SaferProducts incident

Failure type

Fire / ignition

Incident narrative

SaferProducts.gov consumer incident report 20250402-EA8DF-2147332144. Severity: Incident, No Injury. Product: Whirlpool Refrigerator WRT318FZDW02 (Whirlpool Refrigerator, white, 18.2 cu ft). Incident: Purchased a new Whirlpool refrigerator and kept hearing loud Popping since day 1. We reported it to the Lowe's store where purchased, we were reassured that's it's normal because she had the same one and hers did it too. We didn't agree, because we have never heard a refrigerator do that before. So, now after 5 years the refrigerator begins to not hold the cold in the freezer and the in the refrigerator, also started smelling something coming from the refrigerator. We went to Lowe's with our paperwork, only to find out that we no longer have warranty. We purchased the 3 year extended and the product has a one year. Found out, you actually do not get the four years; the one year manufacturer runs at the same time as the extended. So, only 3 years if what you get as far as warranty. Didn't help us! As the person, who Lowe's recommend as a repair service to come check the refrigerator. They said, they didn't have one, but there was a couple in town. She didn't know if they would travel out of town to where we lived. We finally called a repair person out of Albuquerque to come check the refrigerator. We explained the situation to him. He said, the loud popping was not normal, maybe small noises when cooling. He checked the temperature in the freezer. He found out that only one side of the freezer was freezing. It was actually building up ice on that side. (It's a frost free) He continued to remove the inside freezer panel. He found that it was burning and melting the inside. (fire hazard) The refrigerator could not be repaired in this condition. He said, he could try to refill