I've got an LG that is pretty quiet, but why not go to a big store with lots of stock, ask for an extension cord (or bring your own) and plug every single one of them that you are interested in into some power and have a listen?

We looked at a bunch of fridges when we were shopping for one a few months back, but noise just wasn't a criterion that we thought to check at the time. I guess we lucked out because the LG doesn't bug us.

We have a new fisher paykel that is so quiet i have wondered whether it's running. We needed a counter-depth model, so it was pricier ($2200) but the standard depth ones, with normal doors instead of french doors, are in your price range.

We purchased a GE Profile refrigerator 4 years ago and it was very quiet. Then a a year or 2 later it was very loud, the compressor and blower kept going. We thought it was normal until eventually the fridge would turn off intermittently. We had it serviced and the tech said that the motherboard was flawed and it was sending wrong signals to the compressor. He switched out the motherboard and we're back to a quiet fridge. It was a common problem that was posted on the internet, a pseudo recall on the motherboard. Maybe do a search on the web with your model number and see what your turn up. Hope this helps.

Hi, I just wondered if you ever got used to your loud machine, or if you wound up shooting it?

I just purchased an LG, bottom freezer door, single door fridge top, 22 cu, not using the ice maker ....

Since getting it, I have not slept a full night. And, I'm a heavy sleeper. Nothing sounds like this whirrrrrrrring constant humming noise -- from no matter where I am in the house.

I feel like I'm losing my sanity. This is machine #2 because the repair tech suggested I send back the first one, telling me a new one will be just as loud, but maybe that pitch won't be as irritating to me.

Why do I never notice anyone else's fridges running? I walk in the door and this humming, motorized fan noise is there to greet me.

Please let me know any suggestions you may have for my sanity :) Thanks in advance.

I see this is kind of an old post but found it looking for issues regarding this Kenmore fridge.

I purchased two. One is fine the other is so noisy -- I too want to shoot it. Unfortunately I purchased it for a vacation home and did not return until the warranty was up.

Many reviews on Sears website point to this problem -- I suggest posting a review. If there are enough maybe they will be forced to issue a recall.

What are people's expectations regarding fridge noise?

How do you come by these expectations?

Do you think price has (or should have ) a correlation with noise?

DO you expect it to be silent?

My expectation is that a refrigerator's noise should not drive me up the wall. High-pitched sounds are the WORST and are truly maddening. Do I expect a refrigerator to be silent? No, but I don't expect it to make me want to jump out a window either. It is also my expectation that identical refrigerators should make nearly identical sounds. If ten people own the same make and model "quiet" refrigerator, and you are unlucky enough to have the one noisy one out of the bunch, I think it's fair to say that something is wrong with yours. But when it comes to complaints about noisy refrigerators, we all hear the same old song from the repair persons (prompted by the manufacturers) ... it's normal.

It would be nice if you could "buy" quiet, but that is not the case, as a higher price can no longer be correlated to a higher quality product. And I do think that a high quality refrigerator should be pretty darn quiet.

my new samsung fridge is quite a bit louder than my old side by side, I've tried everything... Is this really normal? I have not even considered this aspect when buying a fridge. BTW, I've made sure the appliance is level, i've opened up the back panel to make sure that the noise isn't coming from the fan and it isn't, also that the compressor feet did not come lose during shipping. those are all the things that can make noise and are easily fixable at home in some cases.

This is still a problem that nobody advise u. I think I was the only one concerned about this, new fridges are all (or almost all) super noise :(

i never think I have to look for a quiet one when I bought my supplies for my apartment, only concerns me about the pretty they look. I'm super angry for that bad decision, I live in a open floor and really hate when I watching a quiet film or working at the couch in silence a loud noise comes trough all the room. I'm lucky about the bedroom is up stairs but I decide never buy a refri without listening first.

mine is a 14p top mount stain Steinless steel Whirlpool . I think whirlpool have the most noise ones.

It's comforting to a degree to know that there are others out there like me!

I have recently bought a fridge on top/freezer on bottom Westinghouse fridge, and I now can't enjoy being in my own kitchen, dining or lounge room. I have been banished to my bedroom like a 14 year old child!

I can't stand how noisy my new fridge is. It comes on and off so often that I hardly get a break from it.

I bought mine from Harvey Norman (Aust) I rang and complained, they sent a technician who said it sounded normal. But he replaced the whole fridge saying maybe I can hear something he can't but the 2nd fridge is just as loud.

I'm really disappointed. I don't know what options I now have, if any at all.

Having worked for Whirlpool many years ago I didn't see the
need to research the purchase of a new French door bottom mount refrigerator
(WRF736SDAW). It didn't take long for me to realize my mistake. The refrigerator's condenser and evaporator
motors, as well as the compressor are very loud. I contacted some people familiar with the
product and they informed me Whirlpool refrigerators were very noisy. About eight months after my purchase I
noticed a loud machinery motor type sound coming from the refrigerator. A Sears technician came out and told be this
was a diffuser motor and it was normal.
When I questioned him about the frequency and high level of sound I was
informed that's how Whirlpool refrigerators sound. A couple months later the sound became louder
and more frequent. Whirlpool sent out
one of their service technicians who basically said the same thing. A short time after that service call the
refrigerator started making a loud popping noise. I called Whirlpool and told them I was
dissatisfied with the product and asked for a pro-rated exchange, they denied
my request and told me to contact Sears.
On the telephone Sears said they would do a pro-rated exchange but I had
to go to the Sears store. When I arrived
at the store where I purchased the product they said they didn't do pro-rated
exchanges but would check with corporate and call me back. I've never heard back from Sears. I needed to purchase three new appliances for
my home. I did my research and bought
GE. I strongly urge anyone considering
purchasing a Whirlpool appliances to reconsider. Whirlpool's response to design flaws and poor
quality is to call it "normal sounds". Buyer beware of this company and its products
- unless you enjoy a barrage of loud machinery type noises.

I have a Maytag French door refrigerator (about 6 years old) that I consider to be very quiet. The only noise I hear from it is when it drops the ice in the ice maker. That can be pretty loud!

My old Fisher and Paykel fridge was audible for short periods, but mostly quiet. I needed to reconfigure existing cabinets and found that a Sub-Zero was the best fit. The new Sub-Zero is very LOUD, measured it at 55 db, and it runs A LOT. I had a Sub-Zero repairman out, and guess what he said? "It's normal". I think that's all they ever say the first time they come out. Maybe if I call back repeatedly they might do something for me so I can enjoy owning my $7000 refrigerator. Based on my experience so far I would never recommend Sub-Zero to anyone. The problem is, there's very little consumer information to compare how loud different fridges are.

My Whirlpool wrf535smbm00 is incredibly loud (at least 60 dB when running), and it runs most of the time. In fact, their own website brags that their "high efficiency" compressor is expected to run 40-60% of the time. I hate it more than any other purchase I've ever made, and feel like it is rattling my head whenever I am at home.

My Liebherr is not loud. But it also doesn't have an icemaker or water, if those are things you need in a fridge. I didn't want that. It does have dual compressors. Honestly, I don't love it (stuff that touches the back freezes, the drip system clogs somewhat frequently, easily fixed though, the freezer has ice build up), but it has lasted without repair for 13 years, keeps food very well if it's not touching the back wall, and is nice and quiet. Other perks are a nice door alarm, good temp control and monitoring, nice lighting, nice layout, etc. So if noise is driving you up the wall, Liebherr has been good in that regard.

I think I may have posted about my refrigerator before, but I would like to add that it has an icemaker and water and still I don't consider it loud at all. The only noise I can notice is when it drops the ice, which is to be expected. It is a Maytag french door refrigerator, about 7 years old.

I have a CD Samsung SXS showcase door, and it is very quiet. Its 1 1/2 years old now and no problems. I do think the veggie drawers are not humid enough, but that's my only complaint. Love the finish, and love the showcase door.

I bought a counter depth Jennair refrigerator last week and I HATE it even though it's beautiful and designed well internally for space--I hate it ONLY because of the noise it makes and may take it back even though I bought the matching dishwasher (which is very quiet). The decibel level is louder than my 13 year old model but that's not the main issue for me--it's the PITCH! There is the normal deeper humming sound but on top of it the horrible super HIGH frequency that is driving me nuts. Had a repair person here today who said it's a Embrocco compressor which is known for a high pitched noise that many people are very bothered by. This frequency can NOT be healthy for the brain, I'm telling you. I want the compressor replaced with a different brand but not sure yet if that is possible. I wish more consumers would complain about these awful high pitched sounds (which women can hear better than men, especially men over 45) because if people don't complain, the manufacturer and on down the line WILL just keep on saying "it's normal" and expect us to suck it up after paying mega bucks.

Does anyone know if it's possible to switch compressor brands in a new fridge, and which compressor brands are the quietest and without the painful high pitch?

Check out quietmark.com - they rate all kinds of appliances for noise/ sanity

For those that hear a high pitch noise in refrigerators, what have your solutions been?

I wound up putting fireproof soundproofing material all across the back of the fridge. It helps a lot.

Also we were not able to switch compressors.

We have a new G.E. French door frig. And we are ready to shoot it too! So noisy and it runs all. Of. The. Time. LOUDLY. Sometimes a high pitched ossilating sound, other times, raspy, but so irritating. Driving us nuts. They tell us it’s because it’s energy efficient! Really?? And the warranty is now only for 5 years. Gee, I wonder why? Maybe because it RUNS ALL OF THE TIME. It’s running when I get up in the middle of the night, and the settings are correct - 0 for freezer, 38 for frig. Sigh.

Refrigerator warranties have been 5 years on the compressor/sealed system for many years. You're lucky on that point, many brands have cut back to 1 year total on the whole thing.

Running continuously really is related to energy efficiency. The compressor probably is variable speed and throttles faster/slower to meet the cooling demand. Running continuously at a lower speed keeps the interior temperature more consistent vs. running at alternating periods of pedal-to-the-floor-maximum and off. The power draw can cut back to less than a 100-watt light bulb.

We've just had a Café refrigerator installed in our small house and it's driving us crazy. It runs nearly all the time! It makes an irritating whining/whirring noise and rarely ever stops. Our house is small. Even upstairs with the door closed the whine penetrates. This is bad for mental and physical health. These manufacturers are asking for class action suits, and boy will I ever sign on when it finally happens. I'm right next to sending the darned thing back. More than $3000 for a noisy irritant that ruins every meal with its incessant noise. Stupid me for going for the good looks--but it never occurred to me that noise would be a problem. I've never had a refrigerator that was this relentless a noisemaker.

It's taken me a while to get around to reading this thread as we bought a new fridge last year and are very happy with it. It's an Amana bottom freezer, which replaced....an Amana bottom freezer.

The new one does seem to run more often, and is VERY slightly noisier - I can hear a very soft low-pitched hum if I'm within one foot of it, when it turns on. If I am any further away I don't notice it. The previous one was so quiet I sometimes wondered if it was running!

I love the Amana. Here's my take on the pros/cons:

PROS:

- VERY quiet. It's a sealed compressor unit, apparently. This has a definite "con" to it, mentioned below.

- Holds a ton of food. I have never quite figured out how Amana does this. The shelves are adjustable, but they don't look any different than any other fridge model. Yet all I need do is rearrange a few bowls and jars, and I can slide in another 4-qt Tupperware, a dozen more eggs, and a dinner plate of leftovers.

My original fridge was a Kenmore 22 cu. ft. Due to Energy Star/more insulation, I've had to drop down to the 18 cu. ft. Amanas. I was very surprised to find the Amanas seem to hold just as much as the old Kenmore did.

CONS:

- That sealed compressor is very sensitive to electricity fluctuations. We seldom actually lose power, but it turns out our power is very "dirty"; e.g., we do have a lot of power fluctuations. This is what killed the first Amana bottom freezer after only 10 yrs. I SHOULD have bought an appliance surge suppressor, especially since they're not that expensive!

You need to keep an eye on it, however. Once it's been tripped, it's off and useless. Most of us don't have the fridge plugged into an outlet that's easily viewed, so this is something to keep in mind. You want to be able to see if that green light has changed to red, on the suppressor.

- I have the 18 cu.ft. SS model, no icemaker. The SS shows every watermark and fingerprint. Definitely needs that new "no fingerprint SS" finish, instead.

====

Overall: only two negatives, one very small. HTH some folks.

I've had TERRIBLE experience with Sears refrigerators and freezers. 4 brand-new upright freezers, self-defrosting and regular, along with 2 refrigerator-freezers, all died on me in less that 4-1/2 years. 4 of the freezers died in less that 1-1/2 years. Makes me believe that is why the company almost went belly-up.

I purchased a full set of Kenmore appliances approximately 11 years ago.

While I recently replaced the gas range, microwave, and dishwasher which had seen better days, the top freezer refrigerator is still going strong. We haven't had any problems with it, it is very quiet, and runs like a dream. We decided to keep it.

Sears itself doesn't manufacture anything. All Kenmore appliances (and other products) are sourced from the various major (and minor) manufacturers of said item(s).

Regards to Kenmore-branded appliances ... the first three digits of the model number is a code for the source manufacturer. A washer of model 110.20907990 for example is manufactured by Whirlpool. Search online for "kenmore manufacturing codes" for translation of the numbers.

Sears/Kenmore catalogs, website, (Homestore) print ads, and even appliance user manuals rarely reference the full model number. The model/serial label on the appliance typically must be checked to get those first three digits.

Sears is the retailer of the item so warranty coverage is through them, not the source manufacturer. After-warranty repair can be handled by any competent and willing servicer or DIYer. Parts are available at many online and storefront sources.

A lot of pasionate anti-noise people here. I'm in the same boat, 2 months in 1 left to return my costco Whirlpool 25CuFt 36-inch Wide French Door Refrigerator with Fingerprint Resistant Stainless Steel.

Any recommendations from anyone on a quiet Fridge? Does any manufacture claim to have a quiet fridge? Most stores are too loud and/or don't have the display models plugged in to see for myself.

Years ago, makers of motorized appliances worked hard to reduce product noise. Today, profit outranks quality, and noise is irrelevant. So we need to build our houses to muffle noise from inside and outside.