05/27/2026
"My Fridge and Freezer are not working at all!"
or,
"All of my groceries went bad while I was out of town on vacation!"
or,
"The freezer quit yesterday, and the fridge doesn't seem to be cooling well now either!
LG, Samsung, Hisense, Danby, Haier, are the brands of refrigerators and fridges that fill up my service request inbox like no other from early May to late October. They usually completely fail within hours with no advanced warning. Canadian summer heat is harsh on these machines.
They are impressive machines... Shiny, lots of options, they are reasonably priced to buy, and will always need at least 1 compressor and complete sealed system rebuild every 2-5 years.
Clients tell me, "I took the interior panel off to look at fan, but no freezing is happening with the evaporator. I vacuumed and cleaned out condenser area, it's all clean. Unplugged and let it sit for more than 24 hours, plugged it back in... still nothing... Help!"
And here is the part that gets my clients so angry. I tell them bluntly, "This is normal with these build designs of refrigerators."
"Normal??? - What!!!", they sputter, "I spent $1500-$5000 for this thing. It's top of the line! I saved up for a long time for this machine!!"
Usually, I have a dozen people minimum call me a week on these fridges. But people keep buying them for some reason.
It's actually best to call the manufacturer directly. They have a 1-10 plus year warranty on their fridges. Just give them a call, and they will fix it for free. The manufacturer usually has a few technicians based out of Calgary or Edmonton who is paid by the manufacture to do the work for free to the client.
"Well I tried to call them, but they can't come to assess it for 2-4 weeks, What do I do?
It's best to get prepared to have another way to keep your food cold, even if it's just a couple of coolers in the backyard.
These units usually need to have the compressor replaced and the cooling system rebuilt. You need someone who is set up to do sealed system work. Usually costs $750-$2500+ outside of warranty for these types of repairs. And people rarely fix them outside of warranty.
I actually do not recommend repairing these units outside of warranty due to engineering issues and several US and CAN lawsuits on them. Especially since the repairs that are done typically have an 80% repair failure rate within 6 - 36 months. Additionally, the manufacture typically only warranties the parts for 90 days.
I don't have a brand preference, but... Try something that is designed and built in the USA or Europe. They rarely have compressor issues.
Try buying the refrigerator from a dealer that has the service technicians to do the warranty work when it breaks. Most appliance retailers do not have any appliance service technicians. They cannot afford to pay for the manufacturer or consumer appliance liabilities. And if they do, it is a cost of doing business.
Otherwise, just buy a new unit every time it breaks. Reasonably priced items are built cheap, and perhaps your not really buying them, ... You are just "renting" them before they get crushed and recycled once its out of warranty anyways...