Meet the uber-fridge. While at a green building expo, we recently took a peek at this poster-boy for efficient, modern, home refrigeration. Pictured at right is the 30″ Liebherr Model #: CS1650. A few, features:
- fully Energy Star compliant
- 11.3 cubic foot capacity
- full stainless steel cabinet and doors with ergonomic handle design and swing function
- 2 dual compressors designed for quiet, if not silent operation,variable speeds and energy efficiency
- thin wall construction – wider interior
- no false back wall – deeper interior
- precise digital controls to conserve energy and preserve food
- dual refrigerator systems to optimize control, save energy, and separate air flow
- BioFresh technology maintains fruits in vegetables in the storage drawers under optimal temp and humidity conditions
- SuperFrost System for quick freezing
- glass door shelves (glass holds cold much better than plastic)
- 2 one gallon storage spaces on the door
- factory icemaker
- doors are field reversible without a kit
- freezer’s FrostSafe System prevents cold air from escaping when door is open
- full 2 year warranty on all parts and labor and a full 5 year warranty on parts and labor for items in Sealed System
American refrigerator manufacturers should checkout the design features of this sleek, European challenger to Viking.
Update: see this post’s accompanying comments for customer complaints and notes.
as pictured $3,699 @ warners’ stellian
more info and dealer locations @ almo specialty products
RSS
We have just had a second Leibherr 1650 delivered and I am just as disappointed with it as with the first. In both cases, the unit looked like a bomb had gone off inside of it. The problem is that the inner lining plastic shell is so thin (read cheap)that it takes nothing for it to break. It seems about as rugged as the plastic clam shell packaging that my child’s toys come in. Other components (hinges, drawers) look just as flimsy. In fact, the refer door just fell off as my wife openned it (thanks for the dent in my floor Leibherr)which sent me straight to sharing my feelings on this awful piece of s___, something I am not ordinarily inclined to do. Stay away from this very poorly made brand.
Sorry to hear about your problems. We had a look at the Liebherr fridges at a trade show and were quite impressed. Sounds like you have some real issues. One problem with these high-end refrigerators is finding extensive product reviews and dealer showrooms. Here’s a link for more consumer reviews of the product.
http://ths.gardenweb.com/search/nph-ind.cgi?term=liebherr
I’ve had my 27″ Liebherr fridge for a few months and couldn’t be happier. I flipped the door hinges myself which wasn’t too hard, but I’m pretty handy. Hooking up the ice maker was a pain, but I’ve never heard of an ice maker that’s easy to hook up.
As for the day to day, I really like it. I like the mechanism on the handles and the little shelves and racks on the interior.
2 months in and I give it a big thumbs up so far.
I meant 30″
I was considering the Sub Zero 27″ which was twice the price and got the Liebherr instead.
Sorry.
The hinge on the handle of our top door broke after seven months use by two adults. The hinge is so cheap and flimsy. It is not covered by warranty, what a cheek, it is due to poor workmanship. Avoid this fridge.
I own the built in version of the Liebherr, model 1650. Since buying the unit 9 months ago I have had four service calls fixing things from coolant lines, new compressor and new fans, and still not working properly. I find the service to be less than professional and Liebherr completely unresponsive. In fact Liebherr at this point will not even reply to my emails or phone calls asking for support on another failed compressor. Keep in mind on a built in each time they come out, I have to remove the trim and then re fit the fridge back in when I they are done.
The doors have very weak magnets so unless one is extremely careful the doors may not shut completely. There is an alarm but it can’t be heard more than a few feet from the unit.
Warranty repair in New York is coordinated by a company in Arizona which can result in communication problems, i.e. the three hour time differential.
Our unit has been repaired once under warranty because of faulty sealing of cooling lines going into freezer.
We have had recurring problems of the freezer not maintaining proper temperatures. After 3 or 4 days it usually seems to recover to proper temperature.
Having owned a Sub-Zero in the past, I regret not having spent the considerably more money for one instead of the Liebherr
We bought the freestanding 36″ We were told it had the auto close mechanism. Once details came out it was noted that it didn’t have that. So now the french doors feel like cheezy dorm cooler doors and are difficult to close with lots of squeaking. Right now I am trying to see if there’s some sort of fix for this crap. The rest of the fridge is nice. The doors are not a place to skimp on with though when it is the primary point of interaction. I too would have bought the sub zero if I knew these doors didn’t come with the cool close mechanism. Sad.
I will update my comments if Herr Liebherr seems to want to do anything about this problem.
I was looking to purchase a 36″ french door, but after reading the issues above, I think I will look at other makes
I thought I had found something really great…I wanted to get two of the narrow Liebherr refrigerator/freezers to put side-by side, so that my husband could have one and I could have the other. We eat very differently. I have always hated the noise of my sub-zero, and the freezer didn’t work from the beginning, so I turned it off and bought a chest freezer. Because of my experience with sub-zero, you can imagine I won’t take a chance with problems like I heard above. Back to the drawing board.
See that soem people are having a prob I had – the freezer temp goes up and up, the alarm goes off at night due to this and then it goes down in a couple of days. Mine did this for months – 5 service calls and new compressor and recharge did not fix. It turns out that the board conteolling the compressor does not send a priority signal to cool down the freezer primary – so, if the door is open for a while, like filling it after grocery shopping, then temp goes up and it does not cool down fast enough. Liebherr fit mine with a new board, 1st of its kind, to make the freezer primary – seems that would make sense as it is colder than the fridge – but, engineering did not see it that way to start with. Works fine now, but, I would not recommend this unit/brand to anyone.
My Mom has one of the french door unites that was released in late summer 2008. Nothing but problems. Temperature is too warm, food is not being properly “chilled” as a result, resulting in food spoilage. Two service calls yielded no change to this problem.
The other problem, is the door alarm sensors. Extremely temperamental, even without occulusions or anything that would set them off in a normal scenario. Very annoying.
Lastly, this appliance was purchased from Couch’s appliance in Fife, WA. The worst customer service EVER. Highly regret purchasing this appliance from them. The manager, Eric, is a useless flake and all other members of the sales team are completely void of professionalism.
Just a word of caution to anyone considering purchasing their appliances from this disreputable company.
I purchased the Liebherr 36″ built in several months ago. It has two main problems so far. The french doors do not close. It is as if the magnets that are supposed to pull them together actually repel each other. As a result, 1-5 times every day the sensor goes off because the doors are not completely closed. The ice maker does not function most of the time and the manual is no help. I bought my Liebherr through a kitchen designer and am trying to work through him to get it fixed. So far, nothing has been done. I do not recommend this product.
We have had a Liebherr 36 we couldn’t be happier. The ice machine work better than any I have had in the past. It’s connected to water distiller. I agree that the doors.
don’t shut without pushing, That is why they have the alarm so you push it shut not depend on automatic closure.
We purchased a SBS Fridge and Freezer and were very excited about it as we loved the design and features. It did not live up to it’s advertising. After 6 months the refrigerator froze everything adn it took 6 weeks to get it fixed after 4 service calls. Recently the Freezer failed and it took 4 weeks and 15 phone calls and a letter of complaint before it as fixed. Apparently the same issue others have had. They are routinely replacing the PCB’s. They also replaced 2 sensors and teh fan in mine to make sure everythign was OK. Add to this 3 of the crisper drawers and 2 door shelves have cracked, I am less than impressed.
I was going to buy a Liebherr but I think I will play safe and buy Miele!!!
I have a Liebherr. My concern right now is I notice little rust spots on the bottom door. I contacted the company and they say just clean it, but stainless steel is not supposed to rust, I am unsure what to do. I will see how far I get with my warranty and what kind of service etc I get and keep the info posted. If anyone has had problems like this, I wish to hear more. Thank you
I have a Liebherr and am having trouble with my freezer. The temperature keeps going up and the alarm goes off every day, no matter how often I reset it. I would love to hear if anyone has had this problem and HOW THEY GOT IT FIXED.
Thanks!
do not buy if you want prompt service and high quality….we have 42inch combined refrigerator/freezer/wine refrigerator. The doors do not line up….even after a new door was replaced…also my refrigerator door just feel off also…i now have been waiting for 3 weeks and no part yet….hard to live without when you have a family. i have made numerous calls…you are only able to leave a message.
To “NYC”, posted Jun 6, 2009
I had the same problem. The reason was an air leak inside the freeze. The service guy removed the back panel and solved the problem with some plumber’s putty.
I have a Liebherr C1601, one year old and already 3 service calls and 2 visits.
1.: Teemp. too high in freezer compartment, alarm went off. Reason: air leak in back wall of freezer (behind panel) Solution: Plumber’s putty
2.: Temp too high in top shelf of freezer. Reason: fan dead, ice built up (probably the reason that fan was dead – blocked by ice). Solution: New fan
3. New fan has higher rpm – noise problem. At the moment I am debating with Liebherr if this is a problem they can fix or I have to live with.
And I am afraid the 4. problems is already at the horizon: I hear constant ice cracking and I am concerned that the heating element at the back side of the freezer does not work and melt the ice – ice will build up and the fan might die again. Beside all that the unit is really energy efficient.
Now that we have had our Side by side for 8 months, The doors are starting to squeak. the door shelf broke. The water line inside the freezer that serves the ice maker leaked and flooded my basement work shop.
Other than that we love it.
Purchased Leibherr CS 1350 Dec. 2008. Love it in my small kitchen. But in June the freezer alarm began to sound. A service call was scheduled; the famous plumbers putty was packed around a line behind the back freezer panel. The service tech said the units were made with poor insulation. Two days later and each day thereafter the freezer alarm has been going off again. We set the SuperFrost control to bring the temp. under control.
This latest response from Leibherr was that this time they will send a new sensor.
I am deeply concerned and curious if this problem can be resolved.
I have had a Subzero with two compressors and a Kitchenaid with one. Due to noise, both had to be removed, i.e. the compressors were placed in the basement. Now that the Kitchenaid compressor died, I’ve been looking for a quiet refrigerator. Thought that I’d found it in the Liebherr, but after reading all of these reviews, I’m back to the beginning again. Any suggestions? The last two refrigerators were built ins, each 48″ wide, but I don’t need such a large one any longer! Thanks for your help!
We bought a 30 inch freestanding (1640) a year ago. I am generally happy with it but there are two issues I cannot get a solution for:
1. The hinge (right) swings fully when the door is open. We have to either hold it or let it swing to 180 degrees but if we are not careful it will soon mark the stainless steel. Yes, it is level.
2. The ice has a weird taste. It has been a year and the taste has not gone away.
Other than that I like that it is easy to clean and looks fantastic. No problem with the doors closing or anything else.
I am having the same problems with the freezer temp and alarm going off that others here have described. (CS-1301) The temp in the freezer will not go below 23F. Ice builds up in the freezer. Ice continually builds up in the fridge part as well, cycling through freezing and draining. It’s as if I bought a fridge from 1950.
I have scheduled a service call for next week, so we’ll see how that goes.
I am extremely disappointed in the functioning of the unit and would not recommend it at all. But hey it looks great.
We’ve owned a liebherr fridge for about 4 years now. The thing has been a disaster from day 1. Door handels coming off, trays in the door not being able to hold a normal weight and falling of, replaced doormagnets multiple times, water leakage (due to faulty motor I believe), ice machine stopped working: had it replaced and now it’s not working again etc. etc. Unfortunately a lot of these weren’t under warranty and even when it was customer service was bad. Although this was partly because of Earl b. Feiden in Kingston, the company that sold us this apparatus. Tonight I wanted to get something out of the freezer and discovered it was thawing even though the thermostat indicated 6 degrees fahrenheit. I called Lowe’s tonight and ordered a Whirlpool. . . The short of it: don’t get a Liebherr, don’t buy from Earl b. Feiden in Kingston!
i have had so many of the same issues i am reading here. i bought my liebherr in october 2007, at the suggestion of the salesman, instead of the subzero. he raved about it. i started having issues almost immediately. it makes about 1/4 tray of ice per day. water leaks into the produce bins all the time. the freezer does not work properly and the alarm goes off incessantly. i have had many service calls. waiting for a part right now. the repairman said the salesman probably got an incentive (read:kickback)from the manufacturer for pushing this very expensive piece of garbage. i will never recommend this product. not to my worst enemy. i regret the day i bought it and every day since. i wish i had bought the subzero i originally wanted.
What a piece of junk! Continual ice build up, and the plastic inside total gimcrack. Those bio shelves are fastened to the inside with the flimsiest of hinges; now tthe entire inside door shelf gave way! I am renting so I have to deal with the problem–the worst pice of junk I have seen in 6 countries on 3 continents.
Have had no trouble with my unit at all. It runs silently, has lots of space in the door for giant containers and generally looks fabulous. Love this fridge
Got our Liebherr 36″ free-standing CS2062 fridge in Sept 2009 and paid $5500. Thought we had found the most amazing fridge ever, but now starting to wonder. We still really like the look of it and aside from an annoying squeak in the right door when we open it, it has worked very well. Like the lighting and drawers. However, today our freezer kept alarming and we now have frost build-up, ice and moisture throughout our freezer. No doors were left open and the superfrost option is doing nothing to help. It’s Saturday so cannot reach anyone who can help. The Canadian office did answer, but the gal had no idea where to find help. Needless to say, I’m really disappointed. We purposefully avoided so many other brands to be sure we didn’t get this outcome and now here we are and unfortunately we paid way too much to be having troubles so quickly.
Around Thanksgiving, my CS1350 had freezer temperature problems similar to the ones mentioned by other people. Liebherr finally said it was the sensor, not under warranty since mine is 3.5 years old. What annoyed me was that it took them 3 days to recommend a service rep.
I called the rep who never returned my call. In the meantime it started functioning correctly and did for the next four weeks, until last night. The problem is I am reluctant to pay a service person to come unless the unit is on the fritz. I don’t want to pay for a call for them to tell me, “Well, it is working now but I came so here’s the bill.”
Does anyone know whether it is really a sensor or the plumbers putty solution or an electronic board?
Or maybe I should just live with these ‘walkabouts’ – so far it has recovered eventually.
I do not get why “Disappointed” would accept shipment of any appliance that “looked like a bomb went off inside”. I have a Liebherr 30 inch stand alone bottom freezer. I love it. I made sure it was in perfect shape on delivery, leveled it properly and plugged it into a surge protected power source which is commonsense for any appliance that uses computer circuits.The comments about the quality of the interior are exaggerated and wrong. the white plastic seems about the same on any refrigerator I’ve seen. The nice thing about the interior and shelves is that you don’t lose food in it. You can see virtually everything with out pushing stuff around. It is quiet and very smart looking. I have a small galley kitchen and trading depth for height was a winner for me. It’s a shame that the Liebherr would be trashed by Disappointed when he must have purchased damaged goods.
We have the large one with the wine cooler on the top left side. This thing is horrible. The plastic containers and liners break all of the time. The ice machine just broke when I tried to pull it out but so much ice was built up the whole workings just ripped out of it. We’ve had this thing for just over a year. I’m so upset we bought this brand!
My CS1350 was 2.5 years old when the freezer went on the fritz. Have been without a freezer for 4 months through 8 service calls, replaced sensor, magic putty, and new sealed system. Today the technician says its a faulty temperature display when the freezer obviously cannot even freeze water. I must say Liebherr has been responsive, but I’m not sure they know how to fix this, and seems here I’m not alone. I’m about to go postal!
John in NYC:
We seem to be having the same problem with our Liebherr. I would like to know which service provider worked on your system. You can e-mail me at afn54821 [at] afn.org
Thanks,
Paul in NYC
So far a common thread seems to be a lot of ice maker issues and french door problems. I wonder how much of that is Liebherr trying to cater to the North American market with features that they feel they cant live without and that Liebherr might not have a deep background designing/building.
We just bought a 30″ Freeestanding(CS1611, LH door & no ice maker) it isn’t delivered yet but I’ll post more once we have had it for a while.
Does anyone have experience with either of the new Liebherr 24″ bottom freezer models, CS 1311 or CS 1360? We need a narrow fridge for our apartment and the Liebherr size and layout seem just right, but problems with temperature regulation in the earlier models is giving us pause. We’re hoping perhaps Liebherr addressed some of these issues in their newer models…
Thanks.
I thank all of you for your comments (good and bad). We are remodeling a kitchen area and appliances are our hot topic right now. We have Kitchenaid now and except for the Dishwasher, we are not happy. We love the layout of the Liebherr and the available two doors in the 1911vi for a 36″ space. The Miele only has a single door available in that size. I have read many complaints about Miele clothes washers but nothing about the refrigerator. Liebherr and Miele and Thermador were the only ones that fit our design needs. I guess I will keep reading. Just wanted to say a big thank you.
I’m a mother of 3 and i have the same problem with my liebherr fridge it’s a 48′ side by side. Freezer problems most.. I was wondering if liebherr did contact u or did anything to fix the problem… i have to defrost my fridge all the time every time i get new parts… that just crazy i don’t have the time…food is always in the garbage no where to put it.
We have had the Liebherr CS1611(30″, bottom freezer, L/H door swing) about a month now and have no complaints. Being counter depth is great for our smaller kitchen. We just plugged it in and filled it up with stuff.
I think that the lighting for 2010 is new – it has LED lighting on both the right and left hand side the full height and is very good at illuminating the interior.
It arrived perfectly packed and not a scratch on it.
I have owned a Liebherr side by side bio fresh top, freezer on the bottom and fridge for 2 years. what a nightmare!! The fridge leaked from the back at the base without us knowing all over our timber floor and ruined the boards. Liebherr modified the fridge saying it was not meant for our Australian climate! Several of the trays in the fridge door broke within the first few months, the door handle broke. If I don’t make sure I keep the internal hole clear in the base at the back of the fridge on a very regular basis the fridge will leak water all over the timber floor. The freezer tray is broken. The ice maker at present will not make single ice cubes but the entire tray is one big ice cube. This purchase has been a big mistake!!!I want my Maytag back !
I own the large 80 inch side by side. High price, but low quality.
I have four door handles that have fallen off in three years. Hinges are just cheap plastic. Not like I have kids tugging at them and I only live here 6 months out of the year.
Just returned here after 6 months in Florida, I opened the freezer door and guess what it fell off. That makes 5.
Do yourself a favor, if you are considering a LIEBHERR, stop now. There are so many good quality brands out there.
Unfortunately, LIEBHERR is the bottom of the barrel.
We purchased a 30″ bottom freezer almost 2 years ago. Size is perfect! Doors sealing is a major problem! We just returned from 6 days of vacation and the fridge door was not sealed when we left. Fridge was on but no cooling Nor will it cool with the door sealed now. Freezer is fine. Any one have any experience or ideas? I am dreading a service call from a review of the postings.
I would never buy a Liebherr again and I would advise my friends and even my enemies to stay away from Liebherrs. We have the double door model. Freezer and refrigerator on one side,double refrigerator on the other. We have had an unbelievable series of problems with it. Water pools in the bottom constantly. Parts break all the time. Something is always malfunctioning and it IS IMPOSSIBLE TO GET SERVICE PEOPLE TO FIX THE PROBLEM. You get connected to really nice service people in California who walk you through how to fix it yourself. You need a mechanical engineering degree to do so. Save yourself a pile of money and massive headaches and buy something else. It’s aesthetic features mask a poorly performing, substandard piece of equipment.
DO NOT BUY A LIEBHERR. I have CS1601. I am told that I need a Power Board and a Controller board. Can’t get service. Don’t know if this $900+ repair will work. Alarm going off because unit shuts down and looses cooling. LED Panel blinks, Gives me codes(like P1) blinks on/off either the fridge or the freezer cuts out or both. Anyone have this problem? Was it the boards?
Hello, back again to report that the freezer in my CS 1301 appears to be dead. It will not cool below 25F no matter what setting I use.
I had a service call in Jun 09, same issues, and the technician cleared some ice that had formed around a sensor that is not accessible. This cost me $150.
I was told that the sensor and/or thermostat could need replacement, the technician was not sure. Well, the freezer has worked on and off for the last year and now it doesn’t. This repair is estimated in the $300-400 range, so it may be time to just admit defeat and get a new one.
The freezer has never worked right. It’s always had the same temperature fluctuation, with nightly alarms, that have been mentioned so often in this column.
If anyone has any brighter ideas, please email michael181 at att.net. Good luck.
We have the 24 inch freestanding – have had it for three years. Have had many problems since the beginning, mostly the freezer. After at least 7 or 8 repair visits and more handled over the phone they are replacing our fridge. Unfortunatley the model has been discontinued and the new one is a little over an inch taller. Eventhough it is freestanding we had come cabnetry built around it and a false top (with a ventiliation area cut out)so now that needs to be modified. They said if we submit an invoice for the changes they will reimburse. Hopefully the new model works better than the old.
We have a built-in Liebherr french door model we just had installed in our new kitchen. When it was delivered, the box was slightly damaged. Not knowing any better, my wife accepted shipment from Fed Ex. It was not until the installer opened the box days later that we saw that the front of the doors were smashed, and drawers and lights inside were cracked. Fed Ex refuses to pay for a new frige or even repairs, saying that we should not have accepted/installed the frige. The Liebherr rep out of Miami also has washed his hands of us saying that it’s a shipping issue and we shouldn’t have accepted the box when it was ‘so obviously damaged’…
So basically we’re stuck with this damaged frige and neither the manufacture nor the shipper wants to fess up.
NEVER, EVER buy this company’s products. The customer service sucks. Could you imagine sending out a product worth $6000 that arrives damaged, then saying ‘not our problem?!?!?!?’
I purchased the CS 1301 and CS 1305, about 2 1/2 years ago. What a disaster!!! My handles keep falling off and the fridge portions on both units are barely working.
Finally got thru to Canada, called many times and the girl answering the telephone kept telling me someone will call back, Got lucky one morning when I called and the person answering the phone happened to be a Manager.
Told him about all the problems with the handles and his reaction shocked me.
He actually said this is the first time I have heard of this problem. What is Liebherr clueless? The Girl I had spoken with many times before admitted that many people had this same problem.
Just go online and see all the complaints I told him.
His answer was I find that people who complain online are just looking for something to complain about. Those kind of people will never be happy.
Well buddy, I am not one of those people. I have very little time and I spent over $6,000 thinking I was getting quality. Actually I never complain. I have 2 homes and throughout the years have owned many appliances. I have never once complained. However, the story on this piece of JUNK DESERVES TO BE TOLD.
LIEBHERR is still out at every trade show presenting their refrigerators as number one in the market for high end appliances.
Fact is LIEBHERR should not be in the refrigerator market in the first place.
If anyone out there can suggest a Government Agency that would actually listen to all these complaints and do somethng, please let me know.
In the meantime, I will keep doIng my part to let people considering LIEBHERR to avoid LIEBHERR AT ALL COSTS..
DO NOT BE FOOLED AT THE BEAUTIFUL PACKAGING. WHAT IS INSIDE WILL CAUSE YOU GRIEF AND AGGREVATION.