It all started more than 4 months ago. We lost power due to a thunderstorm and when the power returned, the temperature read-out for the refrigerator side started blinking and the 1.5 years old Samsung Refrigerator (RS267LASH/XAA) was never the same. The problem was that the temperature in the refrigerator side would fluctuate between 38F (as set) and 53-58F.
Upon calling Samsung, our case was dispatched to a local repair shop. Just keep in mind, my beef is not with the local repair shop but rather with Samsung’s ability to help diagnose problems and the subsequent process involved. Each time the local repair technician came out to the house he would call Samsung tech support to assist with the diagnostic. And each time Samsung would pin-point to issue to a different part of the fridge. The process when something like this:
Visit 1: Called Samsung and was told to order 2 parts ($85)
Visit 2: Installed Defrost Thermistor and Main Control Board ($248.63)
Visit 3: New parts didn’t do anything. Called Samsung and order 2 more parts ($0)
Visit 4: Installed Thermal fuse and Evaporator fan motor ($117.83)
Visit 5: New parts didn’t do anything. Called Samsung and was told to order yet another part ($0)
WTF??
Visit 6: Tech came out with new parts but did not install because he didn’t think it will work. Called Samsung and was told to order yet a different part. ($0)
Visit 7: New parts came in. Senior tech was not convinced it will do anything because he believed the issue is with the sealed system.
Apparently, the symptom is pretty normal by Samsung’s standard. The prescribed route is to replace parts in certain order until the problem goes away. In my case, the problem never went away and the local repair shop gave up. As a result, the unit is reported as “unrepairable” due to issues with the sealed system. The good news is the sealed system is warranted for 5 years and any issues due to sealed system to receive a prorated refund on the original cost based on a 10-years ownership. Since we’ve own the fridge around 2 years, we will be getting 80% of the original cost as a refund. The bad news, we’ve spent 4 months without a working fridge and put out over to $400 to reach “unrepairable” status, and ultimately have to go buy a new fridge.
Note to self, don’t ever get another Samsung Refrigerator. And if I am dumb enough to do it again, make sure to have extended product warranty in some shape or form.
Update: I’ve been thinking about this a bit more this last few days, and I want to make sure my feeling is clear — I have been very impressed with the way Samsung customer support been handling the case with professionalism and care. So I would buy other Samsung products in the future. However, I just don’t have the guts to buy another Samsung fridge from them in the near future in fear of the same outcome.
