Kenmore Refrigerator Lawsuit Filed Over Alleged Compressor Failure Defect

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A proposed class action lawsuit alleges several models of Kenmore refrigerators suffer from a widespread linear compressor defect that renders affected fridges all but useless at keeping food at a safe temperature.

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The 41-page Kenmore refrigerator lawsuit alleges the defendants, which operate as Sears, Roebuck & Co., are well aware of the linear compressor defect yet have not disclosed the problem to consumers and continued to misleadingly advertise the Kenmore fridges as reliable products. When a Kenmore fridge’s linear compressor fails, the fridge will stop cooling and run above the temperature required to safely store food, posing a risk to consumers who may become ill due to consuming spoiled food, the case stresses.

The defective products lawsuit explains that a linear compressor, a crucial component tasked with pumping refrigerant throughout the system, differs from other compressors in that the piston used to compress the cooling gas moves along a linear track. Per the case, a properly functioning linear compressor in a Kenmore refrigerator should last at least 10 years.

The filing says the defective linear compressors at issue were designed and made by non-party LG Electronics, and are faulty in that they routinely fail well before the industry-standard 10-year normal usage period.

According to the case, Kenmore refrigerators with the following model numbers, which reportedly retail for $2,000 to $3,700, are equipped with a defective linear compressor:

72372, 72373, 72379, 72482, 72483, 72489, 73055, 73105, 73167, 74012, 74012, 74013, 74013, 74015, 74019, 74022, 74023, 74023, 74024, 74025, 74029, 74032, 74033, 74039, 74042, 74043, 74049, 74053, 74063, 75049, 79983, and 79993.

A refrigerator’s temperature sensors will trigger the compressor to start and stop the cooling process, the filing shares. Once the refrigerator temperature rises above a particular level, the compressor will begin to draw cold refrigerant gas from the product’s evaporator, with the gas entering the compressor through an intake valve, the complaint relays.

From there, the compressor compresses the refrigerant, raising its temperature and pushing the gas through the discharge valve and through the coils on the outside of the fridge, the suit continues. When the hot gas in the coils meets the cooler air temperature in the room, it becomes a liquid and then passes through an expansion valve, which decreases the pressure and allows the liquid to flow through the coils inside the refrigerator and freezer, the suit says.

As the cold liquid refrigerant moves through the coils, it cools the air inside the fridge by absorbing heat from the surrounding air before then evaporating into a gas and flowing back into the compressor, where the process repeats, the lawsuit reads.

According to the complaint, one cause of the LG compressor defect in Kenmore fridges is that the tubing of the compressor is prone to corrosion and pitting from ordinary usage, such that pinholes can develop in the tubing. The pinholes can cause leakage and allow refrigerant to enter the tubing, leading to excess pressure as it flows from the evaporator to the condenser, the lawsuit says. As a result, the excess pressure places additional stress on the compressor, causing it to fail prematurely, the suit alleges.

Another cause of the compressor problem is that the component’s discharge valve, which regulates the flow of refrigerant from the compressor, is “weak and prone to failure from ordinary usage,” the case says.

Per the filing, defendants Transform SR, LLC and Transform SR Brands Management have been hit with several Kenmore refrigerator lawsuits over the alleged linear compressor defect. Though those cases were consolidated and settled, owners of Kenmore fridges were excluded from receiving class action rebates, the case shares.

“The Class Refrigerators pose unreasonable risks of property damage and personal injury via food-borne illnesses during normal use,” the complaint states.

The Kenmore refrigerator class action lawsuit looks to cover all residents of the United States and its territories who bought or otherwise acquired a Kenmore fridge with a defective linear compressor within 10 years of March 2, 2023, the date a related Kenmore refrigerator lawsuit was filed.

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