I was searching your site for answers to my GE side by side refrigerator water dispenser. The line freezes in the door just like many of the ones I have read here. I have heard GE has replaced some doors for people and I have heard they now have a heater for the dispenser. I don't know what the cost is but I feel it should be free as GE knows about this defect and it should be a recall item. If GE won't correct this defect at no cost can we sue them?

I was searching your site for answers to my GE side by side refrigerator water dispenser. The line freezes in the door just like many of the ones I have read here. I have heard GE has replaced some doors for people and I have heard they now have a heater for the dispenser. I don't know what the cost is but I feel it should be free as GE knows about this defect and it should be a recall item. If GE won't correct this defect at no cost can we sue them?
See my response to sboku, thread entitled "GE Refrigerator water dispenser intermittently working" and see if it helps. With my GE Profile side-by-side, the problem was with the chill line that runs behind the unit, not the line that runs up the door.

My water dispenser line freezing is solved. I finally talked with a supervisor at the service department and we worked out an agreement. GE sent a Tech to my house at no charge. The fix was to install a heater for the dispenser water line. The cost to me was $125. I still think it should have been no cost as GE knows of the problem. The water dispenser works as it should now.

My water dispenser line freezing is solved. I finally talked with a supervisor at the service department and we worked out an agreement. GE sent a Tech to my house at no charge. The fix was to install a heater for the dispenser water line. The cost to me was $125. I still think it should of been no cost as GE knows of the problem. The water dispenser works as it should now.

Hi Rick. Glad the dispenser is working :) but sorry you had to spend some $$$ :( . I agree that the repair should have been at no cost to you, as it's my understanding that this problem is well documented. If you have the time to respond, I'm curious where the heater was installed. In the door somewhere near the dispenser, or somewhere in the rear of the refrigerator? I'm asking because this will help me understand if your problem was in the "chill line" that runs along the inside rear panel of the refrigerator or closer to the dispenser itself. I'd like to share with others. Thanks.

Well guys I was to quick to tell you my water dispenser line freezing issue was solved. I spent $125 to have a heater installed in the door to heat the water dispenser line in the door. The heater was installed Dec. 12 2007 and everything was working so well, then yesterday Jan 09 2008 the line froze again. GE is sending out a Tech tomorrow at no cost but I am back to defrosting the refrigator again.

Is there any way to open the door and add insulation to the water line itself? I'm having the same problem and GE wanted to charge me $250-300 to come out and install a heater. Based on this, I'm not sure it's such a good idea.

Well guys I was to quick to tell you my water dispenser line freezing issue was solved. I spent $125 to have a heater installed in the door to heat the water dispenser line in the door. The heater was installed Dec. 12 2007 and everything was working so well, then yesterday Jan 09 2008 the line froze again. GE is sending out a Tech tomorrow at no cost but I am back to defrosting the refrigator again.

I have had same problem with my amama side by side. I shut the water off and now the freezer and refrig. Are working perfectly. So, there is definitely something wrong with the water line. Can anyone help?:(:(

I'm buying ice and keeping it in a plastic container in freezer.

The answer to my water dispenser water line freezing was having GE replace the door. I had a heater installed by GE at the dispensing unit in the door for 125 dollars and that did not work. I complained to GE again and finally they replaced the frezer door at no cost. The sad part about all this was GE new the problem all the time. When they continued to charge me for repairs until finally they admitted the door was not properly insultated from the beinging. I told them I was going to sue them in small claims first and then a class action. Finally they replaced the door. I fought this for about 3 years. Never will buy GE again.

Thanks for such a quick response.

Guess a new refrigerator is in my future. I'll use it without the water for a while and if it starts acting up, it's gone. It's an Amana and it is 9 years old.

Thanks

I also have the water freezing problem. They charged me $250. $40 for parts ( a new heater) and $210 for the labor. $210 included $80 for service call and rest for 15 min job.

GE should recall. He didn't replace any broken part to make it work. He had to put a new heater. To me that clearly is a recall. If they need to device a new method to fix problem - it is a recall.
I have placed a call with GE. If they don't refund my $250 - there is court. I will file a suit.

I'm also having some issues with my water dispenser..

Never had any issues until this morning.. couple of hours after my wife used it.

Any simple fix?

I also have the water freezing problem. They charged me $250. $40 for parts ( a new heater) and $210 for the labor. $210 included $80 for service call and rest for 15 min job.

GE should recall. He didn't replace any broken part to make it work. He had to put a new heater. To me that clearly is a recall. If they need to device a new method to fix problem - it is a recall.
I have placed a call with GE. If they don't refund my $250 - there is court. I will file a suit.

I'm trying to figure out if I can do this repair myself with this part: Part 1381601 from RepairClinic.com (http://www.repairclinic.com/SSPartDetail.aspx?PartID=1381601&PPStack=1) and with these pictures of how to disassemble the door dispenser: ge doors, through the door ice and water dispensor, GE fridge, breakdowns for GE ice dispensors (http://www.applianceaid.com/gethroughdoor.html).

Did you watch the install? Is it a matter of taking off the dispenser and installing the heater or did he dismantle the door somehow?

I had a GE tech come out and "Officially" diagnose my water freezing problem... on a side by side model Yep I was right! Water is freezing at the dispenser. To solve the problem the tech had me defrost the freezer and check the temp empty and then check full and adjust the thermostat. I did all this and found out my freezer works great on the lowest setting but the water dispenser is still frozen. The tech then said he would install a heater at the dispenser for $361.95 - $57 for the part, $200 for the labor and credit me the $104.95 already spent on his first service call that should have only been $74.95.

I decided to file a BBB complaint against GE and within 12 hours (yep 12 hours later) I got a phone call from GE Customer service wanting to discuss. After going through the details and history GE agreed to send me a heater kit Part # WR49X10173 for free and I agreed to install myself. I got the part yesterday and installed it in 15 min. If you have never taken the dispenser section out it might take 30 to 45 min tops. 4 hours later I had running water. Directions were included in the kit and hooking up the wires was a snap. Here's to hoping the water continues to flow.

Here is the filed complaint. Complaint ID # 8087726

Problem:
I have a side by side Refrigerator Model #GSL25JFPEBS Serial #ZF200949 I purchased it back in 2003 and have moved it to my resident here in Indiana in 2005. I have had a problem with it for the last 3 years and am now just absolutely fed up with the product and customer service attitudes over the phone. Here is my issue with the Refrigerator: the water freezes in the door where the dispensor is. I have gone through the process suggested by customer service of lowering the temps, thawing the freezer, and nothing works long term. It just refreezes in a couple of days. Every time I call the GECustomer Service they say they have no record of any customer compaints for water lines freezing at the dispensor. I researched the interet and found hundreds if not thousands of complaints of the same item. https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/advice/t-14182.html The root cause of the issue is faulty insulation in the freezer door and GE (not knowing of the issue) has a part to sell that is a heater to keep the line from freezing. In fact now the new freezers apparently have this item as part of the door. If there was no problem then why do they have this part available? 2nd item is when I do have a service rep come out to look at issue I am charged GEprice of $74.95 but then I am charged $105.95 by the service rep. No one can explain the extra charge at GE and rep says it is his trip charge. But what is the $74.95 for? Well those are my two issues. The snotty attitudes is par for the course I guess.


I suggest everyone files a complaint and maybe GE will realize they have a serious problem and do an official recall. I am sure this little fix destroys my Energy Star so that is another story.

Good luck everyone!
Rzrbk -n- IN

I just bought the water heater kit for about 40 bucks, I was trying ti find a site to show me how to install it, the directions are kind of difficult to follow.


Jeff

The answer to my water dispenser water line freezing was having GE replace the door. I had a heater installed by GE at the dispensing unit in the door for 125 dollars and that did not work. I complained to GE again and finally they replaced the frezer door at no cost. The sad part about all this was GE new the problem all the time. When they continued to charge me for repairs until finally they admitted the door was not properly insultated from the beinging. I told them I was going to sue them in small claims first and then a class action. Finally they replaced the door. I fought this for about 3 years. Never will buy GE again.
=
the answer is for them to give you a free service contract for a buck twenty five instead of one call... this way they will marry your unit! LOL. I just went to home depot and got a dishwasher connector to go on the faucet with a fifteen foot line and a john guess fitting. I went from the faucet to a 3/8" to a 1/4". I can slam the ice with hot water, with the dispenser handle is depressed, ice melts. An easier way is a turkey baster approach and boiling water... Homeowners Alliance.

This is a common problem for GE refrigerators as the water lines freeze constantly. I had the issue myself and solved it permanently with a simply, $30 part. Check out the full instructions bustedrefrigerator.com (http://bustedrefrigerator.com/ge-refrigerator-water-dispenser-not-working/)

Don't call a serviceman for this. It is a simple, $30 part that can be fixed in 15 minutes. I had this same problem and spent hours researching before I found the part. Apparently there are a ton of other people with the same issue so I created the blog post to help everyone fix it. Read it here (http://bustedrefrigerator.com/ge-refrigerator-water-dispenser-not-working/).

This is a common problem with GE refrigerators. My waterline froze as well. Ya it stinks that GE won't fix the problem but it is literally a $30 part and 15 minutes so I purchased did it. I'd spend more time than that working with GE to get them to pay for it. I noticed a lot of people having the same issue so I detailed the symptoms, part and fix on by blog. Read about it here (http://bustedrefrigerator.com/ge-refrigerator-water-dispenser-not-working)

I had this problem with my GE fridge for the first time a year ago. I have a service contract as when the fridge was just 9 months old the ice maker needed replacing. It was under original warranty then so I didn't have to pay for it. When I was offered an extended warranty for about ten dollars a month I decided to go for it. A year ago the line froze up, the tech came and put the heater in which worked very well until a week ago. Today, the tech came back as the problem recurred. He explained that it was essentially a design flaw and that if I had to pay out of pocket without the warranty a new door would cost between 600 and 700 dollars! They are sending the new door out and the tech will be back to replace it without charge since I have the extended warranty. That being said, I agree that GE shouldn't charge anybody for this work.

There was a class action suit on the problem, but you can correct it easily. DrTom4444

Yes, I too have the water freezing problem in my GE refrigerator. The technician charged me over $200. $40 for parts ( a new heater) and over $200 for the labor including the $80 service call.

Unfortunately, the problem didn't stop there. The (new heater element) that GE developed to "fix the problem" for their defective door, stopped working in about 6 months. I contacted GE again, they sent out another technician. He knew about the heater, and thought since it was fairly new, it must be a warped rubber flapper door that holds the crushed ice. I suggested we shine a flashlight from the inside of the dispenser and see if any light shined through. It didn't. So that wasn't it.

Then he suggested to take a hair dryer and move it up and down on the inside of the freezer door where the hinges are for about 20-30 minutes. That didn't work, so then he suggested to take everything out of the freezer and leave it open for a couple of days to let it thaw out. Where am I going to put all the frozen food?

After buying bottled water for a while, and thinking what I could to do to avoid not to spend several hundred dollars paying GE for trying to diagnose "THEIR DEFECTIVE DOOR" and using me as a trial and error customer. I had to contract a different GE technician. He was an older guy who seemed to sympathize with me and explained he has the same refrigerator as I do and he eventually put in his garage. He explained about how he has tried doing about everything he knows including replacing the heater element and it's gone bad 2 times. (he's been a technician for over 25 yrs). Now that is saying something when a technician can't even fix their own GE refrigerator.

ABSOLUTELY GE should recall these refrigerators. Like many other company's they have to recall their defective products. I guess since they feel it's not killing anyone like the Toyota Camry's, that it's not going to make any headlines for bad press! So they aren't going to do anything. I won't buy another one!! Unless you get a class action lawsuit petitioned together with many other organizers, we don't have much of a chance. The other method is keep calling them about how upset you are and if enough of us call and write and give them bad publicity, maybe they will reconsider...

If anyone files a lawsuit, please keep us informed and we can try to minimize expenses and get this resolved.

Not sure about the costs/hassle of suing, but here's the solution that worked for me based on all of the previous posts:

1) Turn on the dispenser light. It gets warm pretty quickly, and within an hour it will unfreeze your water dispenser tube. I would avoid the hair dryier solution... sounds like a few people may have melted or compromised other functions.

2) Fish about 10-12" of weed trimmer line up the water dispenser tube as a fail-safe. Leave about 1/2" of line hanging out of the dispenser tube... you can't even see it unless someone is looking very closely.

3) Buy some outdoor two-sided tape and a rectangular piece of dense foam material (approx. 8" x 5"), and tape it to the inside of the freezer door, directly below the ice chute area, and directly behind the water dispenser tube. This will keep the tube from freezing.

My water if flowing better than ever now, and all for less than $10. Good luck everyone!

Hello,
GE had a massive recall of their refrigerators and a class action suit because they failed to seal the edges of the freezer doors with GE Silicone. They were too cheap to use their own product. They have done the same thing again. The way I made a lot of money on discarded GE refrigerators was to take off the door and lay it flat on a table. Then I removed all the screws on the inside panel of the door and removed that panel and left it open to dry in the sun for a day. I then did any repairs that were needed, sealed any gaps with canned foam sealant, then put Clear GE Silicone caulk on all surfaces of inside panel that made contact with the door to make sure it was absolutely air tight. Even a pinhole will cause a failure. Once it was well-sealed I remounted the door and I never had a failure from a repair and was able to sell these units with my own warranty. I never had a failure, just make doubly sure to clean the coils under the refrigerator every six months or less (I wash out the coils with spray soap and a water hose nozzle.). You can insulate the tube with a bit of small Arma-Flex that you can get at an HVAC supply store. There could be an air leak in these doors that freezes the tube just inside the door, too. Once ice forms from an air leak it will freeze the tube.

Wayne: Thank you very much for the suggestions. I purchased my GE from Lowe's and visited them this evening to see if they could help me troubleshoot the problem of the water dispenser tube freezing up. Even the appliance manager didn't know diddly squat or maybe he just wasn't pretending to know nothing. All he did was lecture me on being foolish to not have purchased a warranty. My unit is 4 years and this is the first problem. Their warranty, by the way, is only food for 5 years. I'm reporting these workers at Lowe's to the Lowe's administration because I think that they are bound to know about this problem or they at least SHOULD know as they are in the business. I'll also be in touch with GE. I will not be buying another one of their products. I don't at all like the sneakiness on their part and I will be sure to tell everybody I know how shoddy their products are and how sleezy their company is. It's easy to make big money when you deceive and steal from people. Typical U. S. corporation!

Not sure about the costs/hassle of suing, but here's the solution that worked for me based on all of the previous posts:

1) Turn on the dispenser light. It gets warm pretty quickly, and within an hour it will unfreeze your water dispenser tube. I would avoid the hair dryier solution...sounds like a few people may have melted or compromised other functions.

2) Fish about 10-12" of weed trimmer line up the water dispenser tube as a fail-safe. Leave about 1/2" of line hanging out of the dispenser tube...you can't even see it unless someone is looking very closely.

3) Buy some outdoor two-sided tape and a rectangular piece of dense foam material (approx. 8" x 5"), and tape it to the inside of the freezer door, directly below the ice chute area, and directly behind the water dispenser tube. This will keep the tube from freezing.

My water if flowing better than ever now, and all for less than $10. Good luck everyone!



Great advice. I will try all of them. Thank you so much!

Just imagine the money the manufacturer's repairmen are making off these substandard appliances. Thank goodness for blogs such as this. I thank each of you for taking the time to offer advice.