GE Refrigerator Lawsuit Claims Defective Compressors Make Fridges Unusable

New to ClassAction.org? Read our Newswire Disclaimer

A proposed class action lawsuit alleges certain refrigerators made by GE Appliances contain defective compressors that prevent them from properly cooling food and beverages and render the fridges unusable.

Want to stay in the loop on class actions that matter to you? Sign up for ClassAction.org’s free weekly newsletter here. 

The 47-page GE fridge lawsuit says that the apparent compressor defect will manifest shortly after purchase and well before the expected end of the appliances’ useful life. According to the case, GE Appliances is “undeniably aware” of the compressor defect, and “countless complaints” online, yet has failed to disclose the fridge problem to the public while continuing to tout the products as capable of keeping food and beverages cold. 

When a GE fridge’s compressor goes, the filing relays, representatives for defendant Haier US Appliance Solutions, which does business as GE Appliances, charge diagnostic fees just to tell a consumer that their fridge’s compressor has a problem. From there, a consumer will be forced to pay anywhere from $1,100 to $1,800, plus labor costs, to restore their fridge’s functionality, even though the compressor and labor are covered under GE Appliances’ warranty, the lawsuit states. 

In addition, GE fridge owners are often forced to contend with long wait times for replacement parts or additional compressor failures given that replacement parts are equally as faulty, the case alleges. 

Further still, replacement compressors can also spark new issues, such as a GE refrigerator becoming “significantly noisier,” the suit adds. When consumers complain about the excessive fridge noise, GE Appliances claims that the noise is normal, even though it was not present prior to the compressor replacement, the case claims. 

“After consumers pay for the replacement compressors and observe that they are also defective, consumers are forced to purchase new refrigerators so their food and beverages do not continue to spoil,” the complaint shares. 

A GE fridge’s compressor works by compressing gaseous refrigerant so as to increase its pressure and temperature, the case explains. This pressurized refrigerant is passed through coils on the outside of a fridge, where it releases heat and becomes liquid, and the liquid refrigerant is then passed through an expansion valve, decreasing its pressure, the suit states. 

The liquid refrigerant then goes through coils located inside the fridge, where it captures heat from the appliance’s interior and causes it to revert to gas. From there, the refrigerant gas is passed to the compressor and the process begins again, the lawsuit relays. 

In light of the foregoing, when a refrigerator’s compressor fails, the product cannot perform its primary function, the case emphasizes. 

“As a result, consumers are required to: discover and diagnose the Compressor Defect on their own; spend money on parts and/or labor to have compressors replaced in their Class Refrigerators, despite Defendant’s warranty; contact Defendant and/or authorized third-party repair servicers and wait an undue amount of time for the necessary repairs; endure Refrigerators that are substantially noisier than they were when they still had the factory-installed compressors; and pay for the installation of replacement compressors that also suffer from the Compressor Defect.” 

The lawsuit looks to cover all persons nationwide who bought a refrigerator manufactured, marketed and sold by GE Appliances. 

Get class action lawsuit news sent to your inbox – sign up for ClassAction.org’s free weekly newsletter here.