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Symptom guide / refrigerator
refrigerator: a warm fresh-food compartment while the freezer stays cold
A refrigerator that stops cooling is a race against the food inside it, so the first question is how cold it still is and the second is which part stopped. One repair on this list changes the arithmetic: compressor or sealed-system failure at $670–$1,330 installed [S1], against a middle of the list that tops out at $389. Everything else sits in a tight band, and the part rather than the labour around it is what moves the total. A warm fresh-food compartment while the freezer stays cold arrives described as fridge is warm but the freezer still works, both compartments are warm, runs constantly and never gets cold or cooling comes and goes. Start where it is free or nearly free: condenser coils packed with dust or pet hair [S1].
What the fault looks like
Fig. REFRIGERATOR - NOT COOLING
What each fix costs
Cause
Cost
Time
DIY?
blocked rear air vents or an overpacked cabinet
no part needed
10 min
easy
condenser coils packed with dust or pet hair
no part needed
30 min
easy
failed thermistor or temperature sensor
$150–$386 installed
60 min
advanced
failed evaporator fan motor
$180–$422 installed
60 min
advanced
frosted evaporator coil (defrost circuit failure)
$200–$395 installed
75 min
advanced
control board failure (often after a power event)
$300–$650 installed
90 min
advanced
failed start relay or overload protector
$389 installed
45 min
advanced
compressor or sealed-system failure
$670–$1,330 installed
180 min
advanced
A technician visit starts with a diagnostic fee of $80–$140 [S2]. Completed repairs run $150–$650 [S2].
high likelihoodadvanced$180–$422 installedabout 60 minn=130 completed jobs[S1]
fridge is warm but the freezer still workscooling comes and goes
The most common real fault: one evaporator coil sits in the freezer and a fan pushes that cold air through a duct, so a stopped fan leaves the freezer cold and the fridge warm. S1 medians the job at $422 across 130 completed repairs; S2 prices the fan motor at $180-340 installed. Tell them apart by ear: a working fan is audible with the door switch held in. Time basis: no published duration, book estimate.
both sources price this as an installed job rather than a bare part; no part-only figure is claimed
high likelihoodadvanced$200–$395 installedabout 75 minn=58 completed jobs[S1]
cooling comes and goesfridge is warm but the freezer still works
A sheet of frost on the back wall of the freezer means the defrost cycle stopped clearing the coil; S1 medians defrost heater and timer work at $395 across 58 jobs, S2 puts the defrost heater or thermostat at $200-380 installed. Unplugging the fridge overnight appears to fix it because it thaws the coil - the fault returns within days. Time basis: no published duration, book estimate.
the sources publish the defrost heater or thermostat repair as an installed job, so no part-only figure is claimed
medium likelihoodadvanced$389 installedabout 45 minn=24 completed jobs[S1]
both compartments are warm
Clicking every few minutes followed by silence is the signature, and the relay is always tested before the compressor because it is far cheaper: median $389 across 24 jobs. Time basis: no published duration, book estimate.
the source publishes a median completed-job price for this repair, not a part price. The n below is that same table's start-relay row: 24 completed jobs at a $389 median
medium likelihoodadvanced$150–$386 installedabout 60 minn=65 completed jobs[S1]
both compartments are warmfridge is warm but the freezer still works
A sensor reading a few degrees off quietly tells the control to stop cooling early, so it looks like a fridge that is simply not as cold as it used to be. S1 medians it at $386 across 65 jobs; S2 prices the part and job at $150-250. Time basis: no published duration, book estimate.
the sources quote the sensor job installed, not the sensor alone; no part-only figure is claimed
control board failure (often after a power event) [S2]
S2 puts a main or inverter board at $300-650 installed; S1 medians board replacement at $564 across 78 jobs, the second most expensive routine repair on a refrigerator. Both sources say the relay and the sensors have to be ruled out first, because they produce overlapping symptoms far more cheaply. Time basis: no published duration, book estimate.
both sources price a board as an installed replacement; no part-only figure is claimed
both compartments are warmruns constantly and never gets cold
The one repair that changes the arithmetic: S1 medians a compressor at $956 with the middle half at $670-1,330; S2 puts it at $700-1,200 installed and notes that refrigerant work needs EPA Section 608 certification and vacuum equipment, so it is never a DIY job. Time basis: no published duration, book estimate.
sealed-system work is priced as a completed job because it needs EPA-certified recovery and recharge equipment, never as a part
Repair or replace?
The verdict
Every repair on the list except the compressor is straightforward arithmetic: a $386-564 fix on a refrigerator that cost well over a thousand is not a close call. The compressor changes it - at a median of $956 the repair approaches a real share of a mid-range replacement and signals the sealed system is at the end of its service life. Under eight years old, and especially on a built-in, repair usually still wins; past twelve years on a standard freestanding model, replacement generally does. [S2]
One source's figures are 2026 installed price ranges; the other's are medians from completed work orders, each published with its own job count. A published range and a median over a recorded sample are different statistics rather than two estimates of the same number. The headline band above is the one source's span of installed ranges rather than a middle half, and the same publisher also logs the complaint nationally: a $378 median with the middle half of jobs between $283 and $490, across 1,421 completed not-cooling repairs. That count is carried beside the decision figures with its own source reference, so the band and the count each name the dataset they come from. The band itself is quoted on the front page, the appliance hub and two pillar pages as well, and those comparisons depend on the number that is already there. The same publisher also prints the symptom's own middle half - a $378 median with most jobs between $283 and $490, across the 1,421 not-cooling repairs - and that row is carried above as its own labelled band, so the range span and the recorded statistic stand side by side and each names its source.
A basic top-freezer replacement is $700-1,100 in 2026 and a French door $1,600-3,200, which is exactly why repairing a built-in at $900 often makes sense.
S1 puts the replacement line at twelve years for a standard freestanding model; S2 notes built-in and column units are designed for 15-20 years of service, which is why repairing those usually pencils out
Have a quote?
Put your quote and the age of the unit into the calculator — the same half-of-new-price rule, with your own numbers.
blocked rear air vents or an overpacked cabinet [S1]
medium likelihoodeasyno part neededabout 10 min
fridge is warm but the freezer still worksboth compartments are warm
The source lists this as the free check to do before booking anything: food packed against the rear wall blocks the duct that carries cold air into the fresh food compartment and produces the symptom with nothing broken.
medium likelihoodeasyno part neededabout 30 minn=29 completed jobs[S1]
runs constantly and never gets cold
A coil that cannot shed heat makes the compressor run endlessly without reaching setpoint. Cleaning it is free; S1 medians condenser work at $406 across 29 jobs and notes that part of those visits resolved with cleaning and airflow correction rather than a part. S2 recommends cleaning the coils twice a year.
Sources
[S1]Bozmanfix (medians from completed work orders, sample sizes published; page updated September 2026) (2026-09). symptom-to-cause mapping, medians with job counts (fan $422 n=130, defrost $395 n=58, relay $389 n=24, condenser cleaning or repair $406 n=29, sensor $386 n=65, board $564 n=78, compressor $956 n=80), the $378 median across 1,421 completed repairs logged specifically as not cooling with the middle half of jobs between $283 and $490, the 2,683 visits logged for this complaint, the page's overall refrigerator median of $395 with the middle half between $319 and $507 and the rows this record does not use (thermostat $386 n=65, water inlet valve $401 n=54, door gasket $484 n=49), the brand split of the 2,683 not-cooling visits (Samsung 312, GE 289, Whirlpool 284, LG 263, Frigidaire 240, Kenmore 94), the free checks, the knife-on-frost warning, eight and twelve year replacement lines, the $99 waived diagnostic. The $378 / $283-490 / 1,421 triple is the symptom's own published row; its count is bound as decision.sample_jobs (1,421) and its middle half is carried above as the record's second band, while the headline band itself is left as the other source's span of installed ranges because that figure is an input to the front page, the appliance hub, two pillars and llms.txt
[S2]FlexFul Appliance Repair (Chicagoland) (2025-10-13). 2026 installed price ranges (fan motor $180-340, defrost heater or thermostat $200-380, thermistor $150-250, control board $300-650, compressor $700-1,200, leak repair $400-900), $80-140 diagnostic, the half-of-new-price rule past eight years, new unit prices $700-1,100 top-freezer and $1,600-3,200 French door, twice-yearly coil cleaning
Last verified: 2026-09-29. Prices are US market figures from the sources above; your quote may differ.
Built from a fact record, not from a template: every number above is tied to one of the sources and the record is re-checked against them. Editorial choices (which symptom leads, which cause is the single tell) are kept in a separate block so the facts stay auditable.
Quick answers
How much does it cost to fix a refrigerator with this problem?
Completed repairs run $150–$650 according to the sources cited on this page, after a diagnostic fee of $80–$140.
How long does a refrigerator last?
The decision rule used on this page works from a planning life of 12 years.
Repair or replace?
Every repair on the list except the compressor is straightforward arithmetic: a $386-564 fix on a refrigerator that cost well over a thousand is not a close call. The compressor changes it - at a median of $956 the repair approaches a real share of a mid-range replacement and signals the sealed system is at the end of its service life. Under eight years old, and especially on a built-in, repair usually still wins; past twelve years on a standard freestanding model, replacement generally does.
