Whirlpool Refrigerators Consumer Reviews - Page 5

OTTUMWA, IOWA -- This will be the last Whirlpool appliance I will buy. We purchased this refrigerator literally a few days over 2 years ago. It is a side-by-side refrigerator with shelves that are supposed to slide out, however we have never used it in that capacity. The problem is that the plastic frames on every shelves, even the ones that do not slide out over the bins, have cracked in no less than 2 places on each shelf.

We contacted Whirlpool last week. The good news is that they responded quickly. The bad news is that they stated "it is unfortunate that you had problems with the shelves, but we are unable to do anything for you because it is out of warranty. If you would like to to purchase replacement shelves, we could order them through their consumer parts department."

This is such a crock. If it was one shelf, I could justify the possibility of it getting smacked or something overweight was placed on it, but EVERY SHELF? As I said, not a single shelf is crack free, including the ones that sit directly over the bins, which should have additional support from the bin construction. By the time I replace every shelf that is cracked, it will be equal to what I paid for this refrigerator 2 years ago, and it will net me 2 more years of service. If I have to invest that kind of expense into it, the refrigerator will go to the recycler and I will buy from another manufacturer, which will definitely NOT be a Whirlpool or Whirlpool subsidiary.

The cracks were noticed early last week. I contacted the company the end of last week. The cracks are already getting larger. I will no longer allow my children to get anything out of the refrigerator since I'm afraid that the shelf will crack, the glass in the shelf frame will break and we will have an injured child, which instead of reaching this website, I will be contacting a lawyer. I need to do something with this refrigerator, but with the economy, I can't afford to just keep replacing hundreds of dollars in refrigerator shelves every 2 years.

This refrigerator does not get extreme use since it is the 2nd refrigerator in the house. The Samsung refrigerator we have as the primary fridge has been in our house since 2005 and I wouldn't trade it for anything. This refrigerator however is poorly made. The materials that the refrigerator shelves are made from were just a poor engineering decision because it is not holding up to mild to moderate use without cracking.

We purchased this Whirlpool appliance thinking we were getting a quality product from previous reviews we had read, however, this is obviously no longer the case with this company and seeing the complaints that I now see online. Someone would have to really give me compelling evidence to make me decide to EVER purchase another Whirlpool appliance again.

BENTSON, MICHIGAN -- I purchased a bundle of Whirlpool kitchen appliances to complete our new kitchen (refrigerator, microwave, dishwasher, and range) on April 12, 2010 which were then delivered on April 23, 2010 and installed on April 24, 2010. Today is June 10, 2011 (13 months and 16 days since installation) and the refrigerator is out-of-service. I contacted Whirlpool and spoke with ** who was kind to assist in setting up a service appointment, but reminded me that it is NOT covered under warranty and I would be expected to pay for the entire repair including parts.

I asked to speak with ** supervisor and was directed to ** who stated she is the final decision authority. ** told me that she does, in fact, have the authority to override the system and authorize the work under warranty, but she chooses NOT to. She did agree that a brand new product should last longer than 13 months, but sometimes parts just fail, sorry. I asked to speak to the next line supervision and was told I had to submit a written letter to the corporate office and no other phone numbers would be given. There is no assistance that Whirlpool chooses to provide in this instance because I did not pay the $500 for an "extended warranty".

In hindsight who would think one would need an extended warranty in 13 months from the date of purchase. I am very disappointed in the service from Whirlpool and I am disappointed that the rest of my appliances are Whirlpool. However, I can assure everyone that I will NEVER buy another WHIRLPOOL anything!! EVER!

I will follow up with Whirlpool corporate and I will ask for remedy to this problem, but Whirlpool clearly is intending NOT to stand behind their products. Any Major appliance that breaks in 13 months should be considered for at last some assistance. Lastly, I can assume that Whirlpool has chosen a specific 12 month warranty policy because they know their appliances must be CRAP. I will NOT MAKE THIS MISTAKE AGAIN!

BENTON HARBOR, MICHIGAN -- Do not buy Sears Kenmore/Whirlpool Products. When they damage your home they will not pay claims. All they will do is say it's not their fault. So to save you from having to go through what I have had to experience, just say "No" to their appliances and buy Frigidare, Samsung or any other products. Stay away from these two evil corporations.

LONGMONT, COLORADO -- We bought a Whirlpool top freezer refrigerator in late 2001. It worked fine for 5 years but then 1 month after the warranty expired, so did the fridge. We had a Whirlpool-trained repair person come out to replace the relay (which was in fact no good); with the new part, the fridge worked for about 10 minutes until the compressor stopped again (and was extremely hot to the touch). This happened 2 days before Christmas dinner (which we had to cancel). We lost over $300 in food.

While the fridge did last through the warranty (compressor system is guaranteed for 5 years), there's nothing like having it fail immediately after the warranty expired. I called Whirlpool twice and tried to have them refer me to a manager or someone who was empowered to help and rant some small grace period or at least give us some credit toward the purchase of a new Whirlpool, but they refused.

My parents had 2 fridges, each of which lasted well over 30 years with ZERO problems, and I hear that most new fridges are expected to last maybe 8 to 10 years and in many cases, much less. The fact that a 1 year warranty seems to be the norm for the industry bears out the fact that most large appliance companies know their products are lousy. Where the hell is their pride in what they manufacture? They ought to be ashamed of what they produce and of their unwillingness to do the right thing.

It sure seems like there is a strong market out there for someone to charge more for a reliable fridge from a company that's willing to stand behind their product. Wouldn't a 10 year warranty be great? I'd much rather pay more for something no-frills that I can count on than a glitzed up digital piece of crap that keeps breaking.

From the time we got it, the refrigerator kept freezing fresh vegetables and fresh fruit, no matter where we set the temperature. In desperation, I had a Whirlpool certified repairman come to check out the problem. (This particular repairman is considered one of the best in the area where we live.) He checked the air damper, which controls the amount of cold air that goes from the freezer to the refrigerator, to see if it was defective. When he could find nothing wrong, he called Whirlpool for technical support. He was told that the refrigerator was designed for families with children who would be opening and closing the door constantly, letting warm air in.

Since we don't have children at home, I was advised to open and close the door frequently during the day so produce would not be ruined. The following day I had to be out of town. When I got home in the evening, all the produce was ruined again. I wrote a letter to the president of Whirlpool expressing my surprise that his company would produce a refrigerator that required constant opening and closing to maintain the proper temperature, and requested a full refund so I could purchase a refrigerator that can be kept closed all day without ruining the food.

I sent a copy of the letter to the president of Lowe's, where I had purchased the refrigerator. Lowe's response was prompt and terrific. Without even hearing from Whirlpool, they let me order a different brand of refrigerator and gave me full credit for the lemon I had. When Whirlpool finally responded many days later, all they wanted to do was damage control. The woman who called said she couldn't imagine that anyone in the Whirlpool technical assistance department would tell a repairman that the refrigerator was designed for families that had children (I heard him say it).

She insinuated that the repairman who looked at my refrigerator wasn't good and she wanted to send someone else of her choosing. I told her I had already ordered another refrigerator. I just found out that Sears, who sold this Whirlpool model under their Kenmore store brand, dropped it months ago because of problems with it. The bottom line: AFTER this EXPERIENCE, I WOULDN'T buy a WHIRLPOOL product AGAIN.

NEW YORK -- We ordered a Whirlpool model: GR9FHMXPTOO refrigerator. A week later I noticed that there was a lot of ice buildup around the rear assemble in the freezer. There was also frost buildup on the door shelves, on the food packages and other surfaces. I figured that the auto defrost heater didn't come on yet. The next day it was worse and the food in the freezer was getting soggy. My wife threw out some of the packages. The freezer is not opened very often as our children live in other states. We called to have someone come over and check this out.

When the service man arrived he tried to pull a dollar bill through the gasket and said that it was OK. He wanted us to remove everything from the freezer. He then placed a pot of hot water in the freezer to help removed all the frost. He said that it should be OK. A few days later it was just as bad. A short time later we found that the ice cubes in the bin that were made by the icemaker was frozen into one big mess and there was a layer of ice on the freezer surface. I was the engineering manager for a high tech company and I figured that refrigerators were perfected by now.

I sent another letter to Whirlpool customer service on the internet explaining everything. 2 days later I received a reply that I should try service again. A little while later I called to make a service appointment. I was told that the service man would be coming on Wednesday Sept. 7, 2005. On Tuesday Sept. 6, I found a message on my answer machine that said the service man is out sick and that I should call for another appointment. When I called I asked how many service personnel they had and the answer was 2. An appointment was set up for Thursday Sept. 8th, 2005.

On Thursday the service man arrived and I told him about the first service call. He looked inside the freezer and viewed all the frost buildup. He told us that a heater kit was needed and has to be ordered. He told us that he would order one and we should receive a call when it comes in. It's over 2 weeks and I have not received a call back.

When I called service again and mentioned the heater I was told that this part is always going bad. I believe that there should be a recall because of a fire hazard and the part should be replaced with a properly designed unit. This refrigerator obviously never had a QC checkout. I sent several computer fax letter to Whirlpool corporation with zero response. My wife would be happy if we could get back our 28 year old GE refrigerator. We need a working refrigerator.

LANCASTER, OHIO -- My new Whirlpool side by side refrigerator arrived today. I purchased it from Lowe's and they did a great job as usual with delivery and unpacking. But it is garbage. As soon as the delivery men left I decided to clean it and found a huge gap in the seal at the top of the refrigerator. I called Lowe's and was told to call back in the morning that maybe they could replace the door. I turned on the water supply to the ice maker and nothing. No water. I know the line works because it worked perfectly on my old refrigerator.

There is also no lights in the freezer or refrigerator unless you giggle the switches then they don't do out when the door is close. They eventually go out but won't come back on again. I also have a indicator light for the compressor on the ice maker display that blinks and beeps every five minutes. I don't know or have found any information on what this is for. I can only assume it is an error light and indicates a problem. Whatever the reason it is extremely annoying.

I will try to return this refrigerator tomorrow since it has some problems and I don't want to have to deal with the service and repair dog and pony show that may follow. I have already gone through this with A Frigidaire washer that I am stuck with. This is the worst I have seen an appliance. It obviously did not make it out of the factory in working order. It is really sad to that in this great country we are being robbed by companies and have their inferior products to deal with and nothing is done about it. I will fight like hell to return this unit because I don't want it. I don't want to see what else will fail on it and have my 1500 investment wasted.

VENTNOR, NEW JERSEY -- I have had my Whirlpool refrigerator for 15 months. It gets limited usage as it is in a summer home and we don't have young children - in the off season it is left on and used just one weekend/month. Two days ago, in a matter of 6-7 hours, everything in my freezer melted/defrosted. We had not lost power and the refrigerator was working fine. At noon I had taken ice out of the freezer and it was fine. At 9 pm when I went to get ice, the ice cube tray was a complete liquid and the freezer was hot.

Called Whirlpool customer svc - was on the phone with ** for about an hour. She said the only thing she could do since my unit was out of warranty was to sell me a one year warranty contract for $342. I asked to be transferred to a manager and after a long hold was disconnected.

Then I called back and spoke to **. I asked her if there was an incident write up on my previous call and she said there wasn't. I asked her to create one and I got disconnected. The third time I called back I spoke to ** - She at least created an incident report for me and transferred me to a customer svc manager, **. After a pretty lengthy conversation ** authorized parts coverage but not labor. I am now waiting for my appliance center to send the repairman out on Friday

I had my previous Amana refrigerator for 22 years (still have it) without a problem. Really upset that the most expensive appliance I ever bought appears to be a lemon and that the defrosting component is not considered one of the self-sealed refrigerator components that has a 5 year warranty since it is affecting the operation of the freezer. I think anything that causes everything in my freezer to melt is part of the refrigerant components.

Purchased a Whirlpool Bottom-Freezer Refrigerator less than 12 months ago. Water leaking down to the bottom of the freezer and freezing. When the sheet is too thick to accept any more water the water tuns out of the freezer on to our kitchen floor underneath the tile on to the wooden sub floor. Called Whirlpool for service. Had to try to keep eye of ice and chip out so water wouldn't run out on floor, Ice would freeze sometimes overnight and we would wake up to water on the floor. In the morning you walk in the kitchen and slip because water on the floor.

Week later sent out technician. Technician came out, removed freezer drawer, reported problem was due to clogged drain, cleared the drain and attempted to replace the drawer. Drawer wouldn't go back in properly. I was told he attempted several times to shake, wiggle, shimmy drawer back in but he couldn't get it back on track. Freezer drawer won't close completely. We were told he would have to order parts and another tech would come out a week and a half later. He left us with a drawer that doesn't close so food is not completely freezing and the original problem which he reported was due to a clogged drain was no fixed.

The water is still leaking to the bottom of the freezer and freezing plus the water still leaking out of the fridge. Basically worst position than before the tech came out. I called Whirlpool and inquired what going to happen to the food we have in the freezer that's not freezing. Their solution "take it someone else home." Not a logical solution. In addition not convenient for my family. Then I inquired about the damaged to the kitchen floor due to the water leaking out. Told to complete damage claim form. In order to see the damage on the floor have to pull up the tile to see the wood sub floor.

Pretty sure Whirlpool is going to required us to pay up front for the cost to replace the floor than have us fight to have them reimburse us. WE are not happy about how Whirlpool addressed the issue and our concerns. WE are at a place not to purchase anymore Whirlpool products. I feel when you purchase a product a consumer should be able to at least get a 5 years without any issue. Things are not made like they used to. I am 43 years old now I know what my parents and grandparents mean about products now being disposable. Back in their days they had appliances for 30, 40, 50 years with no problems or minimum problems.

MONTREAL -- I solved this problem that must be happening to every unit. On the fridge model stated above the ice distribution motor will stop working after few years. May also apply to other models. Disconnect the fridge the fridge (or flip the breaker.) To get to the motor remove the tray at the bottom of the water bay. Carefully lift the complete front panel and disconnect the 3 wire plug.

Lift the card board protecter you can see the motor assembly. Inside the freezer remove the ice container and undo the two hex screws holding the socket. Remove parts spring, etc and set aside. Lift the shaft with pliers and set aside. Close the door. Now you can disconnect and release the motor assembly (4 screws). The problem I had is located in the motor assembly printed circuit board.

At this point 2 solutions: 1) Buy another motor assembly for about 140.00. 2) If you know how to solder electronics components then continue reading. You have to open the white motor assembly with an Olfa cutter by following the cover line and going all around it. Once the cover wants to move, go gently so the gears inside will stay in place. Disconnect the motor from the little pc board and pull out the board. Test the motor for continuity. If it is OK then continue. If the motor is opened then buy a new assembly.

Now on this little board look the round green thing (thermistor) most likely the vibrations broke one of the legs from it. Clean the holes, resolder it in place and put a dab of hot glue (attach it to the neighboring capacitor) so it won't move again. Don't over do it as the thermistor needs to breathe to cool off. Then put back the printed circuit board in place, clean all the edges of the both parts of the casing with alcohol and glue it with 5 minutes epoxy.

After the motor assembly in back in the compartment the difficult part is to set that one inch rubber washer on top of this assembly and push the shaft (from the top) into it. This washer is important as it will prevent water from going into the motor assembly. Reconnect the assembly + put everything back in the reverse order. Flip back the breaker and enjoy your ice distributor. Enjoy.