Refrigerator parts and repair

We hold documented failures for 49 refrigerator models, with 1,120 fitment-verified parts priced from live listings. The median part is $23.95, and 73% cost under $50. Most of what goes wrong is cheap; the expensive part of a repair is usually finding out which part it is.

Which part fits your refrigerator?

The model number is on a sticker inside the door, behind the kick plate, or on the back. Everything below depends on it — which part fits, what it costs today, and whether the repair is worth doing at all.

Look up my model →

What actually fails on a refrigerator

Ordered by how many of our documented models carry that part — not by likelihood. We hold no failure-frequency data and will not imply one.

Component	Models	Typical part	Range
Dispenser	169	$22.97	$3.99–$186.14
Ice Maker	138	$52.05	$5.89–$190.99
Water Inlet Valve	122	$21.84	$14.99–$96.99
Evaporator Fan	114	$17.99	$8.99–$185.40
Door Seal	92	$45.99	$6.89–$176.70
Control Board	90	$61.01	$9.00–$740.59
Damper	62	$36.97	$18.99–$193.48
Door Hinge	54	$29.51	$4.89–$219.25
Condenser Fan	48	$20.99	$8.34–$150.46
Start Relay	46	$14.59	$8.99–$72.82
Temperature Sensor	38	$8.46	$5.89–$67.92
Defrost Heater	34	$31.39	$6.07–$147.71
Capacitor	29	$10.99	$8.99–$45.85
Defrost Thermostat	24	$9.49	$4.17–$59.98
Door Switch	21	$8.99	$4.37–$52.37
Water Tank	10	$84.35	$31.69–$180.95

Swipe the table sideways to see the price range →

5 further components documented.

Try the free check first

Every documented failure we hold for a refrigerator has a check that costs nothing, and it comes before any part. Some of them are the whole fix:

Check the ice maker is switched on and the water supply is open - the manual's first two causes need no parts.
Deactivate the dispenser lock and clear any ice jam in the chute - both are manual-listed, no-part causes.
Unblock the vents and redistribute food away from the airflow path.
Clean around the switch - sticky residue holds it in and the fridge thinks the door is open.
Clean the gasket - the manual lists a dirty gasket as a frost cause, and a warmed, reshaped gasket often seals again.

Is it worth fixing?

Usually, yes. Across the models where we can run the full comparison, replacing a working refrigerator with a typical current one saves a median of about $1.32 a year in running cost — nothing. The efficiency floor has barely moved, so a $25 part on a machine with years left is almost always the better number.

We can run that arithmetic in full on 19 refrigerator models — the ones where a documented repair record and a federal energy certification both exist for the same machine. Check yours.

Start from the symptom

By brand

Frigidaire / Electrolux · GE · LG · Samsung · Whirlpool

Refrigerators with a full repair record

Not worth fixing?

Every certified refrigerator we hold, ranked by what it actually costs to run within its own size class. Compare refrigerators →