Another budget buster- replacing 4yo GE fridge!

[DisneyAndRedSox]

I just had a repairman at my house for nearly 2 hours and he can't figure out why our freezer door keeps popping open. It is GE side-by-side, will be 5 years old in August and when you shut the fridge side, it pops the freezer open. It also won't shut on it's own and when you push it shut it eventually pops open after a few minutes. Worst part is it only pops a little, just enough that the alarm won't go off. He tried fixing the tilt. He checked the gasket. The cam is fine. Put vaseline on the seal. NOTHING IS WORKING! He told us don't expect things to last more than 3-6 years now! WTH! My Mom's last fridge lasted about 25 years and was still working when they replaced it! I can't live with electrical tape keeping it shut. The only assumption is the box got a little warped.

Thank you for letting me have my pitty party. I have someone coming to the house tonight to give us an estimate on a patio outside of my basement/under the deck, guess that is going on hold!

 

[kirstenb1]

Our GE fridge went out after only a few years too. It's been 7 yrs, so I can't remember exactly what it was. Then, as recommended in Consumer Reports, we got a Whirlpool Gold, also side by side. After 2 years, there was a thing that looks like a circuit board that fried out on that one. We replaced that board, and knock on wood, we've been fine for the last 3 years.

 

[Arielle22]

My sister has a similar problem but hers it a standard, freezer on top. She got a baby guard for the freezer. It is a pain to have to press it to open but it solved her problem.

 

[thebeesknees]

Ugh - we are having the same problem. I'm getting tired of having the packing tape up there holding it closed!

 

[DisneyAndRedSox]

Oops, it is 5 years, 10 months old

LOL, right now we are using electrical tape so I don't loose the food in it (already lost all my ice cream- nothing ticks me off more than having no Edy's in the house-lol), DH is researching baby guards so we have a better temp solution! He just keeps mumbling "I can't believe something so simple can't be fixed..."

 

[C.Ann]

Ouch! That's not very long for a fridge to last..

I have a Gibson - purchased in 1993 - was moved from my old home to my place here at the lake in 2006 - and it still runs great.. Prior to that I had a fridge here at the lake that was over 20 years old!! It was still working when I got rid of it.. Just replaced it with the Gibson because we had moved in with my DD and her family prior to the sale of my home and wanted the "newer" fridge up here since I knew I would be living here at the lake for most of the year (all but the coldest winter months) after my DH passed away..

Call me cynical, but I think they intentionally make things with a shorter life span now so that consumers have to replace them more often..

Hope the situation works out for you somehow..

 

[mrodgers]

We moved into our 1968 home in 2000. It had all original appliances except for the stove. Washing machine was from 1968 (had the manual) and the fridge didn't have a handle. It had a foot pedal you pressed to open it. No seperate freezer, it was an icebox inside the fridge. We opened it up to put our gallon of milk in it and it wouldn't fit. We had to buy milk in half gallons.

So, the washing machine was 32 years old. It worked perfectly fine other than using 26 gallons of water per cycle (again, per the manual.) Though it worked fine, my wife grew up with well problems, thus we bought a front loader which used less than 4 gallons. We are on our 2nd washer in 10 years, though we did just replace it so got 9 years out of the first one (bought it after being in the house 1 year.)

The repair man was right. Don't expect it to last like they use to.

 

[crjack]

I can absolutely relate. We had to replace our 5 yr old GE Monogram fridge last year because the repair costs were just too high and they weren't confident that the problem would be fixed anyway.

I knew exactly when we bought it because it was when we remodeled our kitchen. At that time, we replaced (gave away to a family member) our 15 yr old fridge that was still working fine!

I found it to be soooo frustrating, along with expensive. To make matters worse, we had cabinets built around our fridge and the GE's are all a little wider but shorter for the same cubic feet from many other models we looked at so unless we wanted to modify our cabinets we had to get another GE.

IMO nothing is made to last anymore and everyone is using cheap parts that are manufactured overseas with very little quality control. I went with a much less expensive model this time with the mindset that it won't last very long anyway....sad that we now consider appliances a few years old to be so disposable.

 

[adisneymama]

I'm right there with you. Our 4 yr old Kenmore fridge with the freezer on the bottom is driving us crazy! It keeps building up ice on the bottom of the freezer and then starts draining water all over the floor. I have no idea what it could be. DH has looked at all of the lines and they are clear, no clogs. I don't want to call a repairman as I know it will end up being more than I want to pay. I can't believe a 4 yr old fridge is already having problems. So I will continue to dry up the water and dh continues to break the ice up out of the freezer until the thing completely dies.

 

[C.Ann]

IMO nothing is made to last anymore and everyone is using cheap parts that are manufactured overseas with very little quality control. I went with a much less expensive model this time with the mindset that it won't last very long anyway....sad that we now consider appliances a few years old to be so disposable.

When and if the time comes that I need to replace my Gibson, I'm right there with you.. I will be looking for a very basic, inexpensive model - with the thought in mind that it's not going to last..

 

[adisneymama]

I have this mindset too...with everything we buy. Even expensive computers are not made to last more than a few years. Another reason why I buy refurbished models when possible on electronics etc. (LIke my dd's ipod touch!)

 

[seashoreCM]

It keeps building up ice on the bottom of the freezer and then starts draining water all over the floor. I have no idea what it could be. DH has looked at all of the lines and they are clear, no clogs. :

Don't forget, ice buildup in a refrigerator or freezer is condensation from the atmosphere. The more humid a climate you live in and the more the door is opened, the more ice buildup will occur.

Check the gasket around the door. If that is worn, air will migrate in and out of the freezer compartment and carry in more humidity to condense.

Can you easily reach and feel the surface where the ice builds up? Is there a pan (or supposed to be a pan) that catches water draining out when the automatic defrost mechanism kicks in?

... can't figure out why our freezer door keeps popping open. It is GE side-by-side, will be 5 years old in August and when you shut the fridge side, it pops the freezer open. It also won't shut on it's own and when you push it shut it eventually pops open after a few minutes.

Do the doors appear to be stiff? If you closed the freezer door and left the main door ajar, does the freezer door still pop open? If you closed the main door and left the freezer door ajar, does the main door still pop open? Are there loose pieces of trim inside that hit each other and keep the door from closing properly? Do you have small children one of whom may have hung on the door causing warping of something?

 

[fakereadhed]

My sister has a similar problem but hers it a standard, freezer on top. She got a baby guard for the freezer. It is a pain to have to press it to open but it solved her problem.

We have a new fridge now, but used that trick with the old one. If it's white, the white stick-on strap with a white buckle hardly shows! Nice easy fix- about 3.99 at Target in the baby section.

 

[riley2008]

My mother had the same problem. She got hers about 5 years ago, maybe a bit longer. Over Christmas holiday the third repairman replaced the magnetic gasket. The gasket looked like it still worked okay, but once that was replaced, voila! Finally, no more trashcan in front of the freezer!

HTH

 

[connie1042]

I hate my GE fridge. It is about 4 years old. I had the repair man out 3 times before they fixed it, in May. We live in MN. The week it broke it was cold out after some really warm weather. So we brought all the plants on the deck inside and put all the food outside.. It was really kinda funny. We have insurance , so it does not cost us anything to have them repaired. I just took out the insurance to replace things as they break.

 

[DisneyAndRedSox]

My mother had the same problem. She got hers about 5 years ago, maybe a bit longer. Over Christmas holiday the third repairman replaced the magnetic gasket. The gasket looked like it still worked okay, but once that was replaced, voila! Finally, no more trashcan in front of the freezer!

HTH

Eventhough the guy said the gasket was ok, we ordered one online and are going to try it. For $67 bucks it is worth a try!

After he ordered the replacement part, DH found our exact problem on GE's website. Problem is you shut the fridge side and the freezer pops open, but you barely notice and the alarm won't go off. Also, when you shut the freezer it doesn't grab on it's own anymore, you actually have to push it shut. GE website said to take of the gasket and soak it in a water/baking soda solution. Going to try that tomorrow.