Hi, thanks for the post! I'm looking at getting the same fridge as well. At 29 cu ft, it has the largest capacity of any 36" fridge that I've looked at. I also love the water/ice on the door exterior, which is pretty rare in a French door (but everywhere I read says that this is the most likely feature to fail on a fridge). I definitely hope Samsung will turn out to be a reliable appliance maker because I plan on getting their laundry machines as well when my house is ready.

Which model did you get?

I've been looking at the Samsung, but am a bit hesitant since the models I seem to like are 35 inches deep and I can't imagine that this isn't going to look strange with 10 inches of refrigerator sticking out from my counters.

RFG297AARS (the last 2 characters will change depending on color). It's 36" deep, so it will definitely stick out. We're building a new house, so we have some options to make it look more "built-in". However, even in an older home, I personally would rather have the extra fridge space. I just really hate the fact that counter-depth costs more, yet you get less storage space.

Thank you very much for your detailed report on the 29 cf Samsung French Door model.

That is the exact refrigerator model that I have been seriously considering and it's probably the one I will buy.

I love the larger interior volume and that basic design of the refrigerator. The pull out drawers had a much more solid feel than many of the other models that I checked out. It is several inches deeper than my current side by side but I think that's a reasonable tradeoff for the additional volume.

Right now my biggest concern is the long term reliability. There have been some nightmare reliability and service issues posted on the internet for other Samsung refrigerator models. See below for one link with a collection of owner reports. I know that internet reports can sometimes give a distorted view of a product's performance but these particular reports were somewhat troubling.

I have read about the positive JD Power reports but I'm just not sure how good those ratings are at predicting long term reliability. I would normally review the Consumer Reports subscriber-based reliability rankings but there aren't any published ratings for Samsung yet. I assume that this is because their sample size is, so far, statistically insufficient.

I've also read that the ice maker in the 29 cf model is very noisy when the ice drops into the plastic bin and that the ice production rate is really low. Several owners have reported that they run out of ice all of the time.

Can you comment on your experience with the ice maker so far?

Here is a link that might be useful: Samsung Refrigerator Owner Reports

Bob,
The model I purchased is an RFG297AAWP. I read quite a few of the compliants from the link you provided above. They are concerning however I noticed most of the issues/compliants were with the side by side models (Model starts with "RS") as opposed to the french door models (Model starts with "RFG").
I was a Reliabilty Engineer for over 10 years and can honestly say it is very difficult to predict long term reliability. Some reliability prediction tools include Mean Time Between Failure (MTBF) and Failure Mode (FMA)analysis along with actual accelerated life cycle testing but the true test is in the field. I guess I view the issues from the link for the side by side as model related. To put it in perspective, how many Auto manufacturers had some models that were reliability nightmares yet you couldn't kill another model of the same brand. I can't say I'm not concerned about the Samsung reliability (especially because of my background) but I'm hoping for the best. Lets hope the "RFG" stands for "Real Freak'in Good"
Now for the Ice Maker. It seems to be a little loud when it's EMPTY but it's not to bad when there is some ice in the bin already. We haven't used a lot of ice yet so I can't provide an accurate comment on how fast it produces ice. My feeling is if it does produce ice slow, just store some of it in the mamoth freezer, no big deal to me anyway. The ice bin is real easy to remove as well.

Let me know how you make out.

Lets hope the "RFG" stands for "Real Freak'in Good

That made me laugh! And I agree.

And thanks for your comments on the ice maker. That's less of a concern for me now. I actually emailed Samsung about the ice maker production about a month ago. But, after a couple of weeks, I received a reply that I had somehow sent my request to the wrong Samsung division. :-)

On the reliability, one of my concerns in general is that I just wasn't familiar with Samsung as a maker of refrigerators. If this same Sumsung model had been made by, let's say, Whirlpool I wouldn't be as concerned. I didn't even know that Samsung made refrigerators until I started refirgerator shopping a couple of months ago.

Thank you again for your detailed owner report and also your follow-up comments. If you get a chance, please post updates as you have more experience with your refrigerator.

Bob

I'm hoping the previous posters on this thread check in every now and then; if so, would you please provide an update on whether you are still happy with your Samsung French door refrigerators? I'm looking at the RFG297AARS (same one jl 1978 got). I'm concerned about the problems listed on the link above, but I agree with artisianwells that they seem to be associated with the side by side models.

A couple of specific questions:

How are the icemakers performing? Are they producing an adequate supply of ice? Do you have any problems with the ice melting in the bin before it is used?

We are a family of four, and we use quite a bit of ice, especially in the hot summer when everyone is home more. A sales rep at Lowe's told me that the only complaint he's heard repeatedly about these refrigerators relates to the icemaker: not enough ice produced, and then it melts in the bin, so you have to dump the ice and start over, contributing to the insufficient quantity problem.

Are there any other problems or things you don't like after using the refrigerator for awhile?

Do you find having the freezer at the bottom inconvenient? Is it hard to organize and find items in the freezer? I do like the way I have my side by side freezer organized, and it stays pretty full. It seems I won't have as many organizational options with the drawer-type freezer. (This may seem silly but I'm an accountant and I can't help it!) I anticipate that I may not like the bottom drawer freezer as well as the side by side, but that the advantages of the larger and more convenient refrigerator space will outweigh the disadvantages of the freezer.

I was a little confused by the literature regarding the depth of the unit, but I think I've figured it out. In one document the depth is listed as 33" (total depth), and in the manual it's listed as 35.75" (with door). I think this last measurement must also include the door handles. Is that true? I'll look a little closer at this dimension when I go to the showroom this weekend.

Thanks so much for any feedback you can provide!

We purchased the RFG297AABP (bp = black) in November of '08. I replaced a 11 year old side-by-side Frigidaire that was working fine; it's in our basement now as a beer fridge. The features we liked about the Samsung were having the ice/water in the door, and the size of the interior of the refrigerator (and the LED lighting was a big plus!) We, too, looked at all the other models out there and decided we liked the Samsung best.

We live in the "country" and our house uses well water. We also have an iron removal system in our house. This caused no problem for our ice/water on our Frigidaire, but is causing the water in the door to drip on the new Samsung. We had Best Buy out to repair this drip, and after 4 attempts they told us it could not be fixed because we had air and "natural gasses" in our well water line that was causing the problem. In that the iron filter "oxygenates" the water in order to help remove the iron, we bypassed the iron filter and now have the water come directly from the well to the refrigerator. It still drips, but not as much. We had a 2nd repair place come out and they basically told us the same thing. If the water doesn't have a constant pressure, and has the potential for air in the lines, you could experience dripping.
We have the option to return this refrigerator to best buy to get a refrigerator without the ice/water in the door, but other than the frustrating water drip I really really like this refrigerator. Food items don't get "buried" in the this refrigerator like they did in my side-by-side. I do find that the freezer section is not as organized as my side by side used to be, but I like having the freezer on the bottom .
In answer to some questions, yes, the ice dropping into the bin is loud, and it doesn't seem to make ice as fast as our old Frigidaire, but we don't use ice as much as we do the water. I don't experience any problems with ice melting, which was a question I believe a previous poster asked. And this refrigerator is definitely more quiet than our Frigidaire.

HTH...

Thanks suzp for the feedback on the Samsung refrigerator. I don't anticipate any problems with air in the water line, but appreciate hearing about your experience. We've had a different type of water line problem with our GE fridge that is not yet ten years old. The water line keeps freezing, so we no longer have a functional water dispenser; power went off overnight during a recent storm and it started working again--for about two days. Now everything in the refrigerator is freezing; I turned it down to 2 and some items are still frozen. No more GEs for us!

If anyone else has feedback to offer on the Samsung French door fridge, I'd appreciate it. I never buy anything without checking these forums!

Just ordered the Samsung 26 ft French Door fridge after comparing the other FDs. I wanted to buy a fridge from a local appliance store rather than Lowe's but after looking at the GE and the Amana which were very similar I just liked the look and feel of the Samsung so much more. Plus, I hate to say it, but I loved that wine bottle holder in the Samsung... I'll post again after I've used the fridge for a while.

My DH wants me to get the 26 ft model, but I'm determined to get that extra little bit of space in the 29 ft model. I usually deal with a local appliance store, but they don't carry Samsung. I will probably buy mine from Fry's as they have the best price I've seen in town and free delivery.

DS and DDIL have had their Samsung FD for about a year now and love it -- they've had no complaints at all.

I've had a single door/bottom freezer for years and prefer it. We've been in an apartment for a year while our house is being built, and it has a single door/top freezer fridge and now I remember why I always hated them! I feel like I'm standing on my head every time I try to get anything out of it.

We choose the 29 cf Samsung for the new house -- it's been in for a couple weeks and, although we've not moved in yet, I think I'm going to love it! We haven't had our well water tested yet, so haven't used the ice/water . . . but we're loving having cold cokes and bottled water at the house.

We'll be moving in next weekend (assuming the final inspections go well) so maybe in a few weeks I can give some feedback based on actual experience!

I went to Fry's this afternoon ready to buy, and the salesman said this model is on backorder and there is a 3-4 week delivery time on them now. I didn't buy today as I don't like the idea of having to pay the entire price of the fridge upfront and then having to wait so long for delivery. Also, I need to coordinate the delivery with another installer (need to adjust cabinet frame size slightly for the height of this refrigerator). I may check around this week to see if anyone else has them in stock and will match Fry's price.

I looked at ice bin size again and was surprised at how small it is. I don't think I focused on it before; now I see why some people say the ice supply is inadequate. I will probably buy this model anyway. Even though our current GE ice bin is larger, it is clogged up so often and not producing ice that I think we will have as much ice with the Samsung as we've had with this malfunctioning GE.

I really liked the samsung refrigerator and have been looking at them on and off for about a month now. I have read some bad things about the ice maker, water issues, and also internal compressor problems where it won't keep food cold.
I was over at lowes today and mysteriously all their samsung refrigerators that had the ice/water unit in the door were gone. After talking to the sales guy, he said there is some issue with those refrigerators and they were instructed by samsung to remove them from the floor and not sell any more until further notice.

They didn't actually know the problem, but i'm suspecting it's the ice maker issues.

has anyone else seen stores removing these from the floor?

Yes, Samsung pulled all of the FD fridges on Friday. I've been looking at that one for a few weeks, too, and noticed that it disappeared on Friday from Lowes & Sears online. I called Samsung, and they said that it was pulled due to the ice maker not producing as much ice as it's supposed to. It is not a recall, but they won't sell that model until they fix the problem. There is a new 29 cu ft FD model on their site, though no one is selling it yet. The Samsung rep said she didn't know when the 297 would be available for purchase, so I wonder if this new model is the same fridge and just fixed the ice problem?

Watching this thread with interest as we are planning on buying the Samsung FD in a month or so... here is some more info about the new RFG298 model listed on their website:

Here is a link that might be useful: New Samsung FD

The 29 ft model has been available in my area for at least several months now. It's funny...I was at Fry's last weekend almost ready to purchase, and they said there was a 3-4 week delay because they are on backorder. I went to Lowe's the next day, and they told me the FDs with door water/ice dispensers had been pulled until further notice. So the Lowe's rep appeared to be more forthcoming than the Fry's rep. Anyway, I went back to Lowe's a couple of days later and was told that the problem is with the control panel on the door. Samsung wanted to prevent a huge recall, so as soon as they found the problem they issued a "no further sales" directive on the affected models, and have been going around checking all inventory before it can be released for sale again. Control panels were replaced on the spot if the problem was found with a fridge. Before the end of the week, my local Lowe's was selling them again.

I continue to be concerned with the amount of ice produced, and am trying to hold off on my purchase until I can see the Electrolux FD in person.

I forgot about this when posting above: the Lowe's rep also told me that he's heard through the Samsung grapevine that they plan to move the icemaker to the door in the FD models, maybe available later this year.

I was just a Lowe's in Towson MD and they still had all of the Samsung FD on the floor. When questioned, the salesman told me that they were still selling them......

Friday night, May 1, all of the Samsung FD 29 cu ft (or 28.5) refrigerators disappeared from Sears' website. Since I had been planning to buy one either on Saturday or at Sears Friends and Family this evening, I went to the Sears King of Prussia PA store at 11 a m on Saturday. There, every single Samsung FD bottom freezer refrigerator had been pulled from the floor. The salesmen had been told only that they weren't allow to sell any by placing orders. Later that day (May 2), I reached a person at Samsung customer service who told me that the issue was with the icemakers--something about pieces of plastic coming off and ending up in the water line. He, too, said it wasn't a recall--just that Samsung wanted to fix the problem before any more were sold. So the story was similar, but I didn't get the "control panel" story... I am very disappointed, but I am glad that I didn't get stuck with an expensive refrigerator with a problem. But--both Sears sales are now over. Here's hoping for a great Memorial Day sale!

Thanks guys for the posts. I decided to buy the newest Samsung side-by-side model (27 ft3), but for the first time in my life, I opted for an extended warranty .. total of 5 years. Consumer Reports showed even the best brands having 15-20% with reliability issues, and most issues cost more to fix than the extended warranty. Many of these issues seem to cost several times the cost of the extended warranty.

Thanks to everyone with the news on the 29 cubic foot Samsumgs being pulled from the market, at least temporarily.

I also went to check the prices at Sears during the big weekend sale and I was surprised to see all of the 29 cf models were not even listed online.

It will be interesting to see how this story develops.

My local sears had the fridges today and so did the Bestbuy( in York PA). I realize we are sometimes behind the times, but the salesman was trying to sell one to a lady in sears( I told her about the recall( I guess it is really just an update) . The salesman was VERY upset with me. I wasn't trying to take a sale from him, but trying to save her the hassle of the update...

I emailed Samsung this morning about the 297 and got this reply:

"Quality is of the utmost importance to Samsung and we are continuously making quality improvements on our products; Samsung is currently working with retail partners on a quality re-work of select French door refrigerator models. These models will be available again in a store near you within approximately two weeks. They may become available sooner, so please check with your local retailer.

The only difference between the RFG297 and RFG298 is the addition of a 2nd ice maker in the freezer of the 298."

mtsp,

Thanks for sharing the information from Samsung.

I wonder what items are to be addressed by the "quality re-work" effort? Is it just the icemaker issues?

And will the RFG298 model represent the RFG297 after the quality re-work?

I wrote Samsung again to clarify. Hope this helps those that are looking to purchase!

"Some of the RF models had a defect on the plastic used to manufacturer the ice bucket. This material defect caused some units to produce small plastic pieces into the ice as it was dispensed. Instead of dealing with this issue if it were to occur on a case-by-case basis, we decided to place a Stop-Sale on the units and fix the issue before it was sold to a customer.

The RFG 298 is not replacing the 297. Both will be available at a local retailer once a Samsung representative has visited the store and resolved this issue. As for the retail price of the 298, it is not available at this time due to the stop-sale."

Thank you again mtsp!

That's great info. That's the first I had read about the "plastic pieces in the ice" problem.

Well I'll have to wait on the RFG298 to see how it compares to the RFG297.

I just checked and Sears has yet to return the 29 cf Samsung models to their online site.

As of now, we will be buying a Samsung French door model for our new house. We have looked at just about everything on the market and decided that Samsung is the lesser of a bunch of evils. Nothing seems to be completely reliable these days.

One of the posts in the thread says that some Samsung's have dual compressors. That isn't the case. The Samsung Twin Cooling system has a single compressor, but two evaporators, two fans, and two thermostats, one each for the freezer and refrigerator sections.

Samsung claims the system provides better temperature regulation, humidity control, and odor control than a conventional system. That seems likely to be the case, but it may result in a reduction of efficiency, since the compressor must be sized to work with either one or two evaporators at any given time. A single compressor matched to a single evaporator would be more efficient.

A dual compressor/evaporator system would be the best, but it probably would be significantly more expensive.

I have the Samsung FD frig, we have had it since last July. I LOVE MY SAMSUNG! The only possible issue I have with it is that when I am using the inside water dispenser it dribbles a little.

I do not have any issue with not having enough ice, this is my first FD style and I thought that I wouldn't like the freezer on the bottom but I have grown to love it.

I think you will be happy with your purchase.

I was ready to purchase the RFG297AA fridge, and then saw the stop-sale order at Sears. they will not sell until further notice, and they can't even tell me for sure that they will get them in and when. We called Samsung and got several different stories, the ice maker bin needed to be shaved a little, making it just slightly smaller, maybe that's where the plastic pieces are falling into the ice bin? But we were told by Samsung a week ago, it would be two weeks. We also were told by Samsung, there were no reported problems, this was dependent on who answered the phones. Best Buy had this on the floor ready to sell, they did not know about any stop-sell order, and I could also order it thru ajmadison.com, no problem, but I think I will hold on another week and see if Sears gets these back in, as I would like to get one that does not have the problem.

I'm holding off on a Samsung purchase also. I really like the design of the 29 cf FD Samsung but I just don't want to deal with reliability issues. So I'll probably wait a few months to see how everything shakes out.

Thanks for all the info on this thread. I wish the 29 cu ft came without the external water and ice. So, I am wondering, does anyone have experiences with the Samsung French Door model RFG265APBN? This is a model that has been around awhile, it's 26ish cubic feet and French Door but no in-the-door water/ice and only an icemaker inside (no internal water dispenser, which model 266 does have.)
I can't find any reviews anywhere specifically on this model; it's older (and relatively inexpensive, like $1400) so I am concerned it's not been fine-tuned and may have problems? This is the one I want but am afraid after reading all the different GW posts about Samsung fridges. Yet I cannot find anything even close in other brands with regard to space and features, and the platinum finish is mandatory. Thanks for any help anyone has to offer.

I just bought the 297, and the Best Buy guy said that they HAD pulled them because of the ice maker production issue, but had now brought them back. He said the ones with a small round sticker on the icemaker were the "fixed" ones.

Mine made a pretty good amount of ice pretty quickly, but I don't use a lot of ice so its not a big deal for me. I can hear the ice drop, especially when the bin is empty, but again - this doesn't bother me. The kitchen is kind of off by itself in the house.

So far I love it, but I've only had it a few days. Time will tell, I guess, but I did buy the 5 yr warranty from Best Buy. Its currently on sale for over $400 off and they gave me 18 mos same as cash... and since my old GE Profile Side by Side kicked the bucket, I went ahead and bit the bullet.

Can anyone tell me if the temperature of the water that comes out the door is controllable?

Kahlukers,

No, it's not. My experience is the water that comes out is cool, not cold.

thank you for replying, I suppose cool water is OK, sometimes too cold is not good, and there is always ice to put in the water. my local sears still is not able to order this for me....but if I go online, I can order it.

I was wondering what the shape of the ice is. What about the shape of the ice when using the crushed ice setting? Thanks.

I'm thinking about buying the Samsung - 19.8 Cu. Ft. Side-by-Side Refrigerator with Bottom-Mount Freezer - Black
Model: RF217ABBP/XAA. I've read various reviews positive and negative. It seems like the main complaints are the leaking, temperature maintenance, and durability (some customers complain that the Samsung refrigerators just break after a couple of months of use), and poor customer service. What are your thoughts?

Here is a link that might be useful: Samsung 19.8 Cuft

We have had the Samsung Quattro now for a little over 1 year, we paid a small fortune for it and waited a few weeks for delivery (new to the market). It has absolutely been the worst appliance purchase of my life. The glide for one of the lower drawers spit all it's ball bearings 1 week after the warranty ran out, Samsung (when I finally got ahold of someone) wouldn't even send the part for free for me to put in, never mind install. Say goodbye to another $180.00. Now about 1 month later, the cooling on the refrigerator side is failing, the fan is squealing loudly and the temperature swings about 10 degrees for no reason. I just got back from buying a new KA fridge and this one will be gone ASAP. I will never buy another Samsung product as long as I live.

I just ordered the 298 (the one with 2 icemakers) yesterday from Lowes -- got a fantastic deal. They were on sale through today. The original price of this unit was $2998, and it had a sign on it that said "Lowes new lower price $2798." On top of that, they were on sale for $2298 PLUS an additional 10% off PLUS a rebate on the delivery fee. Basically, it cost $2068 for the fridge and another $89 to get the extended warranty for a few more years. I hope it's going to be a good fridge. I've been looking at the Samsung forever. We're building a new house and won't need it for at least 2 more months, but this seemed to good to pass up. The salesman said they would just hold it until we needed it. I can't wait!!!

It was interesting though that the first Lowes I visited had sold the last one in stock, and their sales guy told me that he couldn't order one for me at that price. (Huh???) So I promptly left and went to another Lowes 10 minutes away. They happily ordered it for me.

The sale was running through the end of the day today, so if you're in the market for one, you might want to check it out today.

I bought my Samsung 28.5 cu ft rfg297aars refrigerator at Sears on June 6, 2009 in King of Prussia, PA. It was delivered on Sunday June 7th. I absolutely love it! The only problem I had was that the day after delivery, the freezer drawer was not closing all the way on the left side and things were becoming frosty with condensation in that half of the drawer. Sears sent a repairman out the next day; it helped that I had bought a 5 yr Master Protection agreement and that my salesman put the service call in for me. It turned out that the gear on the left side was not properly aligned--it was one tooth off. I have not had further problems. The fridge is so quiet that yes, the sound of the ice dropping seems very loud, but it does not bother me. The freezer drawer is so large, that I was able to bring all my meats up from my basement chest freezer! The lighting and layout of the fridge section is marvelous. I can see everything in the fridge. The fridge does not freeze my vegetables and fruit like my GE Profile Artica did for years. This will save me a small fortune in ruined food. The water and ice taste so good, that I am going to discontinue delivery of 5 gallon Deer Park bottles for the water cooler I have been using since 1997--an attempt at "paying down" the price of the fridge... If I should have any problems develop, I will post again. In the meantime, if you decide to buy one, you can tell if the stop-sale re-do of the icemaker was completed by taking out the bin--if the auger that moves the ice forward is metal instead of plastic, the re-do has been done!! BTW, Best Buy has it on sale today for $2159.99! Sears will match the price if you choose tobuy it from Sears. I am going in this week to get my price adjustment....

Laurie57...can you tell me how you got the extra 10% off. I bought it too from Lowes last Wednesday but didn't get the extra 10%. The salesperson thought if I opened a lowes credit I would but the manager told her no. Just curious. Mine gets delivered this Wednesday. They were already sold out last week on the first day of the sale.

I am seriously considering the Samsung RFG297 but am concerned about the icebin. It seems so small! Any comments? I like the new model, the 298, since it has two icemakers, but since i can get the 297 on sale at best buy and only lowes has the 298, can't decide if the price differential (over $400) is worth it....Please help...

I'm also trying to decide between the RFG297 and RFG298 and have two questions:

1) Can anyone who owns the 298 tell me whether it has LED lighting like the 297 (that's almost flush with the ceiling, versus the conventional bulbs with protruding casing)?

2) Can anyone who owns the 297 tell me whether it could accomodate an after-market ice maker in the freezer (in addition to the one built in to the fridge compartment)?

Thanks for your help!