Refrigerator Problems: Ice Makers, Compressors and What Surveys Show

In Consumer Reports’ member survey, the refrigerator is one of the least dependable appliances in the kitchen. Most of the trouble is not the cooling. It is the ice maker and the dispenser in the door. This report sets out what owners report, which types and features carry the most risk, what the public record says about particular brands, and how to choose a fridge with less to go wrong. We did not test any refrigerator.

The type matters more than most people expect

Our reading is that the pattern follows the features: the types that rate worst are the ones usually sold with ice and water through the door. Consumer Reports does not put it that way itself.

What the record says about brands

These are the brand-level findings in Consumer Reports’ public articles. They describe a company’s refrigerators of a given type in general, not any one model, and each company’s response is included where we found one.

• LG. Consumer Reports says its data shows LG French-door, side-by-side and bottom-freezer models are more likely to have compressor problems than those of most other brands. The picture is not uniform: it also gives LG’s bottom-freezers very high reliability ratings overall, and its French-door models middling ones.
• Kenmore. The same pattern on compressors shows up in Kenmore French-door and side-by-side models, many of which, Consumer Reports notes, use compressors made by LG.
• Samsung. In an earlier survey analysis, Samsung French-door models had a 34 percent problem rate for no water or ice from the dispenser, against a median of 15 percent. Samsung was not found to be meaningfully worse for ice makers failing or for cooling. Consumer Reports said in that article that it did not recommend Samsung French-door refrigerators because of its survey results.

Complaints, an investigation and a settlement

Two matters on the public record are worth knowing about. Neither is a finding that a product is defective.

• Samsung and the CPSC. Consumer Reports counted 613 complaints about Samsung refrigerators submitted to the Consumer Product Safety Commission from January 2019 to December 2021, more than for any other manufacturer in that period. They described fridges not holding a safe temperature, ice makers malfunctioning and food spoiling. The CPSC confirmed to Consumer Reports that it was investigating. Samsung disputed that its products were defective and has pointed out that complaints posted to the CPSC’s database are unverified. We found no CPSC recall of Samsung refrigerators in the notices we read, and no published outcome of the investigation.
• LG compressors. A class action, Bentley v. LG Electronics U.S.A., was filed in federal court in New Jersey alleging that a compressor defect caused certain LG refrigerators to stop cooling. It was settled in 2020. According to the lawyers for the class, the settlement covered certain models made between 2014 and 2017, extended the warranty on cooling repairs to five years from purchase, and provided for payments to owners whose fridges had stopped cooling. LG denied the allegations and the settlement was not an admission of wrongdoing. The deadline for claims passed in early 2021.

Safety recalls

Reliability and safety are different questions. The refrigerator recalls in the CPSC notices we read include:

• Galanz retro refrigerators, recalled in July 2026: about 121,680 units, after 34 reports of fire, one of which involved a death according to a fire department report. Only certain models and date codes are covered.
• Frigidaire and Electrolux refrigerators with ice makers, recalled in 2022 after 185 reports of the ice level detector in the ice maker breaking, which the CPSC classed as a choking hazard. The remedy was a free replacement ice maker.
• Minifridges from several brands, recalled in 2025 and 2026 for fire hazards. These are small units, not full-size kitchen refrigerators.

Search the model number before buying a used or clearance fridge. Our guide to checking for recalls shows how, and registering the appliance means the maker can reach you later.

This grouping is our own reading of the survey results.

What to check before you buy

• Whether you need the dispenser. It is the feature most associated with repairs. Consumer Reports publishes a list of well-rated refrigerators with no dispenser or ice maker.
• The brand’s reliability rating for that type of fridge, since a brand can do well with one type and badly with another.
• The warranty on the compressor and sealed system, which is often longer than the warranty on the rest, and whether it covers labor. See what an appliance warranty covers.
• Who will service it where you live. A warranty is only as useful as the nearest authorized technician.
• The return and delivery terms, and inspect the fridge before the delivery crew leaves.

The last three points are our own practical advice.

How we researched this

This report is based on Consumer Reports’ published articles on refrigerator reliability and on complaints about Samsung refrigerators, read as search excerpts because its ratings are for members; on CPSC recall notices; and on the announcement of the LG settlement by the law firm that represented the class. The percentages are Consumer Reports’ own. We ran no tests or surveys of our own, and brands are named only where these sources name them.