Hate to point out t obvious here, but the fridge has a one year warranty. Your fridge is 4 years old. It's been out of warranty for three years.

Don't know about refrigerators but my Kitchen Aid dishwasher had a five year warranty -- and I got no help at all from Kitchen Aid when it failed after just one week (this was a while ago, but I see they haven't improved their service). The local company I bought it from did give me a new one -- and that completely failed a week out of the five-year warranty. So I didn't replace it with a Kitchen Aid product.

I've had my KA side-by-side fridge for 2.5 years. Internal ice-maker, no dispenser through the door. Quiet and carefree.

Have you tried sites like repairclinic.com to see if the part is available. I'm really surprised KA can't get you the part - I though manufacturer's had parts available for at least 10 years.

Since they sold you the extended warranty, they must have some obligation to repair/replace the fridge. You should escalate this to KA management.

I'm sorry you're having so much trouble with your refrigerator. We just replaced all of our 15 year old Kitchenaid appliances with new ones. The old dishwasher and ice maker on the refrigerator were starting to fail but they lasted quite a long time with no issues so we felt comfortable staying with the same brand.

I don't think the OPs complaint has anything to do with her refrigerator being out of warranty after four years. Her/his complaint is that KA couldn't supply a needed part for an expensive built-in appliance that is only four years old. Sounds like a valid complaint to me!!

DD bought a KA DW about 3 yrs ago. After multiple issues, main board replaced at least 3 times plus other issues. She tried to get it replaced, no way KA would do it. Every time they came in addition to the labor cost she had to take a day off from work. In 1 1/2 yrs it spent more time not working. She finally dumped it & bought a Bosch a yr ago, so far no issues.

Please post the model number.

Kitchen Aid blenders are also a pain to deal with. They look heavy duty but some genius decided to use rubber for the drive components that spin the blades. Those wear out all the time and are suspiciously expensive to replace for a piece of molded rubber.

Most other blenders I've seen had metal drive components and they lasted forever.

I think any appliance will let you down eventually. I hate... hate... hate my Samsung French Door fridge. Only 6 years old and in the first several years, it had 5 repairs. None of which anyone would deem eligible for a replacement fridge. Other people have bought Samsung and have loved it. I have a KA dishwasher... knock on wood, no problem. I've loved and hated GE and Whirlpool and Kenmore. I honestly thing EVERYTHING is not made as well as it used to be and that most customer service people will find a loophole if they can.

Oh no. We just installed a brand new KA dishwasher. I hope it's not a lemon.

whirlpool is sadly garbage. I am sad that one of the last things mass produced in the US, these kitchen appliances, are garbage. I lived in michigan for many years, thru the horrible economic times, and really wished that the michigan company, whirlpool was a good company.

unfortunately, it is not.

Our KA dishwasher lasted only 2-1/2 years-- thankfully there have been no major problems with our KA fridge (yet), but I would also never buy a KA appliance again.

Well, one would hope you'd get more than 4 yrs out of an appliance. Years ago things were made to last. I had a whirlpool washing machine for 25 yrs, and I have a 32 yr old whirlpool refrigerator in my basement that still works great. My mother in law had a kitchenaid dishwasher that is 40 yrs old, been through a flood and still works. I don't think you could buy an appliance today that would last that long, regardlesss of the brand. . Even though the OP's needed part is discontinued, you would think somewhere a part would be available for that refrigerator.

I ran into the same issue with a controller board needed for a washer. It was one of the second-tier European brands and the company had been sold.

What I learned was that there are parts for things all over the world. I even contacted a parts seller in Australia on availability.

If you know the part number it can be super helpful as you can do Google searches for it on different browsers. With something like Kitchen Aid there surely must be a dealer out there with just the part you need even if the company doesn't have it themselves. It's worth the effort to try to find it on your own.

I'd also post over on the Appliance forum but with the part number. The guys there tend to know lots of part sources and they can be super helpful.

When I couldn't find the part I needed, though, I replaced. Huge bummer. Hope you have better luck than I.

"Even though the OP's needed part is discontinued, you would think somewhere a part would be available for that refrigerator."

Yes, but Kitchenaid not having parts for their own new-ish appliances does not reflect well on them.

Someone is telling stories, and some take it at face value.

The truth is:

(a) Every manufacturer making an express warranty with respect to an electronic or appliance product described in subdivision (h), (i), (j), or (k) of Section 9801 of the Business and Professions Code, with a wholesale price to the retailer of not less than fifty dollars ($50) and not more than ninety-nine dollars and ninety-nine cents ($99.99), shall make available to service and repair facilities sufficient service literature and functional parts to effect the repair of a product for at least three years after the date a product model or type was manufactured, regardless of whether the three-year period exceeds the warranty period for the product.

(b) Every manufacturer making an express warranty with respect to an electronic or appliance product described in subdivision (h), (i), (j), or (k) of Section 9801 of the Business and Professions Code, with a wholesale price to the retailer of one hundred dollars ($100) or more, shall make available to service and repair facilities sufficient service literature and functional parts to effect the repair of a product for at least seven years after the date a product model or type was manufactured, regardless of whether the seven-year period exceeds the warranty period for the product.

Roof35 -- all well and good. But no one is enforcing this, obviously.

rococogurl- I asked for the model number, obviously the OP isn't going to post it.

States enforce it through the Attorney General. I have had dealings with Attorney Generals, if you have a legitimate complaint, they will handle it.

I prefer not to believe stories, just because I read it on the Internet.

"I prefer not to believe stories, just because I read it on the Internet."

Fair enough. But lacking any proof that the OP is "telling a story" and having had my own issues with KA, I'm not inclined to disbelieve this "story" either. Just because something is "law" that doesn't mean everyone is obeying it. If this is enforced through the Attorney General's office, perhaps everyone isn't playing by the rules. If everyone were playing by the rules, there would never be a need for enforcement.

If it's true, the OP has a valid complaint. If it isn't, then it's just one more bad product review on the internet that anyone researching a product will have to sift through.

Alla--in your situation, I would look at having the board repaired.

I don't know anything about the linked repair service but it might be something you would want to look into.

Yes, it is outrageous that Kitchen Aid doesn't have repair parts for a 4 YO appliance. What's the point in even buying a new appliance if this is what we're going to be faced with? For that matter, a 4 YO refrigerator shouldn't be breaking down in the first place.

Here is a link that might be useful: Board Repair

If the OP has a valid complaint, there is a complaint process through the State's Attorney General.

Most if not all states have a downloadable complaint form. The complaint process does not start with online blogging.

I've had my share of complaints with products also. No use yelling into the wind hoping something will be done by someone. The process is in place for a reason.

A few thoughts...
Stuff never lasted forever in the good old days...but in college in the 1990s one of my apartments had a fridge from the 1960s that was still working.
Nowadays, things aren't made to last very long at all. The ROHS no-lead initiative, though a nice idea on paper, was probably a clever form of planned obsolescence. Superficial testing says it is ok. But no long term testing has proven that lead-free solder won't eventually form tin whiskers...little connections between circuit traces that cause the destruction of the boards. Moist environments like kitchens will hasten this kind of demise.

Companies see repairs as money making opportunities. I had an outboard effects unit that was about 10 years old die on me. Harman Audio at the time wanted $500 to even -start- to diagnose the problem. Because it was a pro piece of equipment with XLR outputs...you're a pro, you must be rich and be able to expense everything. I looked into it myself. The power supply was dead - it turns out most serious electronics made since the mid 90s have sets of standardized switching power supplies with matching pin outs and board standoffs. It took a while to track and x-ref various manufacturer codes, but I found a power supply board that fit in the exact same spot and had leads with the exact same voltages. It was $50 from Mouser. Harman would surely have marked up this power supply so repair costs would have been 500+100+(30x2) for UPS shipping both ways...probably $630.

Likewise I needed some opamp ICs on a mixer swapped out. After many, many hours of searching, I found a guy in Baltimore who does such replacements, he did about 15 chips for something like $75. Did an excellent job, you would not even recognize it had been resoldered.

Point is, SOMEONE out there would know how to fix almost ANYTHING you might own, ALMOST all of the time. Sure, sometimes rare or custom ICs die and there's no replacing them, but 80-90% of the time its capacitors or simpler discrete components. Though a fridge compressor can die, more often it's the thermal switch or some other replaceable part. The challenge is you may never be able to find the good ones who will actually do this kind of work well, and correctly.

I'm not even that into appliances but I've read many threads like this one, on various websites, so the experience is far from unique. When I replaced my fridge last year, I spent hours reading online reviews. It seems these days you are either lucky and get one that really passed all its QC checks or you get a lemon that the manufacturer let slip out the door.