I don't know about the electrolux, I had a kitchenaid with a horrible one, it was always getting jammed up, then a whirlpool with a great one. For my remodel I went with Samsung counter depth french door, and have been using it for a month or so, but it's not hooked up to the water yet, so I don't know how the dispenser works, but am hoping for good things.

I haven't heard of any miraculous improvements, but there's always hoping...at least that you get one of the ones that lengthens the average. :)

I like external dispensers with side by sides, but with french doors it's a different story. With a side by side they can just put it on the freezer door, so it gets ice from the icemaker in the freezer. Easy enough. But with a french door, they have to put it on the fresh food compartment door, which means locating the icemaker in the fresh food compartment. Since the air temperature in the fresh food compartment isn't cold enough to make ice, they have to give the icemaker its own special sub-compartment with freezing temperatures. This requires an extra fan and damper system and is a whole extra layer of things to go wrong. Also, it has the potential to significantly reduce fresh food capacity, though nowadays most fridges are locating it in the door.

That said, if you want it you might as well get it. It shouldn't interfere with the operation of the rest of the fridge. Worst case scenario, if it acts up and you decide it's not worth it to get repaired, you can just turn it off and use the rest of the fridge like normal. Electrolux french doors in particular used to have a lot of problems with their external dispensers 5-7 years ago compared to other brands, but I hear they've gotten a lot better. These days I hear about a lot more issues with the Whirlpool/Kitchenaid french doors.

We're in the process of selecting appliances for our new home, and I've decided to go WITHOUT an exterior ice maker/water dispenser.

1) As previously mentioned, the column takes up space in the (French door) fridge now, and it is frustrating to have almost one side of the fridge at half the stated capacity. That means big bowls of watermelon can only go in one spot, cake, trifle bowls, large bowls of pasta salad are shuffled around like Tetris. Granted, it makes one take a minimalist approach to leftovers, but it also means a darker fridge interior, so those containers that can't be seen clearly languish in the back.

2) Neither my, nor my husbands water bottle fits the dispenser space- RTIC etc. and it's too high up for my little ones to really see, and when they insist on "doing it self"... I am wiping up water off the fridge and floor at least once a day, if not more.

3) The water spots and calcifications are impossible to clean off. The well tray is disgusting, and no matter how much I clean it, always seems like a case of Legionnaires waiting to happen.

I'm taking the difference in cost for the dispenser vs. non-dispenser fridge and applying it to an on-demand hot/cold water faucet at the sink. Water is going to be where it belongs when it's spilled.

We got the ice/water dispenser in our new CD French door fridge. We haven't had it long (couple of weeks) so I can't speak to dependability, though I will say our old side by side was over 10 years old with no issues. It does take up some space, but it is in the door, so I have not had a problem with large bowls and such fitting. The only thing I have tried to get in that the ice maker blocked was a large pizza box. I put the pizza on a plate and it was fine.

We have two large French door fridges at work with the ice maker in the bottom freezer and I hate it. Because of that I wasn't willing to not have it in the door. We use it all the time as we mostly drink ice water at home