Anyone have any new ideas or successes solving this question. I have read all of the current postings on thawing the water line on a GE Side By Side Water Line Dispenser. This is my first posting of a question and would appreciate any updates. I know what the problem is (line freezing in the door behind dispenser panel), just need to know what works. Also, I had a hole in the line behind the vegetable crisper and have repaired and reinserted. Since I took the line out and fixed it will I have any problem with air in line, both to water dispenser and ice maker, and if so, how do I resolve.

If you look back on earlier postings, you'll see that some of us have gotten a water tube heater kit from GE. Call GE service and ask for part number WR49X10173 which is the Dispenser Water Tube Heater Kit. (Confirm with GE that this is the right kit for your model of fridge.) They may have trouble finding it in the computer, but keep at it. They quoted me a price of $23 or so, and when I protested that it should have been a recall they knocked the price down to $4.77 plus S&H; it came to under $20 with S&H.

I'm interested in hearing responses to this post because I have my heater kit in hand and am ready to install, but I don't know how to get at the dispenser. The instructions that came with the kit tell you in detail how to install it, but not how to reach it in the first place. Does the white plastic panel that covers the inside of the freezer door just pry off, or are there some hidden clips or screws under the magnetic strip?

Short-term, you can thaw your water dispenser with a hair dryer directed at the inside of the door, just behind the dispenser, but you will probably have to do this every day unless you get the heater kit and install it.

This is a common problem with GE side by side refrigerators where the water line freezes in the door. It happened to mine and I spent good amount of time trying to fix it. Ya, it stinks that GE won't fix it but fortunately they have a water line heater that fixes it for $30 and 15 minutes. I noticed a lot of other people having the same issue so I blogged the symptoms, part and the fix. You can read about it here. (http://bustedrefrigerator.com/ge-refrigerator-water-dispenser-not-working)

The heater kit I got two years ago is still working perfectly. And the way to get at it is through the FRONT of the door -- you don't even have to open the freezer. The black plastic frame around the ice/water dispenser pries off (slowly and carefully), then you can install the heater kit. Although it shouldn't have become a problem in the first place, at least once I got the heater kit the fix was quick, easy, and permanent. Hope this helps. (See my earlier post from November 2008 for part number, etc.)

My husband & I just ran into this problem last week. My husband turned the setting to 1 for the freezer while leaving the refriderator setting at 5. Than we left it like that for 4 hours. We actually left our house and were quite pleased to be able to have the water dispener working when we came back home. No money out of our pockets for this fix and no food was ruined. Not only that, if it happens again, we can now fix it. I am sorry that my answer is not an actual answer for all of your question, i.e. air in the line.

Watch this video it might be the answer to your problem.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52OfpE8zENA

I had the heater installed and about a few months later it's freezing up again. The flapper looks like a good seal. Back to the hair dryer