Samsung Refrigerators Cited in Hundreds of CPSC Complaints
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has confirmed it is investigating Samsung refrigerators. This news comes five months after CR reported that American consumers submitted 613 complaints involving Samsung refrigerators to the CPSC from January 2019 through December 2021. The analysis was conducted by Consumer Reports’ Product Safety team.
Samsung is the manufacturer with the highest number of complaints during that time frame, due to its refrigerators, according to CR’s analysis of the records publicly available on the CPSC’s SaferProducts.gov database. Since we first published these findings in April 2022, consumers have continued to post complaints about these refrigerators.
Issues raised in the complaints include problems maintaining appropriate temperatures, icemakers malfunctioning, and incidents of food poisoning due to food spoilage from unsafe temperatures. In fact, 211 complaints specifically cited food spoilage, while 62 complaints cited food poisoning. The CPSC data specifies the type and/or model of refrigerator involved for some, but not all, of the complaints, and from the models, we were able to analyze, they spanned several model years.
Back in April, we reached out to the CPSC to ask whether the agency was investigating these complaints, but then acting director of communications Jason Levine wasn’t able to go into detail. “We are aware of the reported issue but, due to statutory restrictions on CPSC’s ability to disclose information about specific manufacturers or products, we have no further comment at this time,” says Levine.
Similar complaints have been raised in a Facebook group with over 100,000 members called Samsung Refrigerator Recall U.S.A. Now and in a handful of viral TikTok videos that received millions of views. There are also now two class-action lawsuits against Samsung: One for issues related to the icemakers (PDF) in Samsung French-door refrigerators, and another for issues related to unsafe internal temperatures (PDF) in Samsung French-doors.
“Everybody thought that [their refrigerator] was [Samsung’s] only lemon, and then we started putting all these puzzles together,” says Tom O’Shea, admin for the Facebook group. He says the group exists to keep Samsung refrigerator owners from giving up on pursuing service claims and seeking compensation for damages.
In statements to CR, Samsung disagreed that there are problems with its refrigerators: “The sudden increase in reports must have a cause completely independent from the quality of our products. This is clearly shown in the data you provided (referencing the SaferProducts.gov complaints), which reflects dozens of models manufactured across an entire decade simultaneously and inexplicably developing problems starting in 2020.”
Samsung refrigerators are among more than 20 fridge brands tested by Consumer Reports. Our refrigerator ratings currently include six Samsung models recommended by CR in the top-freezer and side-by-side categories (three each), but we don’t recommend Samsung French-door refrigerators at this time due to their unfavorable rating for predicted reliability, based on our most recent member survey data.
“For the category of French-door refrigerators—for which there were many complaints regarding Samsung models in the CPSC data—our survey found that Samsung French-door refrigerators were only Fair for reliability,” says Simon Slater, CR’s associate director of survey research. “For perspective, 10 other brands in our current ratings scored Good, and only two other brands were Fair or Poor for reliability.”
CR tests only new products purchased directly from retailers, and when new, temperature-related performance of tested Samsung models was typically Very Good or Excellent. Specifically, of the 27 Samsung French-door models currently in our ratings, 26 of them earn an Excellent rating in our lab tests for thermostat control and an Excellent or Very Good rating for temperature uniformity. But our performance evaluations do not reflect product durability, reliability, or long-term performance.
That’s one of the reasons we conduct annual surveys, in which we ask our members about their experiences with new refrigerators that they’ve bought within the past 10 years.
We use this data to calculate predicted reliability and owner satisfaction ratings for refrigerators, as well as to identify problem areas with these appliances. The survey questions cover topics like refrigerator repair experiences, prices paid for new refrigerators and repairs, and factors that influence refrigerator purchases, to name a few.
Based on our member survey data, Samsung French-door refrigerators also receive an unfavorable Fair rating for owner satisfaction. Samsung side-by-sides receive respective reliability and satisfaction ratings of Good and Poor, Samsung top-freezers receive respective ratings of Excellent and Good, and Samsung bottom-freezers receive respective ratings of Good and Poor.
Our predicted reliability rating is based on a statistical model that utilizes survey data to estimate the likelihood of problems emerging within the first five years of ownership, while our owner satisfaction rating is based on the proportion of members who say they are extremely likely to recommend a brand of product to friends and family.
Brands that receive Fair or Poor ratings for predicted reliability are not recommended by CR.
CR member survey data also highlights brands with a meaningfully higher rate of specific problems relative to the average of other brands.
- Samsung French-door refrigerators have a problem rate of 34 percent for “no water or ice coming from the dispenser” (compared with a median for all brands and refrigerator types of 15 percent).
- Samsung French-door refrigerators have a 14 percent rate for “buildup of ice in the freezer” (compared with a median of 8 percent), and 17 percent for “buildup of ice in the refrigerator” (compared with a median of 6 percent).
- Samsung bottom-freezer refrigerators also stand out with a problem rate of 13 percent for “buildup of ice in the refrigerator.”
However, in those same surveys, Samsung refrigerators were not found to be meaningfully worse in the problem areas of “icemaker wouldn’t make ice” and “refrigerator was not cooling,” which have median problem rates of 15 percent and 6 percent, respectively.
That doesn’t mean those issues are not occurring with Samsung refrigerators; it just means they aren’t statistically any more prevalent in Samsungs than in other brands of refrigerators.
This advice goes for a refrigerator from any brand: If you think you may be experiencing issues keeping your food at safe temperatures, Sana Mujahid, CR’s manager of food safety research and testing, recommends you purchase thermometers for your refrigerator and freezer to make sure their internal temperature is are at 37° F and 0° F, respectively. Refrigerator temperatures higher than 40° F put food in a “danger zone” where bacteria can grow rapidly.
“If you have food that has been stored in a fridge that’s not maintaining a temperature of 40 degrees or below, we strongly recommend that you throw the food away,” says Mujahid.
If you own a Samsung refrigerator, Samsung encourages you to contact the company. “In the unlikely event a customer experiences an issue with one of our refrigerators, we encourage them to contact us, so we can provide diagnosis and support options,” Samsung said in a statement.
The company says customers can contact it by phone at 800-726-7864, online via live chat at samsung.com, or via Facebook and Twitter.
As for the members of the Samsung Refrigerator Recall U.S.A. Now Facebook group, O’Shea says Samsung asked him whether it could join the group with a dedicated account to help resolve owners’ problems, which he welcomed, but he says the company has yet to do so.
If you’ve experienced problems with a Samsung refrigerator and would like to share your story with Consumer Reports, you can do so using our Share Your Story tool below.
Editor’s Note: This article was updated to reflect that the CPSC is investigating complaints linked to Samsung’s fridges.
Daniel Wroclawski
Dan Wroclawski is a home and appliances writer at Consumer Reports, covering products ranging from refrigerators and coffee makers to cutting-edge smart home devices. Before joining CR in 2017, he was an editor at USA Today’s Reviewed, and launched the site’s smart home section.
In his spare time, you can find him tinkering with one of the over 70 connected devices in his house. Follow Dan on Facebook and Twitter @danwroc.
Samsung RF30BB6600QL French-door Refrigerator Review
Pros
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Customizable appearance
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Lots of fridge storage
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Steady fridge temperatures
The Samsung Bespoke RF30BB6600QL refrigerator features the traditional three-door French-door design. It also boasts Samsung’s door-in-door design, which means you can open the outer half off the left door to access the fridge’s beverage center along with the items stored on its shelves.
Opening the top two doors fully reveals a standard yet spacious interior with a few extra drawers below the crispers.
The freezer also has additional compartments, with an internal drawer splitting up the space somewhat.
The left half of the internal drawer has two ice buckets, which is a large ice reservoir at the expense of general storage space.
About the Samsung Bespoke RF30BB6600QL French-door Refrigerator
- Dimensions: 70″ x 35.75″ x 34.25″(H x W x D)
- Depth: Standard depth
- Measured capacity: 13.53-cubic-foot refrigerator, 3.77-cubic-foot freezer
- Finishes: White glass, charcoal glass, matte gray glass, Morning Blue glass, clementine glass, pink glass, Sunrise Yellow glass, stainless steel, matte black steel, navy steel, Tuscan steel, emerald green steel
- Dispensers: Internal ice and water
- User manual: Samsung Bespoke RF30BB6600QL French-door Refrigerator manual
What we like
Solid refrigerator temperatures maximize shelf-life
Surprisingly, maintaining just the right temperature can occasionally challenge a fridge.
If temperatures fall below 32°F some items will freeze, and anything warmer than 40°F will allow food to spoil quickly. That gives fridges only 8°F of wiggle room, while simultaneously managing defrost cycles and compensating for a loss of cold air every time the door opens.
The Samsung Bespoke RF30BB6600QL does an excellent job keeping temperatures exactly where they need to be. For starters, the default settings are perfect, so no calibration is necessary (and for context, this is extremely rare straight out of the box).
Over time, these temperatures only wavered by a few degrees, staying well within the Goldilocks zone for perfect food preservation.
Temperatures were also remarkably consistent throughout the body of the fridge, varying by less than a degree from top to bottom. That means no warm spots where food isn’t being preserved as well as in other spots.
The door-in-door design helps maintain steady temperatures
Credit:
Reviewed / Michael Elderbee
The door-in-door design provides easy access to the beverage center and items stored in its door bin.
If you haven’t seen this design before, essentially the left door is two doors in one. You can open just the external one to get access to items stored on that door’s shelves, or open both sets of doors to gain access to the fridge’s interior.
This design is likely one of the contributing factors to the fridge’s steady temperatures, as it allows you to access certain items without opening the door fully, allowing less cold air to escape.
Its large fridge compartment has extra drawers to keep everything organized
Credit:
Reviewed / Michael Elderbee
The Samsung RF30BB6600QL features significantly more storage in its fridge compartment than the average refrigerator.
If you tend to buy a lot of perishables, you probably want a fridge that devotes more of its storage space to the fridge compartment. And this is exactly what the Samsung Bespoke RF30BB6600QL does.
While its freezer is a bit small (we’ll get to that later), the Samsung RF30BB6600QL refrigerator compartment boasts an impressive 13.
54 cubic feet of storage.
To help visualize volume, a gallon jug takes up about 0.13 cubic feet of space, so a full cubic foot is a lot of real estate, let alone several. The Samsung RF30BB6600QL would be a good pick for those with larger families who find themselves scrounging for space in their current fridge.
Bespoke fridges offer a customizable aesthetic for every kitchen
Credit:
Reviewed / Michael Elderbee
Our unit came with a Morning Blue glass finish on the French doors and a white glass finish on the freezer drawer.
One of the main draws of the Bespoke line is the ability to fully customize the look of your appliance by mixing and matching differently colored panels. Currently the line-up has seven color options for their glass finishes and five colors of steel finish.
Technically speaking, that means there’s a total of 1,331 combinations (as long as you don’t mind mixing and matching glass and steel—a truly avant garde look).
What we don’t like
The freezer temperatures were inconsistent
Credit:
Reviewed / Michael Elderbee
Over time we saw a few spikes and dips in the temperature, which means an elevated chance of giving your food freezer burn.
While the freezer temperatures were spot-on and didn’t need any further calibration, they did not remain consistent over time. We saw several large spikes in temperature at 24-hour intervals that were several degrees each, and this is indicative of the freezer running a defrost cycle.
Temperatures rose above 0°F in some spots, meaning items stored there have an opportunity to defrost slightly, but we don’t think it will cause serious freezer burn and isn’t a cause for concern.
The freezer is on the small side
Credit:
Reviewed / Michael Elderbee
A lot of the freezer’s storage space is dedicated to its dual ice buckets.
The average French-door’s freezer is 4.
69 cubic feet, which makes the Samsung RF30BB6600QL’s 3.77 cubic feet of storage small by comparison. Part of this smaller size is as a trade-off for a larger refrigerator compartment, but a lot of the freezer is actually dedicated to two large ice buckets that take up the left half of its upper drawer.
If freezer storage space is a priority, you’d be better suited looking elsewhere, like the GE Café CVE28DM5NS5, which has a flex drawer for even more freezer storage.
Some elements of its design make this fridge harder to use
In order to achieve its seamless look, the Samsung RF30BB6600QL’s handle is located underneath its French doors. That means in order to open either one, or access door-in-door storage, you need to fit your fingers in the gap between the fridge and freezer panels and grip their underside to get them open.
The doors also require a decent amount of force to open, so that combined with a more precarious handhold could make this fridge more difficult to open than other models.
Additionally, we had some issues with this fridge’s shelves. Not only were they much more difficult to remove and reposition than what we typically see, the top shelf only has spill-capture edges on its front and back, allowing spills to cascade down the sides of the fridge, creating an even bigger mess. Fortunately, the lower shelves do feature all-around spill capture.
What owners are saying about the Samsung Bespoke RF30BB6600QL
User reviews of the Samsung RF30BB6600QL seem generally positive, awarding the fridge 4.6 out of 5 stars across major retailers.
Those who were happy with their purchase were first and foremost pleased with its looks. Other points of praise included the internal dispensers and storage space.
Those who didn’t give the fridge five stars mostly gave it a four-star rating that was mostly praise along with some minor gripe, such as the Family Hub screen being too dim, or who would have preferred an external dispenser instead.
Warranty
From the date of purchase, Samsung offers a one-year warranty on parts and labor, a five-year plan for the sealed refrigeration system, and 10-year plan for the digital inverter compressor.
Considering the industry standard warranty is just one year, Samsung really goes above and beyond to guarantee your investment in their appliances.
Should you buy the Samsung Bespoke RF30BB6600QL?
Maybe—You pay more for Bespoke aesthetics, but it’s not a bad fridge
The Samsung Bespoke RF30BB6600QL isn’t perfect, but it does offer a lot for its purchase price. For starters, it seems to know its own strengths and weaknesses, because its fridge is both larger and over-performs compared to other fridges, while its freezer is smaller and under-performs.
If you want one of the fanciest fridges you can currently buy, need a lot of fridge storage, and don’t tend to use your freezer much, the Samsung Bespoke RF30BB6600QL is a decent choice. It’s pricy, sure, but this is also the cheapest Bespoke fridge you can buy and the Bespoke line is significantly cheaper than true custom fridges, which often cost upwards of $5,000.
If you want a slightly better-performing Bespoke fridge for a bit more money, check out the RF23A9675AP.
If you aren’t so much into the customizable aesthetics, but still want a clean look and a similar quality, the Haier HRF15N3AGS fits the bill.
The product experts at Reviewed have all your shopping needs covered. Follow Reviewed on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, or Flipboard for the latest deals, product reviews, and more.
Prices were accurate at the time this article was published but may change over time.
Meet the tester
Mark Brezinski
Senior Writer
@markbrezinski
Mark Brezinski works on the Home Team, reviewing refrigerators, minifridges, dishwashers, washing machines, dryers, air conditioners, air purifiers, and fans.
See all of Mark Brezinski’s reviews
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Samsung Refrigerator Reviews
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Refrigerator Reviews
Samsung Refrigerator Reviews
Check out reviews of Samsung refrigerators, find out the advantages and disadvantages. What are the advantages of this particular brand of refrigerator. What you need to consider when choosing, capacity, design and ease of operation. Technical equipment and service, how long can it last. Build quality and reliability of the material, everything you need for a competent choice.
Our clients /
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Tatyana Nikolaevna / 06/05/2023
I ordered a BEKO RCNK 270K20 W Refrigerator. Delivered on time. as promised. Very carefully delivered and installed. The old one was taken out immediately.
Comfortable. Payment in different ways – it was convenient for me in cash upon receipt. Fridge. runs quieter than the old one. During installation, I received full information about installing a refrigerator or calling a wizard to install a refrigerator. Full package of documents presented, no reminders
Andrey / 05/31/2023
The Samsung RL50RR refrigerator was purchased in December 2014, it worked not bad for 3 years, but then the freezer began to adjust until an error appeared and the refrigerator turned off, the periodic appearance of water on the floor under the freezer door indicated that that the cause of poor performance is most likely a blockage of the drainage channel. I contacted the Samsung technical support hotline, outlined the problem in detail and asked how I could clean the drainage channel and where the drainage hole was located, i.e. how to carry out maintenance of the refrigerator – in fact, its cleaning, because the documents attached to the product do not contain this information.
A day later, I received an answer that this information is secret and that I need to contact an official service center that will service my refrigerator. In the operational documents for the refrigerator, there is no (hidden from the consumer) the need to clean the refrigerator in the service center (and for a lot of money), which is a misleading of the buyer and a manifestation of a disrespectful attitude towards him. And therefore, I do not recommend to acquaintances and close people to buy Samsung equipment.
Lyubishkin Nikolay / 05/28/2023
I have a Liebherr refrigerator and freezer. There are no complaints about work. They work quietly. Defrosting is not required. I have had them for over 5 years. Whoever chooses this model, be prepared to change handles after this time. I have already replaced one. This is the most unworked place in this design. Either the plastic in the handle will burst, then the spring in the handle will break. One pen in the refrigerator costs 1700 rubles.
Yes, the fridge is good.
Osipov Dmitry / 05/19/2023
I bought a wine cabinet here, I am satisfied with the purchase, so far there are no complaints about the store. Delivered the next day after ordering. I advise shopping malls more than their offers, I didn’t find anywhere
Burdasov Ilya / 05/11/2023
We chose a refrigerator for a long time, agreed on hitachi brand models, they brought it on the day of the order, from that moment and still delighted, the refrigerator can literally All ! I recommend this shop and this brand.
Alena Kormysheva / 05/04/2023
Advantages: fast delivery. service, the largest selection of refrigerators that we have seen.
Cons: There are simply none.
Comments: the best service we have seen, everyone told, explained what would be best, delivered the next day. We are completely satisfied with the choice of the store
Natalya / 04/28/2023
We ordered an LG refrigerator.
Delivered on the day of order, installed quickly. Thanks to the store for the promptness and help in choosing the best refrigerator for our requirements.
Andrey Filipov / 23.04.2023
Yesterday we bought a bosh side-by-side refrigerator on this site. Arrived the next day after ordering. We are very satisfied with the purchase, as we wanted to throw ice into a glass for drinks of different sizes and the color is very suitable for our kitchen. We recommend this shop for shopping.
Refrigerators Samsung: feedback from experts and customers
Samsung is successfully mastering the market of refrigerators. According to customer reviews in 2015, Samsung refrigerators took fifth place in the ranking of the best manufacturers.
Contents
- 1 Why Samsung products are attractive
- 1.1 Technology freezing systems used by Samsung
- 1.2 Energy saving measures
- 2 Polish assembly differs from Korean
- 3 Related videos – Samsung Refrigerators
What makes Samsung attractive
The refrigeration market is saturated.
Millions of annual releases of products are waiting for their customers. The equipment is expensive, does not change every year, and all manufacturers strive to create a special model with a maximum of functions. According to experts, Samsung refrigerators compete with other famous brands.
Freezing technology systems used by Samsung
Among the first Nou Frost system in Samsung refrigerators, according to reviews successfully. Sales of new refrigerators that do not need to be defrosted have skyrocketed. Following each new model received options:
- uniform cooling of products;
- creation of separate regulated climatic zones;
- installation of economical equipment of class A, A+, A++;
- creation of new designs of combined refrigerators.
Reviews of Samsung refrigerators emphasize a well-thought-out cold factory management system with minimal human intervention. Automation leads the process, every second monitoring the performance of the specified parameters.
Customer reviews for the Samsung refrigerator are only favorable.
Measures to save energy
A 24-hour power supply is required to keep the temperature in the chambers. In addition to the function of maintaining cold in the chambers, part of the energy is used inefficiently – losses through walls, seals, when opening doors. The efforts of engineers are aimed at increasing the efficiency of the devices:
- use of compressors of our own design;
- creation of a two-circuit refrigeration system using two compressors;
- inverter compressor application.
According to reviews, Samsung refrigerators with an inverter compressor are the future. Smooth regulation of the operating mode and energy consumption will significantly reduce the electrical load for domestic needs.
What is the difference between the Polish assembly and the Korean assembly
All reviews of Korean assembly refrigerators note increased heating of the side walls.