Ice maker
Frigidaire Ice Maker Not Working: Fill Valve First, Then the Frozen Tube, Then the Module
Frigidaire ice makers stop over water delivery more than mechanism: weeping fill valves, frozen fill tubes, starved flow. The check order that works.
Formerly Adam & Sam Brothers RepairIce makers · Kenmore, WA 98028
Ice maker repair in Kenmore, the city and the brand
Yes, we fix a lot of Kenmore refrigerators in Kenmore. The badge hides three different manufacturers, and the model number tells us which ice maker we are dealing with before we leave the shop, 12–15 minutes away.
- Drive time
- 12–15 minutes via Ballinger Way and Bothell Way
- Water
- Northshore Utility District, all Tolt supply in 2025, very soft
- Housing
- About 62% built 1960–99; roughly 63% detached houses
- $85 diagnosticBecomes part of the repair price when you say yes. If you pass on the repair, that visit is all you pay.
- Up to $18 offAny repair requested through the online form. The diagnostic itself is never reduced.
- $10 offA second appliance’s diagnostic when we check it during the same trip.
The coincidence never gets old for us. Kenmore refrigerators were never built by a company called Kenmore; they were made under contract, and the digits before the dot in the model number name the builder. A model starting with 106 was made by Whirlpool, 795 by LG, and 253 by Frigidaire. Each of those families has its own ice maker design and its own habits when it fails, so the first thing we ask a Kenmore caller with a Kenmore fridge is to read us the number on that label. It usually sits on the upper side wall inside the fresh-food section. The serial number next to it is useful too, since on most models it tells us roughly when the refrigerator was built.
The city itself is a good match for those refrigerators. Kenmore was platted after the war, with Inglewood in 1953 and Uplake in 1954, then grew through the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s; roughly 28% of homes date from 1960–79 and 34% from 1980–99. Kitchens in Arrowhead, Kenlake Vista and Linwood Heights were updated in the years when side-by-sides with door ice were the standard choice, and a lot of those dispensers are still working, or trying to. About 13% of homes sit in mid-size apartment buildings of 20 to 49 units, mostly near downtown, where the refrigerator came with the unit and the tenant is usually the one who notices the empty bin.
Kenmore ice makers by the number on the tag
106 side-by-side: bin nearly empty while a status light blinks
- Likely cause
- Infrared ice-level sensor across the bin dirty, frosted or failed
- What we do
- Read the blink code, then clean or replace the emitter and receiver boards
106 model: the maker cycles an empty mold for days
- Likely cause
- Frozen fill tube, our most common finding on Whirlpool-built units
- What we do
- Thaw and protect the tube and test the dual inlet valve for a slow drip
795 model: door ice compartment frosted, cubes welded, auger groaning
- Likely cause
- Compartment seal or freezer air duct letting humid kitchen air in
- What we do
- Clear the ice, then restore the seal so it does not frost over again
795 model: ice output tapering off over several months
- Likely cause
- Cooling falling behind, sometimes an early sign of a weakening linear compressor
- What we do
- Check the whole cooling system before replacing any ice part
253 model: thin cubes at first, then none
- Likely cause
- Fill valve barely opening or the mold thermostat failing
- What we do
- Flow-test the valve, check the thermostat and replace whichever fails
Any badge: switch on, arm down, still no harvest
- Likely cause
- Freezer above about 5°F, or the shutoff partly closed
- What we do
- Thermometer first, then the shutoff and filter, before any parts
Working on ice makers around Kenmore
The 795 family deserves a word of its own. These Kenmore Elite models share LG's in-door ice design and its linear compressor. Because an ice maker only harvests once its mold is cold enough, lazy ice is often the first sign that a freezer is losing ground, months before the fresh-food side feels warm. On a tapering 795 we measure the cooling system before quoting any ice part. If the problem turns out to be sealed-system work, our own technicians handle it in-house under EPA Section 608 rules. Garage-kept 253 models show a seasonal version of the same idea: ice that quits in summer heat and returns in fall, which is a temperature story rather than a broken part.
Kenmore's water comes from the Northshore Utility District, which drew all of it from the Tolt River in 2025. The district does not publish a hardness figure, but Tolt water tests at little more than a grain of hardness per gallon, so mineral scale is rarely our suspect. Filters matter more: if ice production dropped right after a cartridge change, tell us which brand went in, because aftermarket cartridges do not all flow the same and a poorly seated one can block the line.
We reach most of the city in 12–15 minutes off-peak, coming over Ballinger Way and along Bothell Way past the Kenmore Air Harbor. That covers the hillside streets of Inglewood, Uplake Terrace and Northshore Summit, the Moorlands, the neighborhoods near Saint Edward State Park, and the apartment buildings near downtown along 68th Avenue NE. From Log Boom Park on the lake to Bastyr University up the hill, the whole city falls within that drive. Kenmore is on Puget Sound Energy for electricity, and after the November 2024 windstorm, when PSE counted more than 400,000 customers in the dark, the aftermath was hard on ice makers: outages that long are exactly when bins freeze into a single block and augers jam.
Kenmore ice maker repair: starting prices
Because the parts come from the company that built the refrigerator, most Kenmore ice components are as easy to source as their Whirlpool, LG or Frigidaire counterparts, and several ride on our van. Kenmore ice maker repair starts at $295. A full ice maker assembly, a frozen fill tube thawed and protected (the classic finding on 106 models) and a failed water inlet valve are the jobs behind most of those calls. That figure is not your quote; it is where pricing begins in our area. The $85 visit identifies the failure and which maker built your refrigerator, you see the exact amount in writing, and once you approve it the diagnostic stops being a separate charge.
- Frozen fill line thawed and protectedfrom $295
- Ice maker fill valvefrom $295
- Ice maker assemblyfrom $295
- Diagnostic visit$85, included in the repair
- Second appliance, same visit$10 off its diagnostic
Starting prices for the north Seattle area, 2026. The $85 diagnostic is included in any repair you approve, and the exact price is in the written estimate before work starts.
Keep the Kenmore, or replace it?
Most Kenmore ice repairs are easy calls. A frozen tube, an inlet valve or an ice level sensor on a 106 side-by-side costs a small fraction of a new refrigerator, and those cabinets often run for many more years. The 253 Frigidaire-built models are similar: valve and thermostat failures involve inexpensive parts, go quickly and do not signal anything worse. The 795 family is where we slow down. If the ice slowed because the compressor is weakening, an ice maker part will not hold, and the real question becomes whether a sealed-system repair makes sense on that refrigerator's age. We give you both numbers. In Kenmore's 1970s and 1980s kitchens, the opening is usually standard width and depth, so replacing is less disruptive than in a custom remodel, which is worth knowing when the repair price is high.
Common questions
Where is the model number on a Kenmore refrigerator?
Look inside the fresh-food section, usually on the upper left or right side wall, sometimes on the ceiling near the light. It is a printed label with a number like 106, 795 or 253 followed by a dot and more digits. Read it to us when you call or type it into the booking form; that prefix tells us which manufacturer's ice maker you have.
Can you still get parts for Kenmore ice makers?
In most cases, yes. The ice makers, valves and sensors inside Kenmore refrigerators are the builder's own parts, so they are sourced the same way as Whirlpool, LG or Frigidaire parts. Older or less common models occasionally have discontinued parts; if yours does, we tell you before any work begins.
My Kenmore Elite's ice has been slowing down for months. Is it the ice maker?
Maybe not. On 795 models, a gradual slowdown is often the cooling system losing capacity rather than the ice maker failing. We put a thermometer in the freezer, check the evaporator and condenser fans, and look at how the compressor behaves before suggesting a new module. That order saves you from buying a part that will not fix the slowdown.
Do you cover all of Kenmore?
Yes, from Inglewood and the Moorlands to Kenlake Vista, Arrowhead and the streets around Saint Edward State Park. Kenmore is 12–15 minutes up the road when traffic is light, with no extra charge for distance, and a morning call, Monday to Saturday, usually means a same-day visit.
Is Kenmore water hard on ice makers?
No. Northshore Utility District delivers Tolt River water, which is among the softest in the region, so scale buildup inside valves or molds is uncommon. Cloudy ice comes from trapped air, and an odd taste usually means the filter is overdue or the cubes have been sitting in the bin too long.
Talk to Adam & Sam
Kenmore fridge, Kenmore address, empty ice bin: call us with the model number, or put it in the online booking form and up to $18 is taken off the repair. The $85 diagnostic is counted toward the repair as soon as you approve it.
From Sam’s repair notes
Ice maker
Kenmore Ice Maker Not Working: Three Manufacturers, Three Fix Lists
Your Kenmore ice maker's real builder (Whirlpool, LG or Frigidaire) sets the diagnosis: fill tubes and optics on 106s, ice-room icing on 795s, valves on 253s.
Ice maker
LG Ice Maker Not Working: Frozen Fill Tubes, Starved Water Lines and the In-Door Trap
LG French-door ice makers fail in predictable ways: frozen fill tubes, clogged filters starving the flow, iced-up in-door ice rooms and tired fill valves.
Schedule a repair
Request a visit from Adam & Sam
Send the basics and we call you back with an arrival window, most days the same morning.
- $85 diagnostic Becomes part of the repair price when you say yes. If you pass on the repair, that visit is all you pay.
- Up to $18 off Any repair requested through the online form. The diagnostic itself is never reduced.
- $10 off A second appliance’s diagnostic when we check it during the same trip.