Both my daughter and I have the LG 22 cu ft. french door fridges. Mine is almost 2 years old and had a problem just recently which was easily repaired. My daughter had the same one as mine originally, had a big problem with it, but LG replaced it with this year's model. They both work well; they do both have just the water on the door. The ice dispenser inside does sometimes lead to what we call 'the automatic ice dispenser' - however, the dogs benefit from those :->. It's a great fridge.

We are also at the appliance-pick stage in our remodel...so I know what you're going through!

Another site to check about who owns who & makes what:

http://www.applianceadvisor.com/brandadvisor.htm

Also, Consumer Reports has the following to say about reliability of refrigerators:

Bottom-Freezer with Icemaker
..Most reliable: Amana, Kenmore (Sears)
..Most repair-prone (by a lot): Sub-Zero (built-in)

Bottom-Freezer without Icemaker...all about the same, but in order of best-to-worst: Kenmore (Sears), Amana, GE

LG is not included because they lack sufficient data.
++++++++++++++++++++
As to "Quick Picks" & Recommendations:

Small (30"):
..Kenmore (Sears) 7500[2] CR Best Buy
..Amana ABB1921DE[W] CR Best Buy

Midsize (33"):
..LG LFD22860[SW]
..Amana ABB2221FE[W]
..GE Profile PFS22MIS[WW]

Large (36" or wider):
..Maytag Ice2O MFI2568AE[W]
..Maytag MFC2061HE[W]
..Amana AFD2535DE[W] CR Best Buy

The August 2007 Consumer Reports has a whole kitchen issue... I think the July 2007 had refrigerator ratings. If you go online at consumerreports.org you may be able to get more details...but you may have to be an online subscriber for some things.

Good luck!

Oofasis: have you had trouble with your ice maker on the Kenmore Elite? We have the same one and whatever mechanism is supposed to stop it from making ice when the container is full doesn't seem to work. It has the standard metallic arm, but it doesn't have any effect. The result is that, if I forget to turn off the ice maker, whenever I pull out the drawer with the ice holder, ice cubes pour into the space behind the drawer and I can't close the freezer without reaching back and removing them. I generally like the thing and I am rarely home during the day to take a service call, so I have tolerated it and chalked it up to poor design. I would probably even recommend it, especially if someone tells me how I can easily fix it myself.

Jeri,
I LOVED that finish on the LG. You could just tell looking down the row that it looked cleaner!
wulingren, Consumer Reports says built ins have more repair issues acdg to what I just saw.
Is the complaint about LG about the service or the way they build? Just wondering since the Kenmore I liked today is made by LG.
Thanks,
Melanie J

Hi all,

"Amana makes FD refrigerators for Maytag, KitchenAid, Dacor, Viking and Jenn Air." True! Where did I get this? From a reliable applicance dealer who visited the Amana factory and saw them slapping on the different labels and configurations for the different brands.
Amana still makes Viking, and being a former teacher/chef for Viking, I can say without hestitation that I would not buy their fridge. I cooked in a demo kitchen and we had soooo many problems (with their ovens too.)

I think that LG makes the GE french door, but I need comfirmation on that as I have only heard that once. GE is backed up by their repair history, not LGs though.

As for is the counter depth/built is better than a standard depth fridge, several applicance people say no. Counter depth is a premium. I want the full-sized 25.1 cu ft fridge which we are going to recess into the studs so that it is flush with the counters.

We are looking at the GE profile 25 cu ft SS fridge at standard depth. I really like the bottom freezer basket configuration and I looked at all the other models. I do freeze stock in bags and berries on cookie sheets. The GE profile is the only one that had a flat basket that is full width. For my uses that is important. But for others, they may not care. I am only looking at bottom freezer, not side by side though. I know people are really happy with the Samsung side by side, but it is too narrow for how I used my fridge and freezer.

I am not interested in water or ice in the door so that is also a consideration.

Love to hear all the feedback on people's choices!

"Amana makes FD refrigerators for Maytag, KitchenAid, Dacor, Viking and Jenn Air." True!

Yup, I've had this confirmed by several appliance dealers.

"I think that LG makes the GE french door, but I need comfirmation on that as I have only heard that once."

Interesting. I had one appliance dealer tell me Maytag etc. made the GE. Yesterday a knowledgeable-sounding appliance dealer told me that GE made it themselves, in a factory in Mexico.

"We are looking at the GE profile 25 cu ft SS fridge at standard depth. I really like the bottom freezer basket configuration and I looked at all the other models."

I just ordered the GE FD CD fridge; see my other post. It was the quality and configuration of the shelves and drawers, especially in the freezer, that pushed me over the edge. My other choice, the Jenn-Air floating glass, is drop-dead gorgeous but the inside quality just seemed so lousy. I'm crossing my fingers the GE works out well. I'm still reeling from the obscene cost of these things, but unfortunately my kitchen configuration really limits me.

BTW, my other choices until I decided they were just a bit TOO small were the Samsung and the Fisher and Paykel. Neither came in a french door, but they were cabinet depth. Samsung got the highest marks in the Powers consumer satisfaction index. The Fisher and Paykel appearled to be really high quality, but I was worried about the slightly smaller size and whether or not parts and service would be as widely available as in the more well-known brands.

One nice thing about this forum is that I see other people obsessing as much as I am about these choices!

Interesting topic! I usually don't post, but I sell appliances part time (my night job) and find it fun to try and keep up with all the different families:

I don't think LG makes the GE french door (although no joint venture would surprise me these days), but LG does make the Kenmore Trio. The link globewalker posted is excellent. Notice the Kenmore conversion chart. Everyone makes Kenmore.

More on topic, all the manufacturers have bad customer service sometimes. LG is trying really hard to address their issues. They make a good product. GE is making a little more effort this year to come into the french door market. MUCH better than last year's attempt. Now if they would just add ice. Maytag is hanging in there with the ICE2O, but most of their products are starting to take on a distinctive Whirlpool look. I predict we'll see a change next year. Samsung is becoming another big contender and is marketing some very unique products. They just haven't been popular enough for long enough to establish good reliability stats. Gota love their re-configurable 4 door frig though.

Doug M.

Against our best judgment (because of all the service problems I've read about), we purchased a SS LG French Door refrigerator in Nov of '06 thinking our experience would be different. Until recently the only issue we've had is that the crisper drawer sliders seem to be fragile. We've had one of the ball bearings on the larger lower drawers break off for no apparent reason and all the drawers seem to come off track way too easy. That changed when last month we experienced an error on the control panel that forced me to call for warranty service...what a nightmare!

It was actually very easy to get to a person at the 800 number and they supplied me with 2 service companies in my area to do the work, so far so good. The next morning I contacted the service companies and found that even though both were close to our home, they both refused to work on the appliance saying we were not located in their service area (one is less than 10 miles away and the other about 15)? I called LG back and was told that they were my only options and that they would contact them for me. I'm not sure what they discussed, but when I talked to LG again they requested that I go through the phonebook, find someone to service the unit, setup an appointment, and call them back with the company's info. They would them setup an account and issue payment to the service company? I still find it hard to believe that they asked me to do that for a warranty repair and assume that there is more to the story.

Now we are now over a day without a functional refrigerator and I started calling around, but I still couldn't find anyone to work on it. At this point, I contact the place where we purchased the refrigerator (Home Depot) and explained the situation. Several of the salesman talked of similar problems and they supplied me the name of a company that should be able to work on it. I contacted them and it sounded good until I told them that LG would be paying their bill, at which point they refused service because of past problems with getting paid by LG. Even though this was a warranty issue, I then offered to pay them myself and they finally consented to sending out a tech the next day. The technical arrived late in the day and after one look at the machine informed me that he didn't have a service manual on this unit and would have to come back later. I then called LG back and tried to go up the chain, but dead-ended and was given no additional options for repairs. They actually told me they didn't know what to suggest?

The next morning I contacted the manager at Home Depot and started the process of trying to see what it would take to get our my money back on this thing. A couple hours later, I get a call out of the blue from a LG tech saying he's 15 minutes from the house? At this point I drop everything and drive back to the house only to find a LG van in our driveway. They've sent out a LG TV repairman to work on our refrigerator! The good thing is that he found the trouble within 30 minutes (a seized fan motor in the back of the freezer compartment) and just happens to have that part in his truck (he told me it was ordered for another customer's refrigerator that he worked on recently and gave us their part). On a side note, I wonder if this is an ongoing problem?

Bottom line...the unit is back and working again but I have absolutely no confidence that the next time our expensive refrigerator has a problem we'll be able to find anyone to work on it.

Follow up to the story, Home Depot has finally come through. It's been over a month since the initial problem and I finally got a call from the store manager telling me that if I can get the refrigerator back to their store, they will credit my account for the price I paid. Not sure if that means I need to purchase the replacement from them, but I'll talk to him in person tomorrow. I assume that if we purchase the replacement from them, I can get them to pick it up. I can confidently say that we will never again purchase another LG appliance and it looks like we're right back to where we started, looking at options for french door refrigerators. Too bad, it seemed like LG had something good going on with this model but without service I'm not interested. I guess I'll just keep reading through the forum, anybody got any new opinions?

I ordered the Jenn-Air CD FD. Preferred the freezer in the GE Profile, but their deli drawer was much more shallow than the Jenn-Air's (9" front to back vs 14") - and I cannot for the life of me figure out why. Since I need more fridge drawer space than GE provided, that was it. If GE had had sufficient drawer space, it would have been hands-down.

I am glad to hear the positive feedback from the Jenn-Air owners.

I have only had mine for two months, but so far I am very happy with it. We got the Jenn-Air FD reg depth and recessed the wall. I LOVE the deli drawer. I bought the large flat of eggs at BJ"s last week and it fits quite nicely in the deli drawer.

After much study and pulling my hair out after learning that we don't have as much choice as we think we do - three major manufacturers who just rebadge for others, Viking included - I am going with the Samsung. It has gotten pretty good reviews and with a dual processor like SubZero is said to keep food better. We are getting the standard depth and having it recessed. I just couldn't see spending more for less space. Fingers crossed that we have made the best decision for us.

I was torn between the Samsung and Jenn-air. I only went with the jenn-air because I got the pro-handles. We recessed as I said above in my post and it looks great. Let us know how you like the Samsung. I LOVE my Jenn-air.

i was wondering how you recess the wall to make a reg depth fridge fit as a counter depth fridge. the wall behind my fridge is a bearing wall.any suggestions? thanks john

Ours is recessed, but we did it by moving the wall behind it back. What is behind where your fridge is going? Ours backs up to our desk area, so it was easy to do. One thing you can do is frame out the area behind the fridge as if it was a door with a header and the fridge will fit into that area.

thanks for the reply alexamd,
so i would have to remove the sill plate(bottom 2x4) also? just as you would for a doorway? behind my fridge is a bearing wall then the garage. but the floor is lower by 16" or so in the garage.you walk out the kitchen door to the garage and go down 2 steps.thanks and sorry for stealing the thread.
john

Skioval, If you are still around, do you still like your GE FD fridge? I really want a FD CD and the GE is laid out the best for me. I don't see many positive reviews for fridges around here. I really like the freezer drawer and interior layout of this fridge. Have you had any concerns? Thanks

My GE CD FD is now 6 months old--no water, no ice. I really like it, and find I throuw out less food because I can see what's in there. I'd like a larger produce bin, but find that some of it can go in the deli drawer or on the shelves,so its not really a problem. It's VERY quiet & my electric bill has gone down!

The only difference between an Amana, KitchenAid, Whirlpool, Maytag and JennAir is the handles...

GE is decent, but expensive. LG is unreliable(but stylish)

Footballmom.....I really like my GE FD fridge. Lots of room and no concerns.

Have the Amana w/o the water/ice dispenser on the door (it has a water dispenser on inside) in black and am very happy with it. It is not too loud and I love the deli drawer...

I'm having the same dilemna and had decided on the LG when I stopped by Fry's yesterday and found out that Samsung is releasing a new counter depth model in the next couple weeks. Their regular depth is 29cf since they've come up with some new insulation that makes the walls thinner. Turns out they the new counter depth is going to be 25cu which is amazing. And what was even more amazing is that it's going to be cheaper than the full size at $2,299. I was so shocked they printed it out for me. The LG models are $2,899 and $3,400 for the same counter depth. The manager told me they expect the other companies to do some drastic price reductions once that hits the floor since the Samsungs have such good reviews and how wants to pay $600-$1,200 more for a smaller fridge with a questionable repair record.

At any rate, can't wait to get it.

Britt

Another happy JennAir owner here. We love our counter-depth fridge. I like the clean look of no ice/water in the door.

We've had ours since November. No problems at all yet.

brittu:

That's exactly what I need. I hope it will have ice and water in the door! I searched but couldn't find any info online.

My GE CD FD Stainless is awesome. The only semi-issue we've had in nearly a year is the fact that the doors don't close with just a casual swing -- you have to push until it clicks. If you fail to do that you will get beeped, though!

We are looking at the 29" Samsung and have been told that in the next few weeks Lowes will have a sale on them around 20% off (should make it around $2,200) The only issue is that there is a one to two month backlog on them. We don't need it that soon so we are waiting on a call from the local Lowes Appliance Manager to say they have started the sale he has been hearing is coming.

Correction... 29 square feet. We going to be sinking it into an old air conditioning closet so that it is almost counter depth.

We have the Kenmore Elite French Door Refrigerator in white. I love it. It is big and roomy and the platter tray drawer is great. I use it for cheeses/cold cuts and anything else small that might get lost on a shelf. The water is inside the frig and we like that as well. One drawback is/was the shelves (plastic) on the inside of the doors. They do tend to crack in places...especially the one where you would most likely keep the milk. However...Tomorrow I am getting my new refrig (Stainless for our kitchen remodel in progress). I bought the exact same one just upgraded a bit. This one has fitted rubber mats on the door shelves for impact and digital readings for temp/door ajar, etc. My neighbor is drooling waiting for my frig to replace hers. It's really a great frig.

I'm happy with my Jenn Air CD FD. Someone asked about the Viking grille that you can attach at the top to make it look built-in. My GC had done that before, but the grille (because it's marketed as Viking) costs $250 or something like that, and so instead of paying for the logo (which we would have wanted to remove anyway), we put a strip of our cabinet material there instead. Now it looks built-in.

So, for all of you recessing into the wall, how much? I have finally decided to go with the Samsung and have had our plans modified to recess the fridge 6 inches - do you think that is enough?

Brittu,

Have you heard anything more about the Samsung CD FD?
I've searched on-line and have found nothing. You said you had some info they copied for you - can you post a copy?

Thanks,
Dingosurf

maxdel, when you get word about the 20% sale, please post it. I'm interested in a 29 cf Samsung also and that 20% would make it awfully appealing.

brittu, I'm very interested in the 25 cubic foot Samsung CD frig but when I called their Customer Service, the person I spoke with knew nothing about it. Have you heard anything more about it? We don't have a Fry's locally so don't know if I could get unless Lowe's or Best Buys carried it. Thanks.

Dalcolli,

I just measured my new Samsung 29 cu ft. For full 24 inch deep cabinets, a 7 inch recess would be perfect, any more and the door might hit the ajacent cabinet when opening the refrigerator fully.

Hope this helps
Cuse69

Maxdel,

Any word on the 29 cu ft Sammy 20% off @ Lowe's?

I wonder if you could combine the 20% discount w/ the 10% discount for opening up a Lowe's charge acct?

Do keep us posted!

We were planning to buy a $1500 25 cu ft LG French door refrigerator (w/o door water/ice dispenser . We selected it because of the shelf system inside didn't have that large drawer with the flip top in the bottom like the other brands. An extended warranty seems like extortion . It sounds like we need to pass on this one .

BTW, I am just curious - Are the most recent LG models still having problems ? Are parts easily available (at independent parts houses) and competitively priced (with Amana, GE, Whirlpool ) . FWIW, I heard at one point that LG was seeking to to buy the GE appliance division

Samsung Fridges--reliability?!?!

Interested in the Samsung French Door 26 cu foot model RF265ABBP (without water, and I won't hook up the auto ice maker). Concerned about quality, but it sounds like it's received less complaints than the LGs? True? Am I better off with a Maytag or Kenmore or Amana?

Thank you!

My neighbor is having a big problem with her 2-year-old Maytag. Not sure what it is, but I'd think twice about buying this one.

I wasn't able to find that dang piece of paper with the new Samsung fridge model number on it (lost to the depths of my kid-crusted mini-van). I called Fry's again and it wasn't in their ordering system yet. I could have sworn another poster went to Frys, tracked down the model number and posted what they learned but can't seem to find that post either. I had to put it all on hold while our landscaping project entered its final stretch and we got our new front door installed. My ovens are on their way and my garage is already the new home of my cooktop and dishwasher so if I want to park inside again anytime soon I'd better get crackin' on my kitchen project quick. I'll be back on the kitchen remodel case in another week or so and will post if I learn anything more.

Britt

One more happy owner of Jenn Air CD FD. Not missing my larger fridge from before. The space is just more usable and things don't get lost in there. Put a set of cabinet doors above it and snug it in really tight on the sides with a cabinet strip (my cab guy was terrific), and it looks better than built in - I can move it if I need to!

We have had a side-by-side GE Profile since October of 2005 and it is in the middle of its second major repair. Needed a new compressor within 4 months and now needs a new one again.

I would obviously not recommend at all.

Ok, I could use some help here as well-- reading all this has confused me more! I was set on getting the Samsung but have now been told by two appliance store people that it is not a good choice because it's hard to get service and parts. While the positive reviews in these forums reflect not much need for service, there is of course the "what if" factor. I am still wanting the Samsung but would like to have an alternate choice, but don't know what that would be. Not LG and not GE. What comes closest to the Samsung, which I love because of its freezer drawer, fridge extra drawer at the bottom that goes all the way across, and the capacity for large containers on the doors, and very reasonable price. Oh, preferably Titanium/stainless look finish. Anyone have something they suggest?

I am looking to buy a Jenn-Air french door refrigerator but it doesn't come with a side panel! I've been told it's the exact same refrigerator as viking so does anyone know if a viking side panel will fit? Has anyone custom fabricated a stainless steel side panel before?

Well i do not think Viking panel will fit for Jenn-Air french door refrigerator. Also, you can consider Sub zero it you are looking for french door refrigerator.

It's not the refrigerator brand that determines compressor longevity (or so my fantastic appliance repair guy tells me) it's the installation. On a record high temperature day in July, we were his seventh service call for the day. "Counter depth- skip it", he said. "Anything where the compressor's upfront pushing the air out fails sooner or later. If it's a lower end fridge with one compressor instead of two, count on sooner." He added, "get a regular depth fridge and give it some space back there. It's no accident that I get at least five calls a day to replace compressors when the temperature hits triple digits. You want a minimum of 3" wall space behind the unit, 5" is better. People used to do that when the idea was that a fridge stuck out a bit. A wall vent at compressor height would be even better. Give it room to breathe." He likes kitchenaid, said he has fewer repair calls on that one. He had trouble 2 years ago getting parts for Samsung in a timely way. I don't know if that's still the issue, my appliances haven't needed service since.
Diva

Decisions, decisions!! The refrigerator decision is starting to make my head spin.

Samsung....or another brand?

Has anybody here owned a Samsung bottom-freezer refrigerator for more than 1 year? I would love to know if it has been reliable, and if it has needed repairs, were they easy to obtain.

(Definitely open to suggestions about other reliable brands, too!)

I just found my dream Samsung in stainless @ Lowes. Unfortunately, the company that is designing my kitchen wants me to do panels...so now I am back at the drawing board....Almost ready to go with the Samsung in spite of this. French doors and great interior. Best thing I have seen out there.

@djo55 - what model are you looking at? I want to upgrade my fridge and take advantage of the "Cash for Appliances" program going on here in New Mexico. I love the FD design, and Samsung seems to get good ratings. Thanks for the info!

We just got a Jenn Air CD FD, (ice and water) model JFI2089AES3.
We are having some trouble levelling it. Ofcourse our floors are not level....
The instructions to adjust the front 2 legs are straight forward and we have tried that. When the fridge appears level on the sides( ie space between gables is even at top and even at the bottom) it "rocks' so we think we need to do something to level at the back.
The booklet does have some instructions about the back but the screws they refer to are not on my model, perhaps the instruction booklet is for more than one model?
I am in Canada so my model number may be slightly different thatn in the US.
TIA

I have the Samsung in shiny black, with water/ice in the door. I wanted the ice/water unit in the door...to prevent the fridge from being constantly opened and closed in the summer months. I love my fridge, it's very quiet, in fact, the first I wasn't sure if it was working at all! :)

For those wanting to recess your fridge- here's a picture of what we did. We sank it 5 inches into the wall and that was plenty. In fact, if you sink them too far, the door on the fridge will hit the cabinets on the side when they open. It still has to stick out a certain amount. We also sunk the cabinets to make them look built in.

Before

after
{{gwi:1441380}}