Sears review: Poor quality product! 158

Update on Sears Kenmore Trio refrigerator model # 795.[protected]:

I spoke to several people at Sears and no one had heard of the light/melting circuit board problem or service flash sf46-515 R2. I made a repair appointment anyway. The gal who booked me the appointment tried to sell me the extended warranty (Sears requires their employees to do this). When I told her that the repair should be covered by a service flash, she also did not know what I was talking about. Anyway the repairman did know what service flash sf46-515 R2 was. The parts are ordered and will be sent directly to my home. I also have an appointment set up for the repair. I consider myself lucky. There was no smoke damage, a fire did not start, my refrigerator continues to at least work (light bulbs unscrewed), and it all happened 2 weeks before the extended 3 year warranty for this problem would have been up. I am also fortunate that I have internet access so that I could find out about this service flash from others who have had this problem.

Just like everyone else my light housing burned/melted (Kenmore Elite Trio model 795.[protected] purchased 12/2006). Called [protected] and was told by Sears representative that my problem was not covered under the limited warranty and that I had to pay for the repairs. After reading all the internet comments/complaints about this problem I called [protected] and was told that parts have been ordered and shipped to my house and that an appointment was made for a techinician to install them free of charge. The only problem is that if the techinician does not replace the control (circuit) board the same problem will happen again. I guess I will have to wait and see if the control board is part of this "free of charge" fix. Either way, this appears to be a serious fire hazard and this product should be recalled. I already made a complaint with CPSC and hope that everyone who experienced the same issue will do so as well.

Our Sears Kenmore Trio model # 795.[protected] has the same problem with refrigerator lights staying on intermittently causing the plastic light housing to warp and melt, spoiling food near it and charring the light sockets. We purchased it 1/30/07. Noticed this problem 9/30/09. Filed a Consumer Product Incident Report on 10/3/09 and will be contacting Sears, referencing Service flash SF46-515 .

One more consumer who experienced light bulbs staying on and melting plastic housing in my Kenmore Trio refrigerator (model 795.7731). I called Sears, asked if there was a recall, was told no and I would have to pay $75 service call fee plus whatever the parts and repair would cost (refrigerator purchased in 2007 so out of warranty). The first person I spoke with at Sears suggested I might call the product liability line and connected me. That person just takes information to file a claim, and I will get a call back in a couple of days when they assign someone to my claim. The company that does this for Sears is Sedgwick, [protected]. So then I called Sears back to schedule an appointment, the second person again didn't identify any coverage for the problem. I then did some online research and found the post here that suggested calling Sears recall line, [protected]. The person I spoke to there said my refrigerator was not covered under a service flash, but would be covered under a "credit flash" or something like that. Bottom line, he ordered two parts for my fridge (light socket harness assembly, and main PCB, maybe that means product control board?) and rescheduled my appointment for after the parts arrive, and said there will be no charge for the parts or the service call. I complained that it took a lot of running around to get to this point, and he apologized but said he couldn't help with that. I also plan to file a complaint with the CPSC, and will follow up with my claim with Sedgwick. Very frustrating, especially considering we also had three visits that were covered under warranty to replace a problem with our freezer frosting up, and it never was really fixed.

I have the Kenmore Elite [protected] and it is just about 2 years old and the fan motor has died. No air is going into the refrigerator, the freezer is still working. I cannot believe there is no recall on this part or refrigerator.

If you have expreienced a similar issue please call Sears product resolution at [protected] with your model and serial number so that this problem is reported and a recall occurs!

Kenmore is no longer the brand it once was and Sears no longer has good customer service. If you sell large home appliances they should last longer than 2 years when the industry average is 10.

News Flash: No one can reasonably be expected to live without a refrigerator for a week waiting for the service man or a week for the part.

I called and spoke with 5 different people today trying to get service for my refrigerator through Kenmore/Sears. And you know what? Everyone wanted to sell me the extended warranty.

I would buy the warranty if maybe I could get service in a reasonable amount of time or even wanted to use a Kenmore appliance or Sears ever again. I wish i could return this defective product! If any service place took a week to come out and fix an issue they would be out of business. I will not pay $250 above the $1, 000 I spent on the unit.

I had never been dissatisfied with Sears in the past and was a loyal customer. Now, I will tell everyone I know never to buy a Kenmore product or any product from Sears. If I can help one person purchase their appliances from another vendor I have accomplished my goal here.

I also experienced the issue with the lights staying on as if the door was open. The model is a Kenmore Elite 795.[protected] purchased new in 2006. The problem appears to be with the door switches and not with the lighting assembly. With the door switch disengaged, the fridge cooler stops blowing (by design I guess to save energy?) and the bulbs heat the plastic making a big gooey mess and serious fire hazard. Not to mention that lovely toxic smell that ruins anything not unopened, sealed in tupperware, or in a glass jar.

I contacted Sears service, described the issue, and was told that my warranty had expired two months ago. I mentioned the Service Flash number and this changed the tone of the conversation (the agent was quite good btw and was in the US) . The agent confirmed my model number, my serial number, and then put me on hold to speak with a supervisor. After a few minutes, she came back and said that she would schedule a tech to come out and that there should be no charge for the repair. The repair would be covered by a new warranty designed only to cover the repair.

I hate that such a trusted brand would not offer that this was a known issue voluntarily. But it seems that this is what big business has come to in this day and age.

I've got the same issue with the light and have been told that my model is only covered by a credit flash. Does anyone really know what that means other than Sears isn't going to willingly pay for the repair? Any hints on a next step?

I haven't read through this thread, but want to close the loop on my rather wretched experience.

First, the good news.

1. Sears knows there's a factory defect in the refrigerator. There's what the call a "service flash" on the unit.
2. Sears did eventually repair my refrigerator.

Now, the bad news.

1. I had eight scheduled appointments. This means 8 days off from work to get this repaired. It approached the point where I should have eaten the expense of buying a new refrigerator. It might have cost me less.
2. Of the eight scheduled appointments, Sears showed up only four times. They canceled on me four times. When they gave me a window of 12-5, they would call at 5:30 to say they had to reschedule. It's also remarkable that it took them four visits to repair the problem. More on this below.
3. The call center for Sears repair is an absolute nightmare. Even more like living hell. I can say without exaggeration that I spent between 20-30 hours on the phone. Until you get a department that can make the connection between your appliance and the related service flash, don't waste your breath. They triage the calls, so usually you have to be reconnected once or twice until you get a person who is actually knowledgable about service flash.
4. If you're told there is not a service flash, hang up and call back. They are dead wrong.
5. I'm not sure that the repair has corrected the root cause of the problem. They replaced the lighting hardware and the plastic lens that covers it. The hardware includes a heat sensor, so if the light does stay on after you close the doors, this sensor will turn off the light when it gets hot enough. I still believe there's a basic wiring problem in the refigerator.

Hope this helps. Good luck to all. I'm not sure there's anything out there that's better, but based on this experience alone I will never buy another Sears/LG appliance.

SAME EXACT PROBLEM.
Refrigerator didn't seem to be cooling yesterday morning, but freezer seemed fine. So, amazingly, we were able to get a same-day appointement with a Sears service tech. to come check it out.
He never showed, but did call to say he was stuck at another job. I explained the problem to him & he said he felt sure it was the evaporator fan motor keeping the frig from cooling. He said it was totally safe to keep in plugged in--the freezer would keep things frozen & the frig wouldn't get any warmer than it already was (about 50 degrees--and yes, our food was by then outside in the snow).
A few hours later, I opened the frig to check the temperature & noticed our light cover was hanging down & melted. The light bulb sockets were also brown & scorched (just like everyone else's). Obviously, the lights weren't turning off when the doors were closed. We now have a service call scheduled for Tuesday. So great, only 5 DAYS WITHOUT A FRIG with a family of 5 (kids are 7, 4 & 10 months).
KENMORE SUCKS. The worst part is, I splurged on the $1800 TRIO. What a mistake. It does make a beautiful, mirror black finish pantry though. :(

Same exact problem on our July 2007 Elite Trio. Sunday December 26 2009 smelled burning smell, couldn't figure out where it was coming from, then woke up in the morning to the fridge basically on fire - light casing was warped and melted, hanging from ceiling by a single wire, and VERY hot. Butter melted, all upper level food spoiled and very warm. When we tried to disengage the light casing with an oven mitt flames came out. It was scary. Finally got the entire light casing out. Ceiling of fridge is damaged. Forget about the fact that the fridge could have started a house fire, and we have two little ones, a 2 year old and a 3 year old. It makes me sick to think about it.

Sears repair line was just as unhelpful as everyone has discovered (the My Home number in the fridge). Really nasty when I asked to speak to a manager about having to pay for the tech visit. Recall department was completely unhelpful and gave me false information, telling me that there was a recall and forwarding me back to repair scheduling line to make another appointment under recall, which didn't exist. Then service manager acted as though it was my fault and shrugged me off rudely.

So with the help of my fellow Elite Trio sufferers I have progressed to the creme de la creme of customer solutions. Apparently the highest level of customer care where there is NO waiting and everyone knows what the heck is going on with these refrigerators. [protected] and don't forget to tell them that you are calling about Service Flash SF46-515. Thanks again for all of you who have posted and have helped me hack through this thorny forest of customer service BS. I am also filing a claim with LG (I insisted that Sears call LG and inform LG, and apparently LG started a claim for me and is expecting my call tomorrow. I've also filed reports with CSPS and I'm thinking about writing a letter to my state DA's office. Call me crazy, but I am thinking about requesting a new refrigerator because apparently the solution to the light does not prevent future incidences. Oh and a little history on this fridge, the second day we had it the water pump broke and we sustained 10K water damage to our hardwoods and basement. Will keep you posted.

I had tremendous success by filing a complaint with the better business bureau in chicago. sears became immediately very helpful, curteous, and efficient in processing my complaint and replacement of my refrigerator.

I would suggest you all try that route.

You must file a complaint through BBB in Chicago. www.chicago.bbb.org. File complaint on-line, it is easy to do. Filed this morning and already it has been submitted and acknowledged by Sears. We'll see what happens. Thanks spkar0517.

I took have a Kenmore "Elite" trio refrigerator that cost a bundle. Last night, an electrical smell permeated my kitchen. I opened my Trio, saw that the light bulbs were both out and thought maybe something just "blew'. When I attempted to remove the housing, I nearly burned my hands on the plastic. We got the same runaround from
Sears about us paying for a tech to come out and -- get this -- they HAVE NEVER HEARD OF THIS ISSUE BEFORE. It's not as though we were looking for a freebie. This is a DANGEROUS situation that I will personally hold Sears accountable for. Hear that Sears? If my house catches fire, or my food is spoiled, I am getting an attorney! I am going to report this to every consumer complaint organization I can and will NEVER again buy a Sears product.

The most important thing to do is register a complaint with the CPSC. Just spoke to a CPSC rep to report the exact same problem with the Kenmore Elite and the representative confirmed that more reports aids in their investigation of the issue. Also purchased Sears washer and dryer at the same time; both now need service after 14 months. Noticed product was made in Korea and assumed it was South, but think I'm wrong.

Add one more to the growing list of unhappy kenmore elite owners . I seem to be quite luckey, over almost three years I have had all of the problems described above plus . It started with a broken shelf, which sears replaced . Then I have always had a problem with the ice maker not turning off when the bin is full . And it seems that every summer I have to defrost the back of the freezer when the evaporator fan freezes up . So when I get home from work today, I find the light housing melted and hanging down and the food on the top shelf warm. When I called sears at [protected], I spoke to a very nice person named Holley who had never heard of service flash SF46-515 but after being put on hold twice they decided that they may be able to help . Some one will be out to look at it monday, so we shall see what happens . But I am afraid sears has lost another loyal customer . I will be calling the CPSC next!

I am amazed at all of the people that have the SAME EXACT problem as me. Smelled something like melting plastic in my Kenmore Elite Trio, but ignored it for a few hours until it got worse and I discovered that the interior lights would not switch off, no matter what I did. With some difficulty the only solution was to remove the light bulbs carefully after prying open the plastic cover and using a dish towel to shield my hands from the extremely hot bulbs. The housing for the bulbs is scorched and I'm sure that if I had been out of town or simply not had a very good sense of smell, this could have caught my house on fire. With all the complaints I read here, it is amazing to me that Kenmore has not issued a recall. For Shame.

All I can say is ditto. The smell of the burning whatever it is is disgusting. On the plus side, I thought I was having some medical issue. Thank God it was only my refrigerator melting. A little percussive maintenance (BOOM!) got the lights to go out when the door closes. All I want to do is get the lights to cool to the point where they can be taken out. They are hotter than three hells right now.

Also, I tried the website for the complaints but it won't respond, says the email address is wrong. Lovely. Think I may pay a visit to my Sears store tomorrow. Assuming I can get the light assembly out, I will show them how hot those bulbs get. My fridge is 3.5 years old. Should have downsized instead of choosing the POS model.

After calling and being transferred numerous times, I ended up being extremely frustrated and utterly certain that I will not be buying from Sears again. It is appalling to me that this is a known issue that has the potential to cause a fire and Sears will not even acknowledge that it exists! This very thing happened to me today and when I called Sears, they berated me for not buying the extended warranty and told me that they had no knowledge that this fridge has issues!

I also experienced the issue with freezing up. Before realizing there was an issue with the board, the thing started sounding like a small plane was taking off in our house. I expected better from this appliance given the cost and the fact that it was supposed to be a quality product.

Thank you to all who have spent countless hours obtaining and posting how best to resolve the defects with the Kenmore refrigerators.

My complaint is about a Kenmore Elite, Model# 795.[protected] manufactured in 12.2006. In December 2009, the plastic dome covering the lightbulbs had melted enough to fall down which I thought was very odd. This morning, I opened the refrigerator and found 2 pounds of stick butter in the cardboard box melted and dripping down the door. The inside of the box and everything in it was very hot. I, too, called the number inside the frig and was advised to schedule a $75 minimum appointment two days from now. A local appliance repairman had heard of this problem and advised to persist with Sears customer service as he would not touch the appliance. After calls to customer service in a foreign location and LG customer service, I fortunately found this website with the phone numbers and the Service Flash information. I also filed a complaint with the Consumer Product Safety Commission. After expressing extreme fear about the fire hazard created and leaving my house vacant or sleeping in it, the customer service representative raised the status of my repair to "emergency" and a technician is supposed to be here within 24 hours.

I to had the same problem in Sept..2006 I bought a $3300 pile of junk from my local Sears store and while I was there the bright sales person asked me if I would like to buy a extended plan for that stainless pile of SH-T so I had asked him if the 3 year i'm about to buy would have anything to do with my factory 1 year and he said no so I bought a 3 year extended warranty only to find out that my warranty ran out in 3 years just short of the pile of SH-T melting...So I just want to thank you Sears and Kenmore for comeing out with this pile of SH-T maybe they should send them to IRAC and burn some of those sand fleas insted of the good old AMERICAN WORKING MAN...+++++++++++

This is a very serious issue with these Kenmore refrigerators. I had the light shroud on mine melt down yesterday and I burned my finger on the melted plastic - let me tell you, the last thing you expect to get burned by is the inside of your refrigerator (well, not counting getting burned by Sears of course!)

I spent two hours this afternoon on the telephone with six different Sears agents - one person knew all about this problem, but when they forwarded my call to another person, they said there is no problem!

Do not buy a Sears Kenmore Model 795-7731, or any of the Elite models with the freezer on the bottom. If you own one, perdiodically pull back the door seal to make sure that the light is turning off when you close the door.

I may try replacing the bulbs with low wattage LED lights that won't get as hot. For now, we just removed the bulbs - everything else still works fine.

By last count, I have seven Kenmore appliances in our home - but after a previous issue with an under cabinet microwave, and now this problem, I'm not buying anything else from SEARS - the popular belief that they sell good products and stand behind them is eroding very fast...

We purchased out Kenmore Elite on April 2009, and by June 2010 the freezer fan was burnt and the ice maker leaks drips down into the refrigerator and onto my floor.. It also freezes all our fruits and veggies (0 degrees freezer 39 degrees refrig as recommended by "Brian the tech guy") I've called to get their tech guy out here four times this month with no response so far? This refrigerator has been one big headache! Cokes stay warm if left on the top shelf.. I feel like throwing it out the door and having sears come pick up their piece of CRA*!

I would never buy a fridge from Sears again. ever since we have bought it, on humid days there is condensation in the freezer drawer, the back freezes and the fridge department does not cool anymore. this ends up always with expensive repairs. it is interesting to read that this is a common problem and that Sears keeps on selling them.

My Kenmore Elite Trio inside light has been staying on while the doors were closed raising the temp inside and spoiling our food. Also in the refrigerator was my husband's insulin! I called Tues. night 8/17 and got a customer service rep I believe in India, she said the soonest I could get a tech in the area was in a week. I read the manual and thought maybe I over loaded the frig with food (after having 2 birthday parties). We took everything out of the frig and the next morning it seemed to be cooling. I reloaded all the food except the canned drinks. Now today, Thursday I came home for lunch to discover that the frig was warm and the plastic cover over the lights had melted its hinges and fallen off. I called Sears again and told them the problem, again I was told a tech would be there Tuesday, I asked to speak to her supervisor and the girl told me that the supervisor would give me the same answer. I spoke to the supervisor and told her about my husband's insulin (a year's supply) and that if the insulin was damaged I would expect Sears to pay for it. She told me she would speak to her manager. After a short wait she told me that they could have someone out tomorrow morning (Fri.). Oh, I do not have the extended warranty and I am having to pay the tech $75 for the service call.

Has anyone had any success in Sears paying for this?

JY

Same Kenmore Elite Trio (Model No. 795.[protected], manufacturer June 2006), same inside light problem - melted the plastic housing and charred the light sockets. We were lucky an adult son was home to smell the burning plastic and break the light bulbs as a not-recommended first solution to the problem (better to unplug the refrigerator and let the bulbs cool, then remove them if possible). In this way we could allow the fridge to operate and did not lose the contents of the fridge. I spent 90 minutes on the phone to Sears [protected]), who refused to acknowledge the problem exists and refused to send a technician for service unless I agreed to pay for the repair. The alleged highest level supervisor/manager (Camille) disconnected me twice because she would not admit to Sears having any responsibility for repair (out of warranty). It seems clear that Sears would rather alienate lifelong customers than do the right thing and correct such a serious safety/fire hazard that it knows exists. As we cannot presently afford a service call or repair (or better, to buy a new non-Sears refrigerator), we will have to live without a light in our refrigerator. I have removed the light housing completely -- If the clear plastic cover has not already melted off, you can pop it out and then unscrew two screws holding up the white plastic housing. It will fall down a bit and then apply a bit of pressure to pop out the remaining white plastic center connector from the top of the fridge. Disconnect the wire harness and you can remove the entire assembly. While we would prefer to have a light in the fridge again, this may be the cheapest safest way to continue to operate a seriously design-flawed refrigerator. I have filed a complaint with the CPSC, as others have recommended. If any attorneys read these posts, it seems that this case is ripe for a class-action lawsuit for everyone who has had this problem and had to pay for repairs. God forbid if anyone's fridge actually has or does catch fire and causes serious damage or bodily harm. Sears is clearly on notice of the serious problem.

RW

We ordered from Sears, and paid for an LG refrigerator, for an elderly handicapped woman...We were told the delivery date was 3 days away, so we sat with her in her apartment and waited for the delivery on the day promised. The refrigerator never arrived so I called Sears to find out why. They had neglected to let us know that there would be a delay of a week for the delivery. Again we waited on the promised day...NOTHING ARRIVED!
Called again to inquire, and was given a promise of the following week...NOTHING ARRIVED AGAIN!
THIS WENT ON FOR AN ADDITIONAL 6 WEEKS, WITH 8 DELIVERY DATE PROMISES.
We cancelled the refrigerator, waited 2 mos. for a refund...got a credit card to be used at Sears for the delivery fee, and then went to Lowes and got another refrigerator.
This morning, my own KENMORE ELITE, BOTTOM FREEZER, FRENCH DOOR REFRIGERATOR (purchased at the end of 2008) no longer is working. Upon calling Sears...and finding that it is no longer under warranty, have now started the ball rolling on trying to get this refrigerator repaired. Almost $3, 000 is down the drain at this point with that refrigerator, and I am disgusted and extremely angry with the way Sears is duping the American people.
WHEN DID SEARS START SELLING SUCH JUNK?
WHO IN THE WORLD IS IN CHARGE OF SEARS?
WHEN DID SEARS BECOME UNTRUSTWORTHY?
WHEN DID MAJOR APPLIANCES STOP WORKING WITHIN TWO YEARS OF PURCHASE. And, by the way, the salesman said that they had never had complaints on our refrigerator model, and therefore, didn't think we needed to purchase the extended warranty...What a liar!

NEVER, AND I REPEAT, NEVER...WILL I PURCHASE ANY APPLIANCE FROM SEARS...PERIOD

This is a follow up and conclusion to my post of 21 days ago about my Sears Kenmore Elite Trio refrigerator with the overheating lamp assembly problem. About a week after filing a complaint with the Chicago Better Business Bureau, http://chicago.bbb.org, (I actually filed it at http://nashville.bbb.org but they forwarded my complaint to Chicago, home of Sears), I received a call from Sears Repair saying they were sending out a repairman at their cost "but only to check on matters related to Service Flash 46-515." Three days later the repair technician called and asked if Sears had shipped the parts to my home related to SF46-515, which, of course, Sears had not. He said he would order the parts and return a week later, which he did. He also said that Sears has extended a LIFETIME WARRANTY for all repairs related to this problem, all repairs are at no cost to the consumer, and that the Customer Service Department knows full well about it. Nevertheless, Sears' Customer Service Department tried to deceive me when I originally called. It's said that they refused to act until I filed a complaint with the BBB. It seems the ONLY WAY to get Sears to do the right thing for this type of problem is by filing a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. I have reached my own conclusion about the mendacity of Sears' Customer Service representatives. Below is the letter Sears sent to the Chicago BBB. Thanks to the BBB for helping to hold Sears accountable. Best wishes to all of you who find yourselves up against Sears' stonewalling Customer Service Department.

September 11, 2010

Nita Virghes
Better Business Bureau
330 North Wabash Ave., Ste. #2006
Chicago, IL 60611

Re: # [protected] Roger Williams

Dear Ms. Virghes:

We have completed our investigation of Mr. Williams’ complaint regarding his refrigerator.

Mr. Williams purchased his Kenmore brand refrigerator on August 1, 2006, which had a one-year manufacturer’s warranty for parts and labor. As clarification, Sears does not manufacturer any appliances but we do work with the industry’s leaders to manufacture products for our Kenmore brand. With that being said, LG made us aware that on some units of particular models, consumers had reported an issue that the interior light was staying on, causing the lamp cover to overheat and melt. As a result, LG instructed us to replace the light socket assembly and the main control board with corrected parts that would rectify the electrical system error on any reported units with this issue at no charge to the consumer.

After our review of Mr. Williams’ Better Business Bureau complaint, District Customer Support Specialist Arlene Moore reports that we contacted Mr. Williams and explained that a free repair would be performed. On September 2, 2010, our technician verified the model number and serial number of the refrigerator, and we expedited the order for the required parts. Our technician returned on September 9, 2010, and completed the repair.

We regret that Mr. Williams’ concerns were not addressed by taking the appropriate steps to explain this issue and we have forwarded feedback to the appropriate management teams in an effort to avert this type of issue in the future. Sears is always concerned about our customers’ safety and we do not take any potential safety issue lightly. In fact, Sears is one of a few retailers who participate in the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s Retailer Reporting program. In addition to the free repair, LG recently extended the warranty on affected models to cover repairs related to this issue for the lifetime of the refrigerator.

We apologize to Mr. Williams on behalf of Sears Holdings Corporation and we appreciate the opportunity to address this issue. Please feel free to contact me if you have any further questions or concerns.

Sincerely,

Leslie Daley
Regulatory Complaint Specialist
Sears Holdings Corporation
[protected] x 87742
[protected] direct
Leslie.Daley@searshc.com

One year to the month after getting the light housing and circuit board replaced, the new unit failed. A relay switch does turn of the lights when they fail to switch off and over-heat. Unfortunately, as soon as things cool down, the lights come on again in a seemingly never ending cycle. I can tell because at night when the kitchen is dark, you can see the door gaskets kinda of glowing when the interior lights are on. After I determined what was happening, I unscrewed the bulbs. Careful, they are extremely hot! They were burning my hand even though I had put two leather gardening gloves over each other. Hint: The bulb on your right unscrews towards you and the one on the left unscrews away from you. This time I only need a new circuit board, which was covered by the lifetime repair for this issue. But now that this has happened twice, I am afraid to trust this refrigerator (Kenmore 795.[protected]). I hope this posting helps someone. Even if you got/get this issue repaired, keep a close eye on your refrigerator!

Here is my follow up from Sears: We were the ones who were trying to put a Sears LG refrigerator in an 88 year old, handicapped ladies home. We ended up cancelling that deal on the refrigerator that was never delivered to us, and then went to Lowe's to purchase one for her. It was delivered the very next day.
My own Sears Kenmore Elite Trio was purchased in 2008, and after less than two years, it quit working completely. At the time, my 9 mon. old great grandson and his mother were living with us while his father served in Iraq. We contacted Sears immediately to find a solution to the problem, and naturally the one year warranty was out of date.
Since I had so much trouble just weeks before in getting a delivery time for the handicapped woman's refrigerator, I was livid at the thought of going through this turmoil again.
I, by the grace of God, was able to find the number for the corporate divition of Sears. I got directly into the highest office obtainable to the public, and spoke with a wonderful woman and explained all that had happened to us regarding the handicapped woman and now our own practically brand new Kenmore Elite Trio refrigerator. She immediately started the ball rolling on getting us some satisfaction regarding the entire matter.
Believe it or not, after waiting a month without a refrigerator (only using one that was 2 1/2 feet square in order to keep the baby's milk cold) we received the news that Sears would be replacing our Kenmore with which ever one we picked out from our local Sears.
Even though there was an identical Kenmore Elite Trio available, I opted to go with the Samsung model, recommended by both Lowe's and Sears. We have had the refrigerator for a month now, and I will admit that I stay worried that it, too, will break down.
I was able to gain satisfaction from Sears, but it took a great deal of 'BLOOD, SWEAT, TOIL AND TEARS, " and weeks of waiting. The Sears representative also added to the deal, an extra year of warranty, at no charge to me, and she was very kind in helping me get through this problem.
What I Have Learned From This Experience:
1. Because of political dealings, very few things are made in this country!
2. Things made in Asia, do not hold up to America's standards!
3. Continue to battle with all companies, until you get satisfaction!
4. There are people who work for Sears, and other companies, who really do care about the public.
5. Where applicances used to last for 20 years, the lifetime expectancy is now 5 to 7 years. (A direct quote from the dealers)
6. Even though the only replacement available to me from Sears was an appliance made in Asia...BUY AMERICAN WHEN EVER POSSIBLE!
BUY AMERICAN PRODUCTS WHEN EVER POSSIBLE.

IMPORTANT TO READ:
Based on the feedback from here (I am really thankful for that), yesterday I called Sears service and I just told the customer representative - "I bought this Kenmore Elite refrigerator in June 2007 and today I saw a melted light cover with burning smell coming from it. I removed the bulbs. I saw 100s of same complaints online and here is Service Flash # SF46-515. Now tell me what you can do?" and the answer was "a technician will come on Monday and take care of this AT NO COST TO YOU." So they are aware of thsi issue and at least taking care of it. THAT'S GOOD NEWS!
By the way, I have 5 yr extended warranty, but it looks like with Sevice Flash everybody is covered on this issue. I will confirm that and post it here.
THANKS AGAIN !

Same issue with the lightbulbs...paid an independent repair person to come take a look after Sears told me I would need to buy and extended warrantly at a price of $275! The independent repairman told me it would be #$300 for the computer board alone. Thank goodness I found this site! I called Sears again, armed with the information posted here and after speaking with three representatives was given the number for the corporate office [protected]). The customer service person there told me that there is not a "recall" for this problem but the originally warrantly on the refrigerator is extended FOR THE LIFE OF THE PRODUCT just for this issue. That information is apparently in the service flash memo (SF46-515), but only if you read all the way through it. If you call for repair they will tell you this is not covered so you must tell the rep to read all the way through the memo. Thanks for all who have posted. Hope this additional information will be helpful to others.

just so you also know...the fridgidare series starts on fire by itself also. I called the warranty company in 11/10 and asked if the reports I was reading regarding the appliances starting on fire were still occuring..the straight forward answer..YES. Next question..has the company made any changes to fix the problems? again..straight forward answer ..NO. Its time to NOT buy it if its not made in the USA. The standards for these appliance companies has been lowered at the cost of our safety and expense. The average family cannot afford a new set of appliances every three years. The rich who invested overseas to profit on third world development have NO care for the USA..they are "international" citizens who can go wherever the going is good...VOTE these criminal politicians out of office who just made the profits on your loss!

I have the Kenmore Elite 795.[protected] and opened the doors to a burning smell and no lights. As suggested by these posts, I called the rework department [protected]) who said my model number was NOT covered by the "recall". I called the Customer Solutions [protected]) who told me I would be charged $15 for a service call. I called Kenmore repair who transferred me BACK to Customer Solutions where I spoke to a supervisor who knew about SF 46-515 and promptly scheduled a repair at no cost. Hooray! Don't give up, call Customer Solutions and ask for a supervisor.

So glad I found this board. I thought we were leaving the doors open until I found my spinach was cooking inside the refrigerator! Of course we bought the extended warranty which expired a few months ago. My husband was going to replace the bulbs but I said the sockets looked like they were cooking and the light fixture was always hot, which meant it was staying on when the doors were closed. I am going to call Sears now and see what happens because this was the most expensive appliance we have bought to date and I will never do it again.

I have a I have a Kenmore Elite model 795-[protected] s/n 712MRD2 10210. The light in frig when out and the panel the light mounts into is very hot. I checked the bulbs and they were okay. However the metal panel above the light fixture was so how I could not touch it. I was able to remove it and everything has cooled down. Not sure what to do. Just happen ? No light in Frig at this time.

Thank you everyone for the great information! On May 9th, 2011 the lights on our Kenmore Elite Trio, model #795.[protected] that we bought in July 2006 wouldn't turn off, the plastic case fell off, and the area around it was scorched. I called Sears who advised me to pay $75 for a technician visit or buy a $251 one-year warranty. (No thanks.) I searched on-line and found this thread and called the recall number, [protected]. It turns out that this issue is covered under Service Flash 46-515R and in fact, they issued a recall for it on May 2nd, 2011. The customer service representative ordered the repair kit for us and scheduled a technician to repair the fridge in less than a week - and if the kit arrives sooner, she told me to call back and move up our technician appointment. I hope this fixes the issue, but wanted to pass on the SF #, phone number, and recall info.

We purchased a Kenmore Elite trio as well and have had it for just over a year. One night when in the kitchen I thought something was burning..after checking the oven and anything I could possivly think of checking I goggled a description of the smell and found this Post. Immediately went to the fridge to check the light bulbs and sure enough the bulbs were really hot and threw sockets were a dark brown color, completely burnt. VERY DISAPPOINTED IN THIS FRIDGE AND WILL COMPLAIN TO SEARS IN THE MORNING

I had the light on problem last Friday.  Called 800-my-home as directed by salesman and was told model [protected] was not covered. I looked at the relay model number and data sheet - rated at 5 Amps.  The operating current based on the bulbs wattage is about 1 Amp.  I measured the cold resistance of the bulbs and calculated the inrush current, 14 Amps at 120V.  This can be larger or smaller depending on the AC amplitude when the contacts close.  This current will result in reduced relay contact life or contact welding.  Other contributing factors to failure are contact bounce and increased contact resistance with wear.  Not considering the incandescent bulb inrush current is a serious design error!  I found a photo of the redesigned control board, 6871JB1423"N", and could see that two of the relays have been replaced with larger parts.  I don't know the contact rating or if they are solid state relays (preferable).  LG and Sears should be contacting customers about this problem as it results in lost food, repair expense and inconvenience.  This is a blatant design flaw not an arbitrary failure.  I am an engineer with 50 yrs experience.  To quote Mike Holmes Sears should "make it right"!

What a piece of garbage
My fridge is mb 3 years old and top half just stop and bottom freezer is frosting
the repair will take 2 days so no fridge till then ! Might as well buyh a new one and NOT A KENMORE THAT IS FOR SURE !

I have a Kenmore Elite model 253.7427370 and I have the same problem with the freezer being fine, but the refrigerator portion is warm. The Freezer's vent freeze up, not allowing the cool air down to the refrigerator. Sears is of no help whatsoever. On 6/17/11 a service person came(Sears wants $109 for them to walk through the door) and said it was of poor design, to defrost the Frig, and best of luck he can't do anything, so it didn't cost me that day. Today when I called Sears about the problem again, and told them what their service person said, they wanted to sell me an extended warranty for $273, and if they can't fix it they'd give me a voucher for 500 for a new purchase. I have to spend 273 dollars to get 500? Oh, and the next time a service rep can come is on 7/18/11. Ok, that's 2 days off from work, without pay, plus 2 loads of refrigerator food spoiled, and still the problem is not solved. I said what should I do until then? Their reply, maybe you can keep your food at your neighbor's house. I think it's time to call the Attorney General's consumer affairs. Carol Potts 6/29/11