I have heard that the newer refrigerators are much more energy efficient and cost less to run.

In July 1971 I bought a Sears Kenmore refrigerator/freezer with automatic ice maker and an interior water dispenser. The name of the color wasn't Harvest Gold, although it was the "gold" color of the standard-for-the-times gold or avocado green. I had it re-enameled before we moved into this house in 1990. That thing is a beast! It's been serviced exactly once, circa 1991 or 1992 when the motor for the freezer gave out. It was an easy service call. The dang thing still works great. It's now in the garage, keeping cans of poppi soda cold.

We had a KitchenAid French Door fridge that I hated. A little over a year ago we got rid of it and bought a Bosch - model B36CT80SNS. We LOVE it.

The energy efficiency requirements/technology are what causes appliances to last only 10 maybe 15 years. At 15 you did well I would say. Time to fill the landfills which negates all the 'energy' you saved. People KNOW what you are doing.

That's how long ours lasted, just 15 years. I think it was the defrost timer because it suddenly came back on and worked for one day then went back out again. I hated that thing from day one, it had cold spots and warm spots and didn't hold very much food at all. I was glad to get a new one, TBH! We got a side by side Frigidaire with ice and water in the door, we like that feature but actually we didn't want it but ended up getting it anyway since there wasn't much choice. The ice and water ended up being my favorite thing about this refrigerator.

I have a GE which is 25plus years old. It was in the house when I bought it and until it dies it will stay. The ice maker stopped working but I just use ice cube trays and since it is just me that works fine. I hate the thought of having to replace it.

" The energy efficiency requirements/technology are what causes appliances to last only 10 maybe 15 years. "

It's a liberal conspiracy.

I think Kevin is right on the money on this.

How recently did you clean the coils at the bottom or back of the fridge?

I had a set of brushes made for this purpose that I used on the GE we had at our condo.

We realized that our fridge was over heating and decided to clean the coils. My god. I'm ashamed to say there was so much dog fur in there, we had a whole pack of puppy's worth of fur. The fridge is running much more efficiently now. Hope your problem is as easy to fix.

Thanks for the reminder to clean my 1999 build fridge which hasn't had the coils cleaned in at least 15 years...

When I got my KA they looked at me like I was nuts when I asked about cleaning coils. The coils are under the refrigerator and except for the front and a couple of inches back, I can’t do a thing. Nine years in and so far so good.

We had something very similar happen to a 10-year-old Frigidaire. The technician who came to check it said the compressor was bad. Time for a new one so we bought a KA. Very happy with it but I’m well aware of the lack of quality in most new appliances these days.

If you can't get to the coils maybe the dust can't either.

Last year I bought a brush and flexible, flat vacuum hose extender, to use for cleaning under and behind the fridge as well as the lint duct of the clothes dryer. Ebay or Amazon, I don't recall which. Someone here had mentioned the kit they bought and I thought it was a great idea.

So my fridge's coils were clean, but the compressor still died at 9.5 years. It was an LG/Kenmore.

I had to buy a less expensive and less roomy replacement (Whirlpool) which isn't as nice as the old LG, but neither were as user-friendly or as roomy as my pre-LG, circa 1997, Whirlpool/Kenmore (all nominally 30" wide units).

My last fridge had really no way to clean the coils. I could take off the kick plate and vacuum the front but that was it. I even bought a bottle brush that was tiny and you couldn't get it in there. One time I got busy and rolled it out and took the back off only to find out there was still no way to get to the coils to clean them. Literally the only way you could have cleaned it was to tilt it on its back and take the bottom apart...HA! Not going to happen. I think that this new fridge is designed exactly the same, in fact, it doesn't even talk about cleaning it, in the manual.

Our old whirlpool fridge was here when we bought the house 20 years ago. I do vacuum the coils every winter (on the bottom) and emply out and bleach/clean the defrost pan (those can get nasty too). The fridge is a soft yellow color which matches the stove/oven which also still works well. Both match the wall paint color so we're hoping neither breaks down any time soon. I have replaced the lower baking element in the stove and one of the top burner controls but it's still ticking along.

My DH was in heating and cooling big buildings, etc. so we did lot of the stuff Kevin mentioned. Especially the coils. We're thinking that this all started when our kids were up visiting and the fridge doors weren't always closed properly.

We do have a garage fridge. a 1948 Kenmore! It has the tiny freezer, but the darn thing works. We only ever use it for when the kids are up. Beer, pop, etc.Left behind when we bought the place. Lady had it in a bedroom for her vitamins!

Looked at fridges today, will look some more tomorrow. We don't live near a large city. Drove 30 miles south today, will go 45 miles north today. 3 stores in all!

Thanks everyone for the suggestions and stories!

My ancient Sears harvest gold fridge was still running great when i remodeled. The contractor took it without my permission, which made me mad but it did have to go since i had noplace for it. Bet its still running 20 years later.

I replaced it with a KA sxs which is running great, no problems at all after 20 years. Must be the same as Annie’s because you cant get to the coilsiOS. Id never get a sxs again but hope this one runs another 20 years.

Kathyg, I think you are due for a new one.

Dex, mine is also a KA sxs. If you tell me I can't get to the coils I'll be happy to not go look. :)

I'm not understanding why you can't get to the coils. If it's because they are too far back, there are sets of long brushes you can use, Pull the fridge forward; remove the kickplate at the bottom; use the brushes; push the fridge back; vacuum up what you dislodged.

It would be worth a call to the manufacturer to ask how to clean he coils.

To clean the coils I’d have to lie on mystomach on the floor. Id never be able to get up and would just die there on the kitchenfloor. Also, I am lazy.

I hate to think what’s under there.

Bwahahahaha!

There are a few refrigerator designs that have the coils prit-near inaccessible for cleaning except from the bottom. Or blowing with an air compressor/nozzle.

No, you could not access the coils on my fridge. I bought a long skinny "bottle brush" that was no wider than a 1/2 inch, I thought I could get in with that but it would not go in through the tiny opening. All I could do is vacuum the front of the coils or I could probably have used an air compressor to blow some but what a mess that would have made!

My GE has what is sometimes called a jelly-roll condensor coil. The fan mounts at the side and pulls air through. There's no way to get a brush between the convolutions or around the entire outer surface of the roll. GE claims it never needs cleaning ... but I vacuum the reachable surface then blow it with an air compressor every couple/few years. The rear service panel must be removed for access.