Last year, i had gotten a new fridgidaire fridge on 6/13/07 (18 cu. ft, energy star). i did notice that my dwp electric bill went down about $20-30 per 2 month cycle since then. bottom fridge recently would not close right and fridge started to make slight noises. luckily for me, my fridge was still under a 1 year warranty. i called fridgidaire and they gave me the telephone numbers of 3 fridge repair companies that they have contracts with near my area to set up an appt. a repairman came out yesterday from Check Appliances. this repair guy knew his stuff. he said the irregular noise i was hearing was from the doors not being completely sealed. apparently, outside air was getting inside causing more frost/ice particles to build up in the freezer, so the fan has to work extra hard. ice particles also get stuck inside the fan/timer causing the noise. when the ice breaks off of the fan, the fridge is quiet again. the bottom fridge door was not closing properly because it was not screwed on properly. thus, gravity was pulling it forward. he re-adjusted the door as well. all is well again. the 'fan' i refer to is not the correct fridge terminology, but you get the picture. he says those go out all the time and i recall having that same problem with my prior fridge. the sound was louder and for longer periods of time, but i overlooked it.
he advised me to get the extended warranty for $39/year. he said house calls for his company are $150 minimum per visit.
update 7/11/08. just purchased an extended warranty over the phone at 800-374-4432. i was informed that i would be able to purchase another extended warranty before the current one runs out.
