Hit 200 icemaker repair calls this year and still hate them

I crossed 200 icemaker service calls in 2024 last Tuesday, and you know what, I still don't think they're worth fixing most of the time. Everyone online swears by replacing the module or the valve, but I've seen more than half of those units fail again within 6 months. Am I the only one who tells customers to just buy a countertop ice maker instead of pouring money into a Samsung or LG fridge repair?

3 comments

3 Comments

wrenh651mo ago

Is this just the appliance world or is everything designed to fall apart after a few years now? Phones slow down, cars get planned obsolescence, and fridge parts get discontinued before the warranty even runs out. Feels like we are all just stuck replacing cheap junk over and over.

milaprice1mo ago

My 2012 washing machine is still running and I swear to god the only reason it died was I dropped a brick on it. Meanwhile my parents got a fridge in 2018 and the ice maker broke within 14 months. I think maybe we just got lucky with that old stuff but honestly if you buy the basic model with no touchscreens or smart features it still lasts forever.

valw361mo ago

100% agree with you on that. Those Samsung and LG icemakers are designed to fail, plain and simple. I tell people the same thing - stop throwing money at module swaps and just get a $60 countertop unit that'll actually work. The parts availability problem wrenh65 mentioned is real too, I've had to tell customers their fridge is basically a brick because the icemaker assembly went out of production after two years. Might sound harsh but pouring cash into a fridge that'll break again is worse than just buying a standalone machine.