Kenmore Elite 79023 22.1 cu. ft. 2 Door Bottom-Freezer Refrigerator in Stainless Steel, includes delivery and hookup

We've had our new refrigerator for about a week now and are thrilled with our purchase. I was a bit skeptical purchasing a large appliance on Amazon, especially with the limited reviews (3) when I purchased, but I was pleasantly surprised with how everything worked out. The price was great for the quality of the fridge. The LED interior lighting is bright and modern, temperature control has been great, and it is very spacious. For awhile we looked at French door refrigerators but we were deterred by the price. We ultimately decided that a bottom freezer fridge with comparable features would work well for us and allow us to pay much less, and so far that has been the case. So far, there aren't any cons about the refrigerator to note, but I will be sure to update my review with any issues we encounter in the future. In terms of the delivery, the delivery guys were great, taking time to help me move my old refrigerator out of the way and get the old water line disconnected. They were very careful bringing the new fridge in and were more than willing to provide any needed assistance. If the price is right, I would definitely look to Amazon for an appliance purchase again in the future.

Updated review -- just over 7 years since purchasing. The five star rating and below words were true then, but as of a week ago thoroughly disappointed. A fridge should last longer than this; particularly one with such a good reputation. The unit stopped working entirely while I was on vacation. Rotted meats and veggies are a disgusting smell to which to return home. Repairman came out and said it was an issue that would cost about half the cost of a new one -- or more! Very distressing. Review written five years ago Love the fridge, it's quiet and very spacious. Split top shelf made it simple to arrange so that everything fits easily. Cheese drawer is good size and ideally located. Ice maker works good, and freezer divider -- along with some organizer containers I separately bought -- makes items visible & accessible. BEST of all, besides the good price, was the delivery service. These guys were on-time, wore booties to keep my wood floors clean, set everything up including ice maker and hauled away the old fridge. Super fast! VERY impressed; our experience was far better than other stores' appliance delivery services.

I bought this based on only seeing 3 people at the time had reviewed it and gave it 5 stars. I am SO happy with my purchase so far (it’s only been about 3 hours). The size is great. The lighting inside is nice. Sturdy shelves on the door. I like the adjustable split shelf. The main reason I went with this fridge was because of the full width pantry drawer! The vegetable drawers are a great size as well. Freezer is nicely setup too. I like that they left no area untouched. The very bottom shelf on the drawer which is small is perfect use of what could’ve been wasted space. I have our string cheese in there and it’s perfect height for the kids to get. If you have little ones like I do then you will appreciate that the door kind of suctions itself shut so it does take some muscle (not bad for an adult) to open. Big bonus is the door alarm!! If my little man opens it and it stays open for 60 seconds and I don’t notice then it will alarm. Over all very happy so far. BIG BONUS. The company that delivered it Innovative Delivery was on time, courteous, respectful and helpful!!

I bought this refrigerator because it was the size I needed and it had great reviews, even in Consumer Digest. It is less than 18 months old, I am a single individual so I know there’s no abuse to the shelving. I opened the refrigerator and noticed the crisper drawers hanging crooked. The plastic horizontal bracket/bar support behind the drawers is attached to a plastic rail that the drawers slide on. The horizontal support cracked causing the slide rail to snap off. I would describe it as a stress fracture. I called Sears. This Kenmore is built by Whirlpool. It has been out of warranty for six months but the good news is, per overseas operator, I can buy a replacement part for only $200. There is no way an 18 month old, $1200 ”Kenmore” refrigerator should need $200 in parts. And since I’m telling you how much I dislike this refrigerator right now, I have always disliked how loud it is and that it always sounds like there’s water running to it, even though there is no ice maker hooked up. Because of the sounds coming from this refrigerator, I wouldn’t be surprised if I have to replace it within a year. I wouldn’t waste my having it repaired. Very disappointed in the Kenmore name. See additional pictures and what I really think about this on Facebook!

Updated review: The first fridge we received had two separate issues found at different times - the door alarm pinged all the time, and the icemaker failed to make ice, although it sprayed frost all over everything in the freezer. I was NOT happy, but I do have to say this - Amazon customer service did an amazing job - confirmed they would do whatever I wanted (refund/replace/fix), and gave me a direct phone line so I could work with the same person throughout. We researched reviews & Consumer Reports, and I didn't see anything that is rated better, so replaced with the same brand/model. The replacement fridge arrived yesterday, and so far, all is working as it should. So I'm upgrading the review of the product from 2 stars to 4. A bit of an ordeal, but the service went a long way to counteract a very low initial rating. Note: installers appear to always be on an extremely tight schedule, so BE READY. Updated again: After a year, have to say the fridge works very well, layout is great, no complaints at all with product. Original comments: new fridge arrived today. It's beautiful, and is cooling as I type. However, the description says 'includes installation', except that the contractors who delivered refused to touch the water line (would neither disconnect the old one, nor connect the new one), so be prepared to do that yourself. Also, as soon as we plugged it in, it began pinging 5 times every 30 seconds. The installer informed us that that's how it's supposed to work (seriously! that's not a bug, it's a feature?) - so if you want to hear an electronic ping every 30 seconds for the next few years, buy this. Installer says if you don't like that, you can disable the door alarm (which I guess is an improvement over prior models that didn't provide a simple button to disable the alarm - try googling 'Kenmore Elite 79043 alarm rings every 30 seconds', and you'll see how happy that made a whole lot of people. This is not apparently a new issue.) So, I've disabled the door alarm and will call for service. I'll update to let you know if this gets resolved. For now, I'm not very happy. But to be fair, except for the install issue and the alarm, it seems like a nice fridge, based on the first 12 hours.

I needed to replace my old 19 CF refrigerator, and needed that size again because of the space in my kitchen, and there are only 3 models sold with bottom draw freezer in that size: Kenmore, Maytag and Whirlpool. Based on pictures they all look the same, but Consumer Reports rated Kenmore highest, and it was also least expensive so this is the one I decided on. I bought it on Amazon because it had quicker delivery than directly from Sears, and same price but included free hookup including ice-maker and free haul-away of the old unit. First the negatives: I needed a left-hand door, and the refrigerator typically is set up right-hand, but designed for easy change in the distribution center before delivery. It was really hard to figure out how to specify left-hand door with the Amazon order. I ultimately had to call 3 times to get someone to confirm it would be done left-hand. Second, when it was delivered the door had been damaged when the handle position was moved. Initially I agreed to have Kenmore send the parts to replace the door, but then thought better of it and accepted Amazon's offer to replace the whole refrigerator. I have decided not to post the photos here of the damage it was delivered with, since ultimately they made it right. Third, while waiting for the replacement unit, the refrigerator started making a grinding/crackling sound coming from the back of the unit (not inside) that clearly indicated something important was wrong. I didn't explore further since we were getting a replacement anyway. Both Amazon and Kenmore were very responsive re customer service, and I cannot say enough positive about the people - one at each place - who helped make things right. But still it was a pain. Regarding the refrigerator itself: It works well and keeps food cold. Ice-maker is working great so far. For a small refrigerator like this, having the pull-out drawer on the bottom is really great. Compared to my older unit (which was GE, but they no longer make this size) it has a much larger freezer space, but much smaller refrigerator space. The larger freezer space is nice, but I much prefer the larger refrigerator to freezer space. THis is really a small refrigerator unit. Finally, the temperature controller and light is at the top front of the refrigerator compartment - so it blocks moving things in and out easily. Its a surprisingly bad design that makes a small space even less usable - but from what I can see all 3 of the brands available are identical in the refrigerator/freezer space ratio and in placement of the thermostat/light. So if 19 CF bottom freezer is what you want, that is all that's available. The exterior design is OK. There are 2 plastic plugs on the outside of the door that are pretty unsightly - its a really cheesy design to cover the holes for swapping the handle. There are 2 crispers with adjustable humidity and a meat/deli drawer. They are nice to have, but pretty cheap quality plastic (although seems to me that is standard). The door shelves are OK, although there is some wasted space in the design. But again, I think all the brands available in this size with bottom freezer drawer are identical.

I shopped locally but no one could match the price. Very roomy, good lighting, ice maker works great. It makes occasional noises but not obnoxious. Freezer keeps ice cream at the perfect temperature! Delivery people got their truck stuck because they drove off the driveway into the yard and made giant ruts. Had to call the tractor owning neighbor to pull them out. Make sure your current phone number is on file with Amazon Before you order. Mine was not current, but they didn't bother to knock on the door to find out if they were at the correct address. I had to go out in the rain to tell them they were at the right house.

Purchased this fridge March of 2018. Today, not quite 7 years later it is dead. $1600 and dead. Disappointed. Do not recommend.