5 Refrigerator Brands To Avoid At All Costs, According To Consumer Reports

Refrigerators are certainly one of the most important appliances you’ll find in your kitchen, and with many of them ranging upward of several hundred dollars, you want to make sure you’re getting your money’s worth when you buy one. That’s why it’s important to know which refrigerators can be trusted to last a while, and which ones you may want to avoid at all costs — whether that’s because you’ll need to fork out for several repairs, or just because their customer service leaves something to be desired.

In recent years, we’ve seen an assortment of “upgrades” coming to refrigerators, including smart displays, customizable cooling zones, and even some that feature built-in coffee brewing systems. While some consider smart fridges one of the smart home upgrades that are a waste of money, others may be drawn to the many so-called benefits. That’s why you’ll want to make sure you’re buying a reliable refrigerator before you drop all that money on one. Having all those goodies doesn’t do you much good if you’re constantly having issues with them. 

While you’ve probably heard of the more common household names like Samsung, LG, and Frigidaire, you may be tempted to save money up front and buy a less expensive refrigerator brand you know less about. Luckily, Consumer Reports has put together a really handy breakdown of some of the worst rated refrigerators you can buy, based on customer satisfaction and these are the brands you’ll want to avoid.

While a staple in the appliance industry, Frigidaire’s quality just doesn’t seem to hold up as well as it might have in years past. While customer satisfaction ultimately depends on the type of refrigerator — top freezer, bottom freezer, or side-by-side – multiple customer reviews cite problems with the ice maker and water dispenser within months of purchase. One consumer review on Trustpilot claimed that Frigidaire sold them a “broken fridge” and then wouldn’t replace or refund it.

There are also multiple complaints about poor post-sale support from the manufacturer, and people are reporting complete failures in the fridge’s seals. Others, still, have posted complaints about being pushed between different customer service centers, with the manufacturer setting up repair calls with centers that don’t even service the customer’s area.

If you’re planning to purchase a new fridge from Frigidaire, it’s definitely a good idea to do some research to prepare for any hurdles you may face after the purchase. Even then, there’s no guarantee you won’t run into some of the same issues that others have.

From smart TVs to some of the best Android smartphones, Samsung is a trusted brand offering a wide range of products. But that doesn’t mean Samsung is always the best brand to go with. In fact, many consumer reviews suggest that the company’s fridges leave much to be desired in terms of reliability.

Samsung was actually the subject of a class action lawsuit, with customers alleging that its French door refrigerators had a defect that kept the interiors from remaining at food-safe temperatures. The suit claims that even after repairs by a Samsung technician, the fridges continued to experience unsafe temperatures, and that the company eventually refused to repair, replace, or even refund the price of the fridges, despite the ongoing issues. That same suit cited more than 600 complaints from customers of Samsung refrigerators, with over 200 citing food spoilage as the primary issue.

Others have shared their own Samsung horror stories, noting that fridges from the brand have required multiple repairs in the first few years, citing the fridge’s compressor as the issue. There is also the whole “ads on Samsung’s smart fridge display” debacle we saw last year, though you can turn them off, at least for now. As such, many warn that the only Samsung products worth investing in are the company’s smartphones, such as the Galaxy S25 Ultra, and perhaps its smart TVs.

The next brand is Electrolux, which has been around for over 100 years and is now the parent company of Frigidaire. This means they may share some core components and many of the same engineering designs, especially since we’ve seen past issues that affect the same parts across both brands’ appliances. Commenters on Reddit have shared several disheartening stories about Electrolux appliances — specifically fridges — going out within months of purchase. Further, the company appears to have earned some bad will with consumers, as many complaints about the overall warranty and post-sale support can be found in online threads. One person even mentioned their fridge needed to be repaired six times because the ice maker and water dispenser kept turning off.

Opinions on these fridges seem to vary drastically depending on the country where consumers reside, with those in Europe considering them higher-end appliances. However, American consumers seem to share a common disdain for the brand. This is likely due to the rampant issues with door seals and gaskets, as well as cooling problems that have plagued the brand’s food storage. There have been enough issues with these two areas that many now consider them common problems for the brand.

Another popular name for appliances, KitchenAid has been a mainstream brand for decades, with its stand mixers considered among the best in the business. However, it doesn’t seem that love extends to all of the company’s other appliances, as there have been many complaints about KitchenAid refrigerators, with ice makers and compressors typically the biggest issues consumers face. There have also been reports that consumers say KitchenAid has refused to fix the problem their freezer compartment was experiencing after a tech came out and said the issue was resolved—even though it wasn’t.

Some have pointed out that KitchenAid fridges may be generally reliable. However, the use of plastic throughout the interior of the fridges may not convey the “premium” feel that a fridge at that price should. Additionally, plastic components appear to crack and discolor more quickly than consumers might hope for an appliance that costs several hundred dollars. This seems to have made some consumers reluctant to purchase the refrigerators, as they do not have full faith that they won’t run into issues with them months into owning one.

Monogram, or GE Monogram as it is more commonly known, is a brand that has received a lot of attention for how poorly many consider its refrigerators to perform. Customers have complained about issues such as rust appearing in their freezer, mold growing in the seals of the fridge, and even the fridge just outright failing. While parts do eventually fail, some buyers note that when dealing with the technicians GE sent to fix their fridge, they received very poor service, were even threatened, and, when they tried to report the problems with the technician’s behavior, were accused of lying by the company.

When it comes to reliability only, though, GE Monogram refrigerators have earned quite a bad record with consumers. Some have complained that the fridge never cools below 55 degrees Fahrenheit, while another Monogram owner on Reddit noted that their GE Monogram was “deemed unrepairable” and that the company refused to replace it, even though it was still under warranty. One customer who bought their GE Monogram fridge in 2008 said they began experiencing damper issues in 2018, then again in 2021, 2022, and 2024, with the same issue recurring in 2025.

This article specifically looks at some of the lowest-rated refrigerator brands, as determined by Consumer Reports. While the specifics for each brand and its reliability rating can vary depending on the type — such as top-freezers, bottom-freezers, side-by-sides, etc. — we looked at external reviews and consumer comments on forums such as Reddit and Trustpilot, as well as other articles from trusted reviewers, to help provide more information about why these ratings matter across the board.

Consumer Reports derived its initial ratings by collecting data from three of its annual surveys, in which members of the agency reported on more than 71,000 brand-new refrigerators purchased between 2015 and 2025. When determining the overall score for each brand, Consumer Reports considered customers’ opinions on reliability, temperature control, and energy efficiency, and paired these with additional information from online reviews and consumer comments.