Diagnose
Refrigerator not working? Common problems and what causes them
Diagnostic fee waived with repair
Refrigerators fail more often than any other appliance we service, and they fail urgently — food starts spoiling within hours.
Quick answer
Most refrigerators fail because of a single component, not age. The usual culprits are not cooling, leaking water, ice maker not working. Most repairs finish in one visit. Replacement is usually only worth it above roughly eight years old or when the repair exceeds half the replacement price.
What we do
Refrigerator repair, done properly
Refrigerators fail more often than any other appliance we service, and they fail urgently — food starts spoiling within hours.
Our technicians carry the parts that fail most often on refrigerators, so the majority of these repairs finish in a single visit.
You get a written estimate before any work starts, and a 12-month parts-and-labour warranty on the repair.
Symptoms
What's wrong with your refrigerator?
Pick the closest match — it pre-fills your booking so we arrive with the likely part.
Ready to book refrigerator repair?
See what the visit costs, what the 12-month warranty covers, and which areas we reach same-day.
Refrigerator Repair details & coverageDiagnosis
How we diagnose a refrigerator problem
Every visit starts with a diagnosis, not a guess. Here's what your technician actually checks, in order, before recommending a repair.
- 1
Compressor start relay & capacitor
We test the start relay and run capacitor first — a failed relay is the single most common reason a refrigerator hums but never kicks into a full cooling cycle.
- 2
Condenser coil airflow
Dust-caked condenser coils and a failing condenser fan make the compressor work harder without ever reaching temperature, which we check before assuming a sealed-system fault.
- 3
Evaporator fan & defrost cycle
A frozen-over or silent evaporator fan explains a fridge that's warm while the freezer stays cold — we check the defrost heater and timer in the same pass.
- 4
Door seals & sealed-system pressure
Worn gaskets let warm air in continuously. If the seals check out, we look for sealed-system signs — a warm compressor with no cooling points at a refrigerant leak.
Repair or replace
When replacement is the better call
The working rule is the 50% test: if the repair costs more than half of a comparable new unit, and the appliance is past roughly two-thirds of its expected life, replacement usually wins on total cost of ownership.
Most refrigerators are built for 10–13 years. A failure at year three is almost always worth repairing. A sealed-system or compressor failure at year twelve usually is not — and we will say so rather than sell you the repair.
Premium built-in units are the exception. A Sub-Zero or Viking unit is worth repairing well past the point where a mass-market appliance would be retired, because replacement runs into five figures once cabinetry work is included.
Brands
Refrigerator brands we service
Questions
Refrigerator repair FAQ
Is it worth repairing a refrigerator?
Repairing a refrigerator is generally worth it when the repair costs less than half the price of a replacement and the unit is under about eight years old. SOS Appliance Repair diagnoses first and tells you plainly when replacement is the better value.
How long does a refrigerator repair take?
Most refrigerator repairs are completed in a single visit lasting 45 to 90 minutes. When a part must be ordered, SOS Appliance Repair schedules the return visit before leaving and the original diagnostic is not charged twice.
What causes a refrigerator to fail?
The most common refrigerator faults SOS Appliance Repair sees are: not cooling, leaking water, ice maker not working, freezer warm. Most trace back to a single failed component rather than end-of-life, which is why diagnosis before replacement matters.
Same-day appointments available
Broken appliance? We can be there today.
Talk to the company that actually sends the technician — no lead brokers, no bidding wars, no runaround.
- Licensed & insured
- 12-month warranty
- Diagnostic fee waived with repair