I have a typical KitchenAid French door refrigerator with a bottom pull out freezer. Its about 10 years old and has been very good at keeping our food fresh. My wife would say that the freezer is on the small side, and I think it could have been a little bigger myself. Fast forward 10 years and it would appear that this exact model is still being made and sold under many different brand names. Unfortunately we are having a freezer door issue.
Freezer Door Issue
Last night I opened the freezer and there was frost building up on the left side. After a quick inspection I noticed the door was not fully closing on the left. There was about 1/8″ gap at the top of the door and the seal.
After an exhausting Google/Youtube search I kept coming up empty. Search results had shown fixes for some bottom draw freezers, mostly GE models. These units had set screws and adjusters to help align the door, my unit has no such adjustment.
I then started trolling the appliance fix-it sites and message boards and read old posts stating that the freezer draw may need new rails, or the device at the back of the rail that pulls the door firmly closed cold be broken. On my unit when the draw has about 2″ to go mechanisms on the end of the rails pull the door tightly closed.
My Troubleshooting Steps
I started by looking for the obvious
- Did any food fall behind the draw causing the draw not to close?
- Is there any food in the draw that is preventing the draw to close?
- Any ice build up on the rails or the back of the rail stopping the draw from reaching the close position?
- I pulled the bottom draw out and simply closed the door with no food or weight, same result.
- Are the rails bent? Are they properly lubricated? Nope they look OK
I was about to give up and order a set of rails to replace the existing, so I started to price them on various appliance websites and came across an interesting post.
How I fixed this with no tools (well one tool)
The post I found was on Sears parts direct forum and it simply stated to place a BOOK in the door on the GOOD side and then slam the door shut. WHAT? You have to be kidding me really?
Well if its broken already, how much worse could I possibly make it?
I borrowed one of my kids history text books and, well the rest is history. A quick slam of the door, and what sounded like a gear skipping a few teeth and POOF! DONE! FIXED!
I’m sure there is a better way to get this done, maybe taking the draw completely out. Then taking the door off the rails and reseating it. might have worked.
I can’t say I recommend this method of freezer door repair, and your mileage may vary, but it worked for me. Please don’t complain or yell at me if you break your freezer door trying this fix.
Thank you for reading my post.
-Joe