KitchenAid French Door Ice Maker Issues

12 years ago

I purchased one of KitchenAid's French door refrigerators last summer. I've been very happy with it in general; except the ice maker which has been a source of annoyance since day one.

First of all, it seems to make too much ice. Then, the ice has trouble coming down the chute. When I open the door up to get at the ice manually, lots of pieces spill out onto my floor causing me to go scrambling to find them. Did I mention I have 2 messed up knees? This, is not easy for me and a lot of times I miss one or two and then I have puddles to deal with. The ice also is not being "cut up" - it's still in groups of 3 or 4 (which could be part of the problem). The ice is also falling below the ice maker causing even more jams.

So, basically for a year now my ice maker is useless. I've had them replace it two times already, once in it's entirety. I'm pissed that I spent over $2000 for this refrigerator (again, which I really like otherwise - love the storage, convenience of the way it's set up, the fridge keeps temperature perfectly, etc.) but can't get a damn piece of ice out it!

Is anyone else having this problem? Thankfully I purchased it from a store which stands by the products they sell and they have been very good about coming out and trying to fix this. Right now they are again, trying to come up with another solution (there are whispers by the salesperson of replacing the unit completely).

The repair people did tell me they have been hearing complaints of this model a lot (I don't remember which one it is off-hand, it's the Architect's series).

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Laurie
Original Author

12 years ago

No problems with water overflowing, just ice jamming/not going down the chute and then when we try and get it from inside, all the ice goes flying all over the kitchen floor.

They've replaced the unit 3 times already to no avail. I don't know if the bail arm was looked into so I'll mention it when they come on Tuesday.

Regardless, it's a poor design obviously and nobody should pay over $2000 for a refrigerator that has an ice-maker that went out to market that wasn't designed well. I've had 3 other fridges over the years, in various homes, with in-the door ice makers (from various makers, of lesser quality) and none of them had this issue.

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Comments (15)

colorlady
12 years ago
Is this the counter depth model sivyaleah? I just got mine put in and haven't had the plumber hook up the ice maker yet. I'm worried that I might regret hooking up now.
Laurie
Original Author
12 years ago
It is, sorry to say.

I'm still waiting for a call back from service. I spoke to my sales person and reiterated the story yet again.

I'm going to push hard for a completely new refrigerator at this point. Considering they have "repaired" it 3x already to no avail, I think it's time.

I hope yours works out better.
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fauguy
12 years ago
Do you know what the model number is?
I have a KitchenAid KSCS25FS side-by-side counter depth unit from 2006. It has the ice bucket on the door. Whenever I get ice from the front, it likes to jam-up in the clear plastic chute, and I have to use my finger to break the ice loose. Now I just open the freezer door and grab some ice from the bucket in there.
powertoolpatriot
12 years ago
sivyaleah,
I've seen that problem before. In the instance I saw, the tube that puts the water in the icemaker is too long and this causes the water to overflow. Don't know if this is your problem, but sounds similar. Also if you are getting too much ice, perhaps the bail arm is out of position, bent, or stuck.
Good luck. Hope the techs can get it fixed!
aliris19
12 years ago
sivyaleah - not sure powertool is suggesting the water is overflowing, but perhaps if too much water is going into the ice maker to replace removed ice, then water could be spilling out over the tops of the cube holes, causing a clump of ice too big to get broken up? I think that may be what s/he's implying could happen from having a 'too-long tube putting water in the ice maker causing water to overflow'.

Anyway, maybe mention this as well as the bail arm....
Laurie
Original Author
12 years ago
Thanks Aliris, your detailed explanation helped me understand better. I'll point that out to the tech as well. Perhaps they were only looking at the ice maker itself, not the water line.
Laurie
Original Author
12 years ago
Well we found out the problem after several visits by the technician. He was back today and again called Kitchen Aid.

Seems the electrical board that controls the ice maker is the problem and Kitchen Aid is well aware of the issue. It isn't telling the fridge when to stop making ice, hence it backing up and not going down the chute, etc.

They ordered a new board, which will arrive next week. If this doesn't work - I'm getting a new fridge :D
aprince
12 years ago
It is unfortunate you are having this problem. Saying this has a design problem isn't really giving it its due.

French door refrigerators are designed with the freezer on the bottom. Too dispense ice through the door is impossible with this design due to physics. The freezer is lower than the dispenser.
To overcome this obstacle Kitchen Aid has placed an ice-maker separate from the freezer towards the top of the refrigerator and gravity does the rest. Two separate freezing units inside one refrigerator. More parts means more can go wrong.
IMHO quality and technology have a ways to go with dispensing french door refrigerators.
fauguy
12 years ago
sivyaleah,

Is this the model you are having the problems with?
KFIS27CX

Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.ajmadison.com/cgi-bin/ajmadison/KFIS27CX.html
fauguy
12 years ago
Or this one? KFIS20XV

Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.ajmadison.com/cgi-bin/ajmadison/KFIS20XV.html
Laurie
Original Author
12 years ago
It's the KFIS20XV - I just looked inside the refrigerator to make sure.
atllaw19138
8 years ago
I, too have a French door Kitchenaid with problem with icemaker. Yes, it does seem to make too much ice, then there is a "clicking/clunking" of the icemaker that seems to signal when its too full so I just have to remove the container and what falls on the floor the dogs / cats love as dogs will chomp it, cats will push it around all day (or at least until it melts) if the dogs don't grab it. ha. The refrigerator is GREAT, the icemaker is NOT. Not willing to spend another $2,000 for another one so am on here to see if anyone has an idea how to slow down the making of ice.
hoosiermimiof3
5 years ago
Oh no, didn't want to be a member of this club! Our model, KRFC704FBS, is having ice maker issues after about 6 months....sigh. Calling today for repair/advice. Hate when it falls onto floor, but right now would just be happy to have ice at all! Love this French door refrigerator/freezer EXCEPT for the terrible ice maker. I mean, really, considering the price, one would expect a better outcome!
laurieannphillips
5 years ago
@hoosiermimiof3, how is your KRFC704FBS doing? I'm thinking of purchasing one, but want to go in with my eyes open

KitchenAid French Door Ice Maker Issues

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