Lovely design let down by a fundamental manufacturing fault – The freezer seal does not close against the body of the fridge at the top. We did not notice this immediately but did so after some time. Similar to others here, the service man from Electrolux came out to have a look and used a heat gun to unfreeze the seal. As it has done with others, it went straight back to how it was before, leaving a gap at the top of the freezer seal. Two to three weeks later, the seal was replaced and was still unsuccessful. I placed a straight edge against the body of the fridge along the seal line and found that it was bowed inwards and the door, at the same point, was bowed outwards..... it was never going to work.
Electrolux had also suggested that the seal was no longer its issue but after some discussions around the words in its policy, it backed down.
Here are some of the issues I have with Electrolux:
1) Electrolux is obviously well aware of this problem so it feels to me like it has been pretending that this problem was new to it. It is still selling these refrigerators. If the problem still exists, this is reprehensible.
2) Had I not paid for an extended warranty, I would now be looking to pay for a new fridge.
3) I am only able to recover the cost of the fridge which is fair but I am also required to return the fridge myself if I want the refund and I cant get the same fridge for the price I paid.
4) Because it appears obvious to me that Electrolux is aware of this problem but behaves as if in each instance it is a one off, it is potentially acting criminally. That is to say, it is selling and presenting this product under false pretences.
I was told that this was an Australian company and that the fridge was Ausie built. To my mind, this has been a shameful display by what I thought was considered to be one of the better white goods manufacturers.
I was prompted to write this after seeing that others have had a similar problem. I am profoundly disappointed in Electrolux, not only because it has cost me some serious time and money but because it has pretended that my problem was unusual and this is clearly not the case.
Electrolux, you should have removed this product from sale when you knew you had a problem and not cost me and many others, it would appear, wasted time and money. Design and styling Electrolux administration and policy (play acting as if the problem was new to it). Freezer seal irreparable.
Thanks but Electrolux left it in the hands of the insurance company covering the extended warranty. I am getting another one and paying the make up price. I'm not happy with the way Electrolux have handled this simply because it is not a one off and they were very aware of the issue. They just pretended it was something new and I am out of pocket more than $300 as a result.
Hi there Porcino Thank you very much for your detailed and informative review, it is having serious influence on whether or not I still consider; Electrolux, Westinghouse, Simpson, Kelvinator, Frigidaire, AEG, Zanussi or Volta products for any of my home appliance purchasing over the next few weeks (I just moved into my first house and need to spend some serious cash as I currently only have a bed and a 2nd hand bar fridge at the moment).
I've been looking and was seriously considering either the Westinghouse or the Electrolux 430litre fridge (same companies, same fridges I assume)until I read your review of the treatment you've received from their customer service department.
Can I ask is the fridge that you've had the problems with, the 430litre or the 510litre one? The way the review page is set up makes it hard to tell?
thanks Again
Kind Regards
selahtrebor
Thank You Porcino. I have the same problem with the Freezer door seal on my EBM5100SC-R, from Electrolux.
Electrolux EBM5100SC, is NOT RECOMMENDED.
My battle has just begun.
Regard's,
Maurie
Thank You Porcino for your detailed review. I was thinking to buy this model too and now have changed my mind.
Not sure how warranties work in Australia but in NZ you don't need extended warranties to cover you for product design faults. If the product does not operate as can be reasonably expected, as in this case, the manufacturer must fix the fault regardless of the age of the product. Retailers won't tell you this because they get a cut on the warranty cost.
We got exact same problem. So 2 months after yours and others problem they are still selling this with a fault. I noticed the gap in the seal about 3 days after, after racking my brain why the frost build up.service guy said no point fixing it and ordered new one. They stuffed this up and said they lost his order when I rang a week later. Hope it will be delivered next few days. Also we get freezing in fridge section even on lowest setting. hope new one resolves this also. Would not recommend this fridge, EBM5100SC-L
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We had the exact problem you described, so I agree there may be a bad batch of these in market. In the end, we got a satisfactory outcome directly from Electrolux: they replaced our fridge with a new one without the seal problem. We noticed the problem within a week, so I think that helped. Not sure if your issue is resolved but call them 131349 and see if they will replace it for you too.