Westinghouse 453L Bottom Mount WBE45 Series

Reliable Fridge - Design Improvements Needed – I'm certainly happy with this fridge, but I think some points could be improved. The fridge compartment has a lot of space and its very flexible. You can move the internal shelves around, and the door shelves come in several parts that allow you to move them around to positions that suit you. You also have the option to adjust the division in… Read more

the crisper drawer. The lockable compartment is a nice touch for medications that you wouldn't want kids to get into etc. It's easy to set the temperatures and very user-friendly, and the lighting in the front and back of the fridge makes it easy to find what you're looking for. The freezer compartment is set out very well with two large, full-width drawers and one narrower drawer that shares space with the ice tray. The ice tray could certainly be larger, I have a second tray in one of the drawers so that I know that there is always spare ice because of the low capacity. The drawers in the freezer are fantastic on metal rollers. They open and close smoothly and don't fall out if you pull on them too hard like in other fridges. However, I feel like they could reach deeper into the refrigerator, I can't help but get the feeling that they didn't make the most of the size of the freezer and could potentially be deeper. The fridge is relatively silent, however when the motor kicks in, you know. It isn't loud, but it isn't discreet either. I also think the warranty is shy compared to other models in this price range. A similar LG in this price range is 10 years while this is only 2 years.

Great fridge – This fridge has been excellent, love the bottom mount configuration with drawers. Looks stylish. Specialised fridge tupperware works better than the crisper drawers. If anything it is a bit small and it gets filled quickly, but there was only the space to put a small fridge in the kitchen. The door baskets help free up some space as they are… Read more

spacious and the sides of the baskets are high enough that short items will not fall out when opening the drawer too fast.

Great.....when working right! – Upon turning it on, it just seemed a bit too noisy and buzzy for my liking. Learned to live with it, but the fridge is/has been really good (good efficient design, solid construction)....until after 10 months the freezer would not drop below -1c. The fridge was fine, but freezer was dying. Got a next day inspection fortunately where it turned out… Read more

it was a bad compressor. Three days later a new one was installed and the fridge has been fine (and very quiet!) since.

Totally dissatisfied with this westinghouse fridge – I purchased this fridge in January 2022 after my other one died after having it for 25 years. From the moment it was switched on, the noise this Westinghouse made was ridiculously loud ad very hot at the back and sides. Now after having it for just over 12 months it is leaking water onto the floor.. freezer compartments also very difficult to… Read more

remove. I will be following this up as it is well within warranty, however judging mo comment left here it doesn’t look too promising Update: Tried to call and the wait was to be in excess of 30 minutes! Requested call-back, however haven’t heard back either. Also tried to book a warranty service online, however it stated that wasn’t possible? I live on the Gold Coast. Next step if I don’t get a response is to contact the Queensland Office of Fair Trading. I know why this fridge was discontinued….because it is useless, and people who have purchased one in good faith with the Westinghouse brand should be refunded or at least have a store credit from where they purchased. This debacle of a refrigerator that should have never been sold as it can’t perform up to standards represented by Westinghouse.

Worst. Fridge. Ever! – The fridge works great (as in cooling), looks great and has heaps of space, but the noise! Three minutes after it was delivered it made a high pitched screeching noise. The general running of the fridge sounds like a constant high whining that ramps up. I got the fridge swapped over a week later and the same thing. It sounds like I have constant… Read more

tinnitus. I hate it. I expected better of Westinghouse. I’ve never owned a Westinghouse fridge before and I won’t again.

Update: Electrolux contacted me to sort this issue out. I emailed them audio files of the racket this fridge makes. They agreed that it was awful, asking for my number to discuss.....and I never heard from them again. Yeah A+ service there (she said dripping with sarcasm). I will be taking this further because a brand new fridge that rattles , buzzes and whines is bollocks.

Update #2: I have owned this fridge for just over 2 years now. I still have had no further contact about the noise that’s it makes. Well last night the freezer died, and I have had to order a brand new fridge. I’ll tell you what it isn’t …a Westinghouse! A fridge should last more than 2 years! ELECTROLUX/WESTINGHOUSE…I WANT TO $1000 BACK.

Avoid Purchasing Westinghouse Goods – Bought this fridge in Feb 2020, completely failed after 2 years. Had technician assess the cause of failure at my expense and to be informed the compressor had failed and there was an internal gas leak which cannot be fixed or replace fridge at my expense. Electrolux advised there was nothing they could do. So advice to shoppers, do not waste your… Read more

money on Westinghouse goods as they do not uphold the westinghouse reputation they once had now that they are manufactured in Thailand.

Awful product & terrible customer service! – In late March 2020, my Westinghouse fridge that I had owned for approx 25 years finally stopped working. On Friday 27th March I purchased a new Westinghouse fridge WBE45005B-L, this was delivered to our home on Sat 28th March. After about 3 weeks, we noticed that the fridge was not working as effectively as when we first received it. We consulted… Read more

the manual, tried to adjust temperatures, but to no avail.

Early on Friday 24th April we contacted Westinghouse/Electrolux who advised a technician could not come out until Mon 27th April, who when he did come out advised that we would get a replacement fridge. He told me that someone should be in contact with me the next day to advise when my replacement fridge would arrive (as he emailed off the request whilst in our home on Monday afternoon). I did not receive any phone calls about my replacement fridge. On Wednesday 29th April, I rang the service number & was advised that a request for a replacement fridge had been placed.The staff member was not very forthcoming with information and I had to prise out of her the fact that there were not actually any fridges of that model in Australia & that I would have to wait until June for my replacement. I understood the delay was due to the Covid 19 pandemic, so I asked if it was possible to get another model fridge (given the unusual circumstances & I would be prepared to pay the difference if it was a more expensive model) but I was told “no - it had to be a like for like replacement”. I then asked if I could have a loan fridge, as we are a family of 5 & really need a fridge. I was told someone would call me back after 3 pm that day to arrange this. I did not receive a phone call back. On Thursday 30th April at 9am, I rang the service number again & was told the loan fridge would be organised by the Melb Office. The person I spoke to said they would email the Melb office & someone would call me later in the day. I did not receive a phone call back. On Friday 1st May I rang the service number again trying to chase up my promised loan fridge. Finally that afternoon, I was called back to advise a loan fridge would be delivered on Monday 4th May & they would also take the faulty fridge away.

To be honest, I don’t remember why the replacement fridge didn’t get delivered on the Mon 4th May, as promised (some story that it didn’t make it on to the truck) Finally, after waiting over a week our loan fridge arrived on Tuesday 5th May! For some reason, the contractor could not get our faulty fridge down the stairs, so that had to remain in our kitchen & the loan fridge had to be put downstairs near our front door! Not ideal, but at least we had a working fridge - for the meantime.

After about 3 weeks, it became apparent to us that the loan fridge was not working properly - we tried adjusting temps, but to no avail. So, on Friday 29th May I rang the service centre again. Another loan fridge has been promised, apparently to be delivered on Monday 1st June. I really would have liked this loan fridge to be in my kitchen, not the entrance way, but apparently that won’t be happening either, as the contractor is not willing to negotiate our stairs to remove the original faulty fridge & bring the second loan fridge upstairs.

I do understand that the Covid19 pandemic has had a major impact on supply of goods from overseas & that these are difficult circumstances to navigate. But, I really feel the customer service I have received from Electrolux during this time has been very poor. I have had to spend a lot of time chasing your service centre up to find out what was happening about my fridge. Along with this, the amount of food spoilage (due to faulty fridges) we have had over the last 2 months has been costly. And this does not take into account that during this time we lost frozen food that had purchase limits (1 packet per customer), which we could not replace due to scarcity of these items in the supermarkets. As a community we were supposed to be limiting our visits to the supermarket to reduce the spread of Corona, unfortunately, that was not possible for me, as when I was without a working fridge, I would have to shop every few days, as I had no where to store perishable items.

I am really hoping that my concerns be noted and that my replacement fridge be delivered to me as soon as possible, as I feel I have been inconvenienced enough. I would really appreciate some acknowledgment from management, in response to this email. I believe it has been noted on my file that when the replacement fridge arrives, a professional removalist is to deliver it, so the faulty fridge can be removed & the new one placed in my kitchen. Could I please have confirmation of this, as I do not want there to be anymore unnecessary delays? February 2021 Today a technician came again to look at our faulty fridge. This is in fact the third fridge (including a loan fridge) that we have received from Westinghouse that has been faulty. This particular one we received in June 2020, as a replacement for a fridge we purchased in March 2020. My husband told the technician that we would like a refund, rather than a replacement fridge. The technician has asked that we contact you via phone tomorrow (4/02/21) to confirm this. As I find it very hard to be on a long phone call due to my work situation, I have decided to email you instead. We are requesting a full refund of the cost of the fridge along with additional funds for us to arrange a removalist to bring our new fridge into our 2-storey home. The reason we are requesting this is that we have been terribly inconvenienced by your company & only find ourselves without a working fridge due to poor quality product. We also request that once the faulty fridge is brought downstairs that Electrolux come and remove it. I never did receive any email or acknowledgement from your company in response to my previous emails about compensation due to spoilage of food. We have yet again had to throw out a lot of food due to your faulty product & are currently without a working fridge. I have attached copies of my previous emails to your company, so you can see the past history of our fridges.

Compressor Failed after 12 Months – Purchased in 26 Dec 2019 (brand new) as our 20 year old Westinghouse fridge (top mount) eventually gave out. The new fridge worked great. Love the drawers and style especially how they easily glide. Love the built it ice cube tray & container - absolutely genius! The digital temperature panel allows you to set difference temperature for different… Read more

zones. The shelves are sturdy and so easy to clean! The entire fridge is easy to clean - including the exterior (which smudged a lot) but a quick wipe takes care of that. However, on 23 Dec 2020 (after almost 12 months) the freezer stopped working then a few days later the fridge also stopped working. We referred to the manual for troubleshooting with no luck! I called the retailer who put me on the manufacturer. The manufacturer was very prompt and booked first available technician to come in. Tech came in on time and found what was the problem. Next day the tech removed the old fridge to fix and gave us a loan fridge while they fix ours. I personally expect a fridge/freezer to work for at least 10 years with no issues. It is a very essential yet bulky item. Hopefully once they fix our fridge it will last at least another 9 years (fingers crossed).

Too little useful life – We bought this fridge as Westinghouse brand still has some connection to Australia and all the service and people involved (I know it is all globalised and Electrolux etc but still). Also it seemed of having OK quality and not too smelly plastic. It worked fine for 4 years, somewhat noisy and sluggish to cool - we had more efficient fridges before… Read more

- but still OK enough. Internals have good layout and lighting, but flimsy. It stopped working properly about a month ago - does not freeze. Tried re-starting etc and ended up calling Westinghouse support. They diagnosed a leak (likely in the evaporator - seems like an engineered corrosion and "programmed" fault), which goes into the compressor system extended warranty. But the warranty only covers parts we have been told. This call costed us $270 or so just to have a 5-min look at it - insane! They said it has to be transported to the workshop for repairs and the work will cost a comparable amount of money. Further, we have been asked to take the fridge out of the house on our own (under some COVID protocol) so that delivery picks it up from outside. Outrageous! We nonetheless have honestly attempted it, but failed due to high step and lack of equipment to move it over it. Also difficult to involve more people as it blocks all the doorway. At this point our main motivation has been not economical or practical but ecological as it is such a waste of material and pollution of the environment, given these items are never utilised properly or in full. Terrible practice of modern globalised companies to squeeze money out by making these products expendable and with very short service life. All my older fridges are still alive, some family fridges are 50 years old and work just fine! Plus aggravated with unreasonably highly priced service and insanely inconveniencing approach. Electrolux (Westinghouse etc.) and their service - never again!

I can't believe a modern fridge could be this noisy – This fridge sounds like a motorbike revving up in the kitchen every half hour, around the clock, and once the revving settles down, the compressor can be heard from the other end of the house. It's no fun being woken at 3am by your fridge. I mean, my old LG fridge was 15 years old by the time it died and you would never even know it was running.… Read more

How is it possible for a much newer model be so outstandingly bad?? As soon as I can afford to replace this fridge, I will, and you couldn't pay me to buy a Westinghouse now.

Nice Fridge, But – Quality Build and Well Set Out, Roller Draws in Freezer are Great. The But is its Noisy & Runs almost Continuesly, Hope it Lasts Forever though. Purchased from Harvey Norman Just two months ago After a Couple of Call outs and No Joy, The Fridge was Changed over to a Different Brand, Service was Fine Show details

High Pitch Noise – The fridge has a high pitch sound that is driving me insane. I have a constant ringing in my right ear now. I had the first one replaced because of the noise, but the replacement is just as bad. I have tried very hard to live with this, but I think I’ve reached my limit. It feels like it is messing with my hearing it’s that bad. Otherwise, I love the fridge. Show details

this is a very nice fridge and so quiet and works well however failed after 6 weeks and no customer service – quality control very poor fridge failed after 6 weeks. wrote to Westinghouse on numerous occasions lost all our food made numerous telephone calls two appointments made for service and no ne turned up no phone call and left waiting for 2 half days. over a week of emails then offered a store credit but no fridges of this type in Australia. Had… Read more

purchased two fridges as a pigeon pair and request to replace both fridges with different model denied. so I will be left with two non matching fridges. Customer care is only a call centre operated from call operators homes, and never get to speak with the same person twice. WA representative promised to send email for loss of food, never received and also promised a service fridge mechanic would attended but no show, no telephone call, no explanation. An extremely frustrating broken customer service call centre. The company does not take ownership of their products and hide behind call centre operators. I have lodged a consumer complaint. Their products may be ok my last two fridges lasted 20 years no problem but I have no faith in their products or service. I would reasonably expect a minimum of 10 years service out of a fridge as a minimum and would be exercising my consumer rights if this is not the case. Be careful your new purchase could end up your worst nightmare if the product fails. Westinghouse reference number 200506781

High pitched noise – Nice fridge except for the high pitched whine noise it has. A bit like your ears are ringing! The freezer doesn’t seem to have as much space as my old 442 litre fridge. The door can also be a bit hard to open causing the whole fridge to move. I could put up with the lack of freezer space and the door but the noise is VERY annoying. I have read… Read more

about other people complaining about the same thing. Edit: A few weeks on and I’m sort of used to the noise. The crisper drawer feels a bit flimsy but it is a nice fridge. Our electricity consumption has definitely dropped. I think it’s very energy efficient.

4 days in and it’s hell – EDIT: The repairman came and couldn’t hear the noise but said to just get a refund and try a different brand, because all Westinghouse fridges would be the same. We are switching to an LG model that advertises a quiet inverter compressor! When we first got the fridge - 4 days ago - it was great. It’s stylish, a good size, has removeable baskets… Read more

for the door, freezer is nice and roomy and the lighting inside is great. A day in and I could hear a high-pitched buzzing noise (which is subjective because my dad, for example, can’t hear it). We have an open-plan kitchen and living room and it’s gotten so that we can’t sit in the same room without the tv on to cover the noise. Checked that it’s level, that it’s got adequate space around it, that it’s cold enough etc. Still that noise. We moved it around and it stopped, then started. Turned it off and on - started again. I open the door to get something out and it stops...and then starts. The noise is more than the motor or fan, and Googling shows that it’s common in invertor compressors. We will have to refund if they can’t fix it though (tech coming in a few days), because it’s maddening. I’d rather put up with an old rumbling fridge fan than this high-pitched dog whistle!