Most and Least Reliable Refrigerator Brands
Consumer Reports' latest survey covers Frigidaire, LG, Samsung, Whirlpool, and other companies. The results can help you avoid aggravating repairs.
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When you buy a new refrigerator, you might expect it to last about a decade. But based on our most recent survey results, we estimate that 33 percent of all refrigerators will require repairs by the end of the fifth year of ownership, making them one of the least reliable products we analyze in our large surveys of CR members.
The two most commonly reported refrigerator problem areas are icemakers and water/ice dispensers. Problems like broken compressors and an inability to maintain cool temperatures matter more, but fewer CR members say they’ve experienced those issues.
- Common Refrigerator Problems
- Reliability by Refrigerator Type: Top-Freezers Bottom-Freezers French-Doors Side-by-Sides Built-Ins
Common Refrigerator Problems
Whether it’s on the local news or Facebook and Reddit groups, consumers are spreading the word about problems with their fridges. Our survey data backs up many of these complaints.
Among all new refrigerators purchased since 2014, 50 percent have experienced a problem—including failing to make ice and a broken compressor—and 13 percent of refrigerators have experienced a breakdown so severe that they stopped keeping food cold.
Samsung refrigerators have been cited in hundreds of complaints to the Consumer Product Safety Commission because of malfunctioning icemakers and too-warm temperatures, which can lead to spoiled food. Many of the complaints involve Samsung French-door refrigerators, which receive poor ratings for predicted reliability and owner satisfaction in CR’s survey results.
Our surveys also reveal that LG French-doors, side-by-sides, and built-ins are more prone to having compressors that break or are faulty than competing models made by other brands.
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