Freezer not freezing
A freezer that runs but won't hold −18 °C is usually struggling with one of three things: not enough cold being made, cold escaping, or cold not reaching the food.
Urgent Frozen food that has thawed above 4 °C for more than a couple of hours may not be safe to refreeze, so protecting the food comes before troubleshooting.
What this symptom usually means
A freezer that runs but won't hold −18 °C is usually struggling with one of three things: not enough cold being made, cold escaping, or cold not reaching the food. Soft ice cream and slushy juice with a compressor that hums constantly often point to a heat-shedding problem (dusty condenser coils, a stopped condenser fan) or a sealed-system fault. A freezer that is cold at the back but warm at the front, or that has a thick rime of frost on the rear wall, may have a defrost fault or a stalled evaporator fan. A chest or upright freezer in an unheated garage can also stop running properly in a cold snap; Frigidaire notes its freezers shouldn't operate where the room drops below about 13 °C (55 °F).
In a fridge-freezer, the same symptom can come from the fridge side: if the fridge is also warm, read refrigerator not cooling as well. None of this is a diagnosis from the symptom alone. The checks below cover what you can safely rule out yourself.
Checks you can do yourself
- Deal with the food firstIf the contents are soft or thawing, move what you can to another freezer or a cooler with ice. Keep the lid or door shut while you check; a full freezer holds cold much longer than an empty one.
- Setting and settling timeConfirm the control is at the recommended setting, usually −18 °C (0 °F). Whirlpool, Frigidaire and LG all say to allow up to 24 hours to stabilise after a change, a power cut or a large load of unfrozen food.
- Power and the outletCheck the breaker, and test the outlet with a lamp. A garage or basement freezer on a GFCI outlet can trip silently. Freezers should be on their own grounded outlet, not an extension cord.
- Door or lid sealClose the door on a sheet of paper. If it slides out with no resistance at several points around the door, the gasket may not be sealing. Wipe it with warm soapy water and check that nothing inside is holding the door open. Chest freezer lids can be held open by a frost ridge along the rim.
- Frost and airflowHeavy frost on the walls or over the vents blocks cold air. Don't chip at it with anything sharp. If it's a manual-defrost freezer, defrost it as the manual describes; if it's frost-free and still frosting heavily, that is a finding for the technician.
- Coils and clearanceIf the condenser coils are accessible at the back or behind the kick plate, unplug the unit and vacuum the dust off. Leave a few centimetres of clearance and check that nothing is stacked against the vents of a chest freezer.
Nothing above involves gas, wiring, refrigerant or removing panels.
What our technician checks
These need panels off, live electrical tests or a licensed trade, so they are left to the technician:
- Removing the interior back panel to reach the evaporator coil or defrost heater
- Any test on the compressor, relay or wiring
- Refrigerant recovery, leak repair or recharge (restricted to certified technicians)
Gas appliances, commercial equipment, and Thermador, Miele, Viking, Wolf and Fisher & Paykel appliances: $129 + tax.
Waived when you proceed with the repair. You get the cause, the price and our repair-or-replace verdict in writing before any work.
Repairs a technician may recommend
After inspection, not from the symptom alone.
Defrost heater, defrost thermostat or control replacement
When a frost-free freezer has iced up over the evaporator and the airflow has stopped. A common finding and usually worth doing.
Evaporator or condenser fan motor replacement
When a fan has seized, runs intermittently or is noisy. Moderate cost regardless of the unit's age.
Start relay or overload replacement
When the compressor clicks and doesn't stay running. The technician confirms the compressor is sound before recommending it.
Gasket replacement or lid/door realignment
When the paper test fails or the door has dropped on its hinges.
Thermostat, thermistor or control board replacement
When the freezer cycles wrongly or reads the wrong temperature.
Sealed-system repair
Only when everything else is ruled out, and done by a certified refrigeration technician we work with; on an older freezer this is often the point where replacement makes more sense, and the written finding shows both numbers.
Cost, and whether to fix it
What the repair costs depends on the part, the labour and whether a second visit is needed for an ordered part; the written finding gives the total before any work. Our guides on what drives repair costs, freezer repair costs and repair versus replacement explain how to weigh it.
Who to call
RepairWell diagnoses and repairs this in homes and businesses across Ottawa and Gatineau; the diagnostic ($89 + tax at home, $129 + tax for a business) is waived when you proceed with the repair. If the freezer is still under the manufacturer's warranty, contact the manufacturer first: warranty repairs usually have to go through their authorized network.
When to book
Book if the freezer is still above −15 °C after 24 hours with the setting confirmed and the door sealing, if the rear wall is iced over on a frost-free model, if the compressor clicks on and off without running, or if it is a stand-alone freezer holding a large stock of food you don't want to lose. Tell us whether it's a chest, upright or fridge-freezer, where it sits (garage freezers behave differently in winter) and the model number. The diagnostic visit is $89 + tax, waived when you proceed with the repair. Freezer repair explains what we cover.
We handle this across Ottawa and Gatineau
- Kemptville
- Carleton Place
- Manotick and Riverside South
- Aylmer
- Buckingham and Masson-Angers
- Chelsea and Cantley
- Rural Ottawa (Carp, Richmond, Greely, Navan, Cumberland)
Related problems
Freezer not freezing: questions
My freezer is cold but the food isn't frozen solid. Is that a fault?
Often it means the freezer is running but not reaching −18 °C. Check the setting and the seal first and give it a day. If it stays between −10 °C and −15 °C, book a visit; that range keeps food safe short term but shortens its storage life and usually signals something is wearing out.
Can I refreeze food that has thawed?
The usual food-safety rule is that food still fridge-cold (4 °C or below) with ice crystals can be refrozen with some loss of quality, while food that has been warm for hours should not be. When in doubt, discard it.
Why did my garage freezer stop working in January?
Many freezers aren't designed for rooms below roughly 13 °C. The thermostat can decide the room is cold enough and stop running, and some models list a minimum room temperature in the manual. A technician can confirm whether it's the location or the freezer.
Is a chest freezer worth repairing?
Usually yes for a gasket, thermostat, relay or fan; those repairs are modest. A compressor or sealed-system fault on an older chest freezer is often not, and we say so in the written finding.
Sources
- Whirlpool: What to do if your freezer is not freezing
- Frigidaire: Freezer not freezing or not cooling
- LG: Frost buildup, freezer only
Sources checked 2026-09-24.
Book the diagnostic
Tell us this symptom and your postal code; it helps us bring the right parts.
Pick a preferred day and arrival window online; we confirm by email once a technician is assigned.
- $89 + tax diagnostic$129 + tax for gas or commercial appliances and for Thermador, Miele, Viking, Wolf or Fisher & Paykel; waived when you proceed with the repair
- Written finding on every visitCause, price and our repair-or-replace verdict
- 90-day warrantyOn parts replaced; labour depends on the work done