KitchenAid fridge styles and cooling systems
KitchenAid sells French door fridges in standard and counter-depth sizes. It also makes side-by-side and built-in models. Some French door units are panel ready.
Two cooling systems show up in the lineup. ExtendFresh uses a sensor in each section to watch the temperature. The Preserva Food Care System goes further. It has two separate cooling systems and a Produce Preserver in the crisper. With Preserva, the fridge and freezer do not share air.
That matters for repair. A two system fridge has more fans and more sensors to test.
Fresh food section warm while the freezer holds
We get this call more than any other. On a single system fridge, cold air comes from the freezer coil. A fan pushes it up through a small door called a damper. Frost on the coil blocks that air.
Frost builds when defrost fails. Blame can fall on the defrost heater, the defrost sensor or the control. We open the rear freezer panel and look at the coil. A solid block of white ice tells the story. We then test each defrost part to find the one that quit.
Both sections warm
When nothing is cold, we go to the back and bottom.
- Condenser coil matted with dust.
- Condenser fan stalled.
- Start relay burned on the compressor.
- Control board not calling for cooling.
- Compressor or sealed system fault.
Built-in models have the coil up top behind a grille. It clogs where you cannot see it.
Ice, water and leak faults
A stalled ice maker has a short list of causes. Its water inlet valve may not open. The fill tube may be frozen. The ice maker itself may have a bad motor or sensor. A slow water dispenser often traces to an old filter. We check water pressure at the valve first.
A pool under the crisper drawers comes from the defrost drain. When that drain freezes, melt water runs into the fridge. We clear the ice and flush the tube. Water on the floor can also come from a cracked supply line or a loose fitting at the valve.
Simple things to look at first
- Pull food away from the air vents at the back wall.
- Check that both French doors close and the center flap folds in.
- Change a water filter that is past six months.
- Make sure no one bumped the controls into a demo or cooling-off mode.
- Feel the door gaskets for gaps.
The service visit, step by step
Call or book online and tell us the model number. Phones are staffed starting at 6 AM, and the last slot ends at 9 PM, any day. Same-day visits happen on most calls. The tech checks temperatures, fans and frost. The fee to diagnose is $79 in a home. Then you get a firm price that includes labor and parts. Once you approve the job, the $79 is not billed. Fridge techs here are licensed and insured, and a background check is part of hiring. Work is under our 30-day repair warranty. A+ is independent and not part of KitchenAid.
Deciding on a big fridge repair
Fans, valves, heaters, sensors and ice makers are good repairs. A built-in unit is worth even more effort, since a new one costs so much. A sealed system failure on an older freestanding model is where we slow down. You will get the repair price along with our view of the rest of the unit.
Illinois homes can use our Chicago area appliance repair page. See also the main refrigerator repair page and the KitchenAid appliance repair overview. We fix the rest of a KitchenAid kitchen too, like the KitchenAid dishwasher. Cold milk and hard ice cream are the two tests we use before we go.