The Ice Maker Leaks. No fix for the problem so far. Will update review when/if this problem is resolved. Until then, people need to know this issue exists before buying. Once the problem is solved, I would want to know that the unit I purchase has had the defective ice maker replaced with whatever fix is (hopefully) developed.
Water runs in an arc from the left-side door each time it is opened, where the water has pooled into a lower shelf and runs out. Bread gets wet, the freezer drawer collects some, and if a kitchen were to have wood floors, this would not be good for them.
The water which pools into the ice bucket (which is intended to be removable) freezes, and the plastic bucket cannot be removed because it is sealed into place in a half-inch of frozen water which has leaked along its sides.
It is a design defect with no available fix at this time.
There is a wonderful water filtration feature which can filter out even medications from the water supply. The water filter is easy to change.
The storage space is flexible, which is great.
The freezer compartment has flexible storage space too.
Lots of drawers for deli meat and produce, with see-through bins for ease of access/identification of contents.
Lots of shelves, and it is amazing to have so much space with the same overall dimensions as a 25' fridge.
There are two different sounds made by the compressor, both with a higher noise volume that what our household is accustomed to. This is not a design flaw or problem, simply a refrigerator designed to stay cold with two different compressor cycles. Some may find the noise irritating, some may not be bothered by it.
If the icemaker was designed without the ability to pour into the fridge and bucket, it would be an overall excellent rating from this household.
UPDATE: A service technician has repaired the water leak. Some weeks later, a part arrived (a heating element) at my house, and the following Monday the same service tech arrived to install it (COD, requested by Whirlpool, until I was able to prove that it was still under warranty). If I hadn't known the man's face already, I'd have been afraid to just let in an unscheduled service person. Anyway, now that this heating element is in the refrigerator, the lower freezer is filling up with ice crystals on the left side. I will have to call them again to request another repair.
Not much to review about this other than that it's a direct replacement for the original ice actuator which failed on my fridge. Apparently these parts fail quite often due to the small plastic prongs which the actuator pivots on. This one is no different, but it was an exact fit and has held up well so far, after two months of heavy use.
