Miele K 12820 SD

Handle on the fridge broke within a short time. Replaced handle, and now open the fridge door by pulling from the top of door! Otherwise happy with performance of both

I been the owner of a house full of Miele appliances bough in 2014. I love their fridge freezer combo in stainless steel, they have great temperature control, nice LED lighting awesome soft close doors on both freezer fridge. But the handle to open the fridge and freezer lets it down. I now need to replace the handle on the fridge for the second time. This is disappointing and a design defect which should be sorted by Miele.
I don't know how this design got passed the German engineers, marketing manager pressure?

Kind regards

Stefan van Rooij

We bought this fridge/freezer pair and have had trouble with water pooling at the back of the fridge - it needs regular cleaning out to avoid it wetting the floor.
And most recently the fridge handle just fell off. I contacted Miele directly and they said they wouldn't replace it, but would organise a technician to come and inspect it - at our cost.
It is such a simple fix - the handle needs replacing however they refused to do this. So disappointed, the fridge is out of warranty but a handle shouldn't fall off under the Fair Use Policy. Won't be buying again and still am without a fridge handle.

I have owned a Miele K12820 for the last 3 years during this time the drip tray in the back of the fridge has blocked up so many times resulting in water leaking from the inside of the fridge on to the laminated floor boards which are now ruined. Initially I had a technician out to clear the drip tray but it is ridiculous that you are expected to clear this every month or so. The handle has also been an issue and now it is just about to break. Two significant design flaws on an expensive refrigerator.

This fridge suits all of the required purposes. Two fruit and vegetable drawers are a particularly desirable feature. Door trays could be just 1cm deeper. Greatest disappointment is that the door handle broke after a year's use. We were always careful not to pull on it roughly especially if it had just closed so it is with huge dissatisfaction I had it break off in my hand. We have a 60 year old fridge in the shed and its handle is still sturdy and working. Longevity of design not considered.

After much research Miele Was the brand For me. I love, love my Miele fridge and freezer. I love the design and function. But the handle has broken 2 times. Why do they make them out of plastic. There is so much stress on the handle and for a product that is used often why plastic. I know I can buy a new handle but they are still plastic and I know the handle will continue to break. So disappointed.

I purchased my Miele Fridge and Freezer (Side by Side )thinking I was getting good quality product but the Fridge Side iis a LEMON.
Every Morning I come to the fridge and there is water all over the floor. It appears that the gully with the tiny
Black Hole just above the crisper in the bottom of the fridge is always blocking up the technician told me to use a cable tie to stick down the hole to unblock WHY DO I HAVE TO DO THIS on an expensive fridge? It blocks everyday so I have water leaking out therefore swelling my Laminate floors and wrecking them. I wish I could throw this fridge on the tip but I paid so much money cant afford to.

This is a fantastic fridge except for the really poor design of the handle. An item that is under so much stress should not be made of plastic...really!!!!!
MINE HAS SNAPPED and I am not happy. I really dont want to pay for another one as the replacement is the same thing...no improvement is design or manufacture.
I will see if i can improvise another solution as the Miele product is no good.

These handles are plastic, who puts plastic handles on a $4000 fridge freezer set. I would not vuy this brand again. Apparently they are made to last 20 plus years. Great so for the next 16 years I have to tug the crap out of the doors just to open them. We have to leave the doors open if we are meal prepping, or tag team and get as much as we can in or out in one go. How embarrassing we have renovated our whole kitchen around this set and now everyone laughs at us.

Handle broke within 12 months and now door seal is broken. Called Miele and was told that the whole door needs to be replaced at a cost of $400 + call out fee. I was told it would not be covered under warranty. Fridge is not even 3 years old! not happy to say the least. Would not buy again!

Terrible handle design. Has broken 3 times and now it's out of warranty they won't replace the handle. Freezer pair is fine but obviously doesn't get opened as much. Very regrettable expensive purchase. Leaks as well!!!
I am left with a fridge that we have wrestle open, is an embarrassment to us and should be to Miele!

We recently had the handle replaced (under warrant, great service from Miele). The new design seems much stronger and gently breaks the seal before opening the door. The fridge itself works very well, and is extremely hardwearing and easy to clean. We have the pigeon pair and they look great together. This is our first Miele and I have been very impressed by all levels of design in this fridge.

3 month old fridge and seal was faulty. This is being fixed under warranty by replacing the door and seal as they are one unit. I expect this would be very expensive if not under warranty. Rear internal wall gets very wet and you cant store things against it. We were advised that's just how it works. Like some other reviewers we have had cheese go off with mould. I guess we are lucky as we have not yet broken a handle but sounds like it will only be a matter of time. Miele should stick to vacuum's!

This is a good fridge rendered frustrating by a very inferior handle. Two handles have broken within 4 years. One was replaced under warranty and one free with a little persistence. We were told to use a two stage action and wait, to break the seal - which is unrealistic considering the fridge is used by visitors and grandkids. Also that the drain hole can ice up causing a too strong seal - which has not been a problem for us. The handle is obviously just not strong enough and Miele should admit the problem and provide a better designed one free to all. It is NOT FIT FOR PURPOSE.
Full marks though to CustomerCare (email, not phone) who responded to email within an hour - and new handle arrived within 24 hours.

Just 4 months out of 2 year warranty, cast iron handle snapped off, cost $179.00 visit fee only without replacing the handle which the technician did not have despite giving them a full description of the part. plus the cost of the handle $144.00 which will be send to me to replace it myself otherwise fees will apply. A product big time waste of money, I wish I read reviews before buying. now I'm spending money I haven't got.

After only 5 months of use the handle is coming off. Even though it’s under warranty meile say it might be my fault and may have to charge me a call out fee. This fridge has had very light use by mostly just one person as all my children have left home. No quality and no warranty that backs you up when the product fails. Just a company that wants to blame you for poor design. Don’t buy Miele.

Excellent fridge, very quiet, easy to clean and trouble free until May 2017, when the handle unexpectedly snapped off. Not at all happy when Miele's response was that I was not opening the fridge correctly by releasing the seal slowly, before opening the door. This has caused undue stress on the bracket. I'm sorry but that is just unrealistic!

I recently purchased a Miele refrigerator and freezer (side by side). They are very quiet and efficient models that keep the food at a constant cold temperature. Good streamline design. It would be good if the light was not placed in the ceiling of the fridge as when shelves are full not a lot of light reaches the lower shelves. Not sure how the handles will hold up over time with kids opening the fridge. All in all very happy with the new products.