Buying new French door refrigerator

[jojo]

Reading older threads, several folks have had problems with Samsung appliances. We are looking at an LG 26.8 cu. ft. model (French door LG refrigerator, model number LFX28968ST). Most reviews are positive although a couple indicated needing repairs of ice makers and noise when running. Looking for suggestions.

[Dan9871]

Reading older threads, several folks have had problems with Samsung appliances. We are looking at an LG 26.8 cu. ft. model (French door LG refrigerator, model number LFX28968ST). Most reviews are positive although a couple indicated needing repairs of ice makers and noise when running. Looking for suggestions.
We looked at that LG refrigerator recently but ended up getting the 26cf Kitchen Aid KRMF706ESS and really like it. Went to all the local big box stores but Rick Pierce at Home Depot was the only one who could point out all the specific differences. That's where we bought it. It seems like ice makers on all refrigerators end up needing repairs :-). Th Kitchen Aid is quiet, even the ice maker is reasonable.

Dan

[DangeloInspections]

Our favorite is the LG LFXS29766S. We love the door in a door and the TWO ice makers.

We bought this about 18 months ago, and now that I'm buying a different house, I believe we'll be buying another one.

I'm told the newer ones do not leave fingerprints. I found this to be true when I looked at them today.

I was also told to stay away from the newer black stainless steel, as it scratches VERY easily and there is NO repair for it.

Hope this helps!

Frank

[jojo]

Thanks for the input. Hoping to hear more experiences with the newer refrigerators.

[crash]

We have the 32 cubic ft LG and have had 2 repairs already. First the fan then the defrost element. The repair guy said he would not buy a LG lots of repairs.

[CFrance]

We have the 32 cubic ft LG and have had 2 repairs already. First the fan then the defrost element. The repair guy said he would not buy a LG lots of repairs.
Rats, I was hoping LG had cleaned up their act. I am a poster on a previous thread complaining about our LG French door fridge, but that model was a 2007. Someone on this thread likes theirs with the door in a door. I was thinking about investigating it.

We have a Whirlpool Gold French door, and it has broken twice since early 2012--a leak of water onto the floor, and the ice maker broke, although I think that was misdiagnosed and was really a case of the freezer light switch breaking, causing the ice maker to shut off. I say this because after a new ice maker was installed, we still had the problem. A return visit, and the repairman then noticed the light switch wasn't working.

Also, you have to be very careful when closing the bottom freezer. If you're not pushing it in firmly from the middle, it doesn't close all the way, and you end up with all sorts of frost in the freezer compartment. A learning process for DH. He's not nearly as anal as I am.

[jane032657]

We have a Broward appliance repair warranty. They will fix LG and Samsung but they will not replace those two brands. Unfortunately we have a fridge/washer/dryer that are Samsung. So if you are getting a home appliance warranty, see what they will cover for replacement. We have had the upper ice maker repaired twice under them already as our fridge has two ice makers. I would not buy Samsung or LG.

[DangeloInspections]

Perhaps I am cynical, but I believe they do not make most anything as well as they used to. I am not a huge believer in service contracts, etc, but when one pays over $5000 for appliances, buying the extended warranty for these items has paid off.

I was told the best time of year to buya ppliances is in November/ black friday ads.....many places run that ad for almost a month, and you can delay delivery for as long as 2 months or so.

The 2nd best time I was told is the 4th of July ads....they start this Tuesday.....

I have heard horror stories on every brand out there....so I think it comes down to what you like and the customer reviews, etc....

Frank

[Mleeja]

We have a Samsung French Door refrigerator. It is approximately two years old. Zero problems with ours. My only "complaint" is the ice maker is a little small. However, it does make ice quickly. I would purchase a Samsung again.

[DangeloInspections]

That is why I like the LG we have...two icemakers is quite nice, and at 29 cubic feet, it is big enough for our needs. The top ice maker is completely in the left hand door, so it is not even noticed.

There is a lot of mark up on these things...so it is wise to buy when they are at least 35-40% off or more.

Frank

[Boomer]

I really like French door refrigerators, but it seems that the manufacturers have not yet mastered the icemaker in the French door.

Our first French door was an Electrolux, 2010. The icemaker quit within months and after 3 trips and I honestly think it was about 25 parts, they actually replaced the entire refrigerator. (That took a while and was not easy to get them to do, but there had been a history of Electolux having replaced entire units because of their badly designed ice maker so they finally came through.) We have since sold that house so I don't know how the new one has done.

In TV we have the LG French door. We have had issues with the icemaker but it was fixed.

I know someone with a Samsung French door, about 3-4 years old and the icemaker has just now started to make an awful noise.

Even so, I think the French door is a beautiful design, brightly lit inside, roomy, easy to see all the stuff so I don't grow as much penicillin as I used to, and I really like the relatively shallow, wide drawer in the middle for party trays, etc.

Like Frank said, it is really nice to have two icemakers so you might want to check on a model that has that.

Also, as much as it goaded us to feel like we needed to buy the extended warranty, it was a good thing we did -- on both the Electrolux and the LG. I don't know why these manufacturers cannot get a French door icemaker right. Even so, I like a French door so much that I would buy one again -- including the extra warranty though.

[dewilson58]

We have a Samsung French Door refrigerator. It is approximately two years old. Zero problems with ours. My only "complaint" is the ice maker is a little small. However, it does make ice quickly. I would purchase a Samsung again.

I like my Samsung..............Samsung does have a model with two ice makers............you can turn the second one off & on.

[Retiring]

I have a Sub-Zero, 33yrs and never a problem. I don’t know where the nearest dealer is to TV if you wanted to comparison shop.

[LittleDog]

I have an LG french door refrigerator and the only problem I have had is the icemaker and water ran slowly. With some helpful hints on here I used a hair dryer to melt the ice and no problems since. I have had this unit for about 6 months. It was one of the few french door refrigerators that fit in my space.

BTW, what is the two icemakers in the door? I have only 1 with ice and water.

John

[DangeloInspections]

John,

One is in the door, and one in in the bottom freezer. The bottom one is more for when you may need copious amounts of ice, the one in the door takes care of our daily normal use.

Hope this helps!

Frank

[jojo]

Bump - Any more recent experiences with French door refrigerators? I have ruled out Samsung after research. I like the design of the Whirlpool but reviews said it is noisy and we have an open kitchen. I like the LG but it has the second drawer for the freezer not refrigerator. And all of them have more negative reviews than I am comfortable with. Ugh to this decision making process.

[Chi33]

I have an LG, its nice

[clod]

LG great until it isn't. At 6 mos. mine produced 72db noise when running. Warranty support non-existent. Week to show up, had no parts to fix issue if they even knew what is was. Home Depot took it back, replaced with GE, all is good. Korean appliances have virtually no warranty or support. Buy at your peril.

[coffeebean]

I have a GE profile and it is extremely quiet since we had some repairs done. The only noise it makes is when the ice drops into the ice bin. The ice maker makes plenty of ice and very quickly too. The fridge only has one ice maker on the French door but there is a bin in the freezer which I keep filled so I can scoop ice when need a lot of ice.

I'm not sure how old the fridge is but my house is 10 years old and this fridge was not put in by the builder. There was a Whirlpool side by side in the garage when we first looked at the house and I assume that was the fridge supplied by the builder.

[JerryLBell]

We had the basic side-by-side fridge/freezer combo that came with the house when we bought the house new. We rented the house out for a year before retiring and moving here and the renters complained as they moved out that it had no room and was really slow at making ice. We lived with it for all of two weeks and found their complaints to be accurate. We bought a new Samsung with fridge on top with French doors and a pull-out freezer on the bottom. Got it from Best Buy and they moved the old one out to the garage (we put it on a new circuit) where it's now used for drinks and a little frozen meats. Love the new fridge. It's only been 7 months so I can't swear by it's longevity but it holds a LOT more than the old one did and is laid out so much nicer. Turns out the problem with the old one making ice slow was that the water line was kinked. When the new fridge was installed, they put in a new line from the wall and it puts out plenty of water now for drinking or making ice.

What we've been told by a number of salespeople at a number of stores both here and in North Carolina was that fridges with ice and water dispensers in the door are very susceptible to frost build-up and it clogs them up very easily, especially in humid climates. Our water dispenser is inside the fridge (you have to open the door to access it) and our icemaker simply makes ice and drops it in a bin in the freezer portion. I'm hoping that it lasts a good long while.

[dillywho]

Reading older threads, several folks have had problems with Samsung appliances. We are looking at an LG 26.8 cu. ft. model (French door LG refrigerator, model number LFX28968ST). Most reviews are positive although a couple indicated needing repairs of ice makers and noise when running. Looking for suggestions.

We bought this model last year and love it! We also got a terrific deal on it. We got it at Lowe's when they were on sale. They did not have one in stock, so we were able to buy the floor model. Yes, it has a couple of minor, cosmetic flaws, but so do I:1rotfl:. Ours is not a show home or a lots of company home, but a live-in home. With the sale price, less the floor discount, less hubby's military discount, it was beyond reasonable. We also have the 5-year warranty on it. The ice maker only makes noise when the cubes drop into the bin. Refrigerator runs quietly. I like the alarm that sounds if any door or the freezer drawer is not completely closed.

Unfortunately, I have been told by many sales and repair personnel that appliances, any of them, are just not built to last like they used to be. I believe it.

[Wiotte]

We've had a Whirlpool French door bottom freezer for the past two months. I was never a fan but my wife wanted it and it came with our new build. I like it, my wife loves it. So far, no problems.