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GE Refrigerators

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Quite a few things can go wrong with GE refrigerators and, as the complaints in this section show, getting problems fixed is anything but easy.

• Fires caused by electrical problems
• Water damage caused by the icemaker
• Rust & debris in the icemaker
• Cooling problems

A few recent complaints ...

Ricky of Milton, TN September 25, 2009

I purchased a GE Profile refrigerator on July 20, 2006 from Lowe's Home Center in Murfreesboro, TN. We paid 1962.63 for it. We purchased a one year extended warranty contract for an additional 67.12 that expired on 7/26/2008. One year later we noticed the temperature was slowing rising on the freezer. I felt the outside of the box and it was exteremely hot, prompting me to turn it off so as not to burn my house down. I initially thought it would be some kind of cooling issue with the unit.

After talking MANY times to GE as well as Lowes, I came to the conclusion that they were unwilling to give me any concessions on having it fixed. After the third day of not having use of my refrigerator, I began making calls to service companys trying to determine what might be wrong with the unit. I finally narrowed it down to a bad condenser fan or a bad ASM main control board. It turned out to be the latter, which cost me 273.22.

I called the Manager at the Lowes store to let him know what it ended up being and he graciously offered to split the cost of the repair. I then called GE Consumer Relations (joke) to let them know and find out if they would do anything further since this unit is only THREE years old. They took my complaint and said there would not be any further follow-up. I am extemely displeased with this type of customer service as well as how they do not ,first of all, build a product that's reliable and then do not back up their product.

Also, trying to get warranty work done was a complete joke. I was told there was not factory service technicians within 50 miles of my house or in the Nashville, TN area for that matter. I also just found out from the service man that a small plastic piece, approximately 2 inches long that helps keep the door closed, that broke off one of the doors several months ago for no apparent reason cannot be replaced. The entire door has to be replaced at the cost of 600.

Again, more proof of a cheaply made, inferior product that costs a lot of money. We will not be buying anymore GE products with this kind of customer service/care. GE does not have any concern for the customer, only making the sale. Loss of use for 3 days and 273.22 for the repair minus 136.61 from Lowes for a total of 136.61. This does not include the 600 door that will have to be replaced if I decide to do that.

Nancy of Surrey, BC September 25, 2009

Food in our fridge started freezing at the end of August. Our frdge was purchased in May 08 with absolutely no problems until August. I called Sears service to have a technician come and repair it. We have now had 3 different techs in and the fridge is still reading 30 degrees and food is still freezing. The tempature panel reads 40 deg for the fridge and 6 degrees for the freezer. We put our own thermometer in the fridge and it reads 30 degrees.

Everytime I call the service number I have to go through the same old BS as to what the problem is and then I'm told that it will be 2 weeks before they can come and I have said that is not good enough and so then I get put on a priority call list. The other day I had to call Sears to find out what day the tech was supposed to be coming. VERY FRUSTRATING!!

The customer service side of things have really gone down hill. I left work yesterday to be home between 11 & 1 for him to came and replace another part. Isn't it 3 times the charm and all should be working - well not in this case. And why can't the same service person come back after the first call, why do we get 3 different ones. We have decided not to purchase appliances from Sears again but after reading all of the GE complaints I don't think I will by a GE product again. GE should get there act together or they may find themselves out of business, people talk and if they are having problems with something they will not recommend that product to their friends.

Ray of Ellenton, FL September 24, 2009

We bought a new home in June 2006 that had all GE appliances in it. Since then the range has already ceased baking and had to have the bottom element replaced. The refrigerator is a 23 cu ft side by side with digital controls on the front. As many others have complained, things freeze in the back of the box and produce doesn't keep well at all. When adjusting the temperature controls, they seem to get off without touching them. You take ice cream out and can barely scoop it only to find the temp is now like -5 degrees instead of zero.

The ice maker has ice cubes and crushed ice on the buttons, but the refrigerator gives you mostly whole ice cubes when you press crushed. I have checked the ice maker device that is supposed to crush the ice, and it is intact, so it is a design defect. We have had other refrigerators like Westinghouse, Whirlpool, Frigidaire, and Amana and all have worked without any problems whatsoever. the water delivery tube also barely delivers a trickle of water. We have changed the filter regularly, but it has been this way almost since we first starting using the refrigerator. I will NEVER buy another GE appliance. they are junk!

Nancy of Monee, IL September 24, 2009

I have owned this appliance for 2 years 10 months and the circuit board fried on it yesterday for no apparent reason. This is just the topping on the cake as far as performance goes for this machine. The first month I had the thing a piece broke off of the Ice Maker - hard to tell what it did or what its function was, but I think it had to do with the definition of individual ice cubes, because the ice comes out in one big chunk now. The next thing that broke was the crisper drawer holder. The drawer now sits cock-eyed because there is nothing to hold the drawer in place - so much for fresh and crisp. The third thing that popped off and hit me in the head was the door latch that insures the fridge door stays closed (that was about a month ago) and lastly the door handle is loose and there is no apparent way to fix it. Of course, at this point the only thing that is warrantied is the compressor and cooling parts, but the compressor and cooling do not work without the main circuit board - go figure. The only thing that functions at this time is the light bulb inside the fridge. This is the most expensive piece of junk I have ever purchased. The Microwave is another issue. I tried to change the light bulb and it blew out the circuit board for the fan and light. The repair man said it would be cheaper to purchase a whole new unit than replace parts. I bought the Microwave around the same time as the stove and fridge. I am just waiting for the mother board on the stove to go. That would make it 3 in 3. When I talked to the repair man this morning he said he had replaced 3 of these circuit boards in the past week. So if that is not an indication as to negligence (or is the proper term Ineptness) on GE's part, I do not know what is.

Gary of Kansas City, MO September 24, 2009

july 4th i noticed that my ge refrigerator was no longer working. nothing was cold. i called the ge repair help line the next day. they could not send anyone until july 7th tuesday. in the mean time i lost over 500.00 in food. this was the 3rd time that i had called ge for repairs on the refrigerator. the refrigerator is only 7 years old. i too had made 4 repairs, so every year there has been a repair of some type on the refrigerator. the gentleman came out and fixed the refrigerator. 50.00 an hour for his service, 107.00 for the part and 93.00 for three water filters that i purchased through the repair man. i decided to send an email to ge to explain all of this and to let them know that i have been having problems with the refrigerator ever since i purchased it. a representative called me about a week later. she said that they would reimburse the amount for the parts but not his service. i was fine with that. i asked how much. she said 200.00. the total of his service with the patrt and water filters was a little over 300.00. about two weeks later i get a check in the mail for 107.00. i called ge immediately to ask why. i was told 200.00. they said the 107.00 is for the part. the other 93.00 was for the water filters. i did receive the water filters but never opened the box. i asked her may i return the water filters. she checked with her supervisor and said as long as i have not had them for over 30 days, i could. she set it up for fedex to call me to come out and pick up the box and a check would arrive soon for 93.00. three weeks later neither showed up. i called ge back. they said that my case was closed that they sent the 107.00 and that was all i would get. i asked to speak to someone else.

they transferred me to another help desk. the lady(rochelle) there was very nice and i explained the whole situation. she said that she could process the refund for me that first fedex has to pick up the box. she went ahead to set it up. she said that someone from fedex would call me in 10 business days if not to call her back. three weeks later again nothing. i called back on sep.22nd and spoke to a very rude lady that said to stop calling because ge was not going to do any thing further. this case was closed. i asked to speak to her supervisor. the supervisor said the same thing. she said we cannot refund something that you did not pay for. i said what are you talking about. i did pay for the water filters in full. i asked to speak to her manager. a gentleman called on the same day. i had to explain everything all over again. how i have been told several times that i would get a refund of 93.00 for the water filters and fedex would come out to pick up the box but neither has happened. i told him i was getting two different stories. i am being told i would get a refund and then ge reneges on their promises. this has been going on since around july 13th. nothing has been resolved. the manager said he would call me back he wanted to do research. as of today i have not heard back from him.

Deborah of Greenville, NY September 23, 2009

I purchased a GE Profileâ„¢ Counter-Depth 20.9 Cu. Ft. French Door Bottom-Freezer Refrigerator Model #PFIC1NFWB in October 2008. Since that time the temperature has fluctuated well beyond normal range. The compressor runs on and on for days at a time and anything put towards the back of the refrigerator freezes. I called for service around June, explained the problem and they sent someone out that week. He ordered some parts and the following week another serviceman came to install them.

He explained to me that the fluctuation in temperature was normal and because I was blocking an air vent on the top shelf, the compressor was running on. He said to keep nothing in front of the vent and it would be fine. As far as food freezing in the back of the refrigerator, he said that was normal as well. He advised that I keep nothing in the back. So basically, nothing was fixed.

I have called again today, September 23 because I was really tired of food freezing in the refrigerator. This week alone, I threw out sour cream, applesauce, lettuce, oranges, carrots and frozen jello. I explained all of this to customer service and even held the phone up to the unit so she could hear the noises that the unit makes. She claimed she heard nothing. Well, you can hear the noise it makes from my upstairs bedroom! She also told me that the freezing was normal, the food should be kept in the front half of the shelves and it wasn't their responsibility--it was the responsibility of the appliance store salesman to explain all of this to me.

I purchased the unit from a reputable kitchen cabinet company and the unit came from PC Richards. So basically, I am stuck with an appliance that sounds like a plane getting ready to tale off on a runway and half the capacity to store food. Frozen food that needed to be thrown out, less than half the usable space then I expected due to the freezing and keeping anything away from the air vent, and noise when the compressor kicks in for hours at a time is most annoying and loud.

Rick of Johnstown, OH September 22, 2009

I have a 14 month old regrigerator that has not been working right for the past 6 months. GE told me that they could only work on it on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and could only guarantee the service tech to arrive between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. They refused to lock it down to morning or afternoon. When I asked them to have the tech call me and let me know what his schedule looked like they told me that this was not possible, because I jsut dont understand. Consequently, I had to take the whole day off work (300) pay. He did not show up until 4:55 p.m. which meant that I would not have had to take any time off work at all. Two days later it was still frosting over and I called them again. They gave me the same story; Nothing we can do. We can only promise he will be there between 8 and 5. They were not willing to contact the service tech and have him call me and told me that I did not understand their process. No explanation could be provided, so I assume they dont know their own process. It is now 3:20 and I have not heard from them yet today. I have however taken the whole day off work and would not have had to do so, again. It has now cost me 600 in time off that would not have been at all necessary. Simply because GE does not understand customer service. They are willing to scarifice the convenience of their customers to that of their service techs. I will never buy another GE appliance for as long as I live, and I will never call them again. In todays economy, it is hard to believe that they are in such high demand that they dont give a damn about their customers. Well, I dont give a damn about GE any more either. Please spread the word about them. They dont deserve good customers.

Deb of Enterprise, AL September 22, 2009

Within 1 week after the 1 year warranty expired on our GE icemaker (GE side by side) the icemaker stopped producing ice. The ice bucket was over filled so I turned it off momentarily to dump ice. It never worked right after that. The plastic forks that push the ice over were bent and lodged under the part that holds the cubes when being made. The repairman was able to bend them back and thought it might work for awhile that way. The 65 service call got it to work for about 5 minutes. Water poured all over inside the freezer and I never had any more ice because water froze all over the parts. I thought for sure there'd be a recall on it.

elizabeth of myrtle beach, SC September 21, 2009

We bought our house in 2006, it came complete with all GE appliances. All of them have been fine, so far, except the refridgerator. The fridge never worked from the day we moved in, we called and someone came out about 3 different times before GE finally replaced it with a brand new one of the same model. The new one was brought in about November of 2006. Since then I have made several calls and several repairs, still something else goes wrong. A few days ago it stopped cooling and all my food is spoiled, the water and ice never worked since day one!! GE refridgerators suck, they are a waste of money and GE is NOT an ethically responsible company, otherwise they would replace all of these broken refridges with new ones(that actually work). I am so angry this has been the biggest waste of time and money! I have called and talked to a rep. today and he is sending out a tech at no cost, well i sure do hope they fix it for no cost too because i'm not spending anymore money on this fridge, i've lost enough money in spoiled food!

Nancy of La Quinta, CA September 21, 2009

On June 27, 2009, my GE Monogram refrigerator stopped cooling. Since then, I have had approximately 15 visits to my home by at least 6 different technicians, one of which was the lead technician. During this time, I have had 2 compressors, 2 evaporators, 2 Icing Units, all the copper tubing and the main system board replaced. Each time a part is replaced (with the exception of the 1st evaporator that didn't work at all after 4 hours spent installing it), the fridge worked for a few days to just over a week.

It has been been just over a week since the last part was replaced and the fridge again is showing the same symptoms; it cools for several hours, then stops cooling for several hours, and is impossible to know when it might be cooling or not. The technician scheduled to come today, came during a time that the fridge was cooling. When he called the engineers for instructions, as they always do, he was told to do nothing since it happened to be working now. They suggested I call Customer relations, who I have been less than successful with in the many calls I have made to them so far. The tech left.

I did call Customer Relations and was told the same thing. Even after going on 3 months now, GE does not seem to see the urgency in getting my refrigerator fixed or replaced. I now have to wait likely 2 weeks to get their lead tech to come out again to look at it. This tech only works 1 day a week and I am unfortunately not available that day this week.

In addition, techs carry no parts. When a part is needed they are ordered and shipped ground and new appointments are scheduled for no sooner than 1 week later. I have been somewhat successful in getting some parts shipped overnight, but they will not schedule appointments until the parts arrive, so 1-2 days is the minimum wait in these cases. The quality of the packaging is horrendous. I have pictures of several parts as they arrived at my home. The worst being the 1st evaporator that never worked after the 4 hour install. The part arrived wrapped in a single layer of bubble wrap inside a box 3 times the size of the part with no additional packing to protect it. The box it was in was smashed in by a second box with other parts strapped to it.

Finally, Customer Relations is generally useless, but also the only place anyone will tell you to go for help. I have been rude to, hung up on and refused escalation to supervisor or manager. I have been told on numerous occasions when asked to speak to someone with more authority that there is no one with more authority and that the person I was speaking with was the manager - it seems they are all the manager with no supervision. It find it ridiculous that all this is OK with GE especially leaving me without my appliance for this long.

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