Costs · Kirkland
Freezer Not Holding 0°F: Which Band It Lands In
A freezer not holding 0°F is one whose food has warmed above the setting while the unit keeps running. The repair can land in any of four bands, together spanning $300–$3,190, and the cheaper causes are ruled out before the dearest is named. Sub-Zero Repair Kirkland, (425) 699-2400.
- Term
- Not holding 0°F
- Band
- $300–$3,1904 bands, lowest to highest
- Tell
- Ice cream goes soft and frozen packs give under a thumb, yet the compressor can be heard running.
| Band | Covers | Range |
|---|---|---|
| Evaporator or condenser fan motor | The fan behind the freezer wall, or the one cooling the machine bay | $300–$690 |
| Defrost heater, thermostat or sensor | Heater, terminating thermostat or temperature sensor on the freezer coil | $300–$680 |
| Electronic control board | The board that reads the sensors and runs the fans, defrost and compressor | $440–$930 |
| Compressor or sealed-system repair | Compressor, leak, restriction or recharge — anything inside the refrigerant loop | $1,500–$3,190 |
Service call The $89 visit covers coming out and diagnosing the fault in full, and all $89 comes back to you as a credit on any repair you go ahead with.
Four bands, cheapest first
Sub-Zero’s own list for a warm freezer names a fan, a sensor or thermostat, the sealed system and the door seal. On the bill those become four bands, and they are worked through in this order.
Fan motor. The fan behind the freezer wall moves air over the cold coil; a second fan cools the condenser. When either slows or stops, the coil can be cold while the food is not. The evaporator fan motor cost page covers the first of the two.
Defrost. A coil packed with frost lets too little air through, and the compartment drifts upward even though the compressor keeps running.
Control board. The board reads the sensors and switches everything else. A display that disagrees with a thermometer can point here, but the sensors are metered before the board is condemned.
Sealed system. A leak, a restriction or a failed compressor. A unit that runs almost without pause and still warms can mean this, and it is concluded last, after gauges, never guessed first.
The causes that need no repair
Before any band, rule out the free ones. The set point may simply have been raised. A door or drawer may not be closing against a package or a basket. A load of groceries just put away lifts the temperature for a while. A condenser matted with dust, by Sub-Zero’s own account, can cost the unit temperature. On a side-by-side freezer section the freezer can be switched off on its own, and a section disabled by mistake reads warm with nothing broken.
Measuring it properly
A number on the display is what the control thinks. The number that counts comes from a thermometer standing in a glass of oil, halfway back and halfway up the compartment, left for twelve hours. If that reading is still high after the checks, a freezer repair visit finds which of the four bands applies.
Check these before you call
- 01
Check the set point. Electronic panels ship at 0°F; on a dial control Sub-Zero puts the setting between 4 and 6.
- 02
Sink a thermometer's bulb in a glass of cooking oil, set it mid-compartment, and wait a full 12 hours before you read it.
- 03
Make sure every door and drawer shuts fully with nothing in the way, and that the unit is not in Showroom or Sabbath mode.
Still wrong after that? Sub-Zero Repair Kirkland, (425) 699-2400 — visits eight till eight, every day.
Field log
Priced, fixed, signed off.
What Kirkland owners wrote after the figure was agreed and the work was done.
4.9 / 51,161 reviews
Back wall frosted over again within a week of every clearing. Defrost terminator open, drain tube frozen at the base. Both sorted in one visit and no frost since.
Pernille D.Houghton
Water ran down the inside back wall and froze into a ramp under the ice drawer. The fill tube heater had failed. He replaced it, checked the fill volume and tidied up the mess unasked.
Sunniva B.Bridle Trails
Our column drifted warm for a month and two other outfits said replace it. He found a defrost thermistor reading nonsense and a drain packed with sludge. One afternoon of work. A star off because the part arrived late.
Tobias Q.Juanita
Next step
Say what the unit is doing. The band comes before the bill.
Have the model number from the rating plate and a line on what the unit is doing. The visit is $89, the fault is named and priced inside its published band, and nothing is replaced until you agree the figure.