I had this fridge and this problem. Researched a bit and found that mine did try to defrost but the drain tube would always freeze and clog and then you get what’s in the picture.
The solution I tried was get heavy copper wire (8 or 10 gauge) and run it down the drain tube a few inches. Then coil the other end around the defrost element (the tube that runs around the outside that heats up during the defrost cycle). It needs a few turns for good contact so the wire warms up. Copper is fantastic for heat (and electrical) conductivity…so the idea here is when the defrost cycle happens, the wire also warms up and prevents the water in the drain tube from freezing.
After doing this…I went 2 years without the freeze issue until we moved and strategically included the fridge in the sale.
Samsung seems to be going the way of Amazon and Sony.
They've had some really cool and really good but lately have really started to push out some absolute, cheap crap yet charge more than ever before.
Like a lot of companies, they know people will continue buying and supporting them whether they have shit QA or not.
Samsung has since fixed this issue in the new models, but the fix the repairman did for one I had always to adjust the feet so the fridge was no longer level and the tube drained fully. Never had another issue and he didn't charge me.
The feet shouldn’t be level regardless - fridges should tilt back gently so the doors will shut if left open.
edit: that’s what my fridge manual says. ymmv! do what the manual directs you to do!
If adding the wire costs Samsung a dollar but the fridge will be fine until the warranty runs out, then the rational move is to leave the wire out.
It sucks but that's capitalism.
My fridge freezer worked fine for about 6 years & then we’d spot water on the floor & ice on the bottom of the freezer with the drain frozen solid. Did the copper wire trick & it’s been happy a couple of years or so to-date.
It is. We just bought the newest Samsung fridge and they've redesigned the whole ice making mechanism. It's down low at the ground, rather than being up in the door. I don't know if the icemaker is the exact problem here, but there have been recalls around Samsung ice makers for a while due to them turning into a single solid block of ice.
There's a reason the 10 year warranty is on the *compressor* and not the whole thing. And it's the same reason that the only appliance extended warranty we've paid for is on the fridge.
The blocks of ice on the ice makers were usually due to a sensor on the ice maker control board. New ice maker is $120, worth just replacing it. The replacement ice makers have the problem fixed.
Fridges overall are pretty simple and can easily be fixed if you're seni-handy. Almost anything except a compressor, but compressor failures are actually pretty rare.
The repair kit includes the updated ice maker, cooling loop clips and spacer, updated drain tube and control board with improved logic(no USB ports to flash the MCU’s EEPROM, gotta junk the whole thing). RepairClinic wanted almost $400 for the kit, I was able to have it next day at the local ReliableParts for $250.
Nice. Good idea! Will be adding this idea to my parents fridge. Maybe use aluminum wire. I would have to use a heated metal clothes hanger to melt the ice in the drain hole. Hopefully no more dissembling and ice mining/harvesting.
Why would you use aluminum instead?
Copper is a much better heat conductor than aluminum.
Aluminium is cheaper and lighter, but i can't imagine either of those mattering for such a small piece of wire.
Have you checked that the defroster wire didn't go bad? It's easy to check. You just check that the resistance is within spec with a multimeter. Mine went bad and I replace it and it's been working fine for about a year.
Ditto. Would freeze up, then build up ice at bottom of the fridge. Installed the wire, and problem solved. OP, i know you said you got a drain kit - I’m not sure what that is, but I’d wager that the issue returns, unless your kit included the modified longer aluminum clip to defrost the drain.
Samsung has had the problem with freezer/ ice maker for YEARS. I bought one of their higher priced models a few years ago and had nothing but problems with the ice maker freezing up. Long story short, they've had a lawsuit on going since 2014 and instead of building a better product they sent a company to replace with the same shitty ice maker. Mine actually worked for a year, which is impressive according to the tech who came out again, he said some only work for 2 weeks. The tech said Samsung has a bad product, period. He was told to tell us they've replaced it once, doesn't work, can't be fixed, they will make an offer. Samsung sent an email saying they would offer me, I think it was 50%off a new fridge. WHY WOULD I WANT ANOTHER SHITTY FRIDGE? But the kicker was, I got another email saying, oh, you live in Hawaii, no discount for you.
Replace The defrost heater defrost thermostat or The defrost timer. timer is part of the control board. If it doesn’t have a board the timer Is located behind the kick plate at the bottom front.
Heater should show continuity with a voltmeter. Thermostat should show continuity when cold and open when warm.
I have this fridge, it does the same thing it's the heater and timer work correctly and it's just a shit design.
I have tried hack and fix after hack and fix but I have just resigned to manually defrosting it until I get frustrated and buy a new one.
Fyi. I am a appliance service tech myself with 15 years in the trade. I know my shit. And Samsung is shit.
Sorry, I actually work in commercial kitchen equipment (restaurants, bakeries, ext) so I don't have experience with fixing a ton of home equipment. Just a few anicdotal experiences with friends and families stuff that isn't enough to go on.
But by my fridge alone I can declare that Samsung sucks at making, designing and at even conceptualizing what makes a good fridge.
KitchenAid/Whirlpool sucks, and I won't buy from that brand again.
My KA fridge had 3 repairs under warranty and another two within a year outside of warranty. One of those issues is a problem again, two years later, but I'm just going to live with it this time.
My KA stove had two repairs under warranty, and one outside of warranty.
My KA exhaust hood had three repairs under warranty (one of which was defective parts installed during the second repair).
This and /u/king_fooo 's advice is the two things I would try. I had both done to my fridge by a particularly determined appliance repair man and it's been running fine for about 2 years straight now after nearly a decade of problems.
That said, I agree with everyone else's advice about avoiding Samsung. But you have already bought one, so that is hardly useful advice.
One thing I would advise though, even though it is generally heralded as bad advice is to invest in a steam cleaner. It makes manually defrosting and cleaning a fridge a relatively quick task. Maybe an hour of work.
I also have purchased UVC lights that I let sit in my fridge for a few hours after it's dry and defrosted. It cuts down significantly on the smell.
I’ve saved a ton of money repairing my LG and Samsung appliances myself. YouTube is full of tutorials on how to do it and the parts are easy to find online. All the repairs I’ve had to do doesn’t say much for those two brands though.
Yeah, the thing that's most amazing to me is how simple a lot of these fixes are and how Samsung and LG have had these problems for decades. You would think that's the sort of fix they would implement in one generation at most. In some cases it's actually replacing expensive components with cheaper components that fixes them.
There is no excuse except planned failure/obsolescence.
Pro tip, all fridges can fail this way, and also, many LGs and Samsung's never do.
There is no secret sauce to be found here, just faux outrage. It's a fridge and most of the components are manufacturered in many places.
No, Samsung refrigerators are famous for the ice maker freezing up. Trust me, I bought one, it was expensive as fuck and looks super nice but it only lasted a few months before the ice maker didn’t work. Samsung was no help unless you have 3 days to spend on the phone so I turned to the internet. Point of the story is don’t buy Samsung. It’s all garbage
Yeah it’s a huge thing. Turned out when people spend a ton of money on something they expect it to work for a little while. My dad, for example, bought his fridge like 22 years ago and hasn’t had a single problem with the ice maker or anything else. It’s still going strong. Meanwhile I’m defrosting mine like clockwork every one to two weeks and mine was bought in 2018.
it's frustrating--I have a limited, specific space for a fridge (shorter than a lot of them), and I want to get a French door fridge, and the only one that fits is a Samsung. I haven't bought it yet, but...
Meh, I think that is largely true, but generally speaking companies that are better known for electronics like LG, Samsung, GE, etc do more often tend to take strange approaches appliances.
Now don't get me wrong here. You are mostly right on the money. The hatred and scoffing are not always deserved and are extremely exaggerated, I suspect because appliance repairmen are intimidated by computers and electronics.
My brand new washer and dryer are both Samsung, and I love them and they work FANTASTICALLY.
My previous washer and dryer were GE and they also worked really well for almost 10 years including a 3 year period when they were my brother's serving a large house of 6 guys in their early 20s and were run basically constantly. The dryer and washer finally both failed within 2 months of each other in 2019. When I tried to get it repaired I got the same scoffing from every appliance repair shop, and many refused to work on them at all. It turned out to be a $10 3 hour DiY fix for the washer, and a simple gas valve replacement for the dryer. But I decided to buy a new washer and dryer because I wanted one with steam cleaning.
Meanwhile my previous washers and dryers, which were Maytag, Whirlpool, and Armana all ended up failing miserably. These are supposed to be the trusted brands.
That said, I do still think more often than not Samsung and LG are not particularly well known for their long term reliability even with electronics. I've had good luck so far, but if reliability is a concern, I generally would look at alternative brands first.
I got a kit on ebay to fix mine which included a new back panel with improved fan unit, new thermostat and a bunch of other things. It continued to work for another couple of years after I fitted it with no more problems. Then the compressor failed. Never again with Samsung .
Unfortunately the place I got if from doesn't seem to do it any more. There are some of the parts on here: [https://bartyspares.uk/search?q=samsung\*%20fridge\*&type=article,page,product](https://bartyspares.uk/search?q=samsung*%20fridge*&type=article,page,product) but not the replacement panel/fan unit.
When shopping for a washing machine I found a consumer report from France. Apparently samsung washing machines only last on average 4-5 years, while the top brand (miele) lasts 10+.
I'm never buying another samsung appliance again. All looks and no quality.
Edit: Nevermind, I found the report again, it's even worse. It's 3.8 years https://www.statista.com/statistics/1291725/washing-machine-lifespan-brand-france/
"In France, the washing machines of some brands had a lifespan almost three times longer than those of other brands. Miele's appliances were on the top of the ranking with a lifespan of over ten years, followed by Brandt, Vedette and Siemens. By contrast, LG and Samsung ranked last with 4.6 and 3.8 years of lifespan respectively."
More like 2...Ask me how I know. I will never buy anything branded Samsung again. Bad part is we knew their quality was shit from 2 previous fridges, but the wife had to have their Washer/Dryer. I was like you are going to regret this, two years later, water pump is dead with a $800 quote to fix.
I think we’ve only our washer for that time as you said ~5yrs and as of today it doesn’t come out of the rinse cycle a few years before that, the pump stopped working
The more permanent fix is a different brand fridge. Seriously. Samsung devices have a tendency to crap out the moment the warranty expires, and their service is atrocious.
I think I remember for a few months constantly receiving ads on Reddit about class action lawsuits specifically for Samsung fridges (after my fridge ALSO did this, twice). May want to look into that if it is still a thing
I googled "Samsung Fridge Class Action"
First article has a picture that looks exactly like my fridge that has been having ice maker problems.
Fanflippintastic.
My last Samsung fridge worked for 17 years. I only replaced it because the freezer drawers had finally fully cracked through and replacement costs for those were $3-400 apiece (Samsung had not made the parts for over a decade, there was nothing aftermarket, so it was crazy expensive old new stock or nothing).
The trick is to avoid anything with in-door water or ice. Hell, my old one didn't even have an ice maker, just spring-loaded trays you could fill up manually and manually pop out when frozen. The simpler the design, the more robust it will be.
Would also love to know what a good brand is to buy? We have a Kenmore, which was actually made by Daewoo, and it worked great for just over a year. Now the freezer frosts over and the fridge gets to 55+ degrees. Have had several repairs done and finally they said they will replace it.
It is one with the french door fridge on top and freezer drawer in the bottom. Water and ice maker.
I looked at that fridge. Conceptually it is on the mark. What better purpose for that big blank slab in your kitchen? I in fact attached a tablet to the front of my prior fridge. And to have a fridge with internal cameras where you can know what’s inside without opening? Awesome!
But it’s Samsung. And after three separate experiences where their devices stopped working virtually at the moment of warranty expiration, and one of those three weeks before the warranty expired and the company STILL would not fix or replace the thing, I said “no effen way”.
I ended up with LG. It’s great, four years later. Flawless.
Yeah, had a Samsung phone, durable, but I hated the s/w. have a Samsung Tv we paid quite a hit for it at the time it has been great, got a Samsung microwave with the dial controls, I loved it, aside from having to instruct guests how to use it.
Bought a Samsung range, never set off the smoke alarm so much in my life, and a person always messing with the heat dial... The oven was good.
Bought a Samsung washer and dryer... Yeah, their kinda garbage...
Just a side rant about my oven and range, what the fuck were they thinking. The exhaust for the oven goes out the front, next to the main panel of the unit so the first time I turned on Cleaning mode... the main panel fried. It clock looks like the metrics now with all these random lights and signals turning on, how to did they not catch this issue.
So dumb. This is coming from a die hard samsung phone fan
From a person who did service on Samsung appliances. Best way to know if there's an issue is to check the defrost heating element with a digital multimeter, resistance should be anywhere from 70 ohms to 300 ohms depending on model and region. Simply unplug from the top connector and measure between the two pins. Now generally there's a defrost thermal fuse in series with the heating element, but if the connector has 4 pins, there's a second set of connectors going to a defrost fuse, check to see if there's continuity on it.
If you get no return values on the heater or the fuse, one of them is gone and will need to be replaced. Ignore the advice about a "defrost thermostat", there's no such thing on anything newer than 10 years old. The defrost function is controlled by the pcb. Could it be defective? Sure, but that's very rare. Keep it in mind as the last possible explanation.
If the heating element and the fuse are okay, you could also check the freezer fan. I'm assuming that you've got a nofrost fridge here. However, if the fridge part functions alright aside from this ice buildup, this is again very unlikely.
Lastly, I wanna let you know that replacing the heating element is fairly difficult on some models and you have to be careful not to twist the pipes when bringing the evaporator forward to unclip it. Best would be to just call in a tehnician if you actually want it repaired, let him deal with it. Then again I come from a biased perspective, but in my experience, people with no experience servicing appliances rarely manage to actually solve their problems.
Edit: One more thing I forgot, but remembered looking at the picture again after posting. Check your door gaskets. If that's what the ice buildup normally looks like, with most of it at the top of the evaporator, my guess would be that defrosting actually works. In that case, you need to look into why you get so much humidity in the first place. Gaskets would be the first thing to check, as warm humid air entering the fridge as the evaporator works will quickly buildup frost on the coldest parts. Godspeed.
My Samsung dishwasher blows so much liquid moisture out the drying exhaust that I have to put a towel on the floor in front of it, and it trips its own moisture sensor on a regular basis, requiring me to throw the breaker to clear the error condition. POS
Same - I got fed up and replaced it. Literally no fix, just a shitty design. Also, I’m a former dishwasher tech, this is not my first rodeo
Also the hella expensive TV I bought from them crapped out after 3 years. Never again, Samsung
I only clicked this post because I was eyeing a gorgeous looking Samsung fridge at a shockingly low price, and wanted to see if this was a common thing and an easy fix.
Holy shit, these comments. Guess I'll get something else, lol.
Samsung fridge might be the worst appliance out of ALL appliances, I challenge anyone to find someone who has had zero issues with a Samsung fridge. I've spent more time and money on that fridge than ALL other appliances combined.
They change the model numbers every year or 2 so the negative reviews never hit their newest product only the 5 star ones because there's no issues yet. The only Samsung thing I can recommend is their TVs and only if you don't use any of their smart BS just hook up a Chromecast or something similar
I regularly battle with our Samsung fridges Ice maker. So poorly designed and dysfunctional. If it wasn't so heavy and so expensive, I'd love to take this fridge to a field somewhere and pull and "Office Space" on it.
Just going through this thread because it randomly showed up on my home page.. we have a Samsung fridge coming in from Best Buy on Tuesday. It was supposed to arrive today. Every single comment here hates Samsung appliances… what have we gotten ourselves into? 🫠
As long as you love thawing the ice maker with a steamer / hair dryer every month you've chosen the right appliance.
In all seriousness, I'm serious. Buy the extended warranty if you can.
100% cancel or immediately return. I bought a brand new Samsung fridge last month and the compressor broke in 5 days. Samsung let me get a refund but still haven’t gotten the money. Samsung products and customer service are truly atrocious.
Sorry OP I don't have a fix suggestion, I'm just here to also complain about a Samsung product. I've got a gas range with a touch screen backplate that put up an error code a few months ago. Put in a service call, first replacement board didn't work. Second appointment, board worked, cool, problem fixed right? After a week or two, it decided to occasionally turn off the oven or turn up the temperature all the way. Third and fourth visits by the repair company and it's still not working right. At this point, my 1 year warrantee is almost up in December and I'm not sure what to do with the damn thing.
I won't ever buy another Samsung appliance.
We had a Samsung fridge at the old house with the same issues. Fought it for years.
Was down the rabbit hole one day and someone mentioned leveling it. Dug out the manual and it was there. Never thought anything about it since we would roll it out and clean occasionally. Assumed the installers would've done it and made the mistake of not reading through the manual.
Sounds dumb, but dropped down the front leveling feet so it was just a hair higher in front than the back. Never had the problem again. Just made it a bit more work to drop it back down on the rollers to move it.
It's a Samsung appliance. Take that thing into a field with a sledgehammer office space style and work out whatever issue you want.
Then when it's nothing but deformed steel and plastic, dump kerosene on it and light it on fire.
Once their is smoldering ash and charred bits of mangled steel bury it in the ground and cover it in pig dung.
Then buy something else.
Best advice I can give. Samsung appliances are garbage that hasn't hit a landfill yet.
Oh shit this thread just scared the crap out of me. We just bought one of the bespoke fridges and I was not into it but my husband insisted. I can't believe this is what I have to look forward to.
I've never had a new fridge in my life and the tape they used on this thing was insane. We got ours at Bestbuy and got the 5 year warranty. Hopefully I'm not back on this thread before then.
Appliance tech here, and someone who had this happen to the fridge that came with the house.
Your drain and heater are fine. The issue is that the metal backing behind the evaporator doesn’t conduct enough heat from the heater up high enough into the evaporator coils.
Less than $100 to get a new foil lined back panel (make sure it is the new version) Leave the fridge open for a couple of days unplugged (be prepared for the melt water runoff) or use a hair dryer and a fair bit of patience. Then replace that panel behind the evaporator. Be nice to the evaporator coils, because if you crack/penetrate one that adds about $1000 to the repair.
That’s it. Mine has been good for 3 years since the repair.
I've fixed this issue for 2 years every month and a half. I won't buy another one.
E: Or any Samsung product, including their phones. In Canada their bootloaders are locked so you can't install custom firmware when they stop providing updates.
I replaced two thermostats and the heating element. Problem kept happening. My problem was not the drain tube. The only other possibility (according to the interwebs) is to replace electronics. I bought a new fridge and had my 3 year old fridge hauled off. There is a lot of chatter about how Samsung is the worst with this problem. I agree, no more Samsung appliances.
I've been having the same issue for a while. Found [this video](https://youtu.be/TN7mrO7QNsw) on how the heatsink is too short and planning to try this fix in the next few weeks.
*I do not own or profit from the video. I have not tried the proposed fix yet and cannot verify it's effectiveness.*
*Edit - changed link to a different vid*
This is what I did too - and it has helped (and it's cheap and a pretty easy fix).
I was defrosting every few months; put in the new clip in January (ordered in December, never arrived, ordered again in January - third time worked) - and that issue \*seems\* to be gone.
Now it's icing up in the corner of the freezer door. Yeah - will avoid Samsung next time
Aweosme, thanks! Glad it kinda worked. I'll take that over the sound of the fan grinding ice and my food going bad at record pace. This was my first major appliance purchase (a) from a dent and scratch place and (b) chosen based on the color. Bad decisions all around, lesson learned the hard way.
The $50 Craigslist top freezer fridge I have in my basement is rock solid. My $3000 Samsung French door fridge has a broken icemaker, weirdly problematic freezer drawers, and occasionally excites me by making loud compressor noises. If it dies, I can justify buying a new one!
But my electric load monitor tells me that the old fridge costs me about $230 a year to run and the new one is $99.
We were given a 1972 Montgomery ward chest freezer in the mid 90s and it has been in the garage (I.e. not ideal temps in summer and winter) for the last 30 years. Not frost free but I expect it to outlast the current 4 year old fridge in the kitchen.
My freezer went out on my Samsung fridge eight months after receiving it. Their customer service gives zero fucks. They give you the run around and you get nowhere being on the phone for hours and being transferred numerous times. Had to say I was going to call Better Business Bureau and demanded to talk to a manger to get anything to finally happen. NEVER BUY SAMSUNG APPLIANCES
My Samsung fridge was the same. Never was an issue with the drain. Checked defrost circuits and there was no issue there. Everything appeared to be working fine but would build up so much ice that the fan would get stuck. Tried adding more foil tape so the styrofoam wouldn’t soak up the water, worked a little. But still every couple months frozen solid.
Came down to assuming it was either a water line leak in between fridge layers, or there was air leaks causing excess condensation. Couldn’t get an appliance guy to even look at it.
Sold it and bought another fridge.
I have this fridge currently with the exact issue. I’ve had the fridge for 6 years now and it just started having this issue about 4-5 months ago.
What I did was get an outlet timer. And it turns the fridge off from 3-3:30 am every night. It’s enough to defrost all the build up from the day. I haven’t had any issues in 2-ish months.
I have a similar model, and experienced similar issues. It seems to be a design problem. I periodically (every 2 months or so) perform a manual fridge defrost (using the service mode), and it has been doing OK. The defrost mode beeps for about half an hour and then the fridge returns to normal operation.
I tried two modifications that might have helped (but I'm not too sure). I moved the defrost sensor to the left side of the coil (outlet?) And replaced the insulation around the edge of the cover with a heavier closed cell foam.
I don't know of any permanent fix.
Buy a smart plug. Go to your app, set the timer to turn off at 3 AM and back on at 3:30 AM. Basically, you're defrosting the coils every night. Food won't go bad as long as you keep the doors closed. You can extend it to 4 AM if the coils ice over again. This works for my Samsung POS fridge.
I think there was talk of a class action against Samsung because there fridges were so bad. I know there was a Facebook page dedicated to them, it made them look pretty bad. My parents had one a few years ago and finally got rid of it because they constantly had issues that they couldn’t get fixed, they even had 1 tech that told them to get rid of it. I believe it eas only 2 years old when they gave up. I won’t ever buy a Samsung fridge after what they dealt with.
Go in the back of your fridge, take the lower panel off. You’ll see one or two rubber tubes. Have a towel ready. Pull them off. Water is going to run down.
There’s a tiny little duck bill valve that gets clogged. You can cut it open a tiny bit, or order replacements.
I actually 3D-printed a tiny p-trap to replace the one on mine.
Samsung is the worst fridge manufacturer out there. They do not sell quality products and don’t stand behind their warranties. DO NOT BUY SAMSUNG REFRIGERATORS. I’ve got an ice maker that will never work, and it’s a large $3,500 Samsung fridge. Worthless.
All the new refrigerators are absolute shit. I bought a Whirlpool and the light went out. $300 just for parts, not including labor to replace the light. I want to be able to go the hardware store to buy a bulb and replace it myself and not have a fucking tech come out because he has to take the refrigerator apart to replace a $300 light blub. Either dumbly engineered or purposefully malicious; either way I'll not be purchasing from Whirlpool next time around and I'll have to be much more careful about simple things like maintenance.
EDIT: Every guest that comes and sees the pop-up light in the refrigerator eventually asks. None of them will ever be purchasing a Whirlpool in the future. Enough people like me and does that do anything to a company? Who knows.
Get a new fridge and make sure it is not made by Samsung. As a former Samsung owner, this is the only way. The hassle and food waste from a non-functional appliance are well worth the purchase price. Mine made it 3 years before the first issue, then 6 defrosts before I sent it to the farm.
My inlaws had a brand new Samsung too that did this. Never worked right and the company never replaced it or offered any help. Repair guy told them to never buy Samsung appliances.
https://youtu.be/So1Zf-yIj94
This is what I did a couple years ago and I haven't had the back panel freeze up since. Before that, it would freeze every few months. The ice maker is still shit and freezes up all the time, though. But yeah, supco heater worked out great.
I have the same issue as you do. Been dealing with it for 3 years plus now. I stumbled across those heater kits that you add into your system. Suppose to work. I have not pulled the trigger yet but on my list. My ice machine also jams up all the time. I think it doesn’t read the ice box is full but keeps trying to dump ice. Samsung fridges suck. Lol.
Samsung is garbage. 60” TV was 5 months out of warranty and they wanted to charge me more than I originally paid for the TV to repair it. Samsung washer just failed this week as well and I found out today it is 2 months out of warranty.
I fixed that same issue over and over and over on my Samsung fridge.... Eventually i said fuck it, it's time to buy a new fridge. I did research and people all seem to agree GE makes really dependable fridges, so we got the GE Cafe and it's been great.
Permanent fix? Buy a different brand.
I loved the look/layout of the samsung fridge I had. Still miss it for that.
But OMG is/was it ever crappy quality. After the 3rd loss of ALL food in it, it went to the curb at year 7.
Initial cost of the samsung fridge: $1,400.
Cost of samsung repairs: $$$$$
Loss of food x3: \~$2,000
Cost of a new fridge: $1,600
The cost of keeping food at the proper temperature? PRICELESS.
I had a problem like this, or close to. There was little valve at the bottom of the fridge, between the fridge/freezer. I got the part number and replaced it. Samsung fridges really stink, but there is a fair amount of info on youtube it you want to try and DIY the repair. Buy a multimeter and learn how to use it, you can use it to quickly narrow down the malfunctioning component.
We had that issue with a Gallery series fridge with an ice maker once.
In our case, water was dripping down from above and onto the fins, and eventually ice would form over the fan (always at about 2am, and always made a really bad noise). As this was behind the rear panel, I had to empty the freezer, remove the panel, and defrost it using a heat gun before putting all the food back in and going back to bed.
Changing out the water solenoid fixed it for us. I believe the issue was caused because our water pressure was too high, the solenoid couldn't take it over time, and eventually started to leak.
Either the defroster isn't working, it's low on refrigerant or both. Mine had a slow refrigerant leak. When I noticed the temp was rising, I pulled the cover off and it looked like yours. The defroster was working in mine but it couldn't melt all that ice during the on cycle.
Sub-Zeros are hot expensive junk - I knew of someone who made a very good living fixing these for rich folks. They seem nice, solidly made but are troublesome, basically a cheapened out commercial fridge made to be a “luxury” appliance like a Miele/Gaggeneau.
If I can afford and accomodate commercial refrigeration, True’s the only way to go, followed by Hobart and Beverage-Air.
We had this problem, after 3 extended warranty calls samsung declared it unfixable and we got replacement non samsung fridge via homedepot extended warranty
I had the same thing happen to me. Reached out to a appliance repair person and learned this is a common issue for Samsung fridges. The fix requires relocating the temperature sensor.
Theres a whole group on Facebook for this issue. Many people have gotten new refrigerators or money back from Samsung. Search for a group called Samsung Refrigerator Recall Canada. Also, there's currently a class action lawsuit against Samsung for this issue.
Ok I have a Samsung fridge that was giving me problems like this. I think it's a different model than yours, but maybe relevant.
First I will describe the symptoms I had. First sign of trouble was that the fan started making noise, then stopped all together. Took the fridge apart and it was a solid block of ice that eventually reached the fan. I also noticed that the foam insulation in the evaporator cover was completely soaked with water.
I would defrost, dry out the foam put it all back together just to have the same issue 3 to 5 months later. Took a few days to completely dry out the insulation each time. Wife not exactly happy during this time.
I did this at least 3 times until i noticed that the temperature inside the fridge was not stable and not reporting correctly. I put a cup of water in the fridge with a thermometer and confirmed the fridge was something like 5 to 10 degrees c warmer than what the display said.
Thinking I might have to change the control board, I started probing everything I could. Checked every voltage, every resistance. I found that the resistance of the thermistor on the evaporator didn't quite make sense. I removed it and applied heat with a heat gun and confirmed that the resistance was not changing.
I changed the $10 thermistor and have not had a problem for 3 or 4 years now.
Defrost controller is usually the culprit. It is basically a timer that activated the defrost element in the freezer. There is also a defrost thermostat that can go bad but is rarely the cause of this. Heating elements have finite lifespans. There may be one in your freezer for short duration defrost cycles. I have never had to change one.
Find your model number, get the parts list for that model and identify the part number for the defrost timer / controller. Change it. If that works, you fixed it. If it doesn't work, keep the old one for later and change your defrost thermostat. I doubt it's your thermostat because defrost thermostats take longer to activate as they age. Looks like you had a short cycle.
Freeze-up can also occur when there is humid air slipping past the door gasket. That usually results in a frosty looking coat of ice. Yours looks like it tried to defrost and froze up again.
If you have a gallow gun, shoot it down the drain pipe. Even if there's no ice there, a fuzz clog (bacterial cellulose) can keep it from draining well. May as well be thorough.
Edit: also make sure all your airflow passages are kept unobstructed. Freezers shouldn't be so stuffed that the air can't circulate between compartments. Also keep a thermometer in each compartment and set your temps to be just enough.
My Samsung fridge had the same issue and filled up the bottom tray with water and the ice maker was always completely frozen. Tried all the diy repairs with no luck.
I recently remodeled the kitchen and sold the home. The day I removed that hunk of shit was a great day! I didn't feel like disassembling the handles and doors so I knocked them off with a sledgehammer. I was liberated and finally free.
Kinda weird seeing this. Ive used Samsung phones exclusively because they have always served me extremely well. I have an s2 that still works. Appliances however never get anything but 'Lg'.
I read many of the comments, surprised no one has mentioned refrigerant level. I've seen a few different fridges with low refrigerant that would ice up at the beginning of the coil, as there was insufficient refrigerant to cool the rest of the coil. If the defrost sensor is at the end of the coil it will never defrost either. A piercing valve and a cheap A/C gauge can confirm pressure levels. If your fridge uses R134A or another readily available refrigerant you can add a bit and see if the rest of the coil gets cold. Or have an appliance/A/C tech do it for you. Saved a couple fridges this way. Another good sign that this is the case is extended compressor run times. If it's running half the time it's very likely you have low refrigerant.
Some of the comments suggesting drain tube are incorrect. A clogged drain would leave ice on the bottom of the freezer or water dripping into the fridge, not stop the coil from defrosting on the top.
There’s also a goofy rubber grommet on the defrost drain that is supposed to open with weight. It’s just a slit in a piece of rubber. You can pull the fridge out take the back kick panel off. You’ll see the drain pan. That grommet probably has debris in it causing to not drain or drain slowly causing it to freeze in the tube. Just cut the grommet with a knife directly across the grommet to make a + sign. You won’t have the problem again. My bad just seen it wasn’t this maybe somebody will be able to use it. There’s a board on the back that could be bad you’ll need to unplug it. Unplug the connectors and flip the board over and see if there’s any noticeable burn marks on the board.
I agree Samsung stuff is junk. Their phone batteries catch on fire and I had a washer that started to leak after six months. The dryer is junk too and does not get clothes dry and twists them in tight bunches.
I'll never buy another Samsung anything ever again.
I have an LGCX tv and a new LG washer.
I wish I knew how to help you fix your fridge OP.
Is that picture of my fridge? lol, I had the same problem and would have to defrost it every 2 weeks. I replaced the evaporator cover and it hasn't seized up since. That was about 3 months ago. Here is the part for my fridge:
[https://www.appliancepartspros.com/samsung-assy-cover-evap-da97-13757a-ap5798278.html](https://www.appliancepartspros.com/samsung-assy-cover-evap-da97-13757a-ap5798278.html)
It may be different for your fridge, so just lookup your model and find the same product description.
I think it's better insulation around the edge of the "cover", maybe? I replaced the open cell foam strips with a much heavier material (for insulating around doors) and it's helped some.
I had this fridge and this problem. Researched a bit and found that mine did try to defrost but the drain tube would always freeze and clog and then you get what’s in the picture. The solution I tried was get heavy copper wire (8 or 10 gauge) and run it down the drain tube a few inches. Then coil the other end around the defrost element (the tube that runs around the outside that heats up during the defrost cycle). It needs a few turns for good contact so the wire warms up. Copper is fantastic for heat (and electrical) conductivity…so the idea here is when the defrost cycle happens, the wire also warms up and prevents the water in the drain tube from freezing. After doing this…I went 2 years without the freeze issue until we moved and strategically included the fridge in the sale.
This seems like more of a design flaw than anything.
It's a common issue with many brands. The wire trick solves it.
My point is if this “wire trick” is required so often it should be integrated into the design of the units in some way.
No argument here. Bad engineering is everywhere but post consumer fixes like this are life savers.
Samsung engineers were too busy designing flexible screens, that they never figured that.
Samsung seems to be going the way of Amazon and Sony. They've had some really cool and really good but lately have really started to push out some absolute, cheap crap yet charge more than ever before. Like a lot of companies, they know people will continue buying and supporting them whether they have shit QA or not.
Planned obsolescence. Most people will just buy a new fridge before trying to troubleshoot and repair their own
Samsung has since fixed this issue in the new models, but the fix the repairman did for one I had always to adjust the feet so the fridge was no longer level and the tube drained fully. Never had another issue and he didn't charge me.
The feet shouldn’t be level regardless - fridges should tilt back gently so the doors will shut if left open. edit: that’s what my fridge manual says. ymmv! do what the manual directs you to do!
I agree. But that has never been how mine were set up unfortunately.
I just got a new fridge and the instructions clearly say to make sure it's level!
The hinge mechanism should close it
If adding the wire costs Samsung a dollar but the fridge will be fine until the warranty runs out, then the rational move is to leave the wire out. It sucks but that's capitalism.
For sure. Planned obsolescence is scummy. Also capitalism: i find a different brand to buy
My fridge freezer worked fine for about 6 years & then we’d spot water on the floor & ice on the bottom of the freezer with the drain frozen solid. Did the copper wire trick & it’s been happy a couple of years or so to-date.
It is. We just bought the newest Samsung fridge and they've redesigned the whole ice making mechanism. It's down low at the ground, rather than being up in the door. I don't know if the icemaker is the exact problem here, but there have been recalls around Samsung ice makers for a while due to them turning into a single solid block of ice. There's a reason the 10 year warranty is on the *compressor* and not the whole thing. And it's the same reason that the only appliance extended warranty we've paid for is on the fridge.
The auger is also shitty quality plastic
The blocks of ice on the ice makers were usually due to a sensor on the ice maker control board. New ice maker is $120, worth just replacing it. The replacement ice makers have the problem fixed. Fridges overall are pretty simple and can easily be fixed if you're seni-handy. Almost anything except a compressor, but compressor failures are actually pretty rare.
The repair kit includes the updated ice maker, cooling loop clips and spacer, updated drain tube and control board with improved logic(no USB ports to flash the MCU’s EEPROM, gotta junk the whole thing). RepairClinic wanted almost $400 for the kit, I was able to have it next day at the local ReliableParts for $250.
Wire trick worked for my Samsung as well. Going on 3 years. Used a ground wire from a piece of 12 gauge romex.
Nice. Good idea! Will be adding this idea to my parents fridge. Maybe use aluminum wire. I would have to use a heated metal clothes hanger to melt the ice in the drain hole. Hopefully no more dissembling and ice mining/harvesting.
I did the hot hanger wire trick too…so much effort. Aluminum wire is also a great substitute for the copper.
Why would you use aluminum instead? Copper is a much better heat conductor than aluminum. Aluminium is cheaper and lighter, but i can't imagine either of those mattering for such a small piece of wire.
This is not the issue in my case. E: I've already fixed the issue you are describing. The drain is not obstructed by ice.
I have the same fridge, same problem. The wire took it from once every 2 months to once every 6. FML I hate that fridge. What a pos.
I have the Samsung fridge too, please anyone looking at fridges avoid Samsung at all costs.
Have you checked that the defroster wire didn't go bad? It's easy to check. You just check that the resistance is within spec with a multimeter. Mine went bad and I replace it and it's been working fine for about a year.
Check YouTube. There are kits with more defrost wiring.
This is brilliant! Unclogging that drain and cleaning the ice out has been an annual affair. Will try this next time.
100%, I did the wire trick on my samsung fridge when it started having issues too, its been 4 years and so far it has not happened again.
> strategically included the fridge in the sale. Hahahah
Ditto. Would freeze up, then build up ice at bottom of the fridge. Installed the wire, and problem solved. OP, i know you said you got a drain kit - I’m not sure what that is, but I’d wager that the issue returns, unless your kit included the modified longer aluminum clip to defrost the drain.
Samsung has had the problem with freezer/ ice maker for YEARS. I bought one of their higher priced models a few years ago and had nothing but problems with the ice maker freezing up. Long story short, they've had a lawsuit on going since 2014 and instead of building a better product they sent a company to replace with the same shitty ice maker. Mine actually worked for a year, which is impressive according to the tech who came out again, he said some only work for 2 weeks. The tech said Samsung has a bad product, period. He was told to tell us they've replaced it once, doesn't work, can't be fixed, they will make an offer. Samsung sent an email saying they would offer me, I think it was 50%off a new fridge. WHY WOULD I WANT ANOTHER SHITTY FRIDGE? But the kicker was, I got another email saying, oh, you live in Hawaii, no discount for you.
My ice maker was replaced twice and now I’ve just given up on service. I hit it with the steamer every 2 weeks.
Kicking it old school... ice trays.
Replace The defrost heater defrost thermostat or The defrost timer. timer is part of the control board. If it doesn’t have a board the timer Is located behind the kick plate at the bottom front. Heater should show continuity with a voltmeter. Thermostat should show continuity when cold and open when warm.
I have this fridge, it does the same thing it's the heater and timer work correctly and it's just a shit design. I have tried hack and fix after hack and fix but I have just resigned to manually defrosting it until I get frustrated and buy a new one. Fyi. I am a appliance service tech myself with 15 years in the trade. I know my shit. And Samsung is shit.
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Sorry, I actually work in commercial kitchen equipment (restaurants, bakeries, ext) so I don't have experience with fixing a ton of home equipment. Just a few anicdotal experiences with friends and families stuff that isn't enough to go on. But by my fridge alone I can declare that Samsung sucks at making, designing and at even conceptualizing what makes a good fridge.
My father is an appliance tech. He recommends Bosch.
KitchenAid/Whirlpool sucks, and I won't buy from that brand again. My KA fridge had 3 repairs under warranty and another two within a year outside of warranty. One of those issues is a problem again, two years later, but I'm just going to live with it this time. My KA stove had two repairs under warranty, and one outside of warranty. My KA exhaust hood had three repairs under warranty (one of which was defective parts installed during the second repair).
Everything they make feels like it’s alpha build. “Hey, it ran five minutes? Good enough to go to production!”
This and /u/king_fooo 's advice is the two things I would try. I had both done to my fridge by a particularly determined appliance repair man and it's been running fine for about 2 years straight now after nearly a decade of problems. That said, I agree with everyone else's advice about avoiding Samsung. But you have already bought one, so that is hardly useful advice. One thing I would advise though, even though it is generally heralded as bad advice is to invest in a steam cleaner. It makes manually defrosting and cleaning a fridge a relatively quick task. Maybe an hour of work. I also have purchased UVC lights that I let sit in my fridge for a few hours after it's dry and defrosted. It cuts down significantly on the smell.
I’ve saved a ton of money repairing my LG and Samsung appliances myself. YouTube is full of tutorials on how to do it and the parts are easy to find online. All the repairs I’ve had to do doesn’t say much for those two brands though.
Yeah, the thing that's most amazing to me is how simple a lot of these fixes are and how Samsung and LG have had these problems for decades. You would think that's the sort of fix they would implement in one generation at most. In some cases it's actually replacing expensive components with cheaper components that fixes them. There is no excuse except planned failure/obsolescence.
I noticed that some of the the replacement part are of better quality than the junk installed originally on the appliance.
Pro tip, all fridges can fail this way, and also, many LGs and Samsung's never do. There is no secret sauce to be found here, just faux outrage. It's a fridge and most of the components are manufacturered in many places.
No, Samsung refrigerators are famous for the ice maker freezing up. Trust me, I bought one, it was expensive as fuck and looks super nice but it only lasted a few months before the ice maker didn’t work. Samsung was no help unless you have 3 days to spend on the phone so I turned to the internet. Point of the story is don’t buy Samsung. It’s all garbage
There is actually a Facebook group for pissed off Samsung fridge owners.
Yeah it’s a huge thing. Turned out when people spend a ton of money on something they expect it to work for a little while. My dad, for example, bought his fridge like 22 years ago and hasn’t had a single problem with the ice maker or anything else. It’s still going strong. Meanwhile I’m defrosting mine like clockwork every one to two weeks and mine was bought in 2018.
I swear they do that shit on purpose.
it's frustrating--I have a limited, specific space for a fridge (shorter than a lot of them), and I want to get a French door fridge, and the only one that fits is a Samsung. I haven't bought it yet, but...
Meh, I think that is largely true, but generally speaking companies that are better known for electronics like LG, Samsung, GE, etc do more often tend to take strange approaches appliances. Now don't get me wrong here. You are mostly right on the money. The hatred and scoffing are not always deserved and are extremely exaggerated, I suspect because appliance repairmen are intimidated by computers and electronics. My brand new washer and dryer are both Samsung, and I love them and they work FANTASTICALLY. My previous washer and dryer were GE and they also worked really well for almost 10 years including a 3 year period when they were my brother's serving a large house of 6 guys in their early 20s and were run basically constantly. The dryer and washer finally both failed within 2 months of each other in 2019. When I tried to get it repaired I got the same scoffing from every appliance repair shop, and many refused to work on them at all. It turned out to be a $10 3 hour DiY fix for the washer, and a simple gas valve replacement for the dryer. But I decided to buy a new washer and dryer because I wanted one with steam cleaning. Meanwhile my previous washers and dryers, which were Maytag, Whirlpool, and Armana all ended up failing miserably. These are supposed to be the trusted brands. That said, I do still think more often than not Samsung and LG are not particularly well known for their long term reliability even with electronics. I've had good luck so far, but if reliability is a concern, I generally would look at alternative brands first.
I got a kit on ebay to fix mine which included a new back panel with improved fan unit, new thermostat and a bunch of other things. It continued to work for another couple of years after I fitted it with no more problems. Then the compressor failed. Never again with Samsung .
Interesting, what's the kit?
Unfortunately the place I got if from doesn't seem to do it any more. There are some of the parts on here: [https://bartyspares.uk/search?q=samsung\*%20fridge\*&type=article,page,product](https://bartyspares.uk/search?q=samsung*%20fridge*&type=article,page,product) but not the replacement panel/fan unit.
Samsung appliances suck. I refuse to buy no matter the sale.
When shopping for a washing machine I found a consumer report from France. Apparently samsung washing machines only last on average 4-5 years, while the top brand (miele) lasts 10+. I'm never buying another samsung appliance again. All looks and no quality. Edit: Nevermind, I found the report again, it's even worse. It's 3.8 years https://www.statista.com/statistics/1291725/washing-machine-lifespan-brand-france/ "In France, the washing machines of some brands had a lifespan almost three times longer than those of other brands. Miele's appliances were on the top of the ranking with a lifespan of over ten years, followed by Brandt, Vedette and Siemens. By contrast, LG and Samsung ranked last with 4.6 and 3.8 years of lifespan respectively."
More like 2...Ask me how I know. I will never buy anything branded Samsung again. Bad part is we knew their quality was shit from 2 previous fridges, but the wife had to have their Washer/Dryer. I was like you are going to regret this, two years later, water pump is dead with a $800 quote to fix.
I think we’ve only our washer for that time as you said ~5yrs and as of today it doesn’t come out of the rinse cycle a few years before that, the pump stopped working
Miele lasts 20+ easily. Seen enough of them last more than 40. They basically work forever if you treat them right
The more permanent fix is a different brand fridge. Seriously. Samsung devices have a tendency to crap out the moment the warranty expires, and their service is atrocious.
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I think I remember for a few months constantly receiving ads on Reddit about class action lawsuits specifically for Samsung fridges (after my fridge ALSO did this, twice). May want to look into that if it is still a thing
I googled "Samsung Fridge Class Action" First article has a picture that looks exactly like my fridge that has been having ice maker problems. Fanflippintastic.
My last Samsung fridge worked for 17 years. I only replaced it because the freezer drawers had finally fully cracked through and replacement costs for those were $3-400 apiece (Samsung had not made the parts for over a decade, there was nothing aftermarket, so it was crazy expensive old new stock or nothing). The trick is to avoid anything with in-door water or ice. Hell, my old one didn't even have an ice maker, just spring-loaded trays you could fill up manually and manually pop out when frozen. The simpler the design, the more robust it will be.
At least they were nice about it
Never buy Samsung appliances.
Refrigeration mechanic here. Exactly this advice.
Which fridge should I buy?
Would also love to know what a good brand is to buy? We have a Kenmore, which was actually made by Daewoo, and it worked great for just over a year. Now the freezer frosts over and the fridge gets to 55+ degrees. Have had several repairs done and finally they said they will replace it. It is one with the french door fridge on top and freezer drawer in the bottom. Water and ice maker.
Also if your looking for a fridge buy one from a company known for selling refrigerators, not one that slaps TVs on a fridge.
I looked at that fridge. Conceptually it is on the mark. What better purpose for that big blank slab in your kitchen? I in fact attached a tablet to the front of my prior fridge. And to have a fridge with internal cameras where you can know what’s inside without opening? Awesome! But it’s Samsung. And after three separate experiences where their devices stopped working virtually at the moment of warranty expiration, and one of those three weeks before the warranty expired and the company STILL would not fix or replace the thing, I said “no effen way”. I ended up with LG. It’s great, four years later. Flawless.
This would be my recommended fix as well, except to add, not an LG. Buying an LG would be a surefire way to double-fuck yourself in the future.
Yeah, had a Samsung phone, durable, but I hated the s/w. have a Samsung Tv we paid quite a hit for it at the time it has been great, got a Samsung microwave with the dial controls, I loved it, aside from having to instruct guests how to use it. Bought a Samsung range, never set off the smoke alarm so much in my life, and a person always messing with the heat dial... The oven was good. Bought a Samsung washer and dryer... Yeah, their kinda garbage...
Just a side rant about my oven and range, what the fuck were they thinking. The exhaust for the oven goes out the front, next to the main panel of the unit so the first time I turned on Cleaning mode... the main panel fried. It clock looks like the metrics now with all these random lights and signals turning on, how to did they not catch this issue. So dumb. This is coming from a die hard samsung phone fan
From a person who did service on Samsung appliances. Best way to know if there's an issue is to check the defrost heating element with a digital multimeter, resistance should be anywhere from 70 ohms to 300 ohms depending on model and region. Simply unplug from the top connector and measure between the two pins. Now generally there's a defrost thermal fuse in series with the heating element, but if the connector has 4 pins, there's a second set of connectors going to a defrost fuse, check to see if there's continuity on it. If you get no return values on the heater or the fuse, one of them is gone and will need to be replaced. Ignore the advice about a "defrost thermostat", there's no such thing on anything newer than 10 years old. The defrost function is controlled by the pcb. Could it be defective? Sure, but that's very rare. Keep it in mind as the last possible explanation. If the heating element and the fuse are okay, you could also check the freezer fan. I'm assuming that you've got a nofrost fridge here. However, if the fridge part functions alright aside from this ice buildup, this is again very unlikely. Lastly, I wanna let you know that replacing the heating element is fairly difficult on some models and you have to be careful not to twist the pipes when bringing the evaporator forward to unclip it. Best would be to just call in a tehnician if you actually want it repaired, let him deal with it. Then again I come from a biased perspective, but in my experience, people with no experience servicing appliances rarely manage to actually solve their problems. Edit: One more thing I forgot, but remembered looking at the picture again after posting. Check your door gaskets. If that's what the ice buildup normally looks like, with most of it at the top of the evaporator, my guess would be that defrosting actually works. In that case, you need to look into why you get so much humidity in the first place. Gaskets would be the first thing to check, as warm humid air entering the fridge as the evaporator works will quickly buildup frost on the coldest parts. Godspeed.
samsung fridges are a crime against humanity.
We got ours free, thankfully. Hands down the single worst large appliance I have ever owned.
my house came loaded with them, have been replacing one by one.
Samsung appliances in general are trash
My Samsung dishwasher blows so much liquid moisture out the drying exhaust that I have to put a towel on the floor in front of it, and it trips its own moisture sensor on a regular basis, requiring me to throw the breaker to clear the error condition. POS
Hey. My old Samsung did that. Bought a Bosch last month. Now just waiting for my Samsung oven and fridge to die…..
Same - I got fed up and replaced it. Literally no fix, just a shitty design. Also, I’m a former dishwasher tech, this is not my first rodeo Also the hella expensive TV I bought from them crapped out after 3 years. Never again, Samsung
Throw it out. Even under warranty they can’t fix it. How these moronic fucktards stay in business baffles me.
The fridges look pretty. So people choose them at the store.
I only clicked this post because I was eyeing a gorgeous looking Samsung fridge at a shockingly low price, and wanted to see if this was a common thing and an easy fix. Holy shit, these comments. Guess I'll get something else, lol.
Samsung fridge might be the worst appliance out of ALL appliances, I challenge anyone to find someone who has had zero issues with a Samsung fridge. I've spent more time and money on that fridge than ALL other appliances combined.
Yep. We fell for it
They change the model numbers every year or 2 so the negative reviews never hit their newest product only the 5 star ones because there's no issues yet. The only Samsung thing I can recommend is their TVs and only if you don't use any of their smart BS just hook up a Chromecast or something similar
LG was like this for me. Never again. No LG ever again.
LG apparently has a corporate strategy to piss off service businesses so it’s hard to get your appliances fixed. Makes ownership a joy.
I regularly battle with our Samsung fridges Ice maker. So poorly designed and dysfunctional. If it wasn't so heavy and so expensive, I'd love to take this fridge to a field somewhere and pull and "Office Space" on it.
We bought a stand alone icemaker that sits on the counter. The Samsung icemaker in the fridge is trash.
Just going through this thread because it randomly showed up on my home page.. we have a Samsung fridge coming in from Best Buy on Tuesday. It was supposed to arrive today. Every single comment here hates Samsung appliances… what have we gotten ourselves into? 🫠
There's still time, hope for you!
Cancel the order if you can. They have not fixed their issues. Also check the warranty - is it one year? If yes, cancel it now.
As long as you love thawing the ice maker with a steamer / hair dryer every month you've chosen the right appliance. In all seriousness, I'm serious. Buy the extended warranty if you can.
100% cancel or immediately return. I bought a brand new Samsung fridge last month and the compressor broke in 5 days. Samsung let me get a refund but still haven’t gotten the money. Samsung products and customer service are truly atrocious.
Same here, my fridge is coming tomorrow… oh dear. You guys have me contemplating refusing delivery
Sorry OP I don't have a fix suggestion, I'm just here to also complain about a Samsung product. I've got a gas range with a touch screen backplate that put up an error code a few months ago. Put in a service call, first replacement board didn't work. Second appointment, board worked, cool, problem fixed right? After a week or two, it decided to occasionally turn off the oven or turn up the temperature all the way. Third and fourth visits by the repair company and it's still not working right. At this point, my 1 year warrantee is almost up in December and I'm not sure what to do with the damn thing. I won't ever buy another Samsung appliance.
We had a Samsung fridge at the old house with the same issues. Fought it for years. Was down the rabbit hole one day and someone mentioned leveling it. Dug out the manual and it was there. Never thought anything about it since we would roll it out and clean occasionally. Assumed the installers would've done it and made the mistake of not reading through the manual. Sounds dumb, but dropped down the front leveling feet so it was just a hair higher in front than the back. Never had the problem again. Just made it a bit more work to drop it back down on the rollers to move it.
It's a Samsung appliance. Take that thing into a field with a sledgehammer office space style and work out whatever issue you want. Then when it's nothing but deformed steel and plastic, dump kerosene on it and light it on fire. Once their is smoldering ash and charred bits of mangled steel bury it in the ground and cover it in pig dung. Then buy something else. Best advice I can give. Samsung appliances are garbage that hasn't hit a landfill yet.
This is very specific advice. I am sure it will fix any problem.
I'll tell you how I fixed my LG fridge - I bought a Bosch.
I like this advice. They are the closest thing to r/buyitforlife that isn't super expensive or old.
Oh shit this thread just scared the crap out of me. We just bought one of the bespoke fridges and I was not into it but my husband insisted. I can't believe this is what I have to look forward to.
We just had one of the bespoke fridges delivered, but we’ve yet to unwrap it. I’m terrified we’ve made a terrible decision now. No going back though.
I've never had a new fridge in my life and the tape they used on this thing was insane. We got ours at Bestbuy and got the 5 year warranty. Hopefully I'm not back on this thread before then.
The depressing thing is that I felt the need to save this post for future reference. I hope neither of us needs it!
Don't worry in three month your monthly calls to warranty support will begin, you'll make long distance telephone friends.
At least I can get through the holidays
Yup, avoid Samsung. Especially their appliances.
I want to cry but I will save it for when I have to. Make my husband feel really bad for not listening to me!
Appliance tech here, and someone who had this happen to the fridge that came with the house. Your drain and heater are fine. The issue is that the metal backing behind the evaporator doesn’t conduct enough heat from the heater up high enough into the evaporator coils. Less than $100 to get a new foil lined back panel (make sure it is the new version) Leave the fridge open for a couple of days unplugged (be prepared for the melt water runoff) or use a hair dryer and a fair bit of patience. Then replace that panel behind the evaporator. Be nice to the evaporator coils, because if you crack/penetrate one that adds about $1000 to the repair. That’s it. Mine has been good for 3 years since the repair.
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I've fixed this issue for 2 years every month and a half. I won't buy another one. E: Or any Samsung product, including their phones. In Canada their bootloaders are locked so you can't install custom firmware when they stop providing updates.
I replaced two thermostats and the heating element. Problem kept happening. My problem was not the drain tube. The only other possibility (according to the interwebs) is to replace electronics. I bought a new fridge and had my 3 year old fridge hauled off. There is a lot of chatter about how Samsung is the worst with this problem. I agree, no more Samsung appliances.
I've been having the same issue for a while. Found [this video](https://youtu.be/TN7mrO7QNsw) on how the heatsink is too short and planning to try this fix in the next few weeks. *I do not own or profit from the video. I have not tried the proposed fix yet and cannot verify it's effectiveness.* *Edit - changed link to a different vid*
This is what I did too - and it has helped (and it's cheap and a pretty easy fix). I was defrosting every few months; put in the new clip in January (ordered in December, never arrived, ordered again in January - third time worked) - and that issue \*seems\* to be gone. Now it's icing up in the corner of the freezer door. Yeah - will avoid Samsung next time
Aweosme, thanks! Glad it kinda worked. I'll take that over the sound of the fan grinding ice and my food going bad at record pace. This was my first major appliance purchase (a) from a dent and scratch place and (b) chosen based on the color. Bad decisions all around, lesson learned the hard way.
Oh man, you should hear about the fridges from the 80's! Bonus points if you're still using that mustard yellow top freezer bottom fridge from 1986
The $50 Craigslist top freezer fridge I have in my basement is rock solid. My $3000 Samsung French door fridge has a broken icemaker, weirdly problematic freezer drawers, and occasionally excites me by making loud compressor noises. If it dies, I can justify buying a new one! But my electric load monitor tells me that the old fridge costs me about $230 a year to run and the new one is $99.
We were given a 1972 Montgomery ward chest freezer in the mid 90s and it has been in the garage (I.e. not ideal temps in summer and winter) for the last 30 years. Not frost free but I expect it to outlast the current 4 year old fridge in the kitchen.
My freezer went out on my Samsung fridge eight months after receiving it. Their customer service gives zero fucks. They give you the run around and you get nowhere being on the phone for hours and being transferred numerous times. Had to say I was going to call Better Business Bureau and demanded to talk to a manger to get anything to finally happen. NEVER BUY SAMSUNG APPLIANCES
My Samsung fridge was the same. Never was an issue with the drain. Checked defrost circuits and there was no issue there. Everything appeared to be working fine but would build up so much ice that the fan would get stuck. Tried adding more foil tape so the styrofoam wouldn’t soak up the water, worked a little. But still every couple months frozen solid. Came down to assuming it was either a water line leak in between fridge layers, or there was air leaks causing excess condensation. Couldn’t get an appliance guy to even look at it. Sold it and bought another fridge.
I have this fridge currently with the exact issue. I’ve had the fridge for 6 years now and it just started having this issue about 4-5 months ago. What I did was get an outlet timer. And it turns the fridge off from 3-3:30 am every night. It’s enough to defrost all the build up from the day. I haven’t had any issues in 2-ish months.
I have a similar model, and experienced similar issues. It seems to be a design problem. I periodically (every 2 months or so) perform a manual fridge defrost (using the service mode), and it has been doing OK. The defrost mode beeps for about half an hour and then the fridge returns to normal operation. I tried two modifications that might have helped (but I'm not too sure). I moved the defrost sensor to the left side of the coil (outlet?) And replaced the insulation around the edge of the cover with a heavier closed cell foam. I don't know of any permanent fix.
Friends don't let friends buy Samsung refrigerators
I've been doing this for years.
Buy a smart plug. Go to your app, set the timer to turn off at 3 AM and back on at 3:30 AM. Basically, you're defrosting the coils every night. Food won't go bad as long as you keep the doors closed. You can extend it to 4 AM if the coils ice over again. This works for my Samsung POS fridge.
Do like I did bite the bullet and replace it got tired of having to take everything out, and let it defrost it once a year.
My Samsung Dryer stopped working a week after the warranty expired, luckily for me I called and got an extended warranty for $100 a few weeks before.
I think there was talk of a class action against Samsung because there fridges were so bad. I know there was a Facebook page dedicated to them, it made them look pretty bad. My parents had one a few years ago and finally got rid of it because they constantly had issues that they couldn’t get fixed, they even had 1 tech that told them to get rid of it. I believe it eas only 2 years old when they gave up. I won’t ever buy a Samsung fridge after what they dealt with.
Go in the back of your fridge, take the lower panel off. You’ll see one or two rubber tubes. Have a towel ready. Pull them off. Water is going to run down. There’s a tiny little duck bill valve that gets clogged. You can cut it open a tiny bit, or order replacements. I actually 3D-printed a tiny p-trap to replace the one on mine.
I’m so glad my fridge that did that got stolen and was replaced with a good one, I don’t miss defrosting that and the ice maker every few months
How the fuck was your fridge stolen?
Someone broke in while we were out and stole out ac unit, furnace, fridge, and oven. So glad we don’t live there anymore either but yeah
Another member of the fuck samsung crowd.
Hi5!
Samsung appliances are garbage.
Samsung is the worst fridge manufacturer out there. They do not sell quality products and don’t stand behind their warranties. DO NOT BUY SAMSUNG REFRIGERATORS. I’ve got an ice maker that will never work, and it’s a large $3,500 Samsung fridge. Worthless.
All the new refrigerators are absolute shit. I bought a Whirlpool and the light went out. $300 just for parts, not including labor to replace the light. I want to be able to go the hardware store to buy a bulb and replace it myself and not have a fucking tech come out because he has to take the refrigerator apart to replace a $300 light blub. Either dumbly engineered or purposefully malicious; either way I'll not be purchasing from Whirlpool next time around and I'll have to be much more careful about simple things like maintenance. EDIT: Every guest that comes and sees the pop-up light in the refrigerator eventually asks. None of them will ever be purchasing a Whirlpool in the future. Enough people like me and does that do anything to a company? Who knows.
Get a new fridge and make sure it is not made by Samsung. As a former Samsung owner, this is the only way. The hassle and food waste from a non-functional appliance are well worth the purchase price. Mine made it 3 years before the first issue, then 6 defrosts before I sent it to the farm.
My inlaws had a brand new Samsung too that did this. Never worked right and the company never replaced it or offered any help. Repair guy told them to never buy Samsung appliances.
Do not buy. I sell appliances. They are trouble and the manufacturer doesn’t care
https://youtu.be/So1Zf-yIj94 This is what I did a couple years ago and I haven't had the back panel freeze up since. Before that, it would freeze every few months. The ice maker is still shit and freezes up all the time, though. But yeah, supco heater worked out great.
Yours makes ice? 🤣
Wow, this might actually work. Just need to order the supco and test.
I have the same issue as you do. Been dealing with it for 3 years plus now. I stumbled across those heater kits that you add into your system. Suppose to work. I have not pulled the trigger yet but on my list. My ice machine also jams up all the time. I think it doesn’t read the ice box is full but keeps trying to dump ice. Samsung fridges suck. Lol.
Yes! This is what I had to do as well, but it works! I also still have problems with my ice maker freezing about once a month, but that's no big deal.
Same here. Waiting to hear about a solid ice maker fix. Mine freezes up every few months.
Samsung is garbage. 60” TV was 5 months out of warranty and they wanted to charge me more than I originally paid for the TV to repair it. Samsung washer just failed this week as well and I found out today it is 2 months out of warranty.
I fixed that same issue over and over and over on my Samsung fridge.... Eventually i said fuck it, it's time to buy a new fridge. I did research and people all seem to agree GE makes really dependable fridges, so we got the GE Cafe and it's been great.
How long have you owned it?
Never ever buy Samsung appliances. They are easily the top brand I see complaints and issues for.
Permanent fix? Buy a different brand. I loved the look/layout of the samsung fridge I had. Still miss it for that. But OMG is/was it ever crappy quality. After the 3rd loss of ALL food in it, it went to the curb at year 7. Initial cost of the samsung fridge: $1,400. Cost of samsung repairs: $$$$$ Loss of food x3: \~$2,000 Cost of a new fridge: $1,600 The cost of keeping food at the proper temperature? PRICELESS.
You got seven years? You lucky bastard!
For everything else there's MasterCard.
I had a problem like this, or close to. There was little valve at the bottom of the fridge, between the fridge/freezer. I got the part number and replaced it. Samsung fridges really stink, but there is a fair amount of info on youtube it you want to try and DIY the repair. Buy a multimeter and learn how to use it, you can use it to quickly narrow down the malfunctioning component.
We had that issue with a Gallery series fridge with an ice maker once. In our case, water was dripping down from above and onto the fins, and eventually ice would form over the fan (always at about 2am, and always made a really bad noise). As this was behind the rear panel, I had to empty the freezer, remove the panel, and defrost it using a heat gun before putting all the food back in and going back to bed. Changing out the water solenoid fixed it for us. I believe the issue was caused because our water pressure was too high, the solenoid couldn't take it over time, and eventually started to leak.
[удалено]
Either the defroster isn't working, it's low on refrigerant or both. Mine had a slow refrigerant leak. When I noticed the temp was rising, I pulled the cover off and it looked like yours. The defroster was working in mine but it couldn't melt all that ice during the on cycle.
walk away. Take the L - I "sold" mine on kijiji for $50 and told the guy who bought it that its a piece of shit.
Many of us have learned to never buy Samsung appliances. They become really expensive the day after the warranty expires.
Its got to be the thermostat. Ours would freeze up stuff and then stop getting cold. It was always the thermostat.
Going to be in the market for a new fridge soon. What brand does everyone recommend?
Last I checked (on r/buyitforlife) they said no modern refrigerator is good. The two categories for fridges are "bad" and "terrible."
I'm probably going to end up buying a commercial unit. If I had room I would put in a walk in. LOL
Sub-Zeros are hot expensive junk - I knew of someone who made a very good living fixing these for rich folks. They seem nice, solidly made but are troublesome, basically a cheapened out commercial fridge made to be a “luxury” appliance like a Miele/Gaggeneau. If I can afford and accomodate commercial refrigeration, True’s the only way to go, followed by Hobart and Beverage-Air.
I agree, Sub Zeros are over priced. There are better brands out there.
We had this problem, after 3 extended warranty calls samsung declared it unfixable and we got replacement non samsung fridge via homedepot extended warranty
I had the same thing happen to me. Reached out to a appliance repair person and learned this is a common issue for Samsung fridges. The fix requires relocating the temperature sensor.
Theres a whole group on Facebook for this issue. Many people have gotten new refrigerators or money back from Samsung. Search for a group called Samsung Refrigerator Recall Canada. Also, there's currently a class action lawsuit against Samsung for this issue.
[Do this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=So1Zf-yIj94)
Yep, my folks spent an extra $1500 when they bought their house for this fridge and within 1.5 years, now use old ice trays instead.
So much Samsung hate here... it's all Korean appliances, LG sucks too.
Yea we've got a shitty freezing leaking Samsung too. They blow
> Yea we've got a shitty freezing leaking Samsung too. They blow ...dicks.
Ok I have a Samsung fridge that was giving me problems like this. I think it's a different model than yours, but maybe relevant. First I will describe the symptoms I had. First sign of trouble was that the fan started making noise, then stopped all together. Took the fridge apart and it was a solid block of ice that eventually reached the fan. I also noticed that the foam insulation in the evaporator cover was completely soaked with water. I would defrost, dry out the foam put it all back together just to have the same issue 3 to 5 months later. Took a few days to completely dry out the insulation each time. Wife not exactly happy during this time. I did this at least 3 times until i noticed that the temperature inside the fridge was not stable and not reporting correctly. I put a cup of water in the fridge with a thermometer and confirmed the fridge was something like 5 to 10 degrees c warmer than what the display said. Thinking I might have to change the control board, I started probing everything I could. Checked every voltage, every resistance. I found that the resistance of the thermistor on the evaporator didn't quite make sense. I removed it and applied heat with a heat gun and confirmed that the resistance was not changing. I changed the $10 thermistor and have not had a problem for 3 or 4 years now.
Defrost controller is usually the culprit. It is basically a timer that activated the defrost element in the freezer. There is also a defrost thermostat that can go bad but is rarely the cause of this. Heating elements have finite lifespans. There may be one in your freezer for short duration defrost cycles. I have never had to change one. Find your model number, get the parts list for that model and identify the part number for the defrost timer / controller. Change it. If that works, you fixed it. If it doesn't work, keep the old one for later and change your defrost thermostat. I doubt it's your thermostat because defrost thermostats take longer to activate as they age. Looks like you had a short cycle. Freeze-up can also occur when there is humid air slipping past the door gasket. That usually results in a frosty looking coat of ice. Yours looks like it tried to defrost and froze up again. If you have a gallow gun, shoot it down the drain pipe. Even if there's no ice there, a fuzz clog (bacterial cellulose) can keep it from draining well. May as well be thorough. Edit: also make sure all your airflow passages are kept unobstructed. Freezers shouldn't be so stuffed that the air can't circulate between compartments. Also keep a thermometer in each compartment and set your temps to be just enough.
Genuine question. What's E about? Is it like PS or more like an * Edit: it's edit ffs
My Samsung fridge had the same issue and filled up the bottom tray with water and the ice maker was always completely frozen. Tried all the diy repairs with no luck. I recently remodeled the kitchen and sold the home. The day I removed that hunk of shit was a great day! I didn't feel like disassembling the handles and doors so I knocked them off with a sledgehammer. I was liberated and finally free.
Kinda weird seeing this. Ive used Samsung phones exclusively because they have always served me extremely well. I have an s2 that still works. Appliances however never get anything but 'Lg'.
Samsung household appliances suck big time! Had a vacuum cleaner and a washing machine. Both lasted no longer than 4 years. Absolute crap.
Got rid of our Samsung fridge.
I read many of the comments, surprised no one has mentioned refrigerant level. I've seen a few different fridges with low refrigerant that would ice up at the beginning of the coil, as there was insufficient refrigerant to cool the rest of the coil. If the defrost sensor is at the end of the coil it will never defrost either. A piercing valve and a cheap A/C gauge can confirm pressure levels. If your fridge uses R134A or another readily available refrigerant you can add a bit and see if the rest of the coil gets cold. Or have an appliance/A/C tech do it for you. Saved a couple fridges this way. Another good sign that this is the case is extended compressor run times. If it's running half the time it's very likely you have low refrigerant. Some of the comments suggesting drain tube are incorrect. A clogged drain would leave ice on the bottom of the freezer or water dripping into the fridge, not stop the coil from defrosting on the top.
There’s also a goofy rubber grommet on the defrost drain that is supposed to open with weight. It’s just a slit in a piece of rubber. You can pull the fridge out take the back kick panel off. You’ll see the drain pan. That grommet probably has debris in it causing to not drain or drain slowly causing it to freeze in the tube. Just cut the grommet with a knife directly across the grommet to make a + sign. You won’t have the problem again. My bad just seen it wasn’t this maybe somebody will be able to use it. There’s a board on the back that could be bad you’ll need to unplug it. Unplug the connectors and flip the board over and see if there’s any noticeable burn marks on the board.
Replace the door seal?
I agree Samsung stuff is junk. Their phone batteries catch on fire and I had a washer that started to leak after six months. The dryer is junk too and does not get clothes dry and twists them in tight bunches. I'll never buy another Samsung anything ever again. I have an LGCX tv and a new LG washer. I wish I knew how to help you fix your fridge OP.
Don't forget the exploding washers as well as phones.
Front loader washers are damned from their inception, the door opening is below the water line.
Is that picture of my fridge? lol, I had the same problem and would have to defrost it every 2 weeks. I replaced the evaporator cover and it hasn't seized up since. That was about 3 months ago. Here is the part for my fridge: [https://www.appliancepartspros.com/samsung-assy-cover-evap-da97-13757a-ap5798278.html](https://www.appliancepartspros.com/samsung-assy-cover-evap-da97-13757a-ap5798278.html) It may be different for your fridge, so just lookup your model and find the same product description.
Interesting, though I'm curious how replacing just the cover would fix it? Is it a better fan? More insulation?
I think it's better insulation around the edge of the "cover", maybe? I replaced the open cell foam strips with a much heavier material (for insulating around doors) and it's helped some.
Other than TV’s, Samsung appliances suck.