Broken ice maker on a Whirlpool, KitchenAid, Maytag or JennAir fridge? Here's whether the settlement covers you, and what the repair should cost

By Parker Berg, co-founder of RepairAble · Published

Ice maker failures are the most common refrigerator repair in RepairAble's data, accounting for nearly half of all refrigerator calls. For owners of certain Whirlpool-made side-by-side refrigerators, a class action settlement may cover the cost of the repair. The deadline to claim for past failures is November 2, 2026.

Here's everything you need to know, in plain English.

The short version

  • In RepairAble's field study of 305 refrigerator repair calls from an appliance repair company in the Jackson, Mississippi metro area, 48% involved the ice maker, the single most common refrigerator repair by a wide margin.
  • Whirlpool settled a class action, Costa v. Whirlpool Corp., over an alleged freezer-door wire harness defect that can disable one or more in-door features (the ice maker, ice dispenser, water dispenser or control panel) on certain side-by-side refrigerators manufactured from 2018 to 2021 and sold under the Whirlpool, Maytag, KitchenAid and JennAir brands.
  • The court granted final approval in July 2026. Benefits include free repairs and partial cash reimbursement.
  • The deadline to claim for a failure that happened before May 5, 2026 is November 2, 2026.
  • If yours failed after May 5, 2026, contact Whirlpool or the settlement administrator within 90 days and before you pay anyone to fix it.
  • If you're not covered, an ice maker repair in RepairAble's data runs $90 to $425, averaging $263.
  • To see the likely cause and cost of your refrigerator problem before booking a repair, get a free diagnosis from RepairAble.

Is it just me, or do ice makers seem to break all the time?

It's not just you. In RepairAble's field study of 305 refrigerator repair calls (June 2025 to September 2026), 48% involved the ice maker, not the refrigerator's cooling system.

The failure most people dread, a fridge that stops getting cold, made up only about 6% of calls. Most of the rest was frost and drainage, water supply, leaks and door seals.

Why the ice maker? On many modern refrigerators, the ice maker and water dispenser sit in the door, with water lines, a valve and wiring running through a door that opens and closes many times a day. More moving parts and more water mean more points of failure.

One more number from the same study: Whirlpool-made brands (Whirlpool, KitchenAid, Maytag and Amana) made up about 39% of the refrigerator calls. This reflects how common these brands are, not how often they break, and it's why this settlement affects so many households.

Source: RepairAble Research, Working Paper 2026-01, Refrigerator Failure Patterns in Independent Appliance Repair (September 2026).

Does the Whirlpool settlement cover my refrigerator?

Your refrigerator is likely covered by the Costa v. Whirlpool settlement if all four of these are true:

  • It's a side-by-side refrigerator, with the freezer on one side and the fridge on the other.
  • It was sold under the Whirlpool, Maytag, KitchenAid or JennAir brand.
  • It was manufactured between 2018 and 2021.
  • The ice maker, ice dispenser, water dispenser or door control panel stopped working because wires in the freezer door broke.

Not every model from those years qualifies, so check your serial number on the official settlement website, RefrigeratorSettlement.com. The serial number is usually on a label inside the refrigerator compartment.

French-door and bottom-freezer refrigerators are not part of this settlement. Whirlpool has separate settlements for other defects, so make sure you're filing under the right case.

How do I know if it's the wire harness and not the ice maker itself?

The pattern described in the lawsuit: the refrigerator keeps cooling, but one or more of the features in the freezer door (the ice maker, ice dispenser, water dispenser or control panel) stop working. The lawsuit alleged that wires at or near the freezer door hinge can break under normal use, cutting power to those features.

Other problems can cause similar symptoms, including a failed ice maker, a faulty water inlet valve or a frozen water line. Those aren't covered by this settlement, but they are repairable, and typical costs are listed below.

Source: official class notice; class counsel case summary.

What can I get from the Whirlpool settlement?

The U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware granted final approval of the Costa v. Whirlpool settlement in July 2026. According to class counsel, it covers roughly 850,000 owners and is valued at more than $26 million.

What you can claim depends on where you are:

  • You already paid for a repair or replacement. You can claim partial cash reimbursement of roughly 30% to 75% of what you paid. The highest rates, up to 75% of a repair or up to 50% of a replacement, apply to failures in the first few years if you notified Whirlpool before paying. Rates are lower if you didn't notify Whirlpool, and they decline for failures in years 5 to 7.
  • It's broken and you haven't fixed it yet. You can choose a free repair (parts and labor for failures in years 2 to 4, parts only in years 5 to 7) or a cash reimbursement of 30% to 50% of the original purchase price after buying a qualifying replacement refrigerator.
  • It breaks in the future. Failures between years 2 and 7 after the in-service date are eligible for the same repair or reimbursement benefits, as long as you report them within 90 days.

The exact percentages for each year are listed in the official class notice at RefrigeratorSettlement.com. Review them before you file.

Don't pay for a repair until you read this

The order of steps matters here.

If your wire harness failed after May 5, 2026, you need to act within 90 days of the failure and before any repair or replacement. To request the free repair, contact Whirlpool at 1-844-667-2929 or refset2026@whirlpool.com. To request cash reimbursement instead, contact the settlement administrator at info@RefrigeratorSettlement.com. Paying for a repair first, including through us, can reduce or eliminate the benefit.

If your refrigerator may be covered, we recommend contacting Whirlpool or the settlement administrator first. If you qualify, the settlement may cover some or all of the repair cost. RepairAble can still help you diagnose the issue in a few minutes and, if the settlement doesn't apply, connect you with an independent repair technician.

What are the deadlines for the Whirlpool refrigerator settlement?

  • Failure before May 5, 2026: file your claim by November 2, 2026, online or by mail postmarked by that date.
  • Failure after May 5, 2026: within 90 days of the failure and before any repair, contact Whirlpool for the repair benefit or the settlement administrator for cash reimbursement.

How do I file a claim?

  1. Go to RefrigeratorSettlement.com and check your serial number.
  2. Gather what you have: receipts for any repair you paid for, and photos of the broken wires if you can get them. Photos of failed wires are accepted as documentation.
  3. File online, or mail a paper claim form to the settlement administrator at 1650 Arch Street, Suite 2210, Philadelphia, PA 19103. The exact addressee is printed on the claim form.

You don't need a lawyer. Questions go to the settlement administrator at 1-877-335-4279 or info@RefrigeratorSettlement.com.

My fridge isn't covered. What should an ice maker repair cost?

In RepairAble's data, priced ice maker repairs averaged $263 and ranged from $90 to $425. They fall into two groups:

  • $90 to $175: cleaning or a minor fix, no parts needed.
  • $275 to $425: a real part, like a water inlet valve, an ice module or a cutting grid, plus labor.

Labor averaged $144. Parts averaged $171 when a part was needed.

These figures are a benchmark from itemized ice maker invoices, not a quote. Which group a repair falls into depends on the cause, which is why it helps to know the likely problem before booking a visit.

Source: RepairAble Research, Working Paper 2026-01 (September 2026).

How RepairAble helps

RepairAble helps you understand the problem before anyone comes over.

Tell us what's going on with your appliance, and in about two minutes, RepairAble shows you the likely problem, the part, what it should cost, and how confident we are, before anyone comes over. If you want it fixed, we'll connect you with a trusted independent repair pro.

If your symptoms match the wire harness pattern on a covered 2018 to 2021 side-by-side, contact Whirlpool or the settlement administrator first. If it's anything else, you'll know what you're dealing with and what a fair price looks like.

Get your free diagnosis

Frequently asked questions

Is the Whirlpool wire harness settlement a recall? No. It's a class action settlement, not a recall. You have to file a claim to get anything.

Does Whirlpool admit the wires are defective? No. Whirlpool denies that the wire harness is defective and denies any wrongdoing. The case was settled without the court deciding who was right.

Do I need a lawyer to file? No. You can file directly at RefrigeratorSettlement.com or by mail.

Does the settlement cover French-door refrigerators? No. This settlement covers certain side-by-side models only.

Is Kenmore covered? The official settlement lists four brands: Whirlpool, Maytag, KitchenAid and JennAir.

My fridge stopped getting cold. Is that covered? No. The wire harness failure affects the features in the door, not cooling. A fridge that stops cooling is a different problem, and in RepairAble's data it's a much less common one, about 6% of calls.

My ice maker broke, but my fridge is from 2016. Can I claim? Not under this settlement, which covers refrigerators manufactured from 2018 to 2021. See the repair costs above for what a fix should run.

Sources: settlement answers are based on the official class notice and RefrigeratorSettlement.com; repair figures are from RepairAble Research, Working Paper 2026-01.

About the data

The repair figures on this page come from RepairAble Research, Working Paper 2026-01, Refrigerator Failure Patterns in Independent Appliance Repair (September 24, 2026). For this study, RepairAble analyzed 305 refrigerator service records, drawn from 2,747 service jobs completed between June 2025 and September 2026, from Reservoir Appliance Repair, an appliance repair company and RepairAble partner serving the Jackson, Mississippi metropolitan area, the state's largest. We selected this partner because its caseload combines a 60/40 balance of home warranty and private-pay work. Cost benchmarks are drawn from the partner's itemized ice maker invoices (n = 10). The figures describe this partner's caseload and are not a manufacturer reliability rating.

Read the full working paper

Suggested citation: RepairAble Research (2026). Refrigerator Failure Patterns in Independent Appliance Repair: A Field Study of Service-Call Composition, Brand Distribution, and Repair Cost. Working Paper No. 2026-01, Version 1.0. Field data: Reservoir Appliance Repair, Jackson, MS metropolitan area.

Sources

This page is general information, not legal advice. Settlement terms are set by the court and can change. Always check RefrigeratorSettlement.com for the official terms before you file.