The big red flag I see here is "Kenmore". This tells me you bought it from Sears, which is notorious for their terrible service and sub-par technicians. And unlike other brands, you must only use Sears/A&E for service during the warranty period. The fact that 4 technicians were not able to fix your fridge means they are simply incompetent. All of these problems can be diagnosed, and a good technician can fix it in 1 visit most of the time, 2 visits at most.

The other thing is, if it stopped cooling in September 2015, it is outside of the standard warranty period. Did you buy an extended warranty? If you did... this is what you will be stuck with. If you didn't, stop using Sears and find a local repair company who knows what they're doing.

I also wouldn't be so sure it's American made. Kenmore is just a brand name slapped on products products from other manufacturers. Most of the Kenmore fridges are made in Korea or Mexico now. I can tell you what company actually made your fridge if you post your model number here.

I bought a fridge in 2012 with lots of bells and whistles and I have had no trouble yet. I know that's not this year, but there are no practical differences between then and now for fridges. Yes, modern fridges, especially fancier ones, have more problems overall than your mom's fridge that lasted 50 years. But no, your experience is not typical, most people have no issues.

Thank you hvtech42! I honestly could kick myself for going to Sears. I knew better, but we were moving and in a rush! I usually deal with a local company. At least when there is a problem, I deal with a real live person! We did buy the protection plan when I bought the fridge 8/14. My husband wanted it cancelled because it was $550 and he thought it was ridiculous. I cancelled the plan 5/15. The fridge went out of warranty 8/15. It broke Labor Day Weekend! The 1st technician suggested we sign up for the plan again as he said all they do is fix these fridges and he estimated the replacement part would be $800.. My husband signed up but didn't tell me the plan now costs $1300!!! (Could have bought a new fridge and not spent 3 weeks without one!) Luckily we charged the plan on American Express. Another technician comes on Monday. We plan on letting him fix the fridge and then canceling the $1300 charge with American Express. We have actually had people from Sears contact us - we've sent letters and emails - some say we qualify for $100 refund (HA), others say we qualify for a new fridge! No one seems to know what they are doing! My advice (lesson learned the hard way) - never buy anything from Sears (OK, maybe Land's End) - never buy the protection plan (when something goes wrong, you call a call center in India, sometimes you'll have a 45 minute wait to talk with someone) - find a reputable local company to buy major purchases! And finally, why isn't there an American company making a quality fridge (that isn't so computerized) for a reasonable price? I would pay more money for a quality, reliable product that didn't have the bells and whistles! And I've looked into Subzero and there are some really bad comments about repairs! Sorry to rant!!!

Also, sorry hvtech42 the model number is 596 72383410!

My bad, that is made by Whirlpool and is actually American made. It looks like exactly the same model MizLizzie mentioned above that as been flawless for her sister. Just goes to show you how much experiences can vary for the same product.

There are still basic, non computerized fridges being made. They are not the french doors or side by sides, but the simple top mounts and single door bottom mounts.

The deal with these newer computerized appliances, is that they have drastically different servicing needs than the older mechanically controlled ones. The old stuff, if you'd being doing these repairs for a while, a lot of times a technician could easily recognize the symptoms and know what part needed to be replaced without even thinking about it. With these new appliances, you can't just guess. For a technician to do a good job repairing these, they need to have a very good grasp on the basics of electricity and electronics, and be good at reading schematics and using a multimeter. Those may sound like basic skills, but believe it or not, many techs out there haven't had them. And until now, they haven't needed to very much. But the day of "throwing parts at the problem" which I suspect is what happened in your case, is long gone, and these technicians need to get with the times before they are completely left in the dust.

MizLizzie - thank you for your comments! And I think from what hvtech 42 was saying, your sister's fridge sounds like the same model as mine! Truly I think it's so sad that we as consumers have come to expect our purchases to not last for a reasonable time (I've even noticed that most of my rubber bands are breaking because they are so thin and I can't pass down as many clothes for my children as the material is so thin.) and that we have to expect lousy customer service! Tell your mom to hold onto her fridge! All four of the technicians who came said if you have a fridge that was purchased 3 or more years ago - hang on to it!!! Less repairs! And in a way, I feel sorry for the repair technicians - I'm sure people are screaming at them and they are just the front person for the company that allows their products to be made with inferior parts!

People should be screaming at their technicians if 4 in a row are incapable of diagnosing and repairing a problem! The appliances may not be as high quality as before (and that goes back much farther than 3 years BTW), true, but that's no excuse for lacking basic diagnostic and repair skills.

In the first service call they should have been able to either tell you exactly what was wrong with the fridge, and order the proper part(s) for the second visit - or, tell you that the fridge had a serious issue (eg. sealed system problem) and escalate your case to corporate to replace the entire unit.

An even better repair company would get your model number ahead of time, prediagnose the problem before coming to your house, and show up with the correct part, fixing it in only 1 visit! Obviously accurate prediagnosis is not always possible, but a lot of companies don't even make an attempt at it.

And this is why I don't like Kenmore. It forces you to call Sears, since Whirlpool or whoever the manufacturer won't help you. Sears bought the appliance from the manufacturer at a super cheap price, with no warranty or support, so Sears provides those things themselves. If you buy a Whirlpool branded unit, you can at least call Whirlpool and ask them to send an authorized servicer. If you are unhappy with the service you get, you can ask for a different company next time. In most areas that aren't completely rural, there is more than one authorized servicer.

hvtech42, as always, thanks for your insight. I will be shopping for a new fridge in another 1-2 years and will buy it locally. (As I did this Elux dawg -- but they have sent service promptly every time so no complaints there.). I won't buy at Sears, but for those who might, is the policy the same if it is NOT a Kenmore? Say, if you bought a Samsung at Sears? Just curious.

Go up the chain of command at Sears and request a new fridge. Sears and technicians will take you for a whirlwind, but in the end you can win the battle.

I battled Sears and their technicians from Nov. 17, 2014 until Sept. 2015 regarding a large chest freezer.

They would not replace the freezer until after 5 techs tried to fix the problem. Frankly techs did not really try to fix the problem. Just pass the buck. etc. I finally was fed up with it and went back to the assistant manager of appliances at Sears. She in turn contacted a representative and I ended up battling with the rep. They needed to send out a tech to state the freezer could not be repaired before it could be replaced under the mfg.. warranty. To replace the freezer a 5th tech should state the freezer needed to be replaced. The rep said they would tell the tech what they wanted on his report. The 5th tech called to come out and he wanted to know what the problem was. He had been out the first and second times. I told him what he was suppose to do and he said he could not do that, I in turn told him there was no need for him to come out. I immediately called the higher up phone number I had been given along the way and asked what I had to do in order to get the freezer replaced. The person I was talking to asked someone and they said they would replace it. The next day a new freezer was delivered. 12 days after freezer was replaced a new lid/door was delivered to fix the first freezer. Go figure how they keep record of what is going on.

It will take persistence, persistence, persistence, etc. to get anything done.

Sears will only replace if within the first 30 days after purchase, then it would be the mfg.. warranty for replacement. Do they tell you this in the beginning, no!

Good luck in getting the fridge fixed to your satisfaction. Be sure and get copy of ticket from repairman each time they come out. It will be proof techs came, what they did, etc.

I won't buy at Sears, but for those who might, is the policy the same if it is NOT a Kenmore?

If you buy the extended warranty through Sears, then you will have to use them. Other than that, the manufacturer's warranty allows for service to be provided by any repair company authorized for that manufacturer. Buying from Sears does not change, or modify the manufacturer's warranty. Of course, if Sears/A&E is the only authorized servicer in your area for that manufacturer, you would have to use them. You can usually get a list of authorized servicers in your area from the manufacturer's website.

With Kenmore appliances, however, there is no 'manufacturer's warranty". Sears is the warrantor, so they can make the terms whatever they want.

To the question about whether you can call someone other than Sears - 1. We bought a "Master Protection Agreement" which we were told by the salesman when I bought the fridge meant we would have to go through Sears service (regardless of brand) and we would not have to pay for service calls or parts and if we had more than 3 service calls in a year, the cost of the fridge would be credited to us. When we called the customer service line, we were told this "refund period" is only 30 days! However, every time we call Sears we get a different answer!

krissie55 - thank you! I shall be persistent! I also tried to post reviews on Sears website which they wouldn't post. For the record, I didn't use any foul language, just the facts! I did tell the 4 different people who responded to my complaints (BTW all 4 people gave very different answers), that regardless of whether they allowed my review to be posted, I would make sure the word gets out! However, everyone I've talked to repeats what I already knew and didn't listen to - never shop at Sears!!!

To everyone who has responded, I thank you for just listening and being so supportive!