Sears review: Poor quality product! 158

I too have problems with the Kenmore Elite Trio Refrig. Mine has a bad fan motor. I have had the refrig. for two years, while under maintenance agreement having the same trouble getting the appliance serviced another person. Another site has notices concerning the fan motor and this appliance. Seems to be a common problem also the ability to get Sears to show for repair is a big issue. Beware when purchasing Sears products. The repair help line is no longer local, parts are not carried on the truck, delay in receiving parts and no show when scheduled. Do not purchase this refrig unless you have a back handy or can afford to lose a refrig. worth of food and expect a two week or more delay in getting it repaired. Also 45 minute hold on repair 800 number.

I have a Sears Kenmore Elite Side by Side Refrigerator model # 106.[protected] manufacture Date 9-05 Purchased New.

I hate this refrigerator. We bought 4 appliances at the same time - 9/05. Within the first 6 months all required repair except the microwave!

The design of the fridge is a huge part of the problem. The freezer air is circulated to the refrigerator side to cool it. If you "over-fill" the freezer, the back of the freezer will frost over and you will need to use a hair dryer to thaw it at the back and bottom so that the cool air from the freezer can again circulate to the fridge side. Meanwhile the temp in the fridge is 60 degrees and all food has spoiled while all in the freezer is still rock solid frozen! RIDICULOUS! Parts were replaced on the 1st two service calls that were probably never needed because the same problem continues to occur. I will NEVER buy Sears Kenmore again!

I recommend using Consumer Reports to all who need to make this type of purchase in the future. I know I will.

We got our Kenmore Elite in June 2006. About a month ago I detected a burning smell in the kitchen. The inside lights in the refrigerator had failed to go off even with the doors shut, causing the bulbs and surrounding plastic attachment to melt. It was late at night, and I think it could have caused a fire if not discovered. I complained to Sears, but all they would offer was to send a tech out, and I would have to pay because I didn't get the extended warranty, which is always a bad deal for the customer. I believe this was a pre-existing condition of which Sears was aware, and they don't think enough of a $3, 000 appliance to stand behind it. Nothing we did using the refrigerator would cause the lights to stay on with the doors shut. Sears would not help us, so I closed our longtime account, transferred the balance and will never do business with Sears again. I am going to post complaints all over the Web and contact the state attorney general. I believe Sears knew about this pre-existing condition and is selling this faulty appliance to unknowing consumers.

I too have had the same problems with the lights in the Trio. Yesterday was the second time it was repaired. The first time it happened, I also smelled something burning. The light fixture above the bulbs was burnt and brown. All the food was hot and spoiled. Sears came, weeks later, "repaired" the problem, only to have it happen a few months later. They came yesterday and unfortunately I was at work and I don't think my wife compeltely understood the problem. They simply replaced the light fixture and the bulbs, again, then left. This is clearly and electrical or wiring problem. I'm concerned that this could be disaterous. Had anyone successfully returned a Trio?

I am currently experiencing this same exact problem with my Kenmore Elite TRIO refrigerator. The service repairman who came out today indicated that the problem has something to do with the circuit board in which the relay does not cut off when the doors are shut, thereby leaving the lights on to melt everything in sight... plastic included.
I will attempt to either get a replacement fridge (not sure what good that will do) or to get my money back. I would think that an issue like this would warrant a recall, but I did not find any recall info on the CPSC website.
Good luck to all of you with this same issue.

I had the same interior light problem happen to me on my Fridge just yesterday. I've already experience Sears' finest with a water leak just after it was installed. I don't wish to go through that hassle again. I plan to convey the fact to Sears that I believe it's a known safety issue and expect an quick resolution that doesn't involve me spending a lot of my time waiting for a technician to make two trips for what will likely be a temporary fix. I'd be interested in hearing how anybody else has made out.

We'll I bought mine not this past thanksgiving but the one before. It was the only model out that had the freezer on the bottom and still made ice thats why i bought it. Let me tell you something this is a piece of SH** ! pull out the drawers on the bottom and crack they break not one but both. then i was away came home smelled this burning smell and guess what light melted and has burn marks and best of all lost over $500 in food
no warranty no help what do i do

We purchased a sears Kenmore ELITE trio in late November 06, not a cheap unit by any means. In April 08, 5 months after the 1 year warranty ran out (we declined the $500.00 extended warranty because the last fridge lasted over 25 years without any problems), upon opening the door a blast of HOT air hit us in the face. Strange, considering this is a refrigerator not an oven. The light unit and the plastic ceiling surrounding it was all melted, the food on the top shelf was ruined, and the bulbs were so hot I needed an oven mitt to remove them. I called the sears 800 number to schedule service and the first thing the service rep told me was that the 1 year warranty had run out and that it would cost me $65.00 just to have a serviceman come to the house and if I decided to have repairs made the 65 would be absorbed in the total cost. It would be a couple of weeks before a tech could arrive and it would be anytime between the hours of 8a.m. and 5p.m., sort of narrows it down doesn’t it? Well while waiting for the big day to arrive I had time to do a little investigating and found out that a circuit board that controls the lights might be faulty and that if I just unplugged the fridge for five minutes or so the board would reset itself, so I did and guess what, the light went when the doors were closed. Problem solved and being the cheap s.o.b. that I am I cancelled the service call. Okay now its June and one morning I open the fridge and wham, another blast of HOT air. This time the lighting unit is hanging by the wires, the plastic surrounding it looks like the inside of a cave, the sockets are scorched brown and again everything on the top shelf is ruined. Push in the switches and the lights stay on so back on the phone with the friendly sears service rep. A service tech could be here in a week any time between 8 and 5. So at 5:30 on the scheduled day we get a call from the tech saying he would be here shortly, must be a very busy man. So he arrives, reminds me of the $65.00 just for showing up fee(even though I had just waited all day long and he shows up a half hour later than promised), opens the fridge door and tells me “Yeah every things melted, it’s a the circuit board.” So he gets on his lap-top and after a few minutes says he has bad news. Your warranty is up and its going to cost me over $500.00 for a new board and labor. Okay I can understand paying for some thing that wore out from use or broke from abuse but a circuit board, that’s probably foreign made, but I won’t go there, wearing out only 18 months is a little absurd. Seems expensive sears Kenmore ELITE fridges are being constructed with pretty cheap parts. So I decline the repairs, who needs a light in a refrigerator any how, pay the $65.00 just to show up and tell me what I all ready knew fee and call sears. Of course it’s after six o’clock in the p.m. now and what self respecting sears manager is still in his office. So I’ll wait till Monday to see if I can get some satisfaction in solving the problem. Now I’ve purchased a number of sears products through the years, appliances, TV’s, tools, shop-vacs etc. but I will never set foot in another sears store, and neither will anyone I know, if I have to pay over $500.00 to repair a 18 month old refrigerator.

On Sunday, June 15, 2008, my husband opened our 15 month old Kenmore Trio refrigerator and found a smokey smell inside and that the plastic case under the light bulbs had melted and falledn down, the bulbs were so hot he had to get a towel to hold them in order to take them out as they would not go off. The bulb sockets were very brown and above them the plastic had also melted. He is a retired firefighter and we travel some so had we been gone, he truly feels we would have had a fire and maybe lost our home. This is a very dangerous problem and needs to be fixed. We called our Fire Marshall the next day and he quickly came out, checked out the refrigerator then took pictures of everything inside. He made out a report and we plan to send it to the U.S. Consumer Affairs Safety Board. Hope all of you will do the same if you have not done so as this needs attention so something can be done. The public needs to know about this.
We thought we had a really nice refrigerator and were happy when we bought it as we have used Kenmore appliances thru the years. It is nothing like their older appliance are. We are so very disappointed with it but most of all, afraid to have it repaired as they will just put in the same things that will probably happen again.

PLEASE contact the US Consumer Product Safety Commission if you have experienced the bulb housing melting/potential fire problem with your Kenmore Trio refrigerator. Please file a report even if you experienced the problem months or years ago, and even if your problem was fixed under warranty or if you paid to have it fixed.

You can file a report at their website at:
https://www.cpsc.gov/cgibin/incident.aspx
or you can call them toll-free at [protected]
or by send an e-mail to info@cpsc.gov

I have already called to file a complaint, but more people need to do so if Kenmore is going to do the responsible thing and fix these dangerous units.

Sears/Kenmore is clearly aware of this safety problem, but they will not repair it for free as they should. Kenmore wants $500 to fix this problem.

If enough people complain to the Consumer Products Safety Commission, the manufacturer of this product will be forced to recall/fix the product.

Please file a complaint before someone loses their home, or someone loses their life because of this defective product.

We also just had the same melting light/burnt light fixture inside our Sears Elite Trio refrigerator on 7/2/08. I'm lucky that I went into the fridge at 11pm and found this or I know there would have been a fire while we were asleep! I have gotten NOWHERE with Sears regarding this serious manufacturing defect. They said it's out of warranty (purchased 4/27/07) by 2 months and its my problem. They said I can pay to have it repaired! I filed a complaint today with the US Consumer Product Safety Commission @ [protected] and hope they can resolve this. Sears needs to issue a safety recall on this refrigerator Model [protected] before someone's house burns or someone dies !

We had the same problem today with our Kenmore Elite refrigerator. Opened up the frig today to the smell of something burning. Evidently the light bulbs are not turning off when the doors close.
The light sockets were brown from the heat, and the plastic light housing had melted. The inside roof of the frig was also melted and warped. In fact, the heat was so bad that the cabinets above the frig were hot to the touch. We were about to leave for a long weekend. It's a good thing I checked it out today, or we could have come home to smoldering embers! We purchased it in Dec. of 2006, and, of course, Sears is standing by their "it's out of warranty" claim. I also asked if they had any other complaints of this nature with this frig, and, of course, the answer was, "No, this if the first we have heard of this problem." Well, I'm not giving up with them yet. I'm going to print out all of these complaints and take them to the store manager where we bought the unit. I think this goes way beyond a standard warranty issue. This is obviously a serious manufacturing defect! I also filed a complaint with the USPSC (https://www.cpsc.gov/cgibin/incident.aspx)

I came here for a solution in hope to see if people encountered a similar problem but as I read the complaints, each one of them spoke my mind. Just tonight, if I did not smell the burning and increasing heat.. god knows what could have occurred. My one year warranty is expired and I did not pick up on the extension. All I did was quickly remove the bulbs which is a problem in its self just trying to pry open that lamp with out cracking it, but we will live with that for now. I will use the kitchen lights when I need light for the fridge. I want to get it fixed, but if this is the hassle and the rip off that I will receive from this product and the people responsible for the product safety... this is just another way the producers get a win and forcing the consumer to spend more money so "they" can increase their revenue and eventually their profits ...

I have contacted reporter Arnold Diaz of Fox 5 News NY regarding the problem with my Sears Kenmore Elite Trio Refrigerator serious fire hazard manufacturing defect. He is a consumer investigator who exposes the wrongdoings of businesses. I asked for his help. I think it would help if he heard from others who have had this same serious fire hazard with their very expensive refrigerators from Sears AND have had no luck getting Sears to stand behind the products they sell. If any of you want to also contact him, the email address is:

shameshameshame@fox5ny.com

We all need to stand together regarding this very dangerous appliance that is in all of our homes! THANKS

I experienced the very same thing with our Kenmore Elite Trio, manufactured in 2006/10 and we had bought it from Sears in Jan 2007. Everything was fine until today, and it's just as everyone says: melted and scorched plastic. Top of the fridge is warped and hot food on the top s helves! I called Sears and at this time there is no official recall, the service man is coming in 4 days at the $65 fee on my own dime! I have already submitted my report to the UPSC (thank you for the information!) and I am going to keep each and every receipt so that when there is recall I am ready to make my claim. This is outrageous that there are so many problems with this fridge and nothing has been done about it.

On July 25th, 2008 my wife and me had smelled something burning but could not figure out where it was coming from. In fact we thought that a straw had fallen onto the heating element in the dishwasher. In the early morning hours of July 26th, 208 I went to get a drink from the refrigerator and it was clear the smell was coming from the light fixture and everything on the top shelf was very warm. I used a towel to remove the bulbs and had to throw everything away that was on the top shelf. I scheduled an appointment with Sears via the web and an appointment was scheduled for the same morning (Saturday). Well, you guessed it, Sears did not show. I called and they confirmed the appointment, but they were at a loss on why someone did not show. So, now I am on for Monday the 28th, 2008. I went to google and typed in my issue and found this complaint. I am so glad that I did. I will also be filing a complaint with the US Product Safety Commission and will have some ammunition for Sears on Monday. Not sure how far I will get since it appears that a lot of people are getting the runaround from Sears on this issue. If anyone finds a resolution please e-mail others to let us know.

Ten days after our 1 year warranty ran out the interior lights would not shut off causing the top plastic to melt and the light sockets to be burnt. I called 1-800 4My-Home which is the Sears repair shop listed in the fridge and they couldn’t tell me if this was dangerous and had never heard of this and just asked if I wanted to purchase and extended warranty and set me up with an appointment 2 weeks later. I asked to speak to a technician because I have a 2 and a 4 year old and was nervous a fire might start. Nobody ever called of course. Then 2 weeks later when the technician came he said this was impossible that the lights would not turn off and blamed me stating I must have left the doors open - even though there is an alarm on the doors and I have 2 kids so I am in and out of the fringe all day. He would not believe me and basically called me a liar. He plugged the bulbs back in after I was scared and nervous and assured me it was my fault and that I must have left the doors open and it wouldn’t happen again. Exactly 25 hours after he left it occurred again. I was so upset. We were leaving the next day for a week vacation. I am sure my house would have burned down. I called the 800-4my home number 3 days in a row asking for that technician who came out to call me back so I could tell him I wasn’t lying and to make sure he ordered the correct parts. He barely opened the fridge doors. Of course he never called back. Then as is so typical they sent this same lazy technician back to install the parts he ordered and I explained the update and he said it was obviously the buttons on the inside. I tried to explain that I went to college for 4 years (not for appliance repairs) but felt pretty confident it was something deeper in the fridge with wires or a short circuit. He would not look in the fridge and brushed me off again saying it was a faulty button. So you can imagine my dismay when 6 days later I opened the fridge and all the new parts I just paid for were melted and my food was almost on fire the fridge was so hot. Not to mention the lovely burning plastic smell that my kids keep having to inhale. I think I may apply for a position as a Sears’s technician because apparently I am smarter with no training! Today another technician came and said it was the circuit board and that it needed to be replaced. I have no idea what the cost will be for that but I am EXTREMELY disappointed in this SEARS product and in their customer service. HORRIBLE EXPERIENCE. Going to the Consumer Safety Product Commission right now to report this. I would hate to see a family die over this fridge when nobody cares!

I might as well pile on with the melting Trio light.
Same story for me. I opened the doors to smell "cooking" food. Fortunately, I did not have to worry about how to get the plastic cover off that encased the lights. It fell into my hands quite easily. I burned both hands quite badly just trying to get the bulbs out.
Being the tightwad that I am, I can't justify the $65 for the tech or the $500 for the circuit board. I might find another plastic casing and live without the lights.
For those of you who chose not to replace the lights, did you experience any other problems with the circuit board?
Anybody know a good lawyer who might want to make a class action suit out of this?

I cannot believe that there are so many consumers out there who are experiencing the same problem with this Kenmore Trio. We purchased the Trio (a.k.a. piece of cr*p) in Feb 2007. My wife discovered the plastic light cover melting and smoke coming from the fixture 2 weeks ago. We went to the local Sears store and explained the problem, was then told that we had to call their useless 1800 repair service, had an incompetent and rude repairman named Arnold in San Diego who didn't know his head from his a**, and was forced to fork over the $70 service charge for nothing. The repairman did not know how to fix the problem and could only tell me that it would cost $391 to replace the parts. I have a wife undergoing chemotherapy and a 6 year old and 4 year old. I explained that I was gravely concerned about the chances of this refrigerator causing a fire. His response was "I can only tell you how much it will cost to replace the parts". I am so frustrated and went to the store today to speak with the manager. I know what you are probably thinking "good luck". I was unsuccessful and will file a complaint with the USPSC immediately. This is unacceptable and for Sears to play ignorant to this problem is criminal. Please email me if you have had a successful resolution to this problem.

On 8/4/08 we discovered the same issue with the side by side kenmore elit frig with the freezer at the bottom. The lights had been on for at least 24 hours. The case for the lighting was scorched and partially melted as well as the casing for the light bulbs. Everything on the top shelf was luke warm... We filed a report with the USPSC. Please file a complaint if you've had the same issue. This refrigerator has been nothing but problems. Before the first warranty expired, we had the frig replaced because the freezer was leaking air into the refrigerator...freezing everything in the vegetable drawers. With the replacement we had to change the icemaker twice... what a piece of c**p...

Me too, same problem with light not going off and burnt up cover. Bought mine in Sept. 06. The smell reminded me of a burning fiberglass boat. All the packaging of my food smelled bad even in the freezer. At first I tried to save things but soon realized I had to shut off the whole thing because by now all the plastic stunk. I washed every piece with vinegar and finally was able to use the fridge again. My husband replaced the 60 Watt bulbs with smaller ones.
Sears is sending a repair man because I can't camplain to anyone until he comes. I went to the store but everyone said I have to start at the repair dept. I think we should contact a lawyer who would like to turn this into something big and then Sears might talk to all of us.
By the way the ice maker never stops running so I have to turn it off and on myself. The pull out veggie drawer has a broken wheel.

Today is August 8, 2008. Yesterday we discovered a burning smell in our Kenmore Trio Refrigerator. After noticing the light cover hanging by just one connector, we realized that the light bulbs were extremely hot. We also have the side by side with the bottom freezer. We called the local Sears store where we purchased the frig. and they knew nothing about what we were telling them. We just spoke with Sears Corporate Appliance Dept. and there is a recall on this issue that started on 8/6/08.

To receive service under the "Service Flash" for this problem, call [protected] or [protected]. The Service Flash is a recall according to Sears.

I have a post back on July 28th, 2008 so this is an update to the same complaint everyone is having. I have been working with Sears Corporate Office and the following is what has been implemented. Sears has issued a safety recall on this part and all owners will be notified shortly. Now for the people who have had this problem (like me) at least there will be some resolution to this problem. If anyone would like more information on this send me an email.

I just spoke with the Sears recall department. There is NOT a recall on the Trio refrigerator that we are discussing. The "Service Flash" means that if you have a Sears technician come to your home for a service call, he can determine at his/her discretion whether the problem is a hazard or not. And if he/she so deems, can waive the service fee and/or the parts.

I'm sorry to say that I do not have much confidence in those fees or parts costs being waived.

Folks...we need a lawyer on this. Sears recall department (her name was Margie) stated that there is nothing Sears can or will do unless there is an official recall.

I also just talked to the recall dept and there is no recall. I think we all should keep calling them 800.659.7026

WOW. Insane. I can't believe so many folks have had the same problem.

We also just experienced the same exact problem - 8/8/08. My wife noticed a warm/hot feel to the upper shelf bottles, noticed the light stayed on and took it upon herself to take out the bulbs. We didn't get to the point of melting plastic.

I will call my Sears guy today, and also file a report at the Consumer Safety Commission.

I posted my first compliant on 8/8/08. Today 8/11/08 the Sears repairman spoke with someone on the phone while at my house and they are changing all defective parts at no charge to me for parts or labor. When the service technician is at your house, you need to give him Service Flash SF46-515. The technician will order the correct parts to be shipped to your house for free and then installed by Sears. The numbers to call are [protected] or [protected].

We experienced the same burning problem with our Kenmore fridge. The first few times that I noticed the light and foodwas burning hot I assumed that I left the door open. I only wondered why the alarm didn't work. Then on 8/13/08 my husband went into the fridge at night and discovered the same issue. He assumed once again that the door was left open all day. Then he thought more about it, shut the doors tightly, got on a chair and looked down into the cracks of the door. Sure enough, the light was on and burning hot. Our cabinets were even warm to the touch. The unit that holds the light was melted and sagging as well as scorched brown. This is ridiculous. I will not pay one dime to have this repaired. I expect Sears to take care of this potentially very dangerous defect. I will report this to the Consumer Safety Commision as well as call my local news station. Channel 4 news in Detroit if anyone else is in the area please call or email as well.

I just had the control panel on my Kenmore fridge melt off because the light bulbs wouldn't turn off. Of course the warranty ran out two months ago. I have to replace the main circuit board due to a faulty relay and the control panel, each of which cost $200, plus labor. If this happens to you, buy the extended warranty when you call in. It's a lot cheaper and there is no recall.

We bought our fridge in January of 2007. Today - 8/15/08 - our Kenmore Elite Trio light bulbs were not turning off when the doors were closed. The top light cover and the fixture were melted and the food near it was so hot we had to through it all out. We unplugged the fridge and let it cool off before unscrewing the light bulbs. After reading the previous posts we decided to unscrew the freezer light and just use the kitchen lights until we replace the fridge. I have no confidence in Sears or this model for safety. I wonder how many home fires are attributed to Kenmore Elite Trios? This is a dangerous defect and only an irresponsible company would allow this to keep happening! We are going to complain to the Consumer Safety Product Commission.

Good News. I also have had the same problem with the lights. A Sears repairman came to my house on 8/8/08. He ordered all 7 new parts to correct the problem free of charge to be shipped to my house. We received the parts free of charge on 8/14/08 shipped by UPS. The Sears repairman will return to my house to do the installation of new parts on 8/19/08. When you call Sears give the Service Flash number SF 46-515 if you have the Kenmore Trio Side By Side Refrig. with bottom freezer.

Today (8-16-08), we had the exact same problem! Being a Saturday all we could do was call Sears and they will have a repair man call on Monday. In a way it is nice to see we are not alone in this. Our fridge is only 18 months old, for that amount of money it should last longer then 18 months!

We just experienced the same problem! I have already filed a complaint - thanks for providing the info. We bought the extended warranty and repairman was here yesterday. He is replacing the light housing and stated the left door of our Kenmore Elite Trio was not seated properly and that was causing the light to not shut off. However, if your stand on a chair and look at the on/off switch on the frame, the left side does indeed depress. Since the bulbs have been unscrewed, it is difficult to tell for certain if it is being depressed enough to trigger the lights to turn off. THANK YOU so much for the info on the Service Flash. I will give this info to the technician when he returns. I bought my Trio 1/07. I also agree with the rudeness regarding the tech's. The one who showed here was here for a total of 5 mins (after I waited 5 hours) and proceeded to tell me my settings were wrong and then changed the settings for both the fridge and freezer without allowing any time for my input! This made me angry as he does not have to contend with frozen drinks and thawed ice cream! I am a very dissatisfied Sears customer.

I've just experienced the same problem. Before finding this board, I called Sears. The technician came out today. He was very polite, and after calling in, indicated that Sears is aware of the problem. That being said, he made no offer to do anything other then provide me with an estimate for the parts. He also told me that I should call LG or return to the store where I bought the fridge. Since I purchsed this fridge online in June 2006, there is no store involved. I have yet to contact LG, but I'm already starting to feel like I'm getting the run-around.

I posted on 7/25 about having this same problem with our Sears Kenmore Elite Trio. I had the the Sears repairman out on 7/29, as that was all that One Source would do for us. He could only leave me the repair estimate (complete with part #s) since I wasn't about to shell out $460 to repair the fridge myself. We are out of warranty by 6 mos...

Recently, I read about the Service Flash here, and called again this week to the numbers listed. I actually had to get transferred over to someone in the Rework Dept at [protected]. Good news it that we'll have a repairman out on Thursday to look at it again and order the parts for us. At no charge, he just needs to determine what really is needed now.

The man on the phone at the Rework Dept asked for my model # and serial # to verify that we were included in the SF. I gave the same SF # that was quoted earlier here.

By the way, I did contact the CPSC too... we still need to do that. It may allow someone who isn't online to take advantage of the SF! And to avoid a tragedy!

To note: the fridges (the LG frenchdoors are the same as the Kenmore Elites...) are NOT being recalled . What is happening is that they are sending out people to repair one that you already have that has experienced this problem.

With the way that our fridge ended up, it's like putting a bandaid on a huge wound, but at least it will be something.

Just to update you all... the Sears Repairman was back out here today for our Kemore Elite Trio. He is indeed ordering the same parts that the first repairman thought that we needed, PLUS the motherboard as well. (covering all bases I assume?) We wait for the parts to arrive via UPS and then we arrange for another visit for the installation.

It's a hassle to wait for the repairman, but at least the fridge is being repaired at no cost to us. I HOPE that it will stay fixed for good. Interestingly enough the Repairman was pushing for us to purchase the special "extended warranty" for the reduced price of $120 per year... hmmm...

The Service Flash will hopefully be something that all of you who have experienced problems will look into, but please let the CPSC know as well. I only knew about the SF because of this site and I hate to think of the people who have experienced this same melting light issue AND have gotten nowhere on their own. If Sears or LG doesn't do a massive campaign to let people know about this repair then how will other people find out about it?

Isn't it interesting that when you go to look at the latest Kenmore Elite Trio fridges at Sears that their lights are totally different now!

I am so unhappy as a Sears customer at this point. I have this same problem with my Trio "Elite", and they will simply do nothing about it. It's "the consumer's" responsibility because it is out of warranty. I have filed a complaint with Sears, with the CPSC, and have spoken directly with Sears' Customer Service and Recalls departments.

What kills me is the fact that the Recall department person I spoke with told me flat out that they know of this issue, but "sorry we cannot do anything because there's no recall yet". I find this so unethical. And to see the list of people online with this issue makes me furious. We are talking about a FIRE HAZARD here, folks.

Below is the reply from Sears on my complaint. Enjoy.

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Thank you for visiting Sears.com, we appreciate hearing from you.

We have noted your comments, and will share them with the interested
parties for proper consideration. While we do not expect any appliance
or product to fail within a pre-determined amount of time, there is
always the possibility that this may occur. While it is unfortunate that
problems have arisen, we do offer the option of purchasing our
protection agreements both at the time of purchase, and when the
warranty expires, in order to safeguard your investment.

Due to the fact that the unit is not covered by either the
manufacturer's warranty, which is usually valid for the first year of
ownership, or protection agreement, the responsibility of cost for
repair of the refrigerator falls on the consumer.

By sharing your feedback with us, you have made it possible for us to
address the issues and/or rectify the situation. Further, your
forthright comments will enable Sears to achieve excellence in
everything we do.
If you have any questions or concerns, or would like to discuss the
matter further, please feel free to contact us at [protected].

Sincerely,
Lillian L.
Sears Holdings Corporation
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And here is my reply to Sears:

---------------------------
Thanks for your feedback regarding my comments. Unfortunately, I am now even further bewildered by Sears' inability and unwillingness to resolve a critically dangerous issue in their product. Let me answer your comments one by one:

Protection agreement: Yes, I did not get a protection agreement when I paid well over $2k for this refrigerator in Oct 06. So much for your "Elite"
name tag. When a consumer spends this much on a refrigerator they expect it NOT to have an internal circuit board issue like this.

Responsibility of cost falls on me the consumer: Are you kidding me? If you would look into this closer and see the amount of people having this issue (actually I am sure you are aware of it by now), Sears would do the right thing and fix these units to keep their consumers safe from fire, and actually keep their customers.

Address the issue and/or rectify the situation: Again, you have got to be kidding me. This reply of yours totally displays Sears' lack of willingness to fix or rectify the situation. THERE IS A FIRE HAZARD IN THESE REFRIGERATORS! Sears knows it, and will not do the right thing. I honestly do not know how you sleep at night.

I am one customer you have lost - just one of many. For a company that values its reputation as a "service-oriented" company, yikes, you are missing the ball on this one.

I look forward to seeing how Sears handles this "situation" in the coming months.

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Here' another update. I know exactly how Erik feels... I refuse to buy from Sears again, in spite of being able to get our Elite Trio repaired (free of charge, but NOT free of hassle!) due to the Service Flash. I refuse to deal with a company that has gotten so large that they send their call centers overseas and no one in any department REALLY knows what someone else is doing . Yes, we experienced the melting too . We experienced the frustration of NOT getting good customer service about the problem, but I kept at it... thanks to this website I filed my complaints with the USCPS and I found out about this repair opportunity.

I took the repair and so far (3 days now) it's better than living with a dark fridge. We got a new circuit board and a light that now has a sensor incorporated in it that would shut things off if it were to stay illuminated too long. I hope that this is the end of it.

Don't despair, but do try that Service flash option! One dear lady that I am communicating with can't get her fridge repaired (her fridge doesn't have a model # that is included in the SF) but I do hope that one day it will be extended to her. I hope that it's only a matter of time.

Do file an official complaint with the USCPS. Do try the Service Flash repair option because as people have stated previously... there is NO recall on these. The repair man told my husband that he has worked on numerous cases of the melted bulb housing. It's NOT just your fridge, and it's being addressed by Sears in some ways now.

Keep at it and keep checking this site for new info. Keep calling too!

Want to hear something even more telling about Sears? Our Sears Craftsman riding lawn mower has been acting up a lot this year. I admit that it's 3 years out of warranty, and I didn't even consider going back to Sears to buy parts after this fridge fiasco. I ended up buying a new mower elsewhere. Sears has lost me as customer forever. It's not the Sears that my grandfather loved; they have changed, and it's not a good thing anymore.