Never Trust Kenmore Appliances
Why should you never trust Kenmore appliances?
My Appliance Crew provides Kenmore appliance repair in Orange County, CA. We repair Kenmore refrigerators, dryers, washers, ovens, ranges, dishwashers, and more – any Kenmore appliances in general. Whether you need appliance repair in Irvine, CA; Newport Beach, CA; Anaheim, CA, or any other city -we can do it as soon as the same day.
And now let us tell the story behind Kenmore brand because all the Kenmores are quite different.
Kenmore is well known as one of the oldest American appliance brands. According to Wikipedia, the first Kenmore washing machine was introduced in 1927, so in 2027 it will celebrate its hundred-year anniversary. The thing, however, is that Kenmore appliances are not Kenmore anymore. Formally, yes, they carry the Kenmore names, but all of them are just relabeled LG-s, Whirlpools, Electrolux-es, Samsungs, Bosches, and even Daewoos (if you ever heard of it) sold by Sears.
It`s not a secret, after all. But surprisingly, a lot of people still think that when they purchase Kenmore, they get “real American Kenmore“. No, they don`t.
The problem is not that Kenmore appliances are bad, the problem is that when you buy Kenmore, you don`t know what you are getting. That means Kenmore appliance repair is also differentiated from unit to unit.
For instance, the majority of modern Kenmore Elite refrigerators were made by LG. As appliance repairmen, we have been dealing with a lot of compressor faults on these units in recent years. But almost none of our customers was aware that it`s Kenmore made by LG, which is widely and sadly known for its linear inverter compressor failure rate.
Moreover, LG covers linear refrigerators with a 10-year warranty for compressors and 5 years for labor.
In the meantime, Kenmore provides only a 1-year warranty for exactly the same labor. After a year, the customer has to pay for compressor replacement out of his pocket. So why prefer Kenmore over LG, if it`s the same refrigerator, just with worse warranty coverage?
Let`s pretend that you just irrationally like the Kenmore brand and want all appliances to be Kenmore, even if it`s LG. Are you getting the whole LG-made appliance bundle? No.
Kenmore’s top load washer might be Whirlpool or it might be GE. The range may appear to be Samsung. The dishwasher – Electrolux, and so on.
The main problem, however, it`s not badge engineering, but the unpredictability of the future of these appliances. Back in the early 2000-s a lot of Kenmore refrigerators were made by Korean manufacturer Daewoo. In general, these are pretty functional and reliable units. But if they break nowadays, there are few to zero chances that somebody would repair them. Now Daewoo is out of the North American market and there is no chance to purchase parts for Daewoo-made refrigerators.
In other words, you may have a “regular Kenmore appliance” that nobody can take care of because this unit is something you never knew existed.
Finally, we don`t convince anybody not to buy Kenmore appliances, but consumers deserve the right to know the backside of the story.
Need Kenmore appliance repair service in Orange County, CA? Call My Appliance Crew at 949 419 6165 or book the service online. We offer appliance repair as soon as the same day.
We just had our compressor replaced over a 1000 dollars, i know many people with the same issues from Kenmore.
This had to be an LG-related issue, we replace the compressors on LG-made Kenmores pretty often
What about “Kenmore” dryers? Ours died (the motor went bad) from the washer not fully wringing out the clothes. Dryer was an older one, looking to buy a used washer/dryer set. Will each unit be different companies also? Do you think Maytag is a better choice?
I bought a fridge, range, microwave and dishwasher from Kenmore 4 years ago. All of them have in one way or the other. Horrible brand. Do not buy Kenmore. Had the “LG” compressor to the fridge replaced. Dishwasher, I had to fix so many times that I just gave up and bought a new one, Maytag this time. Microwave, I mean what could go wrong with a microwave? Everything apparently with a Kenmore. I finally just replace it as well. This week, May oven doesn’t work. Yep, Kenmore. I’ve lived my whole life without an oven not working. Until now. So, Beware of Kenmore, they have less than a 4 year life span.
That’s sad to hear that you had such an unpleasant experience with Kenmore. However, in our practice we meet consumers who are not satisfied with Kenmore, Samsung, LG, KitchenAid, Electrolux, Bosch, and any other brand. Unfortunately, things happen. That`s why we almost stopped recommending any brands.
We’re getting ready to replace our “Kenmore” microwave. We bought it new about 40 (forty) years ago. We’ve had the stirrer fan replaced twice. While I doubt if it’s possible, I’d happily replace that fan again if I can find one. Other than that, and up until now, we’ve been very happy with it.
Yes, the old stuff was pretty reliable back in the day. Unfortunately, it`s no longer the case, and we wouldn`t expect a new microwave to run for 40 years. That`s why we typically recommend purchasing the extended warranty
https://www.myappliancecrew.com/do-you-need-an-extended-warranty-for-refrigerators/
My parents always bought Kenmore appliances and they lasted for years. I have a Whirlpool electric stove that’s 33 yrs. old, Kenmore refrigerator 27 yrs. old, Kenmore dishwasher 23 yrs. old and Kenmore microwave 18 yrs. old. So, if I were to buy a new Kenmore or Whirlpool nowadays they won’t last that long?
Hello, Dawn. Yes, we wouldn’t expect modern appliances to last that long. In 2007, the National Association of Home Builders and Bank of America Home Equity released the “Study of Life Expectancy of Home Components” that provides average lifespans for major appliances. Life expectancy varies from 9 years for microwaves to 15 years for ovens. Unfortunately, since 2007, appliances haven’t gotten any better, if not worse.
Erick
I bought a Kenmore Elite Refrigerator from a Sears outlet store along with protection agreement The store closed and 2 years passed we still didn’t have refrigerator had to go to Ohio and pick up as store was closing now compressor failed and Sears won’t honor the agreement it’s clearly there fault they didn’t get it delivered
Hello, Richard! Sorry to hear that. We would recommend inspecting the warranty agreement and filing for reimbursement if the agreement terms were violated
Erick
My Kenmore Elite last just over 5 years. The repair man which cost me $150 just to diagnose the problems said it would cost over $1000 to repair. The 30 year old garage refrigerator still freezes and refrigerates perfectly. Kenmore is crap in my opinion.
Since Kenmore is not a manufacturer it`s really difficult to say whether it`s crap or not. We`d need to blame whoever is behind the curtain 😉