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malba2366

Liebherr reliability

malba2366
9 years ago

We are close to buying a Liebherr fridge, but are concerned about reliability. I read a lot of horror stories about them on the web and Yale appliance on their blog lists them as one of the most repaired brands of appliances. Does anyone have any experiences/knowledge they would like to share?

Here is a link that might be useful: Most serviced appliances

Comments (33)

  • cookncarpenter
    9 years ago

    I've had mine coming up on two years, no issues so far, and love everything about it!
    People tend to post about problems, rater than satisfaction, so take every negative post about anything with a grain of salt ;) Chris

  • joc6820
    9 years ago

    I'm only two weeks in with the fridge in a new home, so no comment on reliability. Love the look, features, ergonomics, quietness, dual compressors, etc. I suggest you look into the quality and availability of local service in your area, i.e. if there's an outlet that knows the product, can get parts quickly, has a good rep, then there's no reason not to get the fridge if you like it and it meets your needs. Most problems you read about occur when there's no competent and knowledgeable local service option and customers are left stranded to fend for themselves.

  • gtadross_gw
    9 years ago

    I have the cbs2062 and it's great. I've had it about 2 years as well.

    About a month ago, the back of the freezer started icing up, as others on here have noted. The reason it started doing that was because the freezer was left slightly ajar for the night as a result of a freezer Baggie sticking out a little bit preventing the freezer from being completely shut. That created a lot of humidity in the freezer that then led to it icing up. The units been repaired and the repaiman said to take extra care to ensure the freezer is completely shut. ever since then, it's been working great.

  • practigal
    9 years ago

    Do I understand that correctly you accidentally left the freezer open one night and you needed to have a repairman?

  • gtadross_gw
    9 years ago

    It was over a few nights. The repaiman explained that the unit is ultra efficient in energy consumption. Accordingly it does not have a heater to melt off any ice that accumulates due to a higher humidity environment. He stressed that it's critical to ensure the unit is properly sealed in order to avoid those circumstances. If so, there womt be any issues as I can attest to.

  • omega73
    9 years ago

    Does the water that drips in the back of your fridge freeze up? Anyone know if this is normal?

  • gtadross_gw
    9 years ago

    I don't have water dripping in my fridge or freezer. M

    The repairman also said that if icing on the freezer does happen, it can be fixed by just unplugging it and letting it defrost naturally for 24 hours. Unfortunately I didn't have a spare fridge to put the food into but it's still a simple fix that doesn't require a service call.

  • omega73
    9 years ago

    Gtadross, I have the Miele single column which is made in the same factory. My fridge has a drip system in the back of the inside of the fridge, hence there is always water dripping down BUTsometimes those water droplets freeze up and I'm wondering if this is normal. I've been told it is but still looking to confirm.

  • sprtphntc7a
    9 years ago

    we have had ours for over 2 years and its been flawless...i think its the hbc2062
    have 36"FD
    love the biofresh
    super quiet
    easy to clean
    love the layout
    no problems

  • mkemom
    9 years ago

    we've had our liebherr french door for about 2 years. generally i like it - though it is definitely a tall person's fridge and i'm on the short side. but i really like how solid it feels. it's interesting that other posters comment on how quiet it is, though, because it's much louder than our previous GE fridge was. my main complaint is the ice maker, which is pathetic to begin with (really slow, dumps ice into the lower drawer, and ice can pile up and freeze and block the drawer from opening)- but now it is not freezing cubes all the way, so they fall in the tray and leak water and freeze into a block. havent called for service yet - we're now out of warranty- i'll post results if we do. anyway, otherwise no problems with the fridge. i accidentally left the door slightly ajar all day one day with no ill effects. ( it is easier than youd think to do that, and the alarm does not start for a while, so if you've already left the kitchen, you don't hear it.). on balance i'd probably go with this fridge again.

  • philwojo99
    9 years ago

    We have had our Liebherr units for about 2 years now as well and other than our initial problem of a bad solenoid valve for the ice maker it has been flawless (knocks on wood). The bad valve might not have been anything but a loose wire, but the repair guys might have messed it up trying to push the wire back in, thus the new valve, the new one has been fine since.

    We have the SBS-24i1, which are two separate units, one is a full fridge, the other is split with the top as a fridge and the bottom as a freezer, perfect for us. Here is a link to what ours looks like:

    AJ Madison Link for Liebherr SBS-24i1

    Phil

  • sleevendog (5a NY 6aNYC NL CA)
    9 years ago

    mkemom-
    Your ice tray is cracked. The tray that the ice forms in.
    So as it is filling with water, some water leaks out through the crack and freezes in a block at the bottom of the drawer...also clumping together what little bit of ice it does make.
    Frustrating as it is just a cheap basic plastic ice tray and they do not sell them...you need to buy the entire ice 'repair' kit at around 120$ i believe it costs.
    I took mine apart and found the crack.
    If you are not so handy, that is an expensive repair!
    Service call, etc.

  • mata
    9 years ago

    After 5 years I had to replace a temperature sensor ($35 part) on my Leibherr. Apparently this is the most likely part to fail.

  • mkemom
    9 years ago

    Thanks sleevendog- I bet you are right. My husband may be able to take it apart and we'll order the kit. sigh. I have the feeling that this was designed by a bunch of Germans who don't actually like ice in their beverages and sat around complaining about those Americans and their ridiculous need for ice...

  • beachpea3
    9 years ago

    I go along with the others- have had the biofresh 30" with two freezer drawers for a year now. Only issue was a gasket that was installed incorrectly. They sent new one by Fed Ex.- Put it on in a jiffy and we were off and running.

    Due to the small size of my kitchen, in an over 300 year old house, the 30" was only size that fit. It is certainly large enough for a small family. It is efficient, quiet and has great lighting. The biofresh feature keeps the produce much longer - as advertised.

  • ash_patel
    9 years ago

    We've had 2 30" units glued together for almost 7 years now. Had the ice tray repaired once under warranty. No issues at all. The water freezing and thawing in the fridge is normal and part of the design.

  • enmafromva
    9 years ago

    We've had our 29" Liebherr since 2004 - had to import it from Canada back then. It does not have the ice maker and has performed flawlessly.

  • Joanne Masone
    8 years ago

    Can someone help me with directions on taking the ice cube tray apart? I found mine in the ice drawer with one of the clips and I can't get it back in.

  • joemcmenamin1959
    8 years ago

    Liebherr is a horrible refrigerator and the customer service is POOR!

  • philwojo99
    8 years ago

    I disagree, we have loved our Liebherr since it was installed back in 2012. One minor problem right at the start and since then it has been great. Customer service to get that problem fixed was good too.


  • joemcmenamin1959
    8 years ago

    I'm glad you're happy with your Liebherr but I'm not the only one who has experienced both poor customer service as well as poor operation - especially with the freezer. Everyone must make up their own mind but (to the original poster) DO YOUR HOMEWORK and research the dissatisfaction expressed on this site.

  • homepro01
    8 years ago

    Joemcmenamin1959,

    What was the problem you experienced with your Liebherr? Which model? That would be helpful for a user to use that information to make an informed decision. Full disclosure: I own a Liebherr all Fridge and a Fridge Freezer. I am looking to get an All Freezer because I like the Liebherr configuration. Miele is also selling the Liebherr fridge freezers that they have always sold in Canada and Europe.

    Good luck!

  • bdslack
    8 years ago

    How to fix the ice maker. First you will need to remove the thing. Take all the bins and shelves out. Lie on your back and look up at the ice maker. You will see two clips that hold it in place. Press them in with two butter knives on each side and when you have them pressed in have another person pull out the ice maker. Check to see if your bin is broken (like mine). Call Liebherr and get the repair kit (about 99 bucks). Take a small screwdriver and remove the front nameplate (it clips in). Remove the screw. There is another screw on the side. Replace the parts needed.

    Here is where it gets interesting... Reinstall and turn off the ice maker by holding down the power button for about 2 seconds. Then press the power button for 5-8 seconds (but no more than 10) and the ice maker will do a "test run". Then press the power button again and after 2 seconds it will start flashing. Count how many times it flashes. It will be between 1-8 total. This is the water "fill time". The more flashes the more water it pumps into the tray during the fill. What breaks these trays is that they are overfilled with too much water and then they crack. When it stops flashing push the bin back in and pull it back out. It will increment one level (5 to a 6) and flash again. Reset it back to a 1 (three is default). Check tomorrow and if the ice is WAY too small - start again and bump it up a level.

    Water pressure might be overfilling your tray and causing the damage and now you know how to "hack" it back to normal operation. Personally we keep it on a 1 and just live with the smaller cubes. Also make sure your water is SOFT. If it is too hard the minerals will build up on the tray and cause the ice to not release.

    I miss the days with my Jenn-Air when I could order the ENTIRE ice maker for $35 and swap it out with one hand and no tools!

    Hope this helps!

  • malba2366
    Original Author
    6 years ago

    I would avoid Liebherr fridges, from many online reviews you can see that they break a lot and are very expensive to fix. I looked at Liebherr as well, because it was a "premium" fridge at a lower price point than others. I would honestly recommend Sub Zero to anyone looking at a premium fridge. If you can't swing that my second recommendation would be the Bosch built in line, and my third recommendation would be the bottom freezer Kitchenaid builtins (I wouldn't buy the s/s because they don't have dual evaporators or compressors).

  • enmafromva
    6 years ago
    We've had ours for 13 years with no repairs...
    Maybe the newer ones are not as good anymore
  • joemcmenamin1959
    6 years ago
    We've had our Leibherr for about 6 years and right from the get go it was a problem. I think it's the worst appliance I've ever owned and I would not recommend it to anyone. I know 2 others who have one and also agree that they are a nightmare to own.
  • latifolia
    6 years ago

    We bought a 24" Liebherr when we lived in Switzerland - loved it.

    Got a 30" when we moved back to the US and redid our kitchen 3 years ago. No issues, and love the non-plumbed ice maker. We go away for several months at a time, so I didn't want to worry about a burst water line.

    Bought a 24" model for our lake house a couple years ago. We needed a true counter depth fridge and this fit the bill at a decent price. No issues.

  • Beth Boatman
    4 years ago

    We've had our unit for approximately 2 years. It's a side by side (two separate units a right and a left) refrigerator; recently the door on the right side broke, wouldn't shut unless you forced it and then two pieces of plastice that held part of the door mechanism together broker; the manufacterer won't do a thing to help us and the door is "backordered" for up to 7 weeks and will cost us $500.00 plus labor. RIDICULOUS. We paid $5,000 for the unit all together and it has a one year warranty!!!! BUYER BEWARE

  • Norman Fineman
    3 years ago

    Strongly suggest you find an alternative


  • beachpea3
    3 years ago

    This is an update: Our 30" Liebherr with two freezer drawers is now 7 years old. Outside of the gasket that was replaced under warranty, the only issue we have had was the ice maker which was easily fixed; however, it was just after the 5 year warranty was up! It has been a great refrigerator. We recommend it.

  • PRO
    Sameday Fridge Repairs AGS Refrigeration
    last year
    1. Liebherr refrigerators are all furcoat and no knickers and are not what they use to be. Overrated and overprice better off with a Bosch, Siemens which for half the price will probably last longer.
  • dan1888
    last year

    Do you have any experience with the new Monolith models?