Frigidaire is Not Built to Last

After moving into our house, we replaced the original refrigerator with the Frigidaire 18 cubit foot Top Freezer model. It was on sale for $500 making it an affordable purchase at the time. I liked the gallon-sized door compartments, the removable, glass shelving and the easy-to-clean crisper drawers. What we did not know is that this model has a reputation for a short life span.

We bought our 18 cubic foot Frigidaire on April 18, 2004. This past Saturday marked the fridge’s fifth birthday. A birthday met with disaster when we opened up or freezer to find everything within it had melted or thawed.

My upkeep of that fridge is meticulous. Every two months, I pull it out and vacuum off the condenser coils and motor system. This is more than Sears recommended. I hate dust and am overly fussy. After calling Sears, they said the fact that the light turns on, but the condenser motor doesn’t points to either a faulty condenser or condenser switch. We learned there is a five-year warranty on the condenser, but they told us to call Frigidaire directly.

I spoke to customer service at Frigidaire and learned that while there is a warranty, it provides coverage if our fridge reaches them on that day since the warranty was soon to expire. We would have to pay shipping to their location and back. If it turned out to be something other than the condenser, we’d pay their going rate on parts and installation. This is certainly not worth it.

In the end, we scrambled to find a new fridge and have it delivered that same day but were unsuccessful. It ended up working out that my brother gave us the older fridge that’s been sitting in his garage for three years. Thankfully, that model, an RCA, runs beautifully. We were able to save our groceries!