Nope. Our 36" column fridge is perfectly silent. It's probably 15 years old.

Have you called SubZero? They do answer their phone and they do try to provide assistance.

Can you feel the source of vibration by touching the components in the compressor compartment?

My SZ is very quiet. The only noticeable noise comes from when it is making ice and even that isn't loud. SZ customer service is very helpful, I would call them.

I just called subzero directly today and they are going to ask their local service partner to come in and look again. They've already come twice.

Not really - all I know is that it is fairly loud at times.. but the big issue is that it is constantly running - i would say 30 minutes out of every hour. I compare that to my friend's Bosch in a similar format that I literally *never* hear running in his kitchen.

I hope it's not an environment / layout issue.. but doubtful from what I've been told. Here is a quick video of the noise.. it's at it's worst in the evening - but imagine this for half the time in your living room: Noise video

That IS noisy! my SZ 22 years old but has had many parts replaced. i have to say it has never been that loud. yours sound more like a metal rattlle than a motor issue. I have had bad luck with my local SZ reps but found a SZ rep further away that can rebuild some models.

That is just one flavor of the loud noise. There are other times where there isn't a rattle.. but still super loud humming at that noise level. I've had several come over who agree it's just not normal. I have a feeling they will replace some parts on this go around.. have no clue if it's actually going to fix the issue. There's just been a lack of diagnosis at this point.

I wouldn't even mind if there were some short spurts where this noise happened.. but the fact that it feels like it's almost always running is the real issue.

In most refrigerator/freezers, there aren't a lot of moving mechanical parts, usually a compressor and a condenser fan -- two compressors in the case of SubZero configurations. What I hear sounds like the condenser fan blades touching something, along with some compressor noises. But one really has to listen to/feel each motor to determine which is causing the vibration. Be sure that all lint and fuzz is cleaned out.

Is the unit maintaining the set temperatures without the door seal area becoming exceptionally hot?

I recently had the unit cleaned.. Hopefully during the next visit they will look at the compressor and condenser fan and assess if any issues.

The door seal area has ever been exceptionally hot from what I can tell.

The other odd thing is that it seems to run much louder and longer in the evening vs. day time (I think).

Verbo - my guess is that what I'm using to measure is quite off. When the fridge isn't running.. I'm at about 15-20db in the living room.. then up to 45 db once it is running. Again, the issue is more around the frequency and length of time it is running - it shouldn't seem like it should be working that hard for that long. Listen to the video link - it is loud.

Re: install - that's what I'm pondering as well.. it's tucked in the cabinet, so not sure what the potential faults could be with the way it was installed. I've been told by several architects that it is pretty straight forward.

SubZero routes the warm refrigerant lines around the door seal areas to keep them warm and free of moisture. The seal areas should NOT be hot. Hot means that the system has a problem. In the case of my 635, the condenser fan was not running full speed due to drag in the bearings from dirt, and would sometimes not even start, with the result that the compressed refrigerant was not being properly cooled by the condenser. This causes the refrigerator to run longer to maintain set temperature, and the compressor(s) to run unduly hot.

Sounds like the compressor is under an excessive load caused by high head pressure. Could be a kink or blockage in the capillary tube or bad TVX ( I don't know what expansion system the Subzero uses) or a kink or blockage someplace in the sealed system. A clogged filter dryer, Air blockage across the condenser, bad condenser fan or an over charge of the system, but an over charge is highly unlikely unless it was serviced and screwed up before you bought the house.

Anyway the sound is similar to pumping down an evaporator on a refrigeration system. The Hot seal area is a tell as Kaseki mentioned and suggests the high side is getting too hot, and with the long run time it would mean insufficient cooling suggesting high head pressure. hopefully the compressor isn't shot by now but just to let you know the

Subzero has a 5 yr warranty on parts and labor of the sealed system, and a limited 12 years on the sealed system. Don't let them blow you off when they come out the third time, a 2nd rate tech could find the problem here.

Ok It would be great to hear if there was any resolution?

No resolution yet.. they sent a tech and they did a slight adjustment so the horrible rattle is gone on the wine fridge side.. but it's still loud and i semi-gave up because I've been so busy.. I'm thinking of taking another shot to just get them to take the unit back.

The tech admitted it's a very loud model to begin with.. it's just the nature of the beast, but still tough for me to believe. If I can get rid of it, I think I will go with a Boesch which my friend has.. and is a very quiet unit. I believe the compressors are all the way in the back, rather than the front.. while more of a pain to service, the noise is a much bigger factor for me.

I just want to say that 45dB actually is fairly quiet - when looking at a scale of typical things that Verbo posted. However that would be very loud to me. Our open plan drives me nuts. Ambient dB, no TV or humans is about 30. When my bathroom fan upstairs is running the room is 43 dB. So, I agree with Richard that is very annoying! I offer no help other than something seems wrong. I was just empathizing, Richard, on how loud 45dB can be in real life. Good luck, and I hope you find a solution.