The Most Common Problems With Samsung Refrigerators, Per Consumer Reports

Remodeling your kitchen? Chances are, after choosing your countertops and cabinets, your next step is picking out appliances. With so many brands offering the latest bells and whistles, it's tricky to find something like a refrigerator that works best at one thing. In this case, keeping food cold. Among the most popular refrigerator brands is Samsung, which sells dozens of high-tech stainless steel models. However, according to Consumer Reports, several complaints have been filed against Samsung fridges in recent years, leading customers to believe it's a rather unreliable refrigerator brand.

Between January 2019 and December 2021, more than 600 complaints about Samsung refrigerators were sent to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). Most involved problems with the ice maker, with many customers noting that food went bad due to too-warm temperatures inside the fridge. Other reports cited food poisoning due to the fridge's faulty cooling system. As a result, two class-action lawsuits were filed against Samsung, along with a swell of online criticism toward the appliance brand.

The model most tied to these complaints was the French-Door refrigerator. It received poor reliability and satisfaction scores in a recent Consumer Reports survey. Another culprit was the Samsung Bottom-Freezer model, which received low survey ratings for the same reasons. Other brands scored low, too, but not as many as Samsung. Ice not properly dispensing from the ice maker or accumulating in the freezer resulting in melting and leakage are not ideal for a brand-new kitchen.

While newer Samsung fridge models had higher performance scores when tested by Consumer Reports, this didn't account for durability and longevity of models bought by customers within the last decade. This is why the outlet asks customers about their experience in its annual survey, which uncovered older Samsung French-door and bottom-freezer fridges that featured ice maker and temperature issues. No wonder Redditors claim it's the refrigerator brand to avoid at all costs.

So, what can you do if you have faulty fridge? Apparently, Samsung has a strong customer support department where you can file complaints or ask questions about your product via live chat, email, or phone, at (800) 726-7864. From there, staff can help you get to the bottom of your fridge's issue and provide various fixes, which may involve in-person repairs, returns, or exchange options.

If you bought a Samsung fridge within the last decade and it's still going strong, consider yourself lucky. Hopefully, you won't have to reenter the appliance market anytime soon. Still, if you're wishing for that new-and-improved kitchen look, turn to the best refrigerator brands, which, according to Consumer Reports, include LG or Whirlpool's top- or bottom-freezer models.