Can we talk about those new Samsung ice maker boards failing after a year?

Just swapped my third one this month, all in fridges under 18 months old. The customer said it started making a grinding noise before it quit, which is new. Has anyone else seen this specific failure pattern?

3 comments

3 Comments

victorcoleman3mo ago

Could the grinding noise be from the motor itself or is it something else getting caught? I wonder if they changed the plastic gears in the newer models to something weaker. Had one last week where the gear teeth were completely stripped, which would explain the noise before it died. Feels like they're using cheaper parts across the board now.

spencerl321mo agoMost Upvoted

I saw a teardown video on YouTube last month where a guy compared the old gears to the new ones side by side. The newer gears were noticeably thinner and had less material around the teeth. He said they switched from a nylon blend to a cheaper acrylic plastic around 2023. That would explain why they strip out faster even with normal use. The motor itself on those models was still fine in his test, it was always the gear that gave out first. So I think you're right, they definitely cheaped out on those parts.

finleyk873mo ago

@victorcoleman, which model year had the stripped gear?