i've had fridges with icemakers for the past 20 or so years, never had a leak. if you're really concerned, have your installer use copper tubing and install a shut-off valve somewhere close to your fridge. often, they'll just use braided metal flex hose and just tap into any nearby water supply line.

I couldn't live without my icemaker. Have always had one and never had a leak. With that said though, we have always replaced the cheap plastic water line tubing with copper. Do you like the look of the water/ice dispenser on the outside? Will you use it a lot? Many don't want to see that, but I chose it for my fridge because we use it daily.

We have a Kitchen Aid SxS with ice and water on the outside and I love it...I have always wanted one and we use it constantly...we've had the fridge for over 2 1/2 years, and then three weeks ago, the ice maker just stopped making ice. No warning or anything. Thankfully, we had purchased the extended warranty on it...swapping fuses (or whatever it was) didn't work, so they gave us a brand new ice maker.

I've heard many stories about ice makers breaking quickly, which is why I opted for the warranty...if you go that route, might be something to consider.

Dh had an ice/water dispenser for as long as he could remember, I've never had one so we opted to get it with the fridge we purchased 2yrs ago.

Frankly, if I didn't have it I wouldn't miss it. I do like the ice maker but I don't need a dispenser. The only time I use ice is to fill my water bottle, and then I have to reach into the bin because the opening in the water bottle is too small for the dispenser.

It also takes up space in the freezer (or fridge if you are looking into bottom mount freezer). As a family of 6 we need all the space we can get in our fridge.

We're going to be getting a new fridge soon and I'm hoping I can talk dh out of the dispenser. It might be a great feature IF we remembered to change the water filter and such...but for now getting water out of the faucet is quicker and just as good as what we are getting from the fridge.

We have a Frigidaire sxs with icemaker and water dispenser at the beach house and haven't had any problems with it. It's 4 years old.

Never had a problem with a regular old icemaker. But everyone I know with an "in-the-door" dispenser has problems with it. Seems like they never work. So I'm opting to get a fridge with ice maker and water dispenser inside. Hopefully I'll have better luck. (And after dreaming of in-the-door ice for years, I justified this decision by deciding I wouldn't like all the gunk that would collect on the dispenser. Like I need something else to obsess over cleaning. LOL!)

we had a subzero 650 in our old house and the ice maker needed repair for broken parts (all PLASTIC) four times in one year. we've been gone a while now so i'm guessing the new owners of that piece of junk have had even more service calls or have replaced it.

My old Whirlpool had an icemaker inside the freezer and I never had a leak in over 25 years but the it did freeze up a few times and had to be defrosted. My KA is now 5 years old - it has an ice dispenser and water and no problems at all - by the way KA has the ice bin in the door of the freezer which frees up space in the freezer itself - I love having the ice through the door.

We've had a Kenmore sxs with water and ice in the door for 6 years. We had a problem at the very beginning and Sears replaced the entire fridge no questions. No issues since and we did not replace the plastic tubing. We're going with a Fisher & Paykel FD in the remodel with just the water dispenser on the door, the ice is in the bottom mount freezer. The water dispenser is the more important to us - we use it several times a day.

I've never had an icemaker break, but we did have a leak. While we were on vacation. For a week and a half. So...definitely get a copper line, a leak stop shut off and turn you water off when you go out of town. (same for your washer) Yes, we still have a icemaker with no further problems.

I second kidshop. ALWAYS turn your water off when you leave for vacation. I turn it off at the main. Compression fittings are just waiting to fail. A coworker had a failure on the compression fitting for a second floor toilet when he was out of town. It rained in his house for a day and a half and the whole place was ruined.

You can rely on the fact that they're gonna break some day...

But they're so darned convenient that I get 'em anyway...

I am probably going to jinx myself by saying this but here goes. We bought a GE SxS fridge with water and ice in the door in in 1985 and it died in 2000. The compressor went- the ice maker and water still worked perfectly. It survived little kids using it just fine! We bought the top of the line KA SXS with water and ice in the door in 2000. Still works great. I plan to never be without that feature- I use it several times a day. And when this one dies I cant wait to look at a new stainless steel one! HTH Sue

I had a GE for 18 years with ice make and dispenser in the door. It worked fine never a problem or repair until last year it finnaly gave up. I replaced the frig and that started the whole remodel process.

We did the whole copper piping thing when we installed our fridge. It took us a while to get around to it, tho (moving in and all), and then the dumb little contraption the kit provided to 'tap into' the water line broke when I tried to use it (why exactly they'd put a flimsy little handle on the thing that's supposed to be turned to puncture a hole in a *copper water pipe,* I don't know). So we had to have the pipe cut and a regular cut-off handle installed. Etc. By the time we got around to actually trying to use the bloody icemaker, the 1-year warranty was done. It took us a few days to figure out why the thing was only making a couple cubes of ice. Then I happened to be standing nearby when it turned on and SPLOOSH!! Water everywhere. Not the copper tubing. Nope. It was the little plastic tube IN THE FRIDGE that had a hole in it. We shut the stupid thing off. I can't believe we wasted so much money on it to begin with, and dearly wish I had that half cubic foot of space in the freezer.

Also, there was a side by side in the villa we stayed at in the islands that had a thru-the-door ice dispenser. Stuff in the freezer wouldn't stay frozen because of all the hot air coming in thru the door opening. We had to stuff a washcloth in there to keep stuff from melting. What a stupid design.

So, my next fridge won't have any of these 'features.' I can make my own ice. Phooey.

In the door icemakers / water dispenser will eventually break. Our KA fridge's icemaker water dispenser broke 3 times in 17 years. After the 3rd time, we never fixed it - just made ice the old fashioned way.

In our new fridge - we went with an internal water dispenser and internal icemaker which based on all of you research should be MUCH more reliable

we've had a variety of fridges with ice-makers over the years. The ice-makers needed repair several times, as does our current GE model.

But the water dispensers never required repair. I like them for several reasons, the main one being that my family can get a drink of cold water without interrupting my work at the sink. My husband says coffee tastes better when using the filtered, cold water from the dispenser as opposed to the tap.

It's like all wheel drive in your car: adds a lot of extra moving parts, inevitably needs more repairs, but indispensible for some of us.

That said, it's about the only thing that hasn't gone wrong with my 8yr old Kenmore.

I'm sooo looking forward to leaving that sucker behind!

insersesian--we have a kitchenaid side by side with icemaker in the door that is almost 2-1/2 years old and it stopped making ice about 2 or 3 weeks ago too. Unfortunately, we don't have an extended warranty. We haven't called the repair person yet, but I am disappointed to hear that you needed a new icemaker. We love the ice and water and door and it will be worth the repair cost, but next refrigerator we'll get an extended warranty!

We've had ours for about 3 years with no problems. One of the requirements I had for a new built-in frig for the remodel was that it have water and ice in the door. I don't have it hooked up to water in the rental house we are in during the remodel, and I really miss it. I kept small paper cups nearby so my kids didn't get 500 glasses dirty every day. I still use the in-the-door ice dispenser. I just load it with bags of ice I buy.

With our old kitchen's GE Profile refrigerator (top freezer), first the dispenser died in the first year and then the icemaker died a couple of years later...we had copper pipes/tubing. It actually sprang a leak somewhere inside so we just shut the water off to it and used ice trays for the next 9 years or so...

We have another GE Profile (bottom freezer) w/icemaker but not dispenser. I figure if the icemaker goes it will be a great excuse to buy a separate iceaker!

carolyn53562 If you still get water and no ice, you may just need to replace the water inlet valve. A DIY job that is easy to do. Google ice maker repair and you should come up with instructions. I have replaced valves twice on our Kenmore that is several years old. Recent one had sediment in the line. Water side worked but not the ice. Hope this helps.
John

We have a 20 something year old Whirlpool frig...the in-the-freezer icemaker quit working last year. Got a new repair part for cheap off of eBay & fixed it myself in less than 5 minutes. Personally, I wouldn't want the dispensers on the outside because it's just more stuff to break and more stuff to clean.

I don't think it is any secret that ice and water dispeners in the door are prone to problems, but I still like them. We've had them in every frig we've owned (GE, Amana, and now Subzero) and they've all had issues. No leaks, but with the GE and Amana the water tended to freeze up and stop dispensing. The Subzero has worked much better, but is still finicky and refuses to work from time to time. That said I'd still get ice and water in the door on my next frig. We recently bought a second home that already had a Viking frig with an ice maker, but no dispenser in the door and I miss it.

houtx--thanks for the suggestion! My DH already checked it out as far as he could and didn't know what to try next, so he'll be pleased to hear your suggestion as he likes to fix things himself.