I would disagree with putting ALL French Door refrigerators in the same class. I have a 25 Cu Ft LG French Door frig, Model LMX25981 which was put into service in Feb 2009 and it, including the Ice Maker, has operated flawlessly. I would buy another one tomorrow if I needed a frig.

I didn't say the word "all" anywhere in my post.

Please don't put words into my mouth.

Nobody is putting words in your mouth. You said, "However, caveat. I was warned to NOT get another in-door ice/water dispenser on the French door again. Apparently, no matter what brand of refrigerator you purchase there are inherent problems with the design for this type of refrigerator.

That would suggest you meant all FD models, not just one brand or model.

Thanks for getting to this before me Deeageaux.

As you point out, of course there will be more working than non-working of this model. They never would have made it to market if it were the other way around.

However, in the 1-1/2 years since I've been dealing with the problem I've done a lot of research and had many conversations with other owners of French door refrigerators, the appliance store and their repair staff. They concur with what you wrote. Consumers like their bells and whistles and conveniences (including me) and they attempt to package them as best to their ability. In this case, the engineering of it can not be overcome and the percentage of failing ice makers is large as an overall common denominator for this type of appliance.

If it were me again, I'd want to read about that here on GW. When I was doing research for my kitchen rehab I appreciated every review I came across for every appliance I was considering, good or bad. Unfortunately at that time, I didn't come across any dealing with this particular subject here. It would have meant a lot to me to have read one.

Hmmm, I did read some threads about issues with the thru the door ice and water, but we had it in our old side by side and really would have missed it as the whole family drinks a lot of ice water. Very conveniant for the grandkids too. We went ahead and purchased the KA Archicect II FD fridge with the compact ice maker and ice and water thru the door. We have had it about 6 months and absolutely love it, no issues. I think a lot of problems can be related to improper fill level or improper temp.

Never had a "French door" however have had a side by side with Ice Maker and water in the door for over 20 years without a single problem of any kind.

First was a Kenmore (Whirlpool) lasted 19 years and was still in perfectly good working condition when we sold it almost a year ago.
Never had a problem with ice maker or water.

New one is a Kenmore Elite (Samsung)with ice maker, water and 7" display.
So far after almost a year not one problem of any kind, works perfect.

Side by side is different than french door... in SxS the ice maker is actually in the freezer compartment, unlike in FD where it's in the fridge (with resulting engineering limitations). Maybe that's why they last longer.

But then you have the pizza box storage problem! ;)

I think ice makers on the door are trouble-prone in general...no matter the style of fridge or brand. We've had a GE sxs for 14 years and have had to repair or replace the ice maker numerous times. I love this feature however and would never buy a fridge without one. Our remodel starts in january and I'm holding my breath on all our new appliances because they just don't seem to make them like they used to.

Of course a SxS fridge with ice maker on the door is going to be more repair prone that a SxS without one. More stuff to break will result in more broken stuff.

But a FD with ice on the door will be more repair prone than a SxS with ice on the door.

I have had my GE SxS with ice on the door for 20 years with zero problems.None,nada,not once.

But anecdotes are one thing published data another. Look at the repair rates published by Consumer Reports and other studies.

Old school top freezer models without ice that have not changed much in 40 years other than compressors mandated by federal energy star regulations are the least repair prone.

Well, I took a chance on an Electrolux IQ touch fridge, french door/water and ice in the door. 1.5 years in and no trouble yet, knock on wood....

Our Maytag FD and ice/water have worked without any problems since 2006. Still works great and it has dispensed lots of ice.

Hi, I have two questions:

1) Have ice/water in FD designs/repair rates improved at all in the last 5 years?

2) If I wanted to take a chance on one of these, what are the best appliance companies/manufacturers to purchase from in case I do have a problem?

Thanks.

I'm also curious- does anyone know of any recent French Door models that don't have issues with the ice maker?

I would just like to comment even though this is an older thread. French door refrigerators with in-the-door ice dispensers are known to have problems. This is due to the ice maker being located in the refrigerator area rather than the freezer area. All brands have problems. We had to replace our Samsung french door refrigerator after two years because of recurrent problems with ice buildup around the ice maker making it unusable. Samsung repairmen came out several times, the last time even replacing the entire ice maker but to no avail. After much research I learned that these all have problems despite the brand and although not everyone who has a French door refrigerator with an in-the-door ice dispenser will have problems, these types of refrigerators have an inordinate amount of issues necessitating repair or replacement. We finally bought a French door refrigerator with the ice maker in the bottom and have no problems.

We have the same problem with our Whirlpool french door refrigerator. The ice maker freezes up and so does the drain line. Numerous repairs with no improvement.