I have no personal experience with any of those brands but people on this forum have had problems with LG fridges catching fire - do a search for the threads.

Hmmm - interesting. And intriguing. I DID a search on this forum on LG problems and service. And very few actualy post problems with LG or Samsung. Is rather the people that do NOT have a Samsung or LG that post about the problems!!! How comes? Is someone around trying to discrete Samsung and LG just because they are foreign companies? Or maybe the service dealers are not up to the high technologies (computerized) involved in Samsung and LG and that is why discredite them? Maybe is TOO complicated for the old mechanic service man to figure out his way around newer and more digital/computerized technologies.

Whatever the case may be Samsung, LG and Bosch stand out, for me at least, in terms of design, appearance, functionality and well thought arounf products. I cannot talk about reliability but I tend to HIGHLY doubt the post of ones that do NOT have one of these products and dismiss them just because they heard something.

I have the Samsung 26 CF French Door and am quite happy with it. I did a lot of research before I bought. The Samsung FD has had the JD Power top rating for 3 years in a row and also this year also topped the Consumers report ratings.I also checked other consumer based reviews and I also took some advice from the salesperson I was dealing with (and he wasn't trying to stear me toward a particular product-but cautioned me when there was a product that had more than normal issues).

I think that a lot of folks who are not in large urban centres have had problems with getting service for LG products and have had issues with poor service from the company. Considering the number of people on this forum who buy high end products-largley imports, I don't think there is a bias against foreign manufacturers.

Also look at an Amana. Consumer reports had 3 Amanas in their top 4 for bottom freezer refrigerators in the August '08 issue. I know that the Samsung is very, very quiet, and very, very expensive....

I own the LG LFC21760 (CD FD). I have not compared it to a Bosch or Samsung. I did look at Best Buy and Home Depot customer reviews, and what struck me was that the people who complained had persisent complaints with both the unit and the CS dept. -- phone calls wouldn't resolve the problem, and instead the CS/warranty department would just refuse to do anything. I bought mine anyway. Then I discovered GW, and again the same kind of complaint where the warranty/CS department would tell the customer to pound sand. There were two posts from people whose LGs caught fire because the light bulb didn't shut off, and the CD dept wouldn't replace the unit -- that's a no-brainer for a competent CS dept. -- either you replace the defective unit, start a nationwide recall, or face a class action lawsuit. I have seen comments on GW where Sears, or GE, or someone offers to replace an appliance altogether -- but not LG. IMO both GW and BB/HD customer reviews are biased toward disgruntled -- GW'rs are very, very picky about appliances, and I figure that the unhappy customers are more likely than happy customers to post negative reviews on a mass merchandise site such as BB/HD. However, neither one shows bias toward or against any particular nationality.

Rmihai, the "poorly trained repairperson" argument shouldn't work because the company should be sending out its own people (or its subcontractors). I say "should" because real life sometimes doesn't work that way.

I've had my LG for 4 months and am very happy with it so far -- it's quiet, the icemaker hasn't gone haywire, everything works just fine, I liked its layout better than the GE Profile, it's cut my electricity bills 20% (yay!). I have no desire to discredit LG (Korean?), or Panasonic (Japanese -- very happy with my MW), or Thermador ("an American icon" with a German connection -- very happy with my oven, hood, and DW), Cifial (Portuguese -- very happy with my faucet), or Shaw's (British -- very happy with my sink). If a problem develops with any one of them, well, I'm a lawyer and good at getting results :)

In short, I will give a positive review to the LG based on my own experience so far, without having to deal with CS dept; from reviewing BB, HD, and GW posts, it appears that LG's CS dept is less than satisfactory, but I have no personal knowledge of that.

When we were looking for a refrigerator, every single LG French door floor model in every showroom had broken drawers! EVERY one. Most of the salespeople warned us to stay away from them. I don't know if this has changed in a year and a half but I'd be cautious and do a lot of hands-on research.

I'd suggest you consider the Maytag Ice20.

There's not a bias against foreign appliances on this forum. In fact, when the topic of DWs comes up, everyone shouts Miele or Asko or Bosch (although I think Boschs are made in the USA now).

You're right, my post about LG was based on hearsay and I stated that upfront - but no one had answered your post - and I've been on this forum quite a while and read a lot of the posts. Every brand has its supporters and detractors and you can find bad reviews about every product - BUT when there are several posts about LG refrigerators CATCHING FIRE - I felt I should pass that along to you to research for yourself. Clearly not every LG refrigerator catches fire or hopefully there would be a recall but the fact that some do means that you should at least be aware of the issue.

I chose Samsung although I've compared it to last years models - is there a new LG release?? LG was still using the rubber gasket against gasket as a door seal versus the sliding partition (sorry don't really know what that's called) that all appliance sales people,I talked with, preferred. They warned that the gaskets eventaully break down and seeing as the Kenmore model(made by LG) I kept coming back to had the gasket already broken in the showroom I took LG off my list.

I was looking for good large beverage container storage (lots, of milk, tea, juice pitchers here), ice and water in the door that didn't seem to take up most of the fridge space and a freezer that didn't have wire baskets. With those features as my criteria, the Samsung and it's twin GE Profile were the only ones that fit the bill. I went with Samsung between those two because the handles more closely matched my other Electrolux handles.

Like bjeanne - we have the Samsung 26 CF French Door and are also quite happy with it. I did a lot of research before I bought and seeing the Samsung FD having the JD Power top rating for 3 years in a row made me feel very comfortable with this choice.

Also, like stephand noted, LG was still using the rubber gasket against gasket as a door seal versus the sliding partition (LG was the only one doing this) And two salesman from two different stores (inclduing one I trust) warned that the LG gaskets eventaully break down because of their design - as compared to any other brand out that all use a different door seal gasket mechanism (the sliding partition stephan described)

We did a lot of research and ended up buying the Samsung29 cf.
Since we are still waiting for our kitchen to be finished, it is just sitting there looking pretty.
The salesman at BestBuy told us that LG refrigerators have been a big problem.
Anyway, wish you luck either way you decide!
Oh, we bought ours at Lowe's.

Friend's 18 mos. old LG FD had the control panel melt from heat build up. They caught the fire potential by accident because their cabinet over the fridge was very warm and when they investigated the cause, they found that the fridge light would not turn off. (I don't recall if the control panel melting was a related issue or separate.) They've had problems w/ service through Home Depot who contracts out their repair service to GE's service plan. GE Service was personable, but their local subcontractors give my friend the runaround and most recently told her that GE Service cancelled their contract which GE denies. She's been waiting since early June to have her fridge fixed and still nothing. Most recently the local repair company told her GE cancelled her part. Again, GE denies this and told her they'd get it fixed ASAP. Weeks have passed.

So, yes, LG has had problems within the last two years, but maybe they've resolved them now. Their units look great and hopefully the concerns are now fixed.

I have a 3 year old LG French door and it's great. I had a problem the week after delivery and LG brought me a brand new machine right away, no issues at all with customer service. No problems since. I really love it.

BTW, if you go with the Samsung and want to get it from Lowes - be sure to get a 10% off coupon from lowesmoving.com

Maybe if enough folks buy new refrigerators from lowes old Samr won't have to push his ranges here so much. then again, perhaps the 10% off coupon I gave you eats into Lowes profit margin :)

Thank you ALL. Indeed. it seems that there is a no go for LG. Than. looks like Samsung is the ONLY way. Weird. I will tell you what - after I lived several years in Europe I learnt that Samsung products are extremely unreliable. Oufff - why is not Bosch making a 24+ cu ft. fridge. Why do I have to be stucked with a Samsung choice?

Have you considered KitchenAid? They make very good refrigerators with good warranties - I've had one for 5 years without any problems. They now make French Door fridges I believe.

Have been researching problems with LG bottom freezer refrigerators after a problem with mine. Came down last morning to find the lights on in the refrigerator and the cover hanging down. At first we thought the doors had been left open overnight. There is an audible door open alarm which we never heard the nite before. We then opened both doors and pressed the door turn off switches inside to see if the lights would go out-THEY DID NOT! After more inspection, we found the light sockets had melted and also melted to control assembly. Prior to this, the rollers off the crisper bins have broken off. We bought this in 2006 after carefull research and had been very pleased until now. We have unscrewed both bulbs but we are now terrified of a fire. We didn't know about all these problems with the lights until last night. This should be a class action lawsuit and I posted a complaint with the US Consumer Product Safety Commission. I would not but another LG

I would avoid a Samsung product at all costs. My three year old Samsung refrigerator is on the verge of catching on fire, producing burning to the touch heat around the freezer frame and a burning electrical smell. Their customer service is pathetic, with more false promises or "I can't help you, that's another department and I can't contact them", then any effort to actually help resolve the issue. Save yourself the grief.

Samsung has the lowest returns rates in the US. Their home appliances are really good and have different types of innovations within each product. Their customer service has also improved big time. They use to be awful but not anymore. I know many people in the industry and they highly recommend Samsung now more than ever.

Samsung refrigeration has a Twin-cooling or Twin-cooling Plus system. There are many benefits: It's E-star complaint, no mixing of odors and most importantly, your foods stays fresher longer...more so than in a conventional cooling system. LG doesn't have this advantage.

I highly recommend the Samsung over LG.

I've had sales people at two different appliance stores steer me away from both of these brands, and to kitchenaid.
They said it has the best record for service and reliability.
when my D/W repairman came out, I asked him the most reliable fridge. He said- kitchenaid. He said you can purchase the longest warranty on it (I think he said 5 yrs) and he said DO purchase the extended warranty, all fridges today are basically crap.
He also said that price makes no difference, Viking and Sub-zero generate just as many service calls. And not to buy a Bosch D/W again, LOL, he loves me but he's seen me too often in the last 4 years (2 different houses, both Bosch D/W). I should mention that I've used the same repairman for 7 years.

Which begs the question of why we can only purchase crap appliances no matter how much money we spend. I say this as I'm still waiting for a call back on a fischer-paykel DW drawer repair and waiting for a part on a GE fridge (3rd house, we move a lot).

Well I have a lg french door 24.7 refrigerator and it's been a joy to own so far. The doors close via hydraulic assist, the led lights actually illuminate every shelf unlike the ge profile with single cluster at the top of the fridge. The ice maker makes ice, never seen it without any ice and we use it every day. Speaking of the ice dispensor I really love the stainless steel switch, other are cheap plastic, and the two bright led lights that actually illuminate the dispensor area so you can actually see your cup. The doors are solid, the ge felt strange and the door handles flexed on it as did the sears units I looked at. I bought mine a hhgregg and also got the 5 year extended warranty just in case but so far the only thing I've done is change a water filter. Speaking of filters lg changed the model to a new upgraded filter so keep that in mind if you want to replace it and don't see the one listed in the manual. I also have to say that lg has been fantastic for me with their steam washer and dryer that I also have, the red units on pedestals with the green led panels. They wash and dry effectively and the led lights in the tub so you can see your laundry at the end of the cycle is a very nice touch. My experience with lg has been very good so far and I would not hessitate to buy another appliance from them. I did however skip their dishwasher in favor of the samsung unit because of the features that the samsung had.

I am looking at a Samsung 29 cu ft. French Door with external ice and water. Have read all good reviews except noise when ice clunks into basket. Does anyone else have anything to say about it? Or have experience with it? We have been researching hard on this one. Our 2nd choice is a Ge Profile FD with external water (not ice). Thoughts?
Many thanks!

Hi,
An update to my December 08 post. Kitchen Aid doesn't offer that five year warranty any longer (that I have been able to find). So, the most compelling reason to purchase Kitchen Aid has left the barn. Samsung at that time had problems because it was too new and hadn't set up a repair/customer service network. And, they were more expensive. Today, I could buy 2 basic Samsung models for the price of an average fill-in-the-blank fridge. Okay, so all fridge manufacturers have apparently adopted a "planned obsolescence" model. Works for me if I can buy 2, lasting 3 years, for the price of 1 lasting 6 years. By that time they'll have lower energy requirements. Less can be more.
Diva

We bought an LG about 3 years ago - were moderately desperate to replace an ancient one w milk spoiling, etc. I think there are better options now, but at that time, we wanted to try the French door and my husband really wanted the door ice service. To date: no service issues; icemaker is high maintenance; not a good balance btw freezer and frig temps (if one is good, the other seems off); the meat drawer has broken. That said, we use it hard - busy family, cook a lot, etc. I wouldn't buy another one, but that is also partly b/c I am mad that LG reportedly lied about the energy ratings.

I own a samsung 26 cu.ft. refridgerator and at 1.5 yrs old the appliance has had frost developement (I believe taken care of now)and the ice maker is on the fritz. Is it better to fix the ice make or replace. If fixing is an option can I do it (if I'm fairly handy?)
thanks
In HIM

Does it have to be a french door? We have a Fisher Paykel with the freezer on the bottom and one large drawer, and love it. Has drawers in the freezer (rather than one big bin) that keeps everything organized and findable. The one we bought has a great modern look, but they also make a model for more traditional style kitchens too. I did not want a side by side, and this one just seems more space efficient than any of the French doors.

We moved to Malaysia for my job assignment 4 years ago and we purchased an LG LRSC26925 for $1800 USD in Dec 2006. Appliances are expensive here because of the higher import duties imposed. Guess what, we just got back from our 2 week vacation and our lg fridge caught fire, burning the entire kitchen and the living room. The refrigerator completely burned and melted inclusive on the metal structures inside. Smoke ended up in the bedrooms, major clean up required. Did not know there were so many complaints on lg refrigerators catching fire until know. We found out the hard way. Thank god no one was hurt!

Bosch actually has a French door model: Bosch B26FT70SNS

i bought an lg frostfree before 2 years.. I had a complaint with it that the refrigerators is take much time to attend their desired cooling. And lg s service is bit slow.. But my cousin brother bought an samsung refrigerator RA32CDLB Which is very great with it dual sensors option so that we can maintain an optimum temperature for both freezer and refrigerator. And samsung s service is too good... So friends better choose samsung dont go for lg..