Samsung french door refrigerator ice maker problems

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Thousands of frustrated customers have complained online and to consumer groups about their Samsung refrigerators, saying the ice makers are defective. It’s an issue Action 9 has been covering since 2017.

Table of Contents Show

LOOK: Here is the richest town in each state
LOOK: Here Are 30 Foods That Are Poisonous to Dogs
LOOK: Here are the 50 best beach towns in America
Why is my Samsung French door fridge not making ice?
Did Samsung ever fix ice maker problems?
Is there a recall on Samsung refrigerator ice makers?

Leslie Bragg says her Samsung ice maker “leaks water and then, when it does make the ice, it freezes everything up together.”

“Half the time it doesn’t make ice,” Bragg said. “It’s just a mess.”

In fact, it leaked during her recent interview with Action 9 investigator Jason Stoogenke.

Bragg wants Samsung to be held accountable. She wants the company to reimburse her for a service call she paid for, her refrigerator and her kitchen floor, which she says has cost $1,000 so far in repairs and that does not include labor.

“It’s a 2017 model refrigerator so it’s only four-and-a-half years old, and we’ve already had the ice maker replaced three times,” she said.

Bragg is not the only person complaining.

Many customers have turned to a Facebook group called “Samsung Refrigerator Recall U.S.A. Now.” It has more than 95,000 members. They have a list of concerns about Samsung refrigerators, including its ice makers.

Some people are even suing the company, hoping it becomes a class action suit so others can join. They claim the ice makers on Samsung refrigerators with French door dispensers have ice crystals at the bottom, slushy ice, water under the crispers or running down the wall, and a noisy fan.

At this time, there has not been a recall issued on the refrigerators.

When Stoogenke contacted Samsung, it would only say that customer satisfaction is “a top priority.”

Stoogenke found out lawyers in the case filed a paper with the court stating the parties “have a settlement in principal and are working on final details.”

Both sides are supposed to report back by Feb. 15. The judge will have to sign off on any deal.

Stoogenke offers this advice to anyone who owns a Samsung refrigerator and is having problems with it:

- Document the problem(s) and take photos.

- Contact the store where you purchased the refrigerator. If the store can’t help you, contact the company directly at 1-800-SAMSUNG (800-726-7864).

- Be persistent.

- You can also file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission, Consumer Product Safety Commission, and depending on where you live, with the North Carolina Attorney General’s office or the South Carolina Department of Consumer Affairs.

(WATCH: Customers complain about Samsung ice makers)

Customers complain about Samsung ice makers

Consumer Reports listed this refrigerator as one of the best. It was an awesome refrigerator, until it wasn't.

The problem is the ice maker. We purchased ours in 2017, and after a few months, it started jamming with ice buildup. We kept thawing it out, and living with the problem when it returned. Finally, we gave up and started using another method to make ice cubes.

Samsung Refrigerator, ice maker. Photo by Bill Keeler / TSM)

I went to YouTube to see if there was a fix, and I found out quickly that this must be a design flaw in the unit because there were several complaints about my very problem. There were also plenty of fixes on YouTube, almost all of which said the same thing: take out the ice basket and use a hair dryer to melt away the ice buildup. The problem is, there are 2 big mistakes with this repair.

First, once you melted away the ice buildup and the unit started working again, usually within it week it froze back up. This wasn't a fix, it was a cheap band-aid. The second problem with the online advice is that according to our Samsung repair person, you should never use a hair dryer on the ice making unit. He said, the hairdryer gets so hot that it melts and cracks the plastic inside, causing irreversible damage. The repair tech said instead of a hair dryer, use a steamer. That's what he used and it worked perfectly.

attachment-IMG_6648

There's good news - Samsung has now redesigned the ice unit in the refrigerator and they're standing by the product. Additionally, if you live in an area where there isn't a service team, they'll prorate the value depending on when you purchased it, and send you a check. I know one couple who received $1200 for a refrigerator they purchased in 2017. We were lucky because there was a service professional in our area, so they sent him out to our frozen fridge.

It turns out, the fix is not something you can do yourself. Because the ice maker is housed inside the refrigerator doors, it has to be completely sealed to prevent the ice from melting, freezing again, and then jamming up the unit. Our service technician was on the job for about an hour. He did seal the unit with a special caulk, but that was just the beginning. In fact, this is such a big problem for Samsung, they've created an Ice Maker Repair Kit for their service team.

Ice Maker Kit. Samsung Refrigerator, ice maker. Photo by Bill Keeler / TSM)

The service rep made several changes. He replaced the refrigerator's mother board, a part in the auger unit which was completely redesigned, he replaced the ice basket which might have been damaged by my wife's hair dryer, among other things.

Mother board. Samsung Refrigerator, ice maker. Photo by Bill Keeler / TSM)

Samsung Refrigerator, ice maker. Photo by Bill Keeler / TSM)

The conclusion is that Samsung recognizes the problem and they're willing to fix it if you call. Honestly, I'd be happier if they did a mass recall and I'm not pleased that we spent 3 years with a defective unit, but I appreciate the fact that they're now fixing it for free. It's also important to note that this is not a fix you can make on your own. You'll need parts and the knowhow to make the repair.

Finally, our refrigerator was repaired in early June and so far, it's working perfectly. I also asked the service tech, "What happens if you make the fix and after 6-months it doesn't work? Am I out of luck?" He assured me that Samsung would continue to stand behind the product and then added, "I've never had to go back to a house after I made this repair."

LOOK: Here is the richest town in each state

Just saying the names of these towns immediately conjures up images of grand mansions, luxury cars, and ritzy restaurants. Read on to see which town in your home state took the title of the richest location and which place had the highest median income in the country. Who knows—your hometown might even be on this list.

LOOK: Here Are 30 Foods That Are Poisonous to Dogs

To prepare yourself for a potential incident, always keep your vet's phone number handy, along with an after-hours clinic you can call in an emergency. The ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center also has a hotline you can call at (888) 426-4435 for advice.

Even with all of these resources, however, the best cure for food poisoning is preventing it in the first place. To give you an idea of what human foods can be dangerous, Stacker has put together a slideshow of 30 common foods to avoid. Take a look to see if there are any that surprise you.

LOOK: Here are the 50 best beach towns in America

Every beach town has its share of pluses and minuses, which got us thinking about what makes a beach town the best one to live in. To find out, Stacker consulted data from WalletHub, released June 17, 2020, that compares U.S. beach towns. Ratings are based on six categories: affordability, weather, safety, economy, education and health, and quality of life. The cities ranged in population from 10,000 to 150,000, but they had to have at least one local beach listed on TripAdvisor. Read the full methodology here. From those rankings, we selected the top 50. Readers who live in California and Florida will be unsurprised to learn that many of towns featured here are in one of those two states.

Keep reading to see if your favorite beach town made the cut.

Why is my Samsung French door fridge not making ice?

If the ice maker appears to not be making any or enough ice, low water pressure or a faulty water filter may be to blame. When the ice maker makes small, cloudy, or clumped ice, it could be something as simple as a dirty water filter, low water pressure, or high mineral deposits in your water.

Did Samsung ever fix ice maker problems?

ClassAction.org and other sources say Samsung has done nothing to help owners with their ice maker problems, including failure to issue a recall or to repair ore replace the refrigerators.