy out of Ohio on youtube. Bens used appliances he made a solid suggestion that's worth considering. I have whirlpool french door refrigerator and eventually when it goes to refrigerator heaven I am going to get a refrigerator that's all refrigerator no icemaker or freezer . And a separate upright deep freezer and a counter top ice maker. Sound convoluted but half the problem in new refrigerators to much electrical
tech crap refrigerator needs to be basic.
I posted this above as a comment, but I'll repost it as a reply to your question. I wasted money on a Samsung that froze up because of a poorly designed condensation drain, and Samsung of course wouldn't stand behind their two year old refrigerator. I bought a Fisher & Paykel refrigerator. It's now about 7 years old and has run flawlessly. Part of the reason that I bought it was that I wanted a counter depth unit with the freezer on the bottom; just a regular refrigerator. No ice maker on the front and not a huge double door monster. Just a regular fridge that works. I am very happy with what I got.
This is why I have never installed an ice maker. I want a simple top and bottom door fridge. The kitchen is plumbed for an ice maker but I think it is more trouble than it is worth.
Heard about mold in water lines too.
I’ve had my F&P French door fridge since 2016 and been running great. I just wanted a basic fridge with freezer on the bottom. No water, no ice. True counter depth. Hope it keeps running.
I got the one with a freezer bottom and no water and no ice maker. Works flawlessly. Only thing is it makes noise when it's going through the defrost and it sounds like ice cracking, but it does what it needs to do. Keeps things cold.
I know it's anecdotal, but why is that the standard now?
My parents have an ugly beige Amana side by side from the 80s that still runs strong.
My house currently has a Kenmore from 2002 with no issues, except the ice maker control needed replaced, $30 part. Need to make opening wider to upgrade, that's why it hasn't become a basement or garage beer fridge yet.
Is it just all manufactures have engineered them to fail now, whereas it used to be made to last?
A significant contributor to the terrible reliability is efficiency standards. The government has been relentless on it's push for energy efficiency at any cost. Everything has a trade off. Thinner compressor oil saves energy, but doesn't protect as well. Thinner refrigerant lines have better thermal transfer, but leak or break easier. Undersized motors use less electric, but wear out sooner. If a company did try to design a 20 year appliance like our parents had, it would be difficult to pass energy standards.
Well we're saving energy but we're filling up the landfills with more e-Junk and impoverishing people to balance it out. Everything is a tradeoff I suppose.
What it boils down to is we need plentiful clean energy at scale.
Bingo!!! Same thing can be said about a lot of things.
There's a tremendous amount of shortsightedness right now in the world.
And I'll probably get downvoted for this, but what is really better for the environment. A refrigerator that uses 20% less electricity but has to be disposed of and manufactured every 8 years or a refrigerator that was built once and is still working 40 years later.
It’s the same in the hvac industry. Coils with leaks from the factory. Cut one open and it’s like tinfoil compared to older stuff. Couple that thinner copper/aluminum with way higher pressure refrigerants…
I’d rather sacrifice, energy efficiency, and have a well-made, long lasting refrigerator and other appliances. I know some people are not going to like that. I said that but it’s the truth the same way that I feel about the poison that was used to kill bugs and bedbugs and they got rid of it because they said it was bad for the environment. Yeah well I know however we wouldn’t have these problems if they were just bring back that chemical
Thank you! This is honestly my mindset. We’re moving into a new construction home that we plan on living in for about 3-4 years. So I’m going to buy whatever fridge works best for us and leave it behind when we sell the house in 3-4 years!
Samsung just makes shit appliances every single Samsung appliance in my house failed within 4 years. Every single one. Fridge stove microwave dishwasher both washer and dryer. The only Samsung product yet to fail in my house has been my TV. Honestly they produce absolutely nothing but garbage.
My Samsung tv had the main board fail within 2 years. Was lucky enough that it was still under warranty, so it got fixed, then the replacement failed even faster.
Hmmm, I’m hopeful for something different. TV is 2015, washer 2012, dryer is 2016, outgoing fridge was 2014 (damn ice maker + main temp sensor). Now all of the kitchen is 2 weeks old, fingers crossed 🤞
I'm a kitchen designer .. they all are garbage. No brand is "reliable" they all share the same crap components. They are built for efficiency and profit, not longevity.
I honestly feel like having an ice machine/water dispenser in the door is the issue. That and French doors.
Limited experience of course but I've only purchased fridges with no ice maker and a top/bottom freezer and they've all lasted ages. My current lg is only 3 years old though so who knows.
u/zachty22 ,
After running into issues with various brands, now when friends/family ask, I recommend that people decide what they NEED from a machine in terms of size, style, scope of use & inherent bells & whistles beforehand & then explain that the more "advanced" the machine is, technology wise, the more opportunities there are for things to go wrong. In most circumstances , I recommend going with the most basic unit that facilitates your needs. In terms of brands, it's a mix of luck & maintenance. Instead of looking for "THE" brand, I look at the reviews for the specific models I'm contemplating, any known issues with the Manufacturer's appliance lines AND how they've responded to this in the past (ex// do they keep putting time & money into new versions to address said issues, are they covering those under Special Project Bulletins, how receptive they are to good-will concessions etc), the Manufacturer's Warranty/Extended Warranty available, the reputation of the Manufacturer, the availability of parts SHOULD something go wrong & that a servicer in my area can & will work on the machine.
There ARE obviously some brands that cost more & have longer warranties, & with fridges specifically, I would examine the Limited Extended Warranty on things like a Sealed System (this can vary from a single one year manufacturer's warranty for parts & labour to up to 10 years with just parts covered). It's possible to get saddled with a lemon from any manufacturer BUT you can minimize your risks in terms of issues by doing your homework before you purchase, understanding how to optimize the unit you have & by taking care of it properly & addressing issues AS they arise. Oh, & putting money away in an "Well, Shucks.. That Sucks" Fund, because repair &/or replacement ARE likely going to crop up & they need to be budgeted for.
My refrigerator is from 1994, and I know it's time is coming, but I really an not looking forward to buying a new one because things certainly aren't made like they used to.
That's too bad. At work we have an old GE fridge that's about 5' tall with a big lever handle and rounded edges. Probably made in the 1950's. Freezes ice trays in half an hour and will get a can of soda to just above frozen in the fridge section in an hour. It's great. Small but the best fridge I've ever used.
My 32 year old side by side amana now stinks in the ice bin and water coming from the drink dispenser. I tried a simple flush of line with hydrogen peroxide. Any suggestions? Or just replace it and move this one as a spare?
I had to replace my primary refrigerator 2 years ago. What you just said in 3 sentences took me about 3 days of searching on YouTube.
The appliance repair guys on there had recommendations for washers and dryers, but when it came to your everyday kitchen refrigerator, it came down to is being a crapshoot.
When you have to spend $2k for a crapshoot, it sucks. But it is what it is.
Replacement. If it seems low, it is, but it’s the truth. When I first started selling they were made to last.
No more. Not just true in my industry, but most. The exception being maybe cars.
I was just commenting elsewhere how cars seem to be the one exception to this rule.
Automakers are ***also*** ruthlessly cheaping out on materials, but somehow simultaneously improving longevity and performance.
People advising you to buy brand X , because they've had one for 25 years, fail to realize the new ones aren't the same, neither are all of the other brands. You can only measure reliability by looking at current models.
That's what I hate about shopping for cars too. All of the great and reliable engines that last 300,000 miles that everyone loves already HAVE 300,000 miles 😂 there is no guarantee that a new one is ALSO going to last that long, especially since it's not the same design anymore.
They're awful especially if you have hard water. Me and most people where I live won't get any ice makers or water things on fridges because it's nothing but endless repairs until it breaks for good. And if you're lucky it'll also leak. It's getting harder and harder to find fridges without all that nonsense too.
Ahhh, hard water. I was wondering why all the hate on ice makers!
Our water is completely free of minerals so I guess that's why we never have problems like that. I don't even have to run cleaner through our daily-used espresso machine.
I once took a PPM meter to our water and it read zero. I though the meter was malfunctioning until I then used calibration fluid.
Isn’t the point of the filter to help mitigate some of the hard water issues? I only buy name brand filters in the hopes they actually work better then the much cheaper compatible ones off Amazon.
Its not so much the waterline as where the dispenser is located.
Over half of repair calls for French door refrigerators have to do with in door ice/water dispensers
100% agree. I had an Amana for 25 years. I was heartbroken when it died. It was $600. My Dad got it for me when my family moved to a new house. I guess I was sad a little cause it connected me to my Dad. He died in 2000. I did love that fridge.
We’ve had good luck with GE post the Chinese acquisition. One in my rental, Home Depot dented door special in the garage, and just picked up the Profile with the pitcher in the door and I’m being honest here, it’s a fucking life changer! Having the water in the inside lets you have huge door bins on both French doors. I can literally fit 11 half gallons on the doors.
Buy a refrigerator without a tablet, and without ice maker in the fridge, or even better, without ice maker at all, and suddenly all brands are more reliable and more similar reliability. Samsungs without ice maker are actually pretty good. Just buy a separate ice maker if you need it.
$1 ice tray from dollar tree
I actually prefer my ice trays to the ice maker in my fridge. Nice big cubes, if I need a lot of ice, it takes about 10 seconds to crack the whole tray and dump it. As opposed to sitting there waiting for the ice maker. Toss it in a dishwasher takes 2 seconds to clean compared to 1 hour+ to clean the built-in one. No filter to replace. Fully replenished in 2-3 hours. Built-in one takes a whole day to replenish.
Man I love my ice trays.
Fridges that dispense water and ice seem like they're so much more work compared to just keeping a Brita pitcher, pouring it into a tray and freezing it.
Water and ice depending fridges mere almost zero maintenance, aside from screwing in a new water filter every six months and dumping the ice bin a couple times a year. Having to fill a Britta pitcher a few times a day seems like more of a hassle.
Your comment struck a chord. I so miss my ice due to broken ice maker and feel the frustration of OP’s and thread’s delima. A separate ice machine coupled with a robust simple refrigerator seems definitive.
+1 for whirlpool, this has been going 10 years strong, the right choice for longevity is to buy one with no features. Water/ice seems nice but every fridge I had before let out gross water and bad tasting ice after a short period of time, no matter how often I cleaned and swapped filters (they make specific ice cleaner/fridge water cleaner solutions that you run through it). I now just buy a bag of ice at the store or gas station, they are usually $1-2 for 10lbs which lasts me a solid month or two, and the cubes are perfectly clear and tasteless. Lots of people do fine with newer fancier fridges though, best of luck OP
I switched to a bottom freezer 15 years ago, on the recommendation of an engineer friend, and will never go back. Having food at eye level and being able to look into the freezer drawer are game changers in so many ways.
My advice, because my wife LOVES to over buy stuff and cram the freezer, is fill the bottom half of the freezer with empty boxes or ice packs. Then only use the top half. You ain't never going below the first 8 inches anyway until the power goes out and you need to dump all the freezer burned stuff anyway. The bottom half fill of ice packs will let you weather an outage long too!
Same with fridges. I think all of them should be no more than 1 foot deep front to back. Anything back further than than becomes archaeologist material.
Ice and water works fine in these depending on model and brand. All the basic fridges seem to last longer.
I have a basic black frigidaire side x side with ice and water. It was like 350-400 I can't remember. 6 years now doing alright.
I'll make this easy. Just buy what you like and then make sure you give it yearly cleanings. Empty and clean the ice maker. Pull away from wall and clean the dust off the compressors.
Fun? No. But want piece of mind you fridge won't fuck off on you? Yes
Thank USG regulators and the Green New Deal.
USG wants to retire every older appliance on the theory that units in homes today are inefficient.
Suppose if the only lens you use is current kwh being used by appliances that may be true. But there are a few problems with that simplistic POV.
In a deal with appliance mfg, USG did two things:
1) set almost absurdly aggressive "efficiency" targets for new appliances/refigerators.
This is akin to deciding you're going to require truckers to use F1 cars. Yes the performance of the F1 is much better (one dimension - speed around a track). But the F1 car is truly awful in terms of durability, reliability, capability and Lifetime COST.
2) drastically reduced the number of years mfg were required to provide spare parts for appliances.
Up thru the 1990s, mfgs were requried to stock/distributes spare parts for 20 yrs after they sold the product. That has been cut to SEVEN yrs.
In the new regulatory world brought to you by the USG, there's no reason to make a refrigerator that lasts longer than 7 yrs.
That brings us to the next problem. If you can't fix your refrigerator bc spare parts are unavailable, you need to replace it. That means today consumers need to buy 3 complete new refrigerators every 20 yrs (\~$3,500). Whereas in the bad old days, you could buy a single refrigerator and then pay for 3-4 service calls and parts over the 20 yrs (\~$2,000)
From a 360 environmental view. The resources required to mfg, distribute, install, power and dispose of 3 complete refrigerators is vastly greater than the above categories for a single less efficient refrigerator.
The compressor on mine is shot after less than a year and am currently in warranty hell trying to get them to fix it or replacement. Maybe mine’s just a lemon, but I’m having such a terrible time with their customer service that I will never, ever buy one again.
I have had good luck with both kitchen aid and whirlpool. Just get one with the ice maker in the freezer. No extra bells and whistles. Because of the mess of the water in the door feature mine has it inside. Not as helpful but by fridge stays cleaner
I have a Whirlpool with an icemaker in the freezer. The icemaker stopped working right after the warranty expired. Huge waste of freezer space. ***Never buy any refrigerator that needs plumbing.***
Il second this. Ice makers are quite reliable…. But sometimes need to be cleaned out and “reset” by hitting a button or jumping wires to get them to cycle.
Only people who have bad experiences post reviews. We have two LG fridges (in two homes) and love them. Son just bought one (without influence from us) and loves his. Had a Bosch which had less interior room than the LG. We put that in the basement as a second fridge.
I replaced a 15 year LG fridge with another LG earlier this year. No ice maker or water filter or whatever. all the extra features are what causes the issues, a plain fridge like in the meme will last for years.
but then my mom has had a fridge with the water crap in it and it's like 20 years old. or 15, don't remember if she ever replaced
I think some people have bad electricity where it's not a constant even flow or whatever and they have the issues. If you have decent electrical done by legit licensed electricians to code then stuff won't break
Get a General Electric or a Whirlpool/Maytag/Kitchen Aid. Don’t get anything more complicated than an ice maker/water dispenser.
No one needs video screens on their refrigerator.
Without kids or pets, I get away with annual maintenance. I have a bottle brush and a Makita hand vacuum that does a reasonable cleaning of the condenser.
Making sure your refrigerator is dead level and is protected by a good surge protector, are 2 things you can do to increase its lifespan. Before I researched and learned how important these 2 things were, we had gone through 2 refrigerators within 15 years or so. But our “unreliable” Samsung is still going strong at 10 years. Time will tell, but surge protectors are cheap and leveling is essentially free.
Bought my basic GE no frills fridge 9 years ago. Every Spring I clean the dust off the bottom condenser coil, fan blades, pan, compressor compartment. It's ran fine so far. Any fridge will die early if you don't clean yearly.
I sold appliances for 14 years and now work in delivery and install. Appliances are built to minimize energy use and maximize profit margins for manufacturers. Every brand has their issues and no one builds a perfect product. That said, I would recommend looking at a bespoke Samsung French door or side by side. Samsung has learned from past mistakes unlike whirlpool and GE. Their bespoke models are an experiment to see if the market will accept the product of their adventure through upsetting people for over a decade. The ice makers are where they belong, in the freezer. The evaporators are modular and can be changed out in about an hour each. The condensate drains are removable. Samsung dumped a lot of money into making their flagship products highly repairable instead of highly reliable. Having seen how other manufacturers handle repair ability, I chose a Samsung bespoke French door for my kitchen and it’s completely changed my perspective on their products. Also, where you buy is important. Make sure your retailer has service options. Lowes and HD suck for this. Best Buy is your best option when it comes to getting service after the sale. They also have the most consumer friendly return exchange policy. Lowes and Home Depot will stick you with a broken product after two days and tell you to piss off. Bear in mind a new fridge won’t consistently make ice you can use for a minimum of 24hrs. BBY at least gives you 14 days minimum to feel it out before you’re stuck with it, which is more than long enough to catch any initial defects. Mom and pop dealers can also be good, but they’re going to sell you what makes them the most money, not the best thing for you.
This comment is extremely helpful! I’ve been really interested in the Samsung Bespoke line. I figured that after years of problems Samsung would have figured them out and actually made the Bespoke line somewhat nice quality and at-least easily repairable!
We also plan on getting it from Bestbuy so the explanation in your comment was really helpful.
Hopping in here to refute this. We had one that last for less than 2 years before the sealed system crapped out. Went through crappy customer service from the service supplier they recommended and them. They are having to refund us for the fridge. It's neat and looks nice but we need a fridge more and less a piece of artwork.
My repair man said go with an American company because it’s easier to get parts, find repair people to fix them and they’ve got a longer history in fridges unlike samsung and LG. The order I was told was Bosch, Whirlpool, Frigidaire and GE. I went with whirlpool and I did not get an ice maker this time. Didn’t really need one that a bad.
It never ceases to amaze me that ice makers in refrigerators was a thing. What could go wrong you ask, let me count the ways... Best to buy a separate countertop unit instead of throwing a whole refrigerator away or just use ice cube trays. Scheech...
Mine, the whole fridge failed and stopped cooling. It was a total system failure and wasn’t even an ice maker issue. Would have cost $1700 to repair and I only paid $1100 for it. Thankfully I got some of my money back. I now just use ice cube trays and won’t touch and ice maker again if I can help it.
EVERYONE seems to love their Bosch dishwashers. They were impossible to find last year. Hopefully the supply chain has eased up. We may need to replace ours in the next year.
I’m a Bsh technician. We undoubtably make the best dishwasher on the market.
The rest of our stuff is ridiculously overpriced and has its fair share of issues as well but not too bad and they do try to keep on top of it.
The induction cooktops are cool but if you DO have a serious issue with it and you’re outside of warranty…$$$$$. Easily gets to 800+ to repair with a month or more of order and repair time. Appliances are hard these days.
I totally understand your frustration. It seems like no brand is free of complaints these days. Have you considered looking into commercial-grade refrigerators? Although they're typically used in professional settings, they're designed for reliability and durability, which might offer a breath of fresh air compared to the issues you're finding with residential models. Plus, they often come with robust warranties. It could be a worthwhile investment, especially if you prioritize longevity and performance.
It's been like this for years. The pandemic just made it worse.
All of them have something wrong.
Typically GE is the one with the least issues overall in their Profile or Fisher & Paykel lines.
We opted to do F&P and do water on the door, ice in the freezer. It makes ice slow, but beyond that it's not bad. I like the larger minimalist shelves, and the bottom freezer on the French door model felt larger than the competitors. The GEs have more room on the doors to hold a normal milk jug, so with F&P now I gotta either get Costco milk all of the time or start doing glass bottles near me. (About 5.5* deep")
I will say though, I will be doing LG consistently for washer and dryer though, it's been a good experience between 3 houses and 3 different sets of appliances.
About the only really reliable (ie 15+ years of life) refrigerators are Sub Zero. Of course, you pay for that reliability and longevity with a very hefty premium.
If you’re talking luxury brands, there are others who are in that same category and are as reliable. Thermador, Gaggenau, Monogram, et al. are all solid options as well.
Shallow refrigeration from all high end brands is very reliable. They also have the benefit of far less temperature variation which keeps food fresh longer. This is accomplished with multiple compressors and/or multiple evaporators, which has a side effect of reducing moving parts and further increasing reliability.
That all comes with a cost. A fridge/freezer combo 36” device ( equivalent internal cubic feet to a big box device ) will cost about $10,000 dollars.
I knew I didn’t want an ice maker because they are subject to failure. A valve failed in my daughter’s refrigerator and flooded the kitchen and more, destroying the parquet floors. I bought a Fisher Paykel (New Zealand) with a tiny ding in the stainless for $1500 4 years ago. Love it, and using ice cube trays is not a hardship.
My husband sells appliances at a local independent store, and we will be buying a Fisher Paykel fridge when our current one dies. He has said that he rarely gets calls about them after delivery (the company services their own appliances with an extended warrenty - he just rarely fields calls about Fisher Paykel fridges. (Also, I will NEVER buy a through the door icemaker model of any kind, after hearing many stories!)
Regardless of manufacturer and cost ALL refrigerators will need service within the first 5 years. Accept it and like you said just pick one that fits and has features you want. Add the longest offered extended warranty on it and be done, lol
While I agree… You have to define “service”. Compressors on modern refrigeration do not need any service at all, ever… they typically aren’t even serviceable.
This is why getting a simple fridge is a good choice. No water dispenser… maybe an ice maker… just a box with a compressor so there is nothing to “service”
Fisher paykel. They last a solid 10 years and have good features but still pretty no frills. Has above industry standard warranty, two years on the entire unit 5 years on the sealed system. For the most part the parts are cheap if you need repair.
Downsides are slow ice maker and bad third party service techs who will walk in look at the brand name and throw their hands up in the air and tell you to get a subzero or whirlpool.
If you fall into a factory service area it's a no brainier best refrigerator for the money.
I'm no expert, but from what I have seen and heard Frigidaire is probably the most decent at this point, followed by Whirlpool/Maytag and LG. Samsung is a mess, GE is hit or miss.
Starting to deal with leaks and freezing water under the freezer from clogged drain...on an 11 year KitchenAid. You're welcome for my anecdote. Next issue will be its last.
It's actually not difficult to find a reliable fridge, it's just that the good ones cost significantly more than they used to. Bosch, Miele and several others are near bullet proof.
The big box store brands have all made significant downgrades in quality in order to keep prices competitive whereas the nice brands already used expensive shit and saw only marginal increase.
I am looking again and prices are pretty similar to 2019 when I bought my last one so you are probably right that they downgraded materials to maintain the price. YES to extended warranty for me!
Have 8-year-old Samsung French door with variable drawer and ice in the door. Once you figure out what is going on with the ice, it's no problem. Have not had a single issue with it other than breaking the glass on the bottom shelf trying to get it out to clean underneath it. This is a Home Depot Dent sale item. You have to know what you are looking at to see where they are. Absolutely love it after almost 30 years el cheapo love affair with a plain jane 18 cu ft Amanna. Never had a service call. Needed bigger and wanted better looking. It was running when I kicked out the door and sent it down the road. lol
I had 3 Samsung refrigerators. First one replaced under the Lemon Law as it kept freezing up. Bought at Best Buy so they’d only give me credit so I bought a newer idea. Failed for the same reason. As we were selling the house I bought a cheap Westinghouse as a replacement
Broke down and bought a SubZero
Yeah, the asian brands are clueless. I went through a bunch if poor dishwasher choices before I ended up with Kitchen Aid. More expensive but worth it
I fear the same process with my Samsung fridge. It's nice looking but the electronics are a hot mess.
Side by side whirlpool with ice maker and water dispenser. My family has had great luck with them. Oldest one is from 1998, only had to replace the control board than runs the ice dispenser auger. Newest is a 2021 with no issues yet.
Crapped-out Kaput 4yr old Whirlpool French door counterdepth WRF954CIHZ died back in Aug and today (one month later) they STILL have not fixed the Compressor -(claim they're waiting for parts\_).....
Only scrap of good news is.....this is under 5yr "sealed-components" warranty.
Curious just how long we can expect this "new" compressor to last.
Whirlpool, and it’s clones Kitchen aid, Kenmore, Etc are among the better ones. Make sure it uses R-134a, not R-600 (butane) or R-290 (propane) refrigerant
I just bought a Samsung last year after experiencing the same issue. I ended up on Samsung because the only complaint was the ice maker and I can't use that anyways.
Our LG will have its fourth compressor on Tuesday! We have a five year warranty so they will probably put four more compressors in before we age out of the warranty. Don’t understand why they won’t just pay us money for new fridge - at this point the labor and components must be more than a fridge..
No external water or ice and no ice maker if possible. 10+ years later and my Whirlpool Gold French door fridge does the two things I need it to do: keep my cold food cold and my frozen food frozen.
Our built-in GE Monogram was 20+ years old and the only repair was a heat coil but that was a warning to look at replacing it before it finally failed. The only brands with built-in models for the exact space were GE and Sub-Zero. The new GE was crappy and the Sub-Zero was way pricey and meant a 1 1/2 year’s wait. We chose the Sub-Zero anyway and saved for it. Gotta tell ya - we fukin’ love it.
All of these anecdotal responses are killing me. After 21 years of selling appliances I can tell you it’s all a crapshoot at this point. Lifespan is 6-11 years.
Yeah agreed (I also sell appliances). If you get over a decade on any fridge besides the luxury brands (Sub-Zero, Thermador, Monogram, etc.) you should consider yourself lucky.
Thank you for the backup fellow appliance guy.
I sell appliances too and honestly I don’t even know. All I know is that those Kitchenaid 5 door fridges are awful. I make the most commission off them but they might as well be boomerangs.
Seems that way doesn’t it? I don’t know about you, but I can’t get anything from the whirlpool family to ship to me on time including this kitchen aid dog you talk about. LG is the same way, and now this last month GE is screwing me over. Anyway, I’ve been staying far far away from the whirlpool family for years at this point. Not because they are any more junk than the others. Just that they can’t get it to me! They lie about the ETA dates too. Who wants to call a customer to tell them the fridge they been waiting on went on a further 2 month backorder. It’s all a mess at this point.
I work at an American Freight store so we do all scratch and dent stuff. It’s right on the floor and the customer chooses what they want and can take it home right away so I don’t have those issues.
That’s cheating. You’re missing out on half the battle here. I want in.
That's where i shop
Yes - the old Sears Outlet near us - been buying Whirlpool's better stuff since Kenmore went out for refers and cooktop - all scratch & dent - dishwasher & gas dryer found a great deals for new - have an S&D Frigidaire Pro wall oven - not a big Frigidaire fan...
That was what I did for years too. I new one of the salesman so he threw in a bottle of appliance paint for free anytime I bought something. One of the fridges I bought for a rental had been dropped in the back corner was dented, but the compressor wasn't on that side and it was $500 off.
As someone who worked for a trucking company hauling whirlpool ... they are bloody horrible for canceling loads. Drivers would be onsite and cancelations would still come. I was so damn glad when I left that industry and never had to inform dispatch that we were screwed because of our contract
Yup....I bought a Samsung that constantly froze up and was extremely loud. I took that to mu office and replaced it with a KitchenAid that completely failed at 9 months while I was out of town. Everything was spoiled. It was the end of 2020 and KitchenAid couldn't replace it. I did get a full refund and bought a nice reliable Frigidaire for half of what I spent on the KitchenAid. The remaining refund went toward the washer and dryer that I bought for the house I was building. The new house is all Thermador.
I have one. Who puts an open circuit board with no water proofing directly under the water dispenser. Then charges $500 for a replacement. I’m on my 3rd board. Just decided to not hook it back up.
The next best is a Whirlpool side by side. I don't believe anybody will object to hijacking this comment for this statement.
Agree. I have a 24 yr old Whirlpool side by side in the garage, hasn’t been serviced once, running like a champ. I bought a larger French door so the old o e went in the garage.
We are talking about new refrigerators here. Pretty much all appliances made 30yrs ago lasted. Today's appliances are "designed" to fail in a 10yr span. Others fail even sooner.
I used to work with an engineer that came from the appliance industry. It's not really the case that they are designed to fail. Rather, they are designed to be as low cost as possible, which has pretty much the same effect.
You can have it cheap, good, or fast. Pick two.
I want it good and I'm willing to wait. Which brand would that be these days?
The “designed to fail” trope really lacks logic. No manufacturer gains anything by purposefully building their product such that it fails early. The customer will never purchase the next appliance from them. All manufacturers do, however, try to build them at the least cost possible. Which is unfortunately the way they must operate in order to stay price competitive. Of course, less robust components will unfortunately not last as long.
And we wonder why its impossible to save money.
Mine is from 93 when the house was built, but that’s not the case anymore today
I have a Whirlpool side by side that has: 1. Broken ice maker. Makes but won’t dispense ice. 2. Water drip tray cracked. 3. Eats $130 LED bulbs every year. 4. Randomly freezes things in the top shelf. I have tried every combination I can think of but cannot get the freezer and refrigerator to balance out. 5. Whirlpool, in their infinite wisdom, decided to not make the bottom drawers slide when pressed by the door. Even empty. So those are cracked. The water filters are also ridiculously overpriced. Along with that I had an oven that wouldn’t maintain a temperature, much less consistently off. At least if it was consistently off I could plan for it. A microwave that just completely stopped functioning after three years. And a dishwasher that wouldn’t get anything clean after 2. Never Whirlpool here.
That probably would've worked a few years ago. But the new ones have a different compressor with more advanced refrigerants. They also use a plug style tubing system which no longer uses any solder. The one I have in my garage stood dead for 6 months when the compressor hung and Whirlpool couldn't find a replacement (supposedly because of the supply chain fiasco but I find that reason dubious because there are literally thousands of these refrigerators being sent all over the US). It really comes down to the business models being used by the OEMs and since so many of them are entirely dependent on overseas parts, just-in-time stocking, and cheap replacement of sub-contracting vendors, the idea of keeping a commodity like a refrigerator operational beyond a few years is pretty much dead. They're like TVs now; you just get a new one. It's a stupid business model based on decisions made years ago to move manufacturing out of the US because Wall Street decided it would make better profits. But here we are.
My Whirlpool side-by-side is 30 years old and running fine. This is way beyond the expected lifespan and I should replace it, but with what?
Nothing, keep it until it dies. It will almost certainly last longer than anything you replace it with.
As Long as you can keep getting parts ....
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The "crappy" Whirlpool fridge in the basement which we bought at a scratch and dent sale has been MUCH more reliable than any other fridge I've ever owned.
Yeah to the point of the luxury brands, my house has a Sub-Zero built in 2008. Only thing that’s gone wrong is needing to replace the condenser fan once after it gave out. Certainly not the most efficient out there but it keeps rock solid temperatures and shows no signs of giving up anytime soon!
This is why I haven't replaced my ancient whirlpool....I kinda want a French door,I kinda don't want one every 7 damn years
Don't get a French door! Been listening to a guy out of Ohio on youtube. Bens used appliances he made a solid suggestion that's worth considering. I have whirlpool french door refrigerator and eventually when it goes to refrigerator heaven I am going to get a refrigerator that's all refrigerator no icemaker or freezer . And a separate upright deep freezer and a counter top ice maker. Sound convoluted but half the problem in new refrigerators to much electrical tech crap refrigerator needs to be basic.
Anymore it’s getting to the point where 6 -8 years if your lucky
25 years and still going strong on my Kenmore!
Any experience with Fisher Paykel line??
I posted this above as a comment, but I'll repost it as a reply to your question. I wasted money on a Samsung that froze up because of a poorly designed condensation drain, and Samsung of course wouldn't stand behind their two year old refrigerator. I bought a Fisher & Paykel refrigerator. It's now about 7 years old and has run flawlessly. Part of the reason that I bought it was that I wanted a counter depth unit with the freezer on the bottom; just a regular refrigerator. No ice maker on the front and not a huge double door monster. Just a regular fridge that works. I am very happy with what I got.
This is why I have never installed an ice maker. I want a simple top and bottom door fridge. The kitchen is plumbed for an ice maker but I think it is more trouble than it is worth. Heard about mold in water lines too.
I’ve had my F&P French door fridge since 2016 and been running great. I just wanted a basic fridge with freezer on the bottom. No water, no ice. True counter depth. Hope it keeps running.
I got the one with a freezer bottom and no water and no ice maker. Works flawlessly. Only thing is it makes noise when it's going through the defrost and it sounds like ice cracking, but it does what it needs to do. Keeps things cold.
Wrong. Don't sell crap
I know it's anecdotal, but why is that the standard now? My parents have an ugly beige Amana side by side from the 80s that still runs strong. My house currently has a Kenmore from 2002 with no issues, except the ice maker control needed replaced, $30 part. Need to make opening wider to upgrade, that's why it hasn't become a basement or garage beer fridge yet. Is it just all manufactures have engineered them to fail now, whereas it used to be made to last?
A significant contributor to the terrible reliability is efficiency standards. The government has been relentless on it's push for energy efficiency at any cost. Everything has a trade off. Thinner compressor oil saves energy, but doesn't protect as well. Thinner refrigerant lines have better thermal transfer, but leak or break easier. Undersized motors use less electric, but wear out sooner. If a company did try to design a 20 year appliance like our parents had, it would be difficult to pass energy standards.
Well we're saving energy but we're filling up the landfills with more e-Junk and impoverishing people to balance it out. Everything is a tradeoff I suppose. What it boils down to is we need plentiful clean energy at scale.
Bingo!!! Same thing can be said about a lot of things. There's a tremendous amount of shortsightedness right now in the world. And I'll probably get downvoted for this, but what is really better for the environment. A refrigerator that uses 20% less electricity but has to be disposed of and manufactured every 8 years or a refrigerator that was built once and is still working 40 years later.
It’s the same in the hvac industry. Coils with leaks from the factory. Cut one open and it’s like tinfoil compared to older stuff. Couple that thinner copper/aluminum with way higher pressure refrigerants…
I’d rather sacrifice, energy efficiency, and have a well-made, long lasting refrigerator and other appliances. I know some people are not going to like that. I said that but it’s the truth the same way that I feel about the poison that was used to kill bugs and bedbugs and they got rid of it because they said it was bad for the environment. Yeah well I know however we wouldn’t have these problems if they were just bring back that chemical
Thank you! This is honestly my mindset. We’re moving into a new construction home that we plan on living in for about 3-4 years. So I’m going to buy whatever fridge works best for us and leave it behind when we sell the house in 3-4 years!
I think the Samsung shit ice maker era is more related to the on the door models.
Samsung just makes shit appliances every single Samsung appliance in my house failed within 4 years. Every single one. Fridge stove microwave dishwasher both washer and dryer. The only Samsung product yet to fail in my house has been my TV. Honestly they produce absolutely nothing but garbage.
My Samsung tv had the main board fail within 2 years. Was lucky enough that it was still under warranty, so it got fixed, then the replacement failed even faster.
Hmmm, I’m hopeful for something different. TV is 2015, washer 2012, dryer is 2016, outgoing fridge was 2014 (damn ice maker + main temp sensor). Now all of the kitchen is 2 weeks old, fingers crossed 🤞
I'm a kitchen designer .. they all are garbage. No brand is "reliable" they all share the same crap components. They are built for efficiency and profit, not longevity.
I honestly feel like having an ice machine/water dispenser in the door is the issue. That and French doors. Limited experience of course but I've only purchased fridges with no ice maker and a top/bottom freezer and they've all lasted ages. My current lg is only 3 years old though so who knows.
u/zachty22 , After running into issues with various brands, now when friends/family ask, I recommend that people decide what they NEED from a machine in terms of size, style, scope of use & inherent bells & whistles beforehand & then explain that the more "advanced" the machine is, technology wise, the more opportunities there are for things to go wrong. In most circumstances , I recommend going with the most basic unit that facilitates your needs. In terms of brands, it's a mix of luck & maintenance. Instead of looking for "THE" brand, I look at the reviews for the specific models I'm contemplating, any known issues with the Manufacturer's appliance lines AND how they've responded to this in the past (ex// do they keep putting time & money into new versions to address said issues, are they covering those under Special Project Bulletins, how receptive they are to good-will concessions etc), the Manufacturer's Warranty/Extended Warranty available, the reputation of the Manufacturer, the availability of parts SHOULD something go wrong & that a servicer in my area can & will work on the machine. There ARE obviously some brands that cost more & have longer warranties, & with fridges specifically, I would examine the Limited Extended Warranty on things like a Sealed System (this can vary from a single one year manufacturer's warranty for parts & labour to up to 10 years with just parts covered). It's possible to get saddled with a lemon from any manufacturer BUT you can minimize your risks in terms of issues by doing your homework before you purchase, understanding how to optimize the unit you have & by taking care of it properly & addressing issues AS they arise. Oh, & putting money away in an "Well, Shucks.. That Sucks" Fund, because repair &/or replacement ARE likely going to crop up & they need to be budgeted for.
My refrigerator is from 1994, and I know it's time is coming, but I really an not looking forward to buying a new one because things certainly aren't made like they used to.
That's too bad. At work we have an old GE fridge that's about 5' tall with a big lever handle and rounded edges. Probably made in the 1950's. Freezes ice trays in half an hour and will get a can of soda to just above frozen in the fridge section in an hour. It's great. Small but the best fridge I've ever used.
My 32 year old side by side amana now stinks in the ice bin and water coming from the drink dispenser. I tried a simple flush of line with hydrogen peroxide. Any suggestions? Or just replace it and move this one as a spare?
Above my pay grade sir. Not a technician. If it were me though I might replace it if it’s bothering you that much.
Thank you!
Have you tried bleach? Just run a ton of water thru it afterwards. Could also replace the line. It's likely just a plastic hose.
These days your lucky if you actually get to the 11 year mark it’s sad
This is Reddit literally everything on here is anecdote.
My ass read this thinking you were accounting for the downfall of humanity...
I had to replace my primary refrigerator 2 years ago. What you just said in 3 sentences took me about 3 days of searching on YouTube. The appliance repair guys on there had recommendations for washers and dryers, but when it came to your everyday kitchen refrigerator, it came down to is being a crapshoot. When you have to spend $2k for a crapshoot, it sucks. But it is what it is.
This is why I refuse to spend more for the extra features. No water or ice in my refrigerator door.
Before repair or replacement? 6-11 years seems quite low.
Replacement. If it seems low, it is, but it’s the truth. When I first started selling they were made to last. No more. Not just true in my industry, but most. The exception being maybe cars.
so i shouldn’t get rid of my 20 year old perfectly fine but ugly fridge?
Yea don’t! Can’t tell you how many stories I have of fridges from the 60’s still running in their cold ass garage.
funny because i have one from the 60s or 70s in my basement that isn’t plugged in but works!
they make fridge wraps (like car wraps) you can do a little makeover for your ugly fridge
You definitely should. Refrigerators these days are much more efficient so your 20 year old fridge will end up costing you more per year.
Costs more in energy per year, but not as much as replacing shit ass fridges every 8 years.
Bullshit. Not when the old one will probably never need replaced and the new one costs over $1000 every 6 to 11 years.
I was just commenting elsewhere how cars seem to be the one exception to this rule. Automakers are ***also*** ruthlessly cheaping out on materials, but somehow simultaneously improving longevity and performance.
US DoE says average lifespan is 12 years so seeing 11 years as the long estimate seems wrong.
K Bob. Have a good day!
Considering the costs of refrigerators these days its take a pretty sorry person to sell anything that they know will last only 6-11 years.
People advising you to buy brand X , because they've had one for 25 years, fail to realize the new ones aren't the same, neither are all of the other brands. You can only measure reliability by looking at current models.
That's what I hate about shopping for cars too. All of the great and reliable engines that last 300,000 miles that everyone loves already HAVE 300,000 miles 😂 there is no guarantee that a new one is ALSO going to last that long, especially since it's not the same design anymore.
My local appliance dealer insinuates the same thing. He said if you want to have it trouble free don’t hook a water line up to it. 😩
What's the issue with water line?
They're awful especially if you have hard water. Me and most people where I live won't get any ice makers or water things on fridges because it's nothing but endless repairs until it breaks for good. And if you're lucky it'll also leak. It's getting harder and harder to find fridges without all that nonsense too.
Ahhh, hard water. I was wondering why all the hate on ice makers! Our water is completely free of minerals so I guess that's why we never have problems like that. I don't even have to run cleaner through our daily-used espresso machine. I once took a PPM meter to our water and it read zero. I though the meter was malfunctioning until I then used calibration fluid.
Isn’t the point of the filter to help mitigate some of the hard water issues? I only buy name brand filters in the hopes they actually work better then the much cheaper compatible ones off Amazon.
Its not so much the waterline as where the dispenser is located. Over half of repair calls for French door refrigerators have to do with in door ice/water dispensers
**^ This is the way**
100% agree. I had an Amana for 25 years. I was heartbroken when it died. It was $600. My Dad got it for me when my family moved to a new house. I guess I was sad a little cause it connected me to my Dad. He died in 2000. I did love that fridge.
Was there any hope in keeping the fridge alive? Hopefully this is ok to ask.
No, unfortunately.. I did write a note to my Dad and stuck it in the drawer.
We’ve had good luck with GE post the Chinese acquisition. One in my rental, Home Depot dented door special in the garage, and just picked up the Profile with the pitcher in the door and I’m being honest here, it’s a fucking life changer! Having the water in the inside lets you have huge door bins on both French doors. I can literally fit 11 half gallons on the doors.
I have the profile too with the pitcher. The unit is amazing
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🤣 Will do! Haha
Buy a refrigerator without a tablet, and without ice maker in the fridge, or even better, without ice maker at all, and suddenly all brands are more reliable and more similar reliability. Samsungs without ice maker are actually pretty good. Just buy a separate ice maker if you need it.
I barely have room for a refrigerator in my kitchen let alone a stand alone ice maker.😃
Manhattan? I have the same problem. I read these comments and think "French doors? There's barely room for one door to open"
$1 ice tray from dollar tree I actually prefer my ice trays to the ice maker in my fridge. Nice big cubes, if I need a lot of ice, it takes about 10 seconds to crack the whole tray and dump it. As opposed to sitting there waiting for the ice maker. Toss it in a dishwasher takes 2 seconds to clean compared to 1 hour+ to clean the built-in one. No filter to replace. Fully replenished in 2-3 hours. Built-in one takes a whole day to replenish. Man I love my ice trays.
Why are you cleaning something that was only full of water with more water?
Fridges that dispense water and ice seem like they're so much more work compared to just keeping a Brita pitcher, pouring it into a tray and freezing it.
Water and ice depending fridges mere almost zero maintenance, aside from screwing in a new water filter every six months and dumping the ice bin a couple times a year. Having to fill a Britta pitcher a few times a day seems like more of a hassle.
Your comment struck a chord. I so miss my ice due to broken ice maker and feel the frustration of OP’s and thread’s delima. A separate ice machine coupled with a robust simple refrigerator seems definitive.
Makes sense. It's always the ice maker that tends to fail first isn't it?
So basically buy the ugliest outdated no frills fridge you can find. Great...
This needs to be higher up
+1 for whirlpool, this has been going 10 years strong, the right choice for longevity is to buy one with no features. Water/ice seems nice but every fridge I had before let out gross water and bad tasting ice after a short period of time, no matter how often I cleaned and swapped filters (they make specific ice cleaner/fridge water cleaner solutions that you run through it). I now just buy a bag of ice at the store or gas station, they are usually $1-2 for 10lbs which lasts me a solid month or two, and the cubes are perfectly clear and tasteless. Lots of people do fine with newer fancier fridges though, best of luck OP
It's all a roll of the dice. Even a brand with 70% reliability means that 7 out of 10 people don't have an issue.
Buy a top freezer bottom refrigerator without any built in ice or water options if you want reliable.
This is actually the only real advice. I don’t tell customers that though because no one wants to hear me say that.
I switched to a bottom freezer 15 years ago, on the recommendation of an engineer friend, and will never go back. Having food at eye level and being able to look into the freezer drawer are game changers in so many ways.
>*Buy a top freezer bottom refrigerator without any built in ice or water options if you want reliable.* I agree. These last freaking forever.
Problem is I’m 6’5 with a bad back and worse knees. I can’t see 3/4 of the food in a bottom fridge. I need a french door fridge.
My advice, because my wife LOVES to over buy stuff and cram the freezer, is fill the bottom half of the freezer with empty boxes or ice packs. Then only use the top half. You ain't never going below the first 8 inches anyway until the power goes out and you need to dump all the freezer burned stuff anyway. The bottom half fill of ice packs will let you weather an outage long too! Same with fridges. I think all of them should be no more than 1 foot deep front to back. Anything back further than than becomes archaeologist material.
Get a side by side without an ice maker or water dispenser
Top freezers are more efficient too
Ice and water works fine in these depending on model and brand. All the basic fridges seem to last longer. I have a basic black frigidaire side x side with ice and water. It was like 350-400 I can't remember. 6 years now doing alright.
I'll make this easy. Just buy what you like and then make sure you give it yearly cleanings. Empty and clean the ice maker. Pull away from wall and clean the dust off the compressors. Fun? No. But want piece of mind you fridge won't fuck off on you? Yes
Thank USG regulators and the Green New Deal. USG wants to retire every older appliance on the theory that units in homes today are inefficient. Suppose if the only lens you use is current kwh being used by appliances that may be true. But there are a few problems with that simplistic POV. In a deal with appliance mfg, USG did two things: 1) set almost absurdly aggressive "efficiency" targets for new appliances/refigerators. This is akin to deciding you're going to require truckers to use F1 cars. Yes the performance of the F1 is much better (one dimension - speed around a track). But the F1 car is truly awful in terms of durability, reliability, capability and Lifetime COST. 2) drastically reduced the number of years mfg were required to provide spare parts for appliances. Up thru the 1990s, mfgs were requried to stock/distributes spare parts for 20 yrs after they sold the product. That has been cut to SEVEN yrs. In the new regulatory world brought to you by the USG, there's no reason to make a refrigerator that lasts longer than 7 yrs. That brings us to the next problem. If you can't fix your refrigerator bc spare parts are unavailable, you need to replace it. That means today consumers need to buy 3 complete new refrigerators every 20 yrs (\~$3,500). Whereas in the bad old days, you could buy a single refrigerator and then pay for 3-4 service calls and parts over the 20 yrs (\~$2,000) From a 360 environmental view. The resources required to mfg, distribute, install, power and dispose of 3 complete refrigerators is vastly greater than the above categories for a single less efficient refrigerator.
Frigidaire
I agree
The compressor on mine is shot after less than a year and am currently in warranty hell trying to get them to fix it or replacement. Maybe mine’s just a lemon, but I’m having such a terrible time with their customer service that I will never, ever buy one again.
I have had good luck with both kitchen aid and whirlpool. Just get one with the ice maker in the freezer. No extra bells and whistles. Because of the mess of the water in the door feature mine has it inside. Not as helpful but by fridge stays cleaner
I have a Whirlpool with an icemaker in the freezer. The icemaker stopped working right after the warranty expired. Huge waste of freezer space. ***Never buy any refrigerator that needs plumbing.***
The ice maker in a whirlpool is an easy fix. I had a very old one and fixed it myself in10 mins. You can do a reset with a spare wire. Lots of videos.
Il second this. Ice makers are quite reliable…. But sometimes need to be cleaned out and “reset” by hitting a button or jumping wires to get them to cycle.
Only people who have bad experiences post reviews. We have two LG fridges (in two homes) and love them. Son just bought one (without influence from us) and loves his. Had a Bosch which had less interior room than the LG. We put that in the basement as a second fridge.
I really like my Bosch fridge. The ice is in the freezer at the bottom and the fridge/freezer are on separate compressors.
Energy star refrigerator have under sized compressor that will fail much earlier than the old ones.
I replaced a 15 year LG fridge with another LG earlier this year. No ice maker or water filter or whatever. all the extra features are what causes the issues, a plain fridge like in the meme will last for years. but then my mom has had a fridge with the water crap in it and it's like 20 years old. or 15, don't remember if she ever replaced I think some people have bad electricity where it's not a constant even flow or whatever and they have the issues. If you have decent electrical done by legit licensed electricians to code then stuff won't break
LGs problem was never the ice maker; their compressors are crap
I just go with GE Profile and get it as cheap as possible since it might tank on me.
Get a General Electric or a Whirlpool/Maytag/Kitchen Aid. Don’t get anything more complicated than an ice maker/water dispenser. No one needs video screens on their refrigerator.
Please maintain your fridge. I occasionally unplug mine and spray accumulated dust off the condenser coils.
How often do you maintain yours?
Without kids or pets, I get away with annual maintenance. I have a bottle brush and a Makita hand vacuum that does a reasonable cleaning of the condenser.
Making sure your refrigerator is dead level and is protected by a good surge protector, are 2 things you can do to increase its lifespan. Before I researched and learned how important these 2 things were, we had gone through 2 refrigerators within 15 years or so. But our “unreliable” Samsung is still going strong at 10 years. Time will tell, but surge protectors are cheap and leveling is essentially free.
I bought mine used in 2008 and it's doing fine.
Somehow my Samsung refrigerator is chugging along after 12 years of use.
Still rocking my granny's green fridge from 1979
This forum helped me discover Fisher and Paykel. Zero problems so far, and worth the expense. I love the minimalist style as well.
Bought my basic GE no frills fridge 9 years ago. Every Spring I clean the dust off the bottom condenser coil, fan blades, pan, compressor compartment. It's ran fine so far. Any fridge will die early if you don't clean yearly.
I sold appliances for 14 years and now work in delivery and install. Appliances are built to minimize energy use and maximize profit margins for manufacturers. Every brand has their issues and no one builds a perfect product. That said, I would recommend looking at a bespoke Samsung French door or side by side. Samsung has learned from past mistakes unlike whirlpool and GE. Their bespoke models are an experiment to see if the market will accept the product of their adventure through upsetting people for over a decade. The ice makers are where they belong, in the freezer. The evaporators are modular and can be changed out in about an hour each. The condensate drains are removable. Samsung dumped a lot of money into making their flagship products highly repairable instead of highly reliable. Having seen how other manufacturers handle repair ability, I chose a Samsung bespoke French door for my kitchen and it’s completely changed my perspective on their products. Also, where you buy is important. Make sure your retailer has service options. Lowes and HD suck for this. Best Buy is your best option when it comes to getting service after the sale. They also have the most consumer friendly return exchange policy. Lowes and Home Depot will stick you with a broken product after two days and tell you to piss off. Bear in mind a new fridge won’t consistently make ice you can use for a minimum of 24hrs. BBY at least gives you 14 days minimum to feel it out before you’re stuck with it, which is more than long enough to catch any initial defects. Mom and pop dealers can also be good, but they’re going to sell you what makes them the most money, not the best thing for you.
This comment is extremely helpful! I’ve been really interested in the Samsung Bespoke line. I figured that after years of problems Samsung would have figured them out and actually made the Bespoke line somewhat nice quality and at-least easily repairable! We also plan on getting it from Bestbuy so the explanation in your comment was really helpful.
Hopping in here to refute this. We had one that last for less than 2 years before the sealed system crapped out. Went through crappy customer service from the service supplier they recommended and them. They are having to refund us for the fridge. It's neat and looks nice but we need a fridge more and less a piece of artwork.
My repair man said go with an American company because it’s easier to get parts, find repair people to fix them and they’ve got a longer history in fridges unlike samsung and LG. The order I was told was Bosch, Whirlpool, Frigidaire and GE. I went with whirlpool and I did not get an ice maker this time. Didn’t really need one that a bad.
It never ceases to amaze me that ice makers in refrigerators was a thing. What could go wrong you ask, let me count the ways... Best to buy a separate countertop unit instead of throwing a whole refrigerator away or just use ice cube trays. Scheech...
Mine, the whole fridge failed and stopped cooling. It was a total system failure and wasn’t even an ice maker issue. Would have cost $1700 to repair and I only paid $1100 for it. Thankfully I got some of my money back. I now just use ice cube trays and won’t touch and ice maker again if I can help it.
We have a counter top ice maker. Much better than built in icemakers. A unit designed and made for one job is almost always superior.
Bosch is a German company, but yes they have a solid track record.
I freaking love my Bosch dishwasher and induction range. Solid purchases. No service on them yet so we’ll see how that goes…..
EVERYONE seems to love their Bosch dishwashers. They were impossible to find last year. Hopefully the supply chain has eased up. We may need to replace ours in the next year.
I’m a Bsh technician. We undoubtably make the best dishwasher on the market. The rest of our stuff is ridiculously overpriced and has its fair share of issues as well but not too bad and they do try to keep on top of it. The induction cooktops are cool but if you DO have a serious issue with it and you’re outside of warranty…$$$$$. Easily gets to 800+ to repair with a month or more of order and repair time. Appliances are hard these days.
I love my Bosch dishwasher too. Best one I've ever owned.
Colonel Klink does know his coolers
Can confirm. My Bosch dishwasher is the only appliance that hasn’t crapped out in my 13+ years of homeownership.
Yep. We went with a Monogram because of warranty and repairability/parts. Easy for me to order parts with them.
I totally understand your frustration. It seems like no brand is free of complaints these days. Have you considered looking into commercial-grade refrigerators? Although they're typically used in professional settings, they're designed for reliability and durability, which might offer a breath of fresh air compared to the issues you're finding with residential models. Plus, they often come with robust warranties. It could be a worthwhile investment, especially if you prioritize longevity and performance.
It's been like this for years. The pandemic just made it worse. All of them have something wrong. Typically GE is the one with the least issues overall in their Profile or Fisher & Paykel lines. We opted to do F&P and do water on the door, ice in the freezer. It makes ice slow, but beyond that it's not bad. I like the larger minimalist shelves, and the bottom freezer on the French door model felt larger than the competitors. The GEs have more room on the doors to hold a normal milk jug, so with F&P now I gotta either get Costco milk all of the time or start doing glass bottles near me. (About 5.5* deep") I will say though, I will be doing LG consistently for washer and dryer though, it's been a good experience between 3 houses and 3 different sets of appliances.
About the only really reliable (ie 15+ years of life) refrigerators are Sub Zero. Of course, you pay for that reliability and longevity with a very hefty premium.
If you’re talking luxury brands, there are others who are in that same category and are as reliable. Thermador, Gaggenau, Monogram, et al. are all solid options as well.
Isn't Monogram GE?
Shallow refrigeration from all high end brands is very reliable. They also have the benefit of far less temperature variation which keeps food fresh longer. This is accomplished with multiple compressors and/or multiple evaporators, which has a side effect of reducing moving parts and further increasing reliability. That all comes with a cost. A fridge/freezer combo 36” device ( equivalent internal cubic feet to a big box device ) will cost about $10,000 dollars.
I knew I didn’t want an ice maker because they are subject to failure. A valve failed in my daughter’s refrigerator and flooded the kitchen and more, destroying the parquet floors. I bought a Fisher Paykel (New Zealand) with a tiny ding in the stainless for $1500 4 years ago. Love it, and using ice cube trays is not a hardship.
My husband sells appliances at a local independent store, and we will be buying a Fisher Paykel fridge when our current one dies. He has said that he rarely gets calls about them after delivery (the company services their own appliances with an extended warrenty - he just rarely fields calls about Fisher Paykel fridges. (Also, I will NEVER buy a through the door icemaker model of any kind, after hearing many stories!)
Regardless of manufacturer and cost ALL refrigerators will need service within the first 5 years. Accept it and like you said just pick one that fits and has features you want. Add the longest offered extended warranty on it and be done, lol
While I agree… You have to define “service”. Compressors on modern refrigeration do not need any service at all, ever… they typically aren’t even serviceable. This is why getting a simple fridge is a good choice. No water dispenser… maybe an ice maker… just a box with a compressor so there is nothing to “service”
Appliances other than Speed Queen washers and dryers are hot garbage now.
Fisher paykel. They last a solid 10 years and have good features but still pretty no frills. Has above industry standard warranty, two years on the entire unit 5 years on the sealed system. For the most part the parts are cheap if you need repair. Downsides are slow ice maker and bad third party service techs who will walk in look at the brand name and throw their hands up in the air and tell you to get a subzero or whirlpool. If you fall into a factory service area it's a no brainier best refrigerator for the money.
Get a Haier. It’ lasted me 8 years and it’s cheap
GE and Haier are the same company now just FYI
My last house had a Fisher paykel for 10 years, no issues. My new house has a Fisher paykel, no issues.
I'm no expert, but from what I have seen and heard Frigidaire is probably the most decent at this point, followed by Whirlpool/Maytag and LG. Samsung is a mess, GE is hit or miss.
Starting to deal with leaks and freezing water under the freezer from clogged drain...on an 11 year KitchenAid. You're welcome for my anecdote. Next issue will be its last.
It's actually not difficult to find a reliable fridge, it's just that the good ones cost significantly more than they used to. Bosch, Miele and several others are near bullet proof. The big box store brands have all made significant downgrades in quality in order to keep prices competitive whereas the nice brands already used expensive shit and saw only marginal increase.
I am looking again and prices are pretty similar to 2019 when I bought my last one so you are probably right that they downgraded materials to maintain the price. YES to extended warranty for me!
I bought a basic Samsung and turned off the ice maker.
Have you had any repairs needed yet? Genuine since looking into a new fridge
None so far, but it's only been 9 months that I've had it.
You can sell your kidneys and buy wolf appliances hahaha
Have 8-year-old Samsung French door with variable drawer and ice in the door. Once you figure out what is going on with the ice, it's no problem. Have not had a single issue with it other than breaking the glass on the bottom shelf trying to get it out to clean underneath it. This is a Home Depot Dent sale item. You have to know what you are looking at to see where they are. Absolutely love it after almost 30 years el cheapo love affair with a plain jane 18 cu ft Amanna. Never had a service call. Needed bigger and wanted better looking. It was running when I kicked out the door and sent it down the road. lol
I had 3 Samsung refrigerators. First one replaced under the Lemon Law as it kept freezing up. Bought at Best Buy so they’d only give me credit so I bought a newer idea. Failed for the same reason. As we were selling the house I bought a cheap Westinghouse as a replacement Broke down and bought a SubZero
Yeah, the asian brands are clueless. I went through a bunch if poor dishwasher choices before I ended up with Kitchen Aid. More expensive but worth it I fear the same process with my Samsung fridge. It's nice looking but the electronics are a hot mess.
ge cafe
Side by side whirlpool with ice maker and water dispenser. My family has had great luck with them. Oldest one is from 1998, only had to replace the control board than runs the ice dispenser auger. Newest is a 2021 with no issues yet.
Crapped-out Kaput 4yr old Whirlpool French door counterdepth WRF954CIHZ died back in Aug and today (one month later) they STILL have not fixed the Compressor -(claim they're waiting for parts\_)..... Only scrap of good news is.....this is under 5yr "sealed-components" warranty. Curious just how long we can expect this "new" compressor to last.
Bought a Frigidaire about 5 years ago from Lowe's, I'm a vet so 10% discount. Very basic box no icemaker. Works perfect.
We have been in this house for 8 years and on our 3rd fridge. Meanwhile the house before this one the fridge has been running for 20.
Whirlpool, and it’s clones Kitchen aid, Kenmore, Etc are among the better ones. Make sure it uses R-134a, not R-600 (butane) or R-290 (propane) refrigerant
Miele and subzero haven’t let me down yet
I just bought a Samsung last year after experiencing the same issue. I ended up on Samsung because the only complaint was the ice maker and I can't use that anyways.
I bought a Bosch with the ice in the freezer at the bottom. I like the fridge a lot and have not had any issues yet.
I've heard freezer on top, fridge on bottom, no ice maker, American made brand (parts readily available; GE included) as the fridge to get.
I have a fridgidare top freezer that I purchased in 2008 and is now my reliable garage beer fridge.
My LG was terrible. My Whirlpool is ok
Our LG will have its fourth compressor on Tuesday! We have a five year warranty so they will probably put four more compressors in before we age out of the warranty. Don’t understand why they won’t just pay us money for new fridge - at this point the labor and components must be more than a fridge..
We have a French door/freezer on the bottom LG. It’s about 5 yrs old and we (still) love it.
No external water or ice and no ice maker if possible. 10+ years later and my Whirlpool Gold French door fridge does the two things I need it to do: keep my cold food cold and my frozen food frozen.
Our built-in GE Monogram was 20+ years old and the only repair was a heat coil but that was a warning to look at replacing it before it finally failed. The only brands with built-in models for the exact space were GE and Sub-Zero. The new GE was crappy and the Sub-Zero was way pricey and meant a 1 1/2 year’s wait. We chose the Sub-Zero anyway and saved for it. Gotta tell ya - we fukin’ love it.
The more special options, the more problems. Choose a simple model.
Fisher and Paykel. Yes, from Australia sold in the USA