Westinghouse 528L Bottom Mount WBE53 Series

Was a good fridge but has suffered multiple failure at barely 3.5 years old. Will cost approx. $830 to fix. [Name Removed] @ Electrolux customer care call centre in The Phillipines just said sorry sir its out of warranty. Not interested in helping. Unfortunate experience as our last westinghouse fridge lasted 16 years. Show details

Worst fridge - would not recommend - lots of faults – 2-3 years after purchase, this fridge stopped cooling and I had to manually defrost the freezer every 1-3 days as it would just ice up and stop working. Seeing it was only just out of warranty we still went through westinghouse/electrolux service technicians in the hope they would do the right thing. Took 1 week to get a technician out, and the… Read more

technician was nice, but rather than diagnose the actual issue, he just replaced the most common fault (the thermostat) which we were charged full parts and service for despite it only just being out of warranty, and still well within the expected lifespan of a $1500 fridge. This didn't work, so we then had to wait another week for the technician again who then said there was an issue with this model and a service bulletin and carried out the service. Again a couple of days later it iced up and stopped cooling. We again called electrolux and they said they would have to order a part in (the control board) which took another couple of weeks (we were without a working fridge for 1-2 months). When this was eventually replaced the fridge worked, but had to deal with some rather rude customer service when I said I didn't think it was fair that we should be paying for parts and labour to replace things that weren't actually broken, and that something like the control board should be expected to last more than 2.5 years. Now, less than 2 years later and a very similar problem has started. Fridge is not cooling, and incessantly beeps. Dreading having to go through the entire process again. Seriously regret ever purchasing a westinghouse fridge and having to deal with attempted repairs. A fridge should last more than a couple of years, and so should expensive repairs.

Update: Was contacted by Electrolux/Westinghouse who advised that they would cover the cost of parts if I paid the $155 call out fee, so figured it was worth a shot. Worst decision ever and was just more money and a ridiculous amount of my time thrown down the drain of a poor quality appliance. Despite giving the model number and details multiple times and describing the problem the technician turned up but did not have the likely required spare parts (thought it was a control board issue) - the Technician seemed like a nice person to be fair though, so suspect the issue is more to do with internal communication. Waited several more weeks for the part to arrive, then the technician came out and replaced it, but made no difference. Technician figured the new part was faulty, so ordered another control board. Waited a few more weeks, but then I was never advised of when the technician was coming again, so did not happen to be home when they turned up. Called Electrolux and had to wait another 2-3 weeks for an appointment. Technician again replaced the control board, still nothing worked. Rather than accepting that maybe the control board was never the issue to start with and investigating further (after going through 3 control boards) they decided it was too hard, charged me the call out fee and left me with a broken fridge, $155 poorer, having to stay home 4 or 5 times to attend to the appointments, and wasting 2-3 months to no avail. Electrolux' next alternative was to offer me the option of paying hundreds more for them to investigate further, or letting me buy a new product which when factoring in the compulsory delivery fee was not much cheaper than going to my local store and buying (and based on my experience would not want to buy any more Electrolux/Westinghouse products, or have them attempt repairs). Overall Electrolux do not seem to have the processes or willingness to understand problems with their own products, and wasted a significant amount of my time and money so very disappointed.

Died after 2.5 years – Compressor died after 2.5 years. Tech came out and confirmed the compressor and temp sensors had stopped working. Fortunately we had purchased ‘product care’ as it was out of the 2 year warranty. An equivalent fridge will now see us approximately $400 out of pocket. Very disappointing and inconvenient, clearly cheap components used. Show details

Was very noisy from the start, then died after 25 months – We bought this in December 2019 as our 20+ year old Whirlpool fridge was too small. We loved that you could adjust the shelving heights in the doors and the good sized freezer drawers. It was quite noisy compared to our old beast which was worrying at times because it gave the impression that it might be dying. This came and went randomly. As… Read more

others have described in these reviews, the thing started beeping in the middle of the night, freezer control lights flashing, defrosting and then death.

Customer support was very nice and organised tech who came out that afternoon. Compressor dead, gas leaked and tech put in claim for store credit (don’t believe them if they tell you no warranty after 2 years - compressor has 5 and you still have your Australian Consumer Law rights).

Long story short, this was over 2 weeks ago now and I had contact with Electrolux a week later who said credit was organised with store 2 days after the fridge died, yet no one let me know and the store had no record when I called. My last email query has gone unanswered after a week and the store which supposedly the credit is, went underwater in the floods. Pretty frustrated, really could use a bigger fridge in the current disaster situation in the Northern Rivers.

One word - Noisey – I would not recommend this fridge for inside the house use. Should be ok in the garage due to constant excessive noise. When I first started it up I thought that's pretty noisey but it does need to get cold quickly as it's only brand new so left it do it's thing. As I went about my day in the house I noticed my ears had high pitched ringing in… Read more

them like that noise you get after someone bangs something really loud in your ears and that hissing noise is in your brain. I realised it was the fridge because this thing did not quieten down after it had cooled. Nor did it settle down throughout the night when I was laying in bed and could hear it down the hallway or in the morning when I walked into the kitchen thinking I had stepped back into the 60s when fridges were in their infancy stages. How did they let this out of the research and development area and into production?? I could understand in a commercial kitchen on a business premises this would be acceptable but in a house where people sleep and read and enjoy time out from the world.

Pros - Quality of seals and plastics seem ok and not as flimsy as say a Hair. - Handles seem sturdy (we only had it a day though) however door has suction and hard to open so handles need some hard pulling can foresee some future breakage happening. - Nicely organised inside. - Freezer has ice tray with ok size ice blocks. - 5 star power efficiency - However the manual says the motor maybe noisey because of the economical highspeed motor technology. Eg you save power but suffer loss of hearing and sleep in the process.

Cons - For us at least the child safe lockable compartment was a complete waste of usable space and should have been an open compartment. - In true old school style when you shut the fridge door and try to open it again a vacuum is created and you can't open the door again straight away without pulling the entire fridge across the floor and out of the fridge area as you pull the handle not sure how long the handles will last with that much pull on them. - I don't know if I mentioned it above (joke) but this is the noisiest fridge I have every owned. It is always making noise.

Told jbhifi to take it back as it was in the 30 day change of mind period. Ended up with another Hisense.

Really disappointing – Another update: the fridge couldn’t be fixed and it was taken to the tip. Do not recommend Update: Westinghouse ended up being quick to rectify this issue. I bought this fridge based off the brand! However, here I am with a dud. The freezer went first and now the fridge section. I called to notify and was told due to where I live no one can… Read more

fix it, Electrolux lady told me “ that’s what you get” for living remote

The fridge is very disappointing but even more so Electrolux customer service was a shock. Not only was I told this is what I get. But when I said they HAVE to get someone out to fix it she said they won’t because it’s not worth it and costs too much . I said that’s not my problem (which it isn’t because it’s their faulty product) she replied “ well it is”

It’s NOT my problem. I’ll be asking for money today as there is no other solution and a fridge is a necessity!

Westinghouse used to be better than this! Not the trusted brand it used to be. Will not be buying the same brand due to distrust and I won’t be buying anything Electrolux due to the rudeness yesterday.

The worst fridge we have owned – Bought in March 2020. Died in the first 4 weeks. The day before Good Friday. We had about $300 worth of food to be thrown out. Brand new replacement died March 2021 - less than 12 months. Noisy compressor and motor. You know something isn’t right when you can hear it from your bedroom upstairs in the middle of the night. Electrolux (they own… Read more

Westinghouse) were very good in response time but getting any assistance from The Good Guys is a farce. The 5 Year Concierge Gold service we paid for was a rort. Our first Westinghouse fridge was inherited from my parents and lasted 30 years with no issues. It’s not what we expected for the price we paid.

Noisy all the time – Received our new Westinghouse fridge today after replacing a 30yr old fridge . Fridge is in a wall cavity and all you can here in the kitchen is the constant fan like noise from the fridge . The door is also incredibly hard to open . Terribly disappointed with the purchase Great layout inside though Show details

Freezer is Faulty – Wish I had read these reviews before purchasing The freezer alarm keeps going off. Set it to the correct temperature as per the manual, but every time you add something you have to set the "quick freeze" function otherwise the alarm sounds. You need to push this 2 to 3 times over a 3 hour period and this has not even stopped the alarm from… Read more

sounding after being set 3 times in a row. I finally discover you can disable the alarm for 12 hours. Guess what, it went off again after 12 hours :( . I have had ice cream in the freezer for 30 hours since purchased and it is softer than when I bought it from the supermarket. This fridge is a dud. I'll be contacting there customer support as soon as I can.

One star is too generous for such an awful fridge – Wow, where to begin as I'm still a loss for words regarding this Westinghouse unit. We previously had a Daewoo 520L fridge which lasted for 10 years. It gave out towards the end of Feb this year 2020 but prior to that, the only issue we had was the light bulb being dud. So last end of Feb 2020 we purchased a Westinghouse WBE5300BB and it went well… Read more

at the start. One day in May which was a little over 2 months later, we noticed the control panel flicking and the compressor seemed to be a little noisier than usual. By the end of the day, the freezer stopped cooling and you can imagine the frozen stuff starting to thaw. Good thing I had large, plastic storage bins and I filled them up with ice to keep the food chilled. By night the fridge section was no longer cold as well. By the next morning, the compressor was noticeably louder and it reminded me of a large can being dragged on the floor. So we called Electrolux and the tech came 2 days later. I swear he spent like 5 seconds in the house when he heard the fridge and said the compressor was busted. So, replacement unit came 3 days later...and yes I bought bags of ice until it arrived.

3 months later.....last Sept 6 2020, the same thing happened. Lights on the panel were flicking, the compressor was noticeably louder and the freezer started to thaw. By Monday, I had to buy ice again and the tubs were helping us keep the food chilled. Tuesday, the tech came and he opened up a panel inside the fridge. He said that it had a gas leak. Even the tech himself said and I quote: "For 2 brand new fridges to fail within a span of 6 months is completely unheard off. Unbelievable." He recommended a replacement fridge and immediately my wife said that she was going for a full refund. It's Wednesday now, I'll be buying ice later to refill the tubs. But the good news is my wife was able to get the refund and the new fridge is coming tomorrow (Thursday). NO! It's definitely not a Westinghouse.

If you value your money, if you value your sanity and you don't want any stress; STAY AWAY from this awful fridge. If the option to give zero stars was there and yet leave a review; I wish. Don't be deceived by seeing 4 or 5 stars here in there when you search for this model online. Trust me, you will get that amount of stars only in headaches that this fridge will bring.

Incompetent product – Had purchased this fridge in Feb 2020 and had broken down in 2 weeks with gas leak. Got a replacement with new stock, which ran for 4 months before becoming dud with same problem again. Have been informed that there is no stock and will get a store credit instead. Stuck in stage 4 lock-down with no fridge and worst possible customer service I have… Read more

faced. Hope the company revisit this model and provides atleast a viable product for its customers, for the price they are being charged.

I should have read the reviews first!! – Avoid avoid avoid. Bought this fridge at the end 2019 and by April it had broken down. Was issued a loan fridge and waited a further 2 months for a replacement to become available. When we had enough of waiting we were told by Electrolux that we were not eligible for a refund. After reading up on my consumer rights and calling them again, my right… Read more

to a refund was not refused.

Note - fridge was purchased at Harvey Norman and their customer service was abysmal.

Brokedown after few months – I bought this fridge less than five months ago and it has already breakdown. The freezer has stopped cooling. I have lost all my food!! In all my life of owning fridges, this has never happened before! I have contact customer support and asked them to send someone as an emergency issue but nobody contacts me yet !! Show details

NOT Frost Free - needs monthly defrosting – We need to defrost the freezer every month or two. The ice builds up to the point the vents get blocked and the tops of shelves have a line of thick ice on them. We had a repairman from Westinghouse come out and he told us the ice build-up was because we had extra ice trays in the freezer. The freezer drawers are also not designed to be removed.… Read more

This makes defrosting and cleaning very difficult. The top drawer's clip is now broken after we have removed it twice (using the technique demonstrated to us by the technician.)

The original fridge they delivered also lacked gas so they had to replace the whole unit as it never cooled.

Overall, very unimpressed - would not buy a Westinghouse again.

Door Handle keeps breaking, Noisy – I would not recommend this fridge as the door handle of the fridge keeps breaking and already been replaced twice. Cheap plastic handle and Westinghouse cannot provide a better solution. I am surprised how they can overlook such a critical component (door handle) that's used so many times a day. Very much frustrated with the claim handling process… Read more

and they don't even have a record of replacement parts and not willing to help anymore and blaming the misuse on our part.