Whirlpool Side-By-Side Refrigerators Can't Escape This Frequent Customer Complaint

Side-by-side refrigerators have become a common sight in kitchens, but they're far from perfect. While most take up more room than regular refrigerators and still leave you without enough space inside, Whirlpool's side-by-side variants are plagued by a different customer complaint — ice makers that stop making ice.

Most side-by-side refrigerators come with external ice dispensers, and though these are convenient, they require more maintenance than regular freezers (it's one of the many disadvantages of a side-by-side refrigerator). However, Whirlpool customers reported specific design issues on some models. For example, each time the refrigerator door opened, the wiring that powered the ice maker stretched and flexed, and in some cases, snapped. Some customers were able to get the ice maker to work again by patching the wires together. Others were told to replace the entire door. "The repair company said it's a known issue with this model. They used to replace the wiring but they'll just break again," one customer said on Reddit. "Sounds like a terrible design. Too bad, because I like the fridge, itself."

Another customer said water continued to flow into the ice-maker though the tray was full. "My guess is the valve that controls the water flow is either damaged or is stuck partially open because it has debris in it," a helpful user responded. "The ice maker has a timer that controls how long the valve opens to fill the tray with water. When these fail the valve either stays open and floods your fridge or stays closed and you don't get ice."

Whirlpool refrigerators tend to have an average life-span of between 10 to 20 years. But subreddits dedicated to malfunctioning appliances are full of frustrated owners trying to figure out why their ice makers stopped. According to Whirlpool, problems with ice makers can be linked to a few key components, from water lines and valves to malfunctioning filters, and it suggests a list of troubleshooting steps to identify the issue. However, there are bigger problems for the manufacturer than disgruntled buyers online.

In 2024, a class action lawsuit was filed against Whirlpool alleging that the wiring in side-by-side door refrigerators manufactured between 2018 and 2021 was badly designed, causing repeated malfunctions. In March 2026, the United States District Court for the District of Delaware granted preliminary approval for a nationwide class action settlement. This allows settlement class members to claim cash or discounts on repairs caused by snapped wires on affected models.

In all the doom and gloom, there is a small piece of good news for the brand. Despite these frequent complaints about certain side-by-side variants, Whirlpool stayed out of our list of six most unreliable refrigerator brands — a list which includes four massive consumer electronics giants.