Fisher & Paykel ActiveSmart 517L Top Freezer

Not reliable – Have had it for 11 years and have spent the 700 $ on repairs so far. The smart sensor is awful and when it has a problem, you do not know whether the smart sensor has a problem or the fridge has a problem. I had to replace the smart sensor system in the first 5 years. After 11 years, I am junking this.

Such a Cold fridge – The quality of this fridge’s ability to keep things cool is kinda intense. If things are sent too far to the back they begin to freeze, yet anything closer to the front does not. Granted this could have something to do with our temperature setting. Behind that this fridge is so roomy and fits enough meals and foods for 7 adults for the week. The… Read more

feeezer element is great too and has plenty of room particularly with the shelving units within. It has a great feature that if a door is left open it starts beeping and if you do not shut the door it will stop keeping the food cool. While it’s beeping can get annoying it is a useful idea. As for how loud it is, as it is over a year old, it has what I can only describe as its good days and bad days. Sometimes at night it because very loud almost like a drill is going off inside, and sometimes warm to touch on the outside. But other than that this is a sturdy and very spacious fridge that even in a blackout keeps food cool so long as you keep the door shut.

Great New Fridge – Reading some of the product reviews when this model was first released there were concerns about whether the fridge would be noisy. However we have found no issues with this fridge as far as being too noisy during operation. It is in fact whisper quiet. We have an open plan house and if there was any noise from the fridge we would hear it in… Read more

the adjacent rooms while trying to watch TV. There is no noise to speak of with our model. The only issue we experienced was initially there was some water dripping from the tray in the fridge just under the freezer compartment. However this appears to be an installation issue. If the fridge isnt installed with a slight lean towards the back of the fridge, then the defrost water collects in the plastic tray above the top shelf in the fridge and cannot run to the back of the fridge and run down to where it is evaporated. There is no mention of this fault in the installation manual, nor do the Fisher & Paykel Customer Service Dept make you aware of this. They are quite willing to send out a technician, but if its an installation issue they will quickly charge you for it. However a slight adjustment to the front feet of the fridge to raise the front fixes the problem and no more water dripping. It is recommended that the top of the fridge be 10mm back from the vertical to have enough slope for the cyclic defrost water to run away.

Other than that the fridge operates fine, it keeps the desired temperature in the fridge and freezer compartments the glass shelving is quite stylish and the no- handle design means it looks sleek and you don't get dirt collecting around the handle. Our previous Fisher & Paykel fridge lasted for many years and I suspect this will do the same.

The result of buying aFISHER & PAYKEL REFRIGERATOR – I am annoyed by both the product and after sales service by FISHER & PAYKEL. This unit was purchased 16 july 2015 it first packed up on 30 january 2016 this was reported to the company which happened to be in NEW ZEALAND for repairs. I was then told they could not get a repair organised in under two weeks time, I had taken out extra insurance, as… Read more

I was advised this would mean any troubles the unit would be replaced. I was then advised this came into affect after the companies 2 year warranty, ran out. After much to and fro between both companies I had a repair man arrive on FEB 16th, He replaced a door switch which appeared OK, Since then it packed up 4 times twice I was able restart it by turning the power on/off, then on the 9th MARCH it stopped working, The repairer found corrosion the cause of the problem. At this stage I asked for a replacement as this was unreliable , this corrosion may well return this was refused. unhappy RON GATES

Great customer service!! – Fridge was broken upon arrival. Called up fisher and paykel and got it replaced within a couple of days. The hotline was on hold for a little while but once through it was an easy process with little hassle. Nice look and great design. Happy with the fridge now! Would recommend.  Show details

Fisher & Paykel 4ever – When moving into a new place, the last thing i remembered was to measure the space for the fridge. Doh! After looking for ever, Fisher & Paykek stainless steel has proven it's self through two floods, many electrical storms all with minimum after event servicing and low billing for work if required. The seals are going strong on 3 years, the… Read more

freezer and fridge are working perfectly, whether it's full or nearly empty. It runs smoothly and quietly and is easy to keep clean.

Excellent well built and reliable fridge – The fridge is extremely solid and well-built. The Bing Lee customer rep took out the side compartment and slammed it into the ground to demonstrate how solid it was. He also banged hard on the glass shelves. That actually impressed me compared to the flimsy alternatives. Bought from Harvey Norman in the end for their Lunar sale. No bells and whistles, just a very solid and good value for money fridge.  Show details

Refrigerator compartment completely frozen – Refrigerator is 4 months old and has just completely frozen the entire fresh food compartment, there was no sign of a problem up until then. Temperature control was not altered prior to this happening . Besides this the butter containers cannot be opened without the refrigerator door being completely opened same as the crisper. Hard to… Read more

recommend. I rang F&P service support to get advise regarding the fault alarm indicator and the number of beeps it gave, which indicates what the fault is hoping someone would have that knowledge apparently no one in the company has that ability, only the service agent would know. Any how its going back and we are buying a different brand . Staff at our local store are very good and understanding of our problem, this is no reflection on them.

Dents everywhere – Dents everywhere, purchased 3 years ago, fridge operates ok, can be noisy at times, but THE DENTS. NO we did not cause the dents, they have gradually appeared and look like hail damage. Anyone else with this problem? Just had kitchen remodeled and now more light showing up our tragic fridge.  Show details

It serves its purpose but could be better – Fridge temperature is sometimes temperamental & does not temperature control as efficiently as the freezer. Freezer door does not fully close sometimes & can remain ajar overnight with loss of cold! The 'alarm' does not persist long enough nor is it loud enough to alert one to close it. Sometimes the fridge is noisier than anticipated. And,… Read more

after 18 months, the white door clip at base of fridge door just snapped off & fell on the floor - thankfully still under manufacturer's warranty & service man replaced & installed new for free.

Awesome looking fridge that hasn't done a single thing wrong in 9 years!!! – As per title, Great looking fridge/freezer that does it's job perfectly. Frost free, keeps my veggies fresh, all round awesome performer. Easy to use, parts are easy to get...As in interior plastics... damaged from being silly...(closing the door with dairy storage drawer open... do'h) but all in all a great quality item that looks perfect with… Read more

it's brushed stainless counterparts.

The beeping when gazing for too long, isn't annoyingly loud, the fridge and freezer are very easy to clean, though after 9 years the doors have sagged a tiny bit leaving them a little aesthetically uneven, no adverse effects on its operation at all...

After reading all the reviews here I'm bewildered... everyone surely knows when you move/tilt a fridge you need to let it settle for a few hours before you turn it on yeah?!!

Also it must be setup level!!!... this is imperative for not only fridges people!!! Dishwashers, washing machines... read the instructions!!! Every manufacturer has lemon products but sorry... this guy... the F&P 521TRX isn't one as far as I've seen... solid product from a solid company

Great service- 17 years – Poor old thing is finally dead after 17 years of sterling service./ Several plastics replaced over the years. Had a habit of freezing up which was because we did not have it propped up at the front enough. A 10 to 15mm slant backwards is ideal. I'm writing this review because the current generation of this model is little changed and you can buy… Read more

with confidence based on our experuience with two of these- one at a friends. We've replaced it with the same size but with french doors

Does the job – Bought this fridge as I wanted frost free and it had to fit a particular space. Does the job. Fridge is roomy, but the 'one drawer - but two compartments' crisper is annoying as you need to open the fridge door all the way. As you do with one of the 'butter' side compartments. Freezer is smaller than what I was expecting for this size fridge.  Show details

budget friendly fridge – good sized fridge and freezer. plenty of drawers, shelves and compartments. perfect for a large family on a budget. food is kept well chilled and freezer works as it should. only con I can think off is that the doors beep if left open too long, can be pretty annoying.  Show details

Good fridge with some faults – Good size fridge. Very spacious and can fit alot in. The only problem is that my fridge is less than 2 yrs old and it started to have problems. It was beeping non stop every time I open the door so I had to put it on Sabbath mode while I organise for it to be serviced. Now that it's off Sabbath mode, it's working normal again, so I'm waiting for… Read more

the fault to come.back on again so I count the beeps before reporting it to Fisher and Paykel.

I only had 12 month warranty but I'm pretty annoyed that a fridge that is less than 2 years old is starting to play up already. Thought it will last longer than that especially I paid $1700 for it. I wouldn't recommend this esp there are better brands out there. Going by brand name doesn't always mean the best quality.

Good Product – I have their dishwasher too double drawer and Fisher and Paykel make overall good products. Fridge holds tall wine bottles on top shelf as well as sides and looks sleek and modern inside. Crisp[ers are brilliant with lettuce and vegies lasting 3 weeks no problem. Easy to clean and would recommend for all of these reasons.  Show details

Good Fridge Overall – Overall a great fridge, however I found the freezer compartment space is very limited, so I have to be careful what I buy constantly. very quite fridge which is great. Very easy to clean. The vegetable/ fruit compartment is great & keeps fruits and veg last longer. There are plenty of space for jars and drinks on the side of the door.  Show details

Same problem, different brand! – I was looking at replacing my "new" Fisher & Paykel fridge with a Westinghouse because the FnP makes a hell of a racket with the gas making a constant gurgling noise, which it has made since day one (10 months ago). Calls to retailer & FnP has been met with comments that it's a "normal" operating noise, and you'll have to put up with it. An… Read more

independent refrigeration mechanic knew exactly what the problem was, but said it was unfixable and it was probably manufactured on a Friday or Monday! These days you're one of the lucky ones if you get a quiet fridge.

Terrible model - have had technician out 3 times within the 1st 2 months of purchase – Day 1 (delivery day 10 Sep 2015)): handle not aligned properly. Not much the technician could do, but fridge door now closes. 2nd repair (22 Oct) Loud noise coming from freezer fan. 3rd repair (23 Nov) Loud noise coming from pipes under the fridge Have always bought F&P products because of their reliability, but this unit (or model) is a lemon.

To date...bad – My Philips fridge had finally given up after 35 years of excellent service. I purchased this F&P fridge last week. Day one, very loud gurgling noise coming from the freezer. Day three added to the gurgling, fridge running for 15-20 minutes, turning off for 30-35 minutes and has been getting worse, today has run non-stop. Advised retailers, they… Read more

fobbed me off to the F&P service number. F&P advised number of the serviceman in my area. Serviceman is coming out tomorrow. This is not shaping up to be a very long and happy relationship with this fridge!

Up date on my new F&P fridge.

The serviceman arrived, agreed it was a loud, weird and somewhat annoying noise coming from the 11 day old fridge. He said it was a faulty compressor, he rang F&P centre in Adelaide and they said, "we'll send out a new one." Well done F&P!

The new one arrived a week later, still makes that strange gurgling noise, but not quite as loud as the first one.

I still wouldn't change my star rating, as I feel a fridge that cost $1200 should be noise free.

reliable – originally bought from DJs. the 1st one broke down so regularly every possible part was replaced. By the end of the 1st year I had a HUGE TANTRUM and DJs organised a replacement at no cost. The 2nd fridge is still going strong at 14 years old. Its had a few services in the last few years-nothing major. Very happy. still happy jan 2016

Fisher and Paykel did the right thing! – Having slated F and P on my previous review, our model, less than a year old, had been nothing but noisy trouble, after FIVE call outs Fisher and Paykel finally offered us a full replacement, at totally no cost. Was delivered in two days, original one removed, and we are very satisfied. This one hasn't missed a beat and no "thermo-nuclear reactor"… Read more

noises!

Thank you very much F and P. You did absolutely the right thing in the end.

So, all is not lost if you should buy a "lemon"

Fantastic fridge that lasts! – Going on ten years strong, this fridge is all that, and more! Roomy; we can fit quite a bit in our fridge, as well as the freezer which is always good! We had the defrost heater replaced once, but other than it's been fairly low-maintenance... Being a ten year old unit, the fridge compartment plastic door handle has broken slightly, from the top,… Read more

but doesn't affect usage All in all, very happy! :)

EDIT Feb 2023 - this fridge still going! It’s now a drinks fridge out the back, handle for fridge door has come off but can still be opened; still works perfectly even though it’s now subjected to more extreme temperatures

Fault alarm faulty and too long for repair – After just under 2 weeks the fault alarm started going off in the middle of the night. Opening & shutting the freezer door very temporarily stopped the alarm. The only other way was to turn the power off. It kept starting up again & would only run temporarily before the alarm would start again. I rang to report the fault, but because it was… Read more

between Christmas & New Year had to wait over a week to get it looked at. We could not stand the beeping, so had to keep turning it off at the power. Our Christmas food became very dodgy! So disappointing. One week for a fridge repair is unacceptable!I imagine that if they do not have repair people working during the Christmas period, it would be the same on weekends. So if your fridge breaks on the weekend, be prepared for a wait.

The repair man said that condensation had got into the control panel & that one of the wires had shorted. He fixed it & used some silicon to stop it recurring. No further problems (so far)..... Fingers crossed that it doesn't continue.

Replacement – This fridge/Freezer is a replacement for our 19 year old Fisher & Paykel. I prefer two drawer in the old one rather than the one large drawer they have now. I suspect it would be harder to clean. It has less shelves in the door area which I found annoying. I also think the vegetables doesn't last as long, as I had stored mushrooms the same way as… Read more

I had previously and they started deteriorating within 2 days, normally they would of last a week. It alarms if the door is left open, Reasonably priced. Door does not self close. Vegetables doesn't last as long.

Good cool fridge yo – Ok, seems like there are mixed reviews on the E521.... but are we all talking about the exact same model? Not sure.... but... the one I bought is the E521TRT3, and it's been performing pretty well for the last 12+ months. It's roomy, cool blue light, cools well, is quiet and so on. Hmm... maybe I'm just positive, because I bought a Mitsubishi… Read more

fridge and a Kelvinator fridge as well 12 months ago and they too are performing well. I must say though, that the F&P has a cool roomy feel, and the blue-white light is something else.

Well, that's my two cents worth..... but hey, I would let you know if I thought otherwise. Oh, and I would NEVER buy a Westinghouse fridge now(even though my 25yo Westinghouse Aurora fridge has traveled to the east coast and back and has been moved to 10 different properties.... and is still going well), because it's now owned by electrolux - a company who's products fail, and it's backed up by terrible customer service - Opinion is Purely performance based, nothing personal.

Btw, the other fridges I bought are the Kelvinator KTM4200WB-Land the Mitsubishi is the MR455EWA. I would rate the F&P -1, Mitshu-2, Kelvi-3... but seriously, that's just personal likes - visual appeal. Performance wise...all good. Stop worrying.... and Jump into it! Enjoy the ride :) roomy, cool, blue nothing

Great fridge – Had this fridge for about 7-8 years it is still running. it was noisy at when we first bought it but after moving houses new kitchen had really uneven floors and we discovered that leveling the fridge actually made the loud vibrating noise disappear. Apparently its something that you should do to most appliances. We have moved houses again a few… Read more

weeks ago and left it for our tenants and bought a new F&P Bottom mount Flat door (we also love the new one!!). Never had to have a service man out ever during those 7-8 yrs. But we did have the seals replaced a year and a half ago. Overall we've been happy with his fridge. All the shelving and vege draw is solid and easy to clean. Veges last for a very long time, less food wastage.

Worst product – The worst I mean worst appliance n the last year and a half i have had the repair guy out 5 times. heating element after heating element. then the fan. i will never buy another fisher and paykel anything same time as the fridge breaks down the fisher and paykel washing machine decides its going to play up as well. but as the repair guy said all… Read more

these machines are made form the same people just a different tag gets stuck on them all made overseas

Its not cooling

So good, I'm replacing with a newer model – We purchased our current fridge (E521TRE) in 2002 and it hasn't skipped a beat until the last month or so when the temperature has started to fluctuate. We have not had a single problem with it until then in over 11 years. Have just ordered the latest model (E521TRT3) which appears to be only very different cosmetically. I'll review that once we get it and have it for a while. Reliable, easy to operate  Show reply

Terrible – This fridge has been a lemon, I bought it second hand at about 2 years old, now I know why the guy sold it. It's relatively quiet First the fan in fridge failed, the guy at the F&P parts store said they do that, so when I asked they were going replace it free, he laughed at me.It can't seem to keep the fridge temp down to 4 deg, more like 6 on a… Read more

good day, and creeps up to 12 before the ice hits the fan (see next comment).It ices up every month around the fridge fan area, (which is not heated by the defrost element), then you have empty it an leave it for 12-24 hours to defrostThe fan output from the main controller has just failed, so I'm ready to throw the thing out the door

Terrible – The INCESSANT beeping!!!!! We have had this fridge for a few years now and what can I say? Various members of my family have been competing for how this fridge will be destroyed when we have the means to purchase a replacement. Like others, we have had problems with the fan which is suspended with rubber bands for some reason. Like many… Read more

fridges on the market, this thing has a door alarm. For some impossibly stupid reason, this is not linked to the sensor for the light or the door being open. It would seem to be linked with the fan. So, for the 75% of the time the fan stops when the door is opened, it jams and even though the door is very much closed, the alarm still goes off. There is now a dent in the wall behind the fridge due to the frustration of hitting it to try and dislodge the fan countless times.

Unlike other fridges, you do not have the option to turn the alarm off and if you don't manage to dislodge the fan, the beeping simply will continue without pause until you do dislodge the fan or pull the plug out of the wall.

The crisper drawers drag on the floor of the interior and are made of flimsy plastic. Both have broken. The construction of the mounting clips for the door shelves is also very flimsy and half of the ones on our fridge have broken off. As has the lid for the egg compartment. And the right rear wheel.

This is truly a shocking fridge and I would not recommend it to anyone. Researching new fridges, F&P are automatically off the list permanently.

Avoid at all costs. Stays reasonably cool. Faulty, poor build quality, the incessant beeping!

Fridge alarms going off – We've had this fridge for 10 years. Pieces broke (fell) off it within the first 6 months. Keeps the temperature like a yo-yo. Wouldn't recommend buying another one. Like the door alarms though - (if you leave the door open, it goes off) but it's now sounding the alarm ALL the time. Had the technician fix it - repair lasted for one week. Time to… Read more

get rid of it and get something decent. Lots of space. Can't keep a steady temperature; alarms keep going off; poor construction.

Terrible – This fridge is complete junk, has been from day one. We have a temperature gauge that we keep in the fridge and it has only ever been just on the limit of being cold enough. We will never buy another F&P fridge. It is not frost free. Every few months it starts to leak water in the fridge and has to be emptied, defrosted to remove the ice buildup from arround the drain. Does not keep the food cold.

Terrible – Paid top dollar for this 520 litre fridge new 3 years ago. 6 months later started making noise loud enough for me to turn the TV volume up. Fischer & Paykel Service kept asking me "If it was really that bad" Finally a serviceman arrived who said, "They put the wrong gas in it". The noise, commonly called 'doing the chicken' was well known. 2… Read more

weeks later the pick-up guys took the fridge for re-gassing and left us with a 180 litre 'esky' sized fridge for a customer replacement. Returned it didn't make a sound for 18 months. Now its back to the chicken yard. On another note, don't dare to lean on the stainless steel door, you will permanently depress it. The build quality of this fridge is appalling. It keeps the food at the right temperature Noisy enough to wake the neighbours.