Residential refrigerator door shelf failures

[Williebago]

We have a 3 year old Whirlpool 10 cu ft fridge that keeps having the tabs which are molded into the door to hold the door shelf fail as we drive down the road. The door is made with a SS outer metal skin and a 1/32 molded inner liner with the door shelf tabs. The door is then blown with a foam insulation. The molded tabs are supposed to be the anchor points for the clear plastic door shelves. After only 9 months, and 9,000 miles the first tab broke and the Newmar dealer arranged to have Whirlpool replace the door (only fix possible) under warranty.

Due to Covid and the fact that they won't make a door until one is ordered, the replacement door took 6 months to get and 30 minutes to install. Last weekend after 15 more months and another 9,000 miles the same tab ripped out again. No warranty help this time from Whirlpool or Newmar. Got a price check today on a replacement door and it confirmed what I suspected and the cost of the door at $575 is more than the cost of the entire refrigerator.

It is a very poor design to put that type of unreinforced tab on a door, but it probably works on a fixed unit in an apartment, but not in a rolling earthquake like an RV.

Anyone else had this type of a problem and if so, what did you do to resolve it?

[2_many_2]

Williebago wrote:
Thank you for the tip on the JB Quick. Never used that product before. I am thinking about shaping a wooden peg to insert into the door insulation as well as inside the plastic tab as more substantial reinforcement. We will see how that works.

That is a great idea! I have used wood backer pieces held in with JB Quick to fix stripped screws in thin RV paneling several times for an instant repair.

Your repair will be much stronger than the factory presentation.

[wa8yxm]

Roger10378 wrote:
That is the problem with using a Residential refrigerator in a RV. They are not made to be shaken while they are loaded. I am surprised more people don't have the same problem.

Truth.

Even home fridges in an apartment or house can have shelf failures.
I finally added I think alien tape to mine here.. I've used screws in the past.

[Williebago]

Thank you for the tip on the JB Quick. Never used that product before. I am thinking about shaping a wooden peg to insert into the door insulation as well as inside the plastic tab as more substantial reinforcement. We will see how that works.

[2_many_2]

That is the perfect application for a JB Quick repair. After practicing with a small amount first, you will need to mix at least 1/2 of each of the little tubes together.

Force as much as you can inside the hole (dig out some of the insulation foam) especially all around the edges. Then fill up the broken part that is in your fingers.

Mate all this big sticky mess together, glue should oooze out all around. Have a roll of paper towels and a bottle of rubbing alcohol or mineral spirits pre staged to clean up the mess.

Clean up fast as this stuff will get real thick in five minutes, the longer it sets up the more difficult it will be to clean up.

Practice first, good luck.

PS, That is a shame the door material is so thin. Mine was the same way and it was an RV fridge!

If the repair shows through the clear shelf, paint it with white fingernail polish.

[Williebago]

OK Here is my first try on the forum at posting a picture. And I will try some JB Quick.

[Chum_lee]

Williebago wrote:
We have a 3 year old Whirlpool 10 cu ft fridge that keeps having the tabs which are molded into the door to hold the door shelf fail as we drive down the road.

It is a very poor design to put that type of unreinforced tab on a door, but it probably works on a fixed unit in an apartment, but not in a rolling earthquake like an RV.

Anyone else had this type of a problem and if so, what did you do to resolve it?

IMO, the "key" word here is in the title of your post. "residential"

You could try putting only light items in the door, or, as others have suggested, reinforce the mounting areas, or figure out a way to shock mount the refrigerator. The bottom line is that the refrigerator (materials) was not made for the use it is getting. You can't blame Whirlpool for that.

Chum lee

[Wade44]

BurbMan wrote:
GE has announced their entry into the RV appliance business with a new line of fridges, stoves, HW heaters, etc.

BurbMan wrote:
Whirlpool used to make a good product, but the last 5 years or so we've noticed a rash of poorly engineered things like this and have found better quality and value in other brands.

Given the experiences I have had with GE's high end profile line of appliances I'll pass. Hyped up junk. Fact is appliances today are not the appliances of 25 or even 5 years ago. If you get 5+ years out of a $2000+ refrigerator you hit the jackpot. And if you call service good luck, even more so if they need parts. A local mom and pop appliance/furniture store here quit carrying LG and Samsung because they were constantly getting callbacks on failures. Writing down all brand names available on little slips of paper, then drawing one blindly from a hat would work, then cross your fingers.

[BurbMan]

GE has announced their entry into the RV appliance business with a new line of fridges, stoves, HW heaters, etc.

[Roger10378]

That is the problem with using a Residential refrigerator in a RV. They are not made to be shaken while they are loaded. I am surprised more people don't have the same problem.

[BurbMan]

2 many 2 wrote:
Same problem for us. I fixed it on the road by laying in a blob of JB Quick. Push some inside the hole, smoosh the broken pieces over the blob of JB and finally shape the outside smooth with wet fingers.

All this must be done in under five minutes as that is how fast JB sets up. Be sure to get JB Quick, the regular stuff will not work cause it will sag during the longer set up time.

I did mine on a running cold fridge, put the shelf back in the next day and that was the end of that. :B

If your repair is a little too big, the JB can be sanded or filed down to fit.

If you have not used JB Quick before, practice with a small blob on a piece of cardboard to see how it works before applying it to your fridge. Read the directions on the package first.

Keep the heavy stuff out of that shelf.

This sounds like your best bet for a repair, and as was stated, keep heavy items off of that shelf. Whirlpool used to make a good product, but the last 5 years or so we've noticed a rash of poorly engineered things like this and have found better quality and value in other brands.

[2_many_2]

Same problem for us. I fixed it on the road by laying in a blob of JB Quick. Push some inside the hole, smoosh the broken pieces over the blob of JB and finally shape the outside smooth with wet fingers.

All this must be done in under five minutes as that is how fast JB sets up. Be sure to get JB Quick, the regular stuff will not work cause it will sag during the longer set up time.

I did mine on a running cold fridge, put the shelf back in the next day and that was the end of that. :B

If your repair is a little too big, the JB can be sanded or filed down to fit.

If you have not used JB Quick before, practice with a small blob on a piece of cardboard to see how it works before applying it to your fridge. Read the directions on the package first.

Keep the heavy stuff out of that shelf.

[Michelle_S]

We have a larger Whirlpool Fridge and it has traveled over 50K miles in seven years almost Full Time and hasn't broken anything.

[wanderingaimles]

Try a glue, and maybe even adding a layer of other material as a stiffener. And load lighter items on that particular section.

[Beverley_Ken]

I had one break on my home fridge. I used glue (I think Gorilla Glue from the colour) Its been holding now for about 5 years. The repair is not visible behind the clear shelf. Mine broke because of a heavy load in it and getting bumped getting something else out.

Ken