Whirlpool, KitchenAid, JennAir, Maytag French Door Fridges Suffer From Evaporator-Freezing Defect, Lawsuit Says [UPDATE]

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A proposed class action alleges certain Whirlpool, KitchenAid, JennAir and Maytag French door refrigerators suffer from a defect that can cause the refrigerator compartment’s evaporator to frost or freeze over, causing the fridge to stop cooling properly. 

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The 42-page lawsuit claims Whirlpool Corporation has for years knowingly sold defective French door fridges without disclosing the evaporator-freezing issue. As a result, consumers have incurred “significant economic damages” and overpaid for refrigerators that “fail to perform their ordinary and intended purpose,” the case says. 

According to the complaint, the refrigerators hampered by the alleged defect include the following model numbers with serial numbers ranging from K212 to present that contain a dual evaporator cooling system: 

• Whirlpool: WRF757SDE*; WRF767SDEM*; WRF989SDA*; WRF990SLA*; WRV976FDEM*; WRV986FDEM*; WRV996FDE*; WRX988SIBM*; WRX986SIHZ*;
• KitchenAid: KFIS29BB*; KFIS29PBM*; KFIV29PCM*; KRFF507E*; KRFF707E*; KRMF606E*; KRMF706E*; 
• JennAir: JFX2897DR*;
• Maytag: MFT2776DEE*; MFT2776FEZ*; MFT2778EE*; MFT2976AE*; MFT2977AE*; MFX2676FRZ*; MFX2876DR*.

In a footnote, the case explains that the asterisk in each of the model numbers at issue denotes "a wildcard for color and engineering version of the model," meaning that all fridges with a model number starting with the model number included before the asterisk are included in the litigation.

Per the suit, a refrigerator’s evaporator is responsible for making the inside of a fridge and freezer cold. The component functions by absorbing and removing heat from the air and other items inside the fridge, the case says. In the Whirlpool models at issue, the refrigerator and freezer compartments of the products each have their own separate evaporator, the lawsuit shares. 

As the case tells it, the dual evaporator cooling system in the above-mentioned fridge models has a defrost heating system that is insufficient to properly defrost the evaporator in the products’ refrigeration compartment. The apparent defect can cause frost and ice to periodically build up on the evaporator, which restricts the flow of air passing over the evaporator coils and impacts the fridge’s ability to cool food properly, the filing says. 

The filing says excessive frost and ice build-up on a fridge compartment’s evaporator can be potentially dangerous since consumers cannot always immediately tell that their refrigerator has stopped cooling properly. 

According to the case, Whirlpool began receiving complaints about the alleged evaporator defect as early as 2013. Based on the dates and number of technical services bulletins, Whirlpool was “sufficiently aware” of the alleged defect as early as 2017, the lawsuit claims. 

However, the case says that the repair methods developed by Whirlpool are only temporary fixes to the problem, as the products’ evaporators continue to periodically freeze over. 

“The build-up of ice and frost on the evaporator can occur months apart, leading consumers to believe that Defendant’s temporary fixes had addressed the issue, when in fact the RC Evaporator would continue to cause frost build-up and cooling issues throughout the useful life of the Class Refrigerators,” the filing asserts.

The lawsuit looks to cover all consumers who bought one of the refrigerators listed on this page within California from Whirlpool Corporation or one of its authorized retailers. 

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