What we do
The work itself
The problem pages on this site are written from what you notice. These are written from what a technician actually does about it — in the order it gets done, cheapest cause first, with the expensive answer at the bottom where it usually belongs.
Refrigerator Diagnostic Visit diagnostic
The visit that decides what the repair actually is, before any part is ordered.
Compressor and Sealed System Repair highest
The expensive end of the list, and the one where the type of refrigerator decides whether to do it at all.
Refrigerator Defrost System Repair low to moderate
The fault behind most slow, gradual losses of cooling — and behind most visible frost.
Evaporator and Condenser Fan Repair low
Two fans, two completely different failures — one stops the cold arriving, the other stops the heat leaving.
Refrigerator Door Gasket and Alignment Repair lowest
The cheapest job on the list, and the real cause of a great many expensive-sounding symptoms.
Ice Maker Repair and Replacement low to moderate
Most no-ice calls end upstream of the ice maker, at a valve, a tube or a bin sensor.
Water Line, Valve and Dispenser Repair low to moderate
One chain from the house shut-off to the paddle, and the fault is always at one link of it.
Refrigerator Control Board and Sensor Repair moderate
A refrigerator cools to what it believes the temperature is, and a sensor reading wrong is obeyed perfectly.
Defrost Drain and Leak Repair low
Three separate water systems, and a leak belongs to exactly one of them.
Refrigerator Maintenance and Condenser Cleaning lowest
The one visit that prevents more calls than any other, and the cheapest thing on this list.
What a repair
usually costs.
A useful rule: weigh the repair against what the appliance would cost to replace in the same opening. On a freestanding unit that is a straightforward comparison. On a built-in or a column it is not, because the replacement has to match the cabinetry, and that is why sealed-system work on those types is still normally worth doing.
| Repair | Relative cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Door gasket or alignment | lowest | Often the cheapest job on the list, and frequently the real cause of a much more expensive-sounding symptom. |
| Defrost heater, thermostat or sensor | low | The usual answer when frost has built up and the fresh-food side has drifted warm. |
| Evaporator or condenser fan | low | Common, quick, and the reason a freezer can be cold while the refrigerator is not. |
| Water inlet valve or line | low | Covers most no-water and no-ice calls once the filter and the shut-off have been ruled out. |
| Defrost drain clearing | low | The sheet of ice under the bottom drawer, before it becomes water on the kitchen floor. |
| Ice maker assembly | moderate | Replaced as a module rather than rebuilt on nearly every current design. |
| Control board | moderate | Priced against the model, and on built-in units the part is the majority of the cost. |
| Compressor or sealed system | highest | The one repair where the decision is genuinely open, and where the type of appliance decides it. |
| Maintenance visit | lowest | Not a repair. The visit that prevents the largest share of the ones above it. |
Not a refrigerator? Each of these is its own appliance, and has a site of its own.
- Freezerstandalone upright freezers
- Ice makerstandalone and undercounter ice machines
- Wine coolerwine cabinets