Consumer Reports Names Popular French-Door Refrigerator Brands You'll Want To Avoid

In the market for a new refrigerator? If you're like the majority of homeowners, you may have your eye on a French door style fridge. With its accessibility and sleek appearance, the French door style has become one of the most popular refrigerator styles in recent years. According to surveys from Consumer Reports, refrigerators with French doors made up 57% of fridge purchases in 2024 and 2025. That's despite the fact that there are often problems with French door refrigerators, including issues with the ice makers, broken compressors, and low reliability in general.

Based on its survey results, Consumer Reports ranked French door refrigerators from most to least reliable. And, the results may surprise you, since a few of the lowest-ranked brands are usually known for having reliable appliances. At the bottom of the list are popular brands including Samsung, Kenmore, and Electrolux. Another brand, Dacor, also scored poorly among Consumer Reports members. Among the top-rated brands for French door refrigerators are Thermador, Fisher & Paykel, and Bosch.

Although you depend on your home's refrigerator to keep fresh food fresh and cool, the truth is that most fridges aren't that dependable. Consumer Reports found that nearly half of all refrigerators purchased over the past 11 years had some sort of problem, including trouble with the ice maker or a broken compressor.

Among those with the most reported problems were Samsung's French door refrigerators. In 2022, the Consumer Product Safety Commission investigated the brand following numerous complaints about its fridges' temperature regulation and ice maker functioning. To keep food appropriately cool and safe to eat, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration states that refrigerators must be kept at a temperature of 40 degrees Fahrenheit or cooler. Temperatures above 40 degrees can lead to spoiled food and foodborne illness.

Samsung has had a few years to improve the functioning of its refrigerators, but, per the survey results, the brand still misses the mark regarding reliability and owner satisfaction. French door models from Kenmore and Electrolux both scored lower than Samsung for reliability and owner satisfaction. If you have your heart set on a French door style refrigerator, you're better off choosing a brand with a higher customer satisfaction ranking. Another option, if reliability is the most important feature for you, is to skip the French door style entirely and opt for a top-freezer style fridge instead. While Samsung scores low for its French door fridges, it's among the top-ranked for top-freezer styles.