Why does my refrigerator ice maker keep breaking?
Refrigerator ice makers frequently jam, break down, and require constant repairs until homeowners are forced to replace either the unit or the entire fridge. When you lack appliance repair experience, it is difficult to diagnose whether a broken ice maker is worth fixing or if you should just buy a new one.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1prying off the front cover to test the harvest mechanism
- 2making sure the water line is hooked up
- 3replacing the ice maker unit entirely
- 4Switching to side-by-side refrigerator models
- 5Regularly emptying the ice maker to prevent buildup
- 6Buying models with ice makers located in the freezer
- 7Researching specific reliable models rather than brands
In their words
Unedited, most upvoted first, each linked to the thread it came from.
“Our GE French door fridge took way too much space and the ice jammed up all the time.”source ↗
“Replaced our french door Whirlpool after I got tired of repairing and replacing the ice maker, with a Whirlpool side-by-side with ice and water in the door. The ice maker in this is less problematic, but still troublesome.”source ↗
“Help! We bought this house a year ago & the ice maker has not worked at all. It has been in the on position the whole time. I know nothing about appliances & have no idea what to even look for. Is it best to just replace it entirely?”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 5Refrigerator water line leaking and flooring damage
- 4Why does my new ice maker only fill with water once?
- 4Why is my fridge making a loud noise and building up ice?
- 12Refrigerator and freezer stopped cooling completely with loud humming noise
- 2Why is my fridge ice maker making ice so slowly?
- 51Landlord built a fence around the AC and it broke