Electrolux refrigerator ice maker - has the problem been fixed?

13 years ago

I'm interested in buying the Electrolux Icon French-door refrigerator (Model # E23BC78IPS, which is mechanically identical to the regular Electrolux non-Icon model EW23BC71IS). But I'm concerned because two separate appliance salesmen and two separate stores have told me the exact same story, using the same words, which goes something like this:

"Electrolux is a really great brand. You see, when they were having problems with the ice maker, they took really good care of their customers, and promptly fixed the problem. And it wasn't really a 'problem', per se. The problem, you see, was that the machine was just too good - too sophisticated - at responding to power dips, so when the compressor increased power, the machine concluded that there was no power for the separate ice-maker compressor and turned it off, causing all the ice to melt."

Given that two separate salesmen at unrelated stores 10 miles apart told me this story, it's obvious that this is some sort of Electrolux talking point that the regional Electrolux rep told them to say. But I can't quite figure out what they're talking about.

Does anyone know if the models I mentioned above actually have a problem of the ice maker melting all of the ice? Does this problem occur in the current models, or do those model numbers represent fixes of this problem over some prior generation of Electrolux? Does it depend on the date of manufacture (if so, when did they fix the problem)? Or does Electrolux's awareness of the problem mean that they'll come and retrofit your machine if necessary, but the out-of-box experience is still a broken ice maker?

I certainly have some reverence for the three-year-long thread attached to the bottom of this post. But that thread seems to have veered off into other problems.

The bottom line is: If I buy a E23BC78IPS, can I assume that some ice maker problem of yore no longer exists, and it's as likely to be a lemon (or not) as any other major brand of refrigerator? Or are the salesmen just practicing damage control about some problem that Electrolux still hasn't figured out fix?

Here is a link that might be useful: Electrolux Icon Refrigerator Temperature Problem

Featured Answer

fromwithin

12 years ago

Ok, we bought our wave touch french door fridge on may 2010. Nothing but problems!!!
First it made ice, but not consistently. It would sometimes make a batch and then just stop. you would have to turn the ice maker off and then back on (almost like resetting it?)... Then we also had issues with the LED's in the wave touch panel burning out (twice). Problem is you cant just replace the bulb. Good thing its still under warranty because they have to replace the whole wave touch panel.
Then in April of 2011 the ice maker quit working completely. We had service people come out 5 times until they figured out the problem. The way these ice makers make ice, is there is a bunch of small steel cylinders in which water surrounds them. Once ice has formed the unit then heats up the small steel cylinders and the ice melts and falls off them into the tray. Well the heater broke and so ice was made but could not release into tray.
Waited on parts from april till the end of july. In which I wrote Electrolux head office an email stating all the issues. I will say the customer service from electrolux was great, they replaced our fridge with a brand new one. We recieved our new electrolux wave touch fridge. And it looks like they changed the ice maker up. It no longer uses the steel cylinders to make ice. It looks more like the regular way fridges make ice now.. I have only had it for about 6 hours now, so I will update after we have had it for a few months to review again.
Hope this heps.

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Comments (12)

akrogirl
13 years ago
I guess we must have been lucky. We bought our Electrolux Icon fridge approx. 5 years ago and haven't had any problems.
captsmethwick
13 years ago
We bought an EW23BC71IS in February of this year and put it into service in late June (it's a long story...). We did have 2 or 3 instances of ice maker "stalling" issues within the first few weeks that led to no ice being made but wondered if its sitting in storage for months (in our garage during renos) was partly at fault.

In mid-August, we decided to empty out the ice drawer every week in a bid to improve lubrication of the (rather sophisticated) mechanism. It has worked like a charm and the stalling problem has not resurfaced. We do not intend to do this for much longer and are interested to see if the problem reoccurs once we stop.

Otherwise, though, we are quite happy with the fridge - its interior layout and quality are fantastic, the temperature-holding is perfect and the lighting and the visibility of food stored is perfect. Overall, we're quite happy with this unit.
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I have basically the same problem with ice build up in this icemaker. At the beginning I just defrosted it again and again. Then I realized I'm not the only one and that it normally should work properly. I read a lot articles about sealing the gaps at ice maker and started so doing it from the outside with no progress, then removing all parts from the inside and sealing the possible gaps from the inside. But especially when removing the icemaker compnents I realized that the most critical ice buildup was at the top of the spillover tube. The tube has a heating wire wrapped around it covered in a metallic tape. This heating wire ends approx. an inch before the top end of the tube. I added some more insulation to it with the hope that this will help. Later I found an article which mentioned that the newest version of this tube has the heating attached until the top end and not ending before. Of course my ice maker froze again and I checked it every few days and realized, that the spillover seems to freeze over at first and then the rest from the icemaker. So I dissassembled everything again, removed the tape with the heating wire carefully from the tube and reattached it to the tube starting directly at the top of the tube. I've done this 2 weeks ago and still no ice buildup at the tube and the rest of the icemaker still looks ok. I will monitor this but currently I'm convinced that I've solved the problem and defrosting it once a year for the future would be ok for me (was every 4-6 weeks in the past).
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chris8796
13 years ago
I bought a Electrolux FD frig in April and had some odd ice maker behavior. I called the company, the first thing they had me do was check the software version of the machine. They said I needed an icemaker and software upgrade. They fed-exed me the parts and sent a service guy to install (2-3hr job). I've had no problems since. The company is definately aware of the problem and seem to have a workable solution. I believe the upgrade addresses other issues other than the ice maker, I noticed the repairman did some work on the non-ice door too.

I've been generally happy with the frig. I didn't have time to research it before I bought it. I was justing thinking of getting a new frig and saw this beauty in a scratch and dent sale at Lowes for 50% off. It had a small dent on the left side, which is up against the wall at my house. I bought it immediatley, since I knew I would never splurge for one at retail price. It definately looked better than any frig at Lowes and hopefully now it will operate like it too.
captsmethwick
13 years ago
Update: our ice maker upped and died a couple of weeks ago. A call to Electrolux informed us that they had just released a bulletin that required a new part be installed in these cases. Problem: the local repair guys don't yet have the part. Has anybody else heard of this and/or have more info?
bldaz
12 years ago
This and Has been the major issue with this top of the line french door model~
Counter-Depth French Door Refrigerator with Wave-TouchÃ¯Â¿Â½ Controls
STAINLESS STEEL EW23BC71IS
We have had 3 different repair company technicians and 5 trys at replacing the units software board, internal parts, only one tech actually replaced internals, others could get it out. Well we bought in 09 and its 2011 it is now down again. No ice, ice melts, stops making ice, you name it. Lemon dont buy where is my GE?
dryad001us_yahoo_com
12 years ago
We bought our fridge in late 09. With the multitude of ice maker problem (fixed 4 separate times) and the display burning out we decided to try and get a replacement for our $3600 mistake.

Our new replacement will be here this week hopefully with a redesigned ice maker and better display board. If this fails Im not sure what to do.

Crossing my fingers
swedish_pimple
10 years ago
Posting to an old thread, but hoping to get some more info. Just moved into a new house for us and our Electrolux fridge has the melting ice issue as referenced by others. It is obviously out of warranty by now. I contacted general phone number and was told I would have to make a service call on my own dime since it is out of warranty. I'm hoping to find out who poster, FromWithin, contacted to have his/her issue resolved.

TIA,
Matt
MissyMouse
10 years ago
RE: Swedish_Pimple

I have had issues with mine since we bought it in 2010. Had it repaired several times, including a new front panel. The icemaker still make noises, water leaks out of the water dispenser, and the cubes don't always come out because they have melted together.

Electrolux has yet to recall the product. However, I spoke with them, today, and was told to have a repairman come out and take pictures of the icemaker, especially, the finger tubes. If the tubes are bent, crushed, caved in, that is a sign of a major defect that can not be fixed. Once Electrolux receives the pics, they will make a determination as to whether you will get a new fridge.

If you don't want to spend the money on a repairman, I would call them and ask if you can take the pictures and send them in.

Good luck
jane__ny
10 years ago
Do the new fridges still use the same ice-maker. Why would they give you a new fridge if they still have the same ice maker?

I'm wondering if the new models have different ice makers?

Jane
Muffett
10 years ago
I have the Electolux wave touch French door counter depth fridge with two ice makers purchased in Dec 2013 and installed in Jan 2014.

Ice maker in the freezer section works fine so far.

Ice maker in the fresh food section stopped working after a month due to melted ice in the bottom of the bin. After warranty repair swapped out the ice maker tray - no change. Then adjusted the water level and temperature - no change. Finally replaced all the gaskets - ice maker working as expected...fingers crossed that it continues. :D
swedish_pimple
9 years ago
Thanks, Missy. I'll report back when I make some progress.

Electrolux refrigerator ice maker - has the problem been fixed?

fromwithin

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