Liebherr refrigerator and freezer repair

About Liebherr appliances

Who makes Liebherr. Liebherr is a large equipment group whose management, Liebherr says, is still in the hands of the Liebherr family; its home-appliance division builds refrigerators and freezers. Health Canada's archived recall notices name Liebherr-Canada Ltd. in Ontario as the Canadian importer, with appliances made in Austria and Germany. Liebherr sells in Canada through authorized specialist dealers and has no factory outlet. Its Canadian site lists bottom-freezer, French-door, side-by-side and freestanding refrigerators, fully integrated models, the Monolith line, freezers, chest freezers and wine refrigerators.

Features that change a repair.

• BioFresh. BioFresh drawers ("safes") hold food at just above 0 °C (32 °F): a HydroSafe with high humidity for produce and a DrySafe with low humidity for meat and dairy. BioFresh Professional adds a Fish & Seafood safe that goes down to about −2 °C (28 °F), and some models add HydroBreeze, a cold mist over the produce drawer. Liebherr's FAQ says that a BioFresh drawer that is too cold or too warm usually has had its setting changed. So we check the settings before suspecting a sensor or fan.
• DuoCooling. Liebherr says all its bottom-freezer refrigerators have two completely separate refrigeration circuits, with no air exchanged between the fridge and freezer. On many single-evaporator fridges, a warm fridge with a cold freezer points to the air path between the two. On a Liebherr bottom-freezer the fridge has its own circuit, so the diagnosis looks at that circuit, its sensor and its controls.
• NoFrost and SmartFrost. NoFrost freezers put the evaporator in a closed compartment at the top and use a fan to circulate the cold air, so the freezer stays frost-free. SmartFrost uses insulation to reduce frost, but you still defrost it, just less often. Frost in a SmartFrost freezer can be normal; heavy ice in a NoFrost freezer is not, and Liebherr's own FAQ points to customer service for it.
• Speed-controlled compressors. Liebherr models with a speed-controlled compressor have an indicator light at the back. Liebherr says a flash every 15 seconds means normal operation; any other interval means emergency mode or a defect. Energy-saving models also run for longer at low speed, so a compressor that seems to run all the time is not a fault by itself.
• Climate class. The serial tag shows a climate class. SN–T covers room temperatures from +10 °C to +43 °C (+50 °F to +109 °F). Liebherr says that below +10 °C proper functioning is no longer guaranteed. A Liebherr in an unheated Ottawa garage or a cold cottage in winter can misbehave without anything being broken.
• Integrated installation. Built-in models are fitted either door-on-door, where the cabinet door hangs on the fridge door and its weight is carried by the fridge door, or with a door slider, where the cabinet door hangs on the cabinet and slides the fridge door open. A door that no longer seals can be the fitting, not the fridge.
• Monolith. Monolith fully integrated units add PowerCooling, a three-drawer BioFresh-Plus, the InfinitySpring flush water dispenser with its own filter, and a SmartDeviceBox that sends door-open and power-failure alarms.

Recalls. Health Canada posted three Liebherr refrigerator recalls, all for doors that could detach, and all now archived. February 2010: built-in refrigerators R 1400, RB 1400, RI 1400, RBI 1400 and SBS 24 combinations, about 751 units in Canada. March 2011: built-in 30-inch bottom-freezers (C and CI 1600, 1601, 1650, 1651 and CI 1700 at listed index numbers), about 1,320 units. December 2011: an expansion to freestanding CS 1601, CS 1640 and CS 1650 models, about 1,149 more units. The remedy was a free in-home repair from Liebherr. If you have one of those models, check the index number with Liebherr before paying for a hinge repair.

Finding your Liebherr model and serial number

Liebherr calls the label a serial tag. It carries the model designation, the 9-digit service number (on the second line) and the serial number. Liebherr's customer service needs the designation and the numbers; we use them to order parts. On models with a touch display you can read a digital serial tag: open the settings, go to Information, and the screen shows the serial and service numbers. Otherwise, Liebherr gives these locations:

• Refrigerators and bottom-freezers built from 2021 (freestanding and fully integrated): behind the bottom drawer.
• Refrigerators and bottom-freezers built before 2021: on the inside left.
• Side-by-side combinations: on the left of the bottom freezer compartment.
• Monolith: on the left, beside the bottom BioFresh safe or the first freezer compartment.
• Freestanding freezers from 2022: on the left, next to the second drawer from the bottom. Integrated freezers from 2021: behind the bottom drawer. Freezers before 2021: inside left.
• Chest freezers: on the outer right wall, top right.
• Wine storage and wine tempering units: inside left.

Liebherr's older recall notices also refer to an index number printed with the model (for example 10A / 237), which identifies the production version. Photograph the whole tag and send it with your booking.

General guide to model and serial labels →

Parts and compatibility

Liebherr says all functional parts in its appliances are tested for a 15-year service life and that it keeps all essential spare parts in stock for well over 10 years. Parts and accessories are sold through Liebherr's own accessories and spare parts sales. Most parts are Liebherr-specific: BioFresh drawers and their controls, electronic displays, fans, door hinges for integrated installations and SmartDeviceBox modules. Many Liebherr units sold here were built in Europe, and a part not stocked in North America takes longer. We give you the expected lead time in the written quote instead of guessing.

Two things are worth knowing before the visit. Liebherr says its appliances should only be transported upright, because moving one on its side can damage the compressor mounting; tell us if yours was moved recently. And on an integrated model, a door problem may need the cabinet installer as well as us; the written finding says which. RepairWell installs parts with our 90-day warranty on labour and installed parts. In-warranty repairs belong to Liebherr's own service.