Like so many, we were happy the buyers wanted our trusty kitchen refrigerator when we last moved. To avoid the expense of moving it, we also gave away the simple, white, hand-me-down, 20 plus year old garage fridge; even though it never once required a service call.

She spent time researching and shopping for a new one. With our move in date rapidly approaching, she placed the order. At the time it was highly rated in the category she was looking in. More importantly, she liked it… Now we both despise it along with Samsung, the company that made it.

We were recent empty nesters. The youngest was off to college and the oldest were recent grads chasing their dreams in NY and LA. They were raised to be self-reliant and other than holidays, we knew they had no plans of coming home so we traded the larger family sized home that we no longer needed or wanted, for a much smaller home with a big view on a little bass and duck lake that I often feature in photos. The house is small and simple so we didn’t need a fancy built-in. The Samsung refrigerator seemed like it would be fine. Why would you expect anything less?

It came with a 30 day, no questions asked return policy. I can count the number of things I’ve ever returned on one hand. I just don’t buy anything unless I plan to keep it. There’s a good story behind it but I’ll save it for another day.

Regardless, and without hesitation, the first one had a factory defect and went back in the same truck that delivered it. They took care of us; a new one was delivered and set up the following day.

Our little house has an open floor plan; as soon as you walk through the front door you’re greeted with a stunning lake view that always brings a smile along with a Margaritaville mindset. Unfortunately the ever changing whine spewing from the Samsung takes a bit away from the lake vibe.

The first day when the variable speed motor initially spooled up it was so noticeable we wondered if perhaps it was snacking on the food it was supposed to be protecting. Before that moment, I don’t remember ever hearing any of my refrigerators, I didn’t know it was a thing… It sounds much more like the pool pump in the last house that I was so looking forward to never hearing again… The good news for fridge salespeople and shoppers is Samsung built in a demo mode so the inside lights up but the compressor stays off so you’re never annoyed by the sound while shopping in a showroom...

We thought surely we’ll get used to it, it had such good reviews… We just need to turn on some music or the TV… It will be better after we hang the art or put down an area rug to cover part of the wood floor…

The open floor plan is designed so the kitchen shares a wall with the master bedroom. The first night sleeping with the Samsung on the other side of the wall was the first time I’ve ever jumped out of my skin from a sound sleep because of an appliance. When it dropped the first load of ice it was so loud within a second or two I was armed and dangerous because it sounded like someone crashed through the back door. Then it did it again a few seconds later and she screamed…

To be fair, it’s not quite midnight gunfight loud after it has some ice in it but here comes the real problem…. The ice maker has never worked right. Even after several service calls just zip, nothing but another failed fix. It constantly freezes over. You have to manually defrost it apparently like grandparents did back when defrosting was a routine thing. Did I mention it’s nearly impossible to remove the ice drawer without breaking it to defrost because it’s frozen solid?

Every month or so I have to get my Wagner heat gun out and defrost the ice maker. I reached out to the chief marketing officer at Samsung and suggested the Wagner heat gun kit should be a gift with purchase when you buy a Samsung refrigerator… While I had him on the phone I suggested he reach out to the design team to see if they will consider adding a hook on the next model to hang the heat gun on. Seriously, I use it much more than many of the small appliances she has stuffed away in the lower kitchen cabinets.

It seems the evaporator was jealous from all the attention the ice maker was getting so a couple of times a year the evaporator fan starts to thump like a trolling motor losing the summer fight with Lily pads or submerged timber, as it slashes against ice building up on the evaporator coils. This fix requires the interior rear panel to be removed. That means everything inside has to be removed… All food, shelves, and drawers. Lots of fun in the middle of a pandemic when you’re trying to be a responsible member of the herd… All the perishables get moved from the Samsung into the Yeti.

If you tackle this little project, keep in mind before you pull the interior rear panel, the door is connected to five fragile wires that are likely frozen to the door. Once you melt the ice, dry up the mess, solder a few wires, and reassemble it, if you’re really lucky it will run for a month or so before it’s time to repeat the process.

If you’re planning for the current or next pandemic, you should certainly avoid Samsung refrigerators as they are prone to failure and will cause you to make unnecessary trips to the market to replenish your food supply. During these times, I always like to end on a positive note.

So on the bright side, if you currently own a Samsung you have less free time to worry about the virus than your neighbor that’s keeping things cool with an old silent clunker that never breaks. Plus if you’re OCD, you may actually feel good about constantly taking the Samsung apart as it gives you a chance to disinfect the interior more than you would ever consider doing with an old silent fridge that you never think about. If that sounds appealing, consider the added benefit of purchasing a preowned one. If so, I know just the guy you should call...










Blue Moon

Hod an over the counter microwave. Three service calls the first week. Thankfully Best Buy has a great returns policy.

TLDR

I have one too. Press and hold the energy saver and power freeze buttons at exactly the same. If will say "Off" on the display and will thaw out the back while still keeping the contents of the fridge and freezer okay. I run mine like that about 10 hours once a week.

Same here. I researched extensively before buying. Our now 10 year old Samsung just last year started the back panel freezing. I You Tubed it and didn't like the idea of taking off the panel because of the wires and because I just always have problems reassembling things. I unplugged and emptied the entire top and let sit open for 24 hrs thinking that would work. Looked good so cleaned up the water, put everything back and plugged it in. 2 days later there was ice on the back panel again. Doesn't seem to affect the operation but it's annoying as hell. We'll live with it for now.

When it thaws, is there a big mess? I might try this. Thanks.

I have owned a samsung washer and dryer combo for 11 years still running strong......

LG's aren't any better.

The bottom under the trays will be full of water. I usually let it freeze, pull the trays out and pop out the big sheets of ice with a plastic spatula. It's easier than sopping it up in a towel.

I’m ready to set mine on fire

When we replaced EVERYTHING about six years ago we went with Frigidaire Professional.....double oven, microwave, dishwasher, stand-alone freezer, and stand-alone refrigerator.....ZERO issues thus far...

Did a lot of research on reliability and price comparison....

OP That is insane in this day in age.

Thanks for the heads up.

I just replaced every piece in my kitchen with Samsung along with washer and dryer. Only had the kitchen stuff about a year and the washer and dryer since December. Have had zero issue with any of them.

Give that fridge a little time. Mine had no issues at first too. Now it sounds like a raccoon is trapped inside of it.

Dang I hope not, I keep my top ice maker off anyway because I only use the bottom ice maker in the freezer. Maybe that will keep it from freezing up as much.

Cool beans...thanks for the info.

9 years on mine no problemo. the water filter is changed every 6 mo

Appliance INSTALLATION is regulated by TDLR.

Appliance service and roofing are unregulated and continue to be an untapped revenue stream for the state.

Have the gal in your avatar do the defrost work for you.

All kidding aside, I own a lot of Samsung gear and do not have many problems with them.

Look on TFF as the same thread is over there. That is if your degenerate self still has access over there lol

I figure most have 10 years of life with ice maker until it is a garage beer fridge. Kitchen Aid is pretty good.

I have a Kenmore with many of the same symptoms; just not as acute. The fans are the same cheap crap as used by rack mount servers. They ice up. The service guy told me I need to defrost once a year. Definitely time to look at the professional line of fridges

I share your disdain for all things Samsung.

Back in 2005, shortly after my divorce, I lucked into huge retention bonus. After paying off the CCs and divorce lawyer, and stashing a sizable chunk in the retirement fund, I made one extravagant purchase...a big screen PLASMA TV (which was about $4K at the time). Like the OP's wife, I researched the purchase for almost a month, before deciding on a Samsung.

WOW, the picture was amazing, the sound was great, and it could double as a space heater in the winter time. I moved it four times. It still functioned flawlessly after 8 years. When we bought our current home, we had a massive living room, so we decided to upgrade to a larger TV...we bought Samsung without thinking twice. The wall filling set was delivered and installed the next day.

WHAT A MASSIVE MISTAKE!

It died within 3 days.

Called the retailer (which has a 30 no-questions return policy) to come get the set and bring another...they refuse, because the set has In-home warranty...yea right, if you wait two weeks for the guy to come out. When he finally shows, he spends less than 5 min (never opens the set up) and declares the main board must be replaced...of course he does have one. "I'll be back next week with a part". After another 10 days of calling daily asking when the tech will be back, we are told there were no repair parts available or being made for that set, and that was it...the home service contractor considered the issue closed. Turns out the "current model" set that we purchased produced under contract, in a single batch, and there were NEVER any replacement parts or a plan for replacement parts.

It took almost another month of calls and certified letters to the retailer and to Samsung to get the set, which had worked for less than three days, replaced. This was the most infuriating retail experience of my life.

ALL, & I repeat, ALL brands of french door fridges w/the freezer on bottom, w/the ice maker in the fridge area will do this. ALL of them will as it's a poor design. No getting around it, currently. I've owned 3 different brands, w/a total of 20+ service calls on them, so I speak from experience. The fridge repair guys said ALL brands do it. We finally said F it & went back to fridge on the right, freezer on the left style.