GRcade

We have a hot point American style fridge freezer (small version, not a proper full size beast) and we have been having issues with the fridge part losing cold and going warm

We have had Hotpoint out a few times and they keep blaming it on ice build up at the back of the bottom freezer. It uses a Air Tech system from what I gather, it uses a fan or something to take the cold from the freezer at the bottom and feed it through to the top part of the freezer and the fridge.

It will be fine for awhile, we do a shop to fill it with a weeks worth of food etc.. and then it goes, the fridge just looses cold and we end up having to chuck stuff out as it goes manky, wasting so much money on stuff

I’m no expert but it must be something to do with the air tech system right? I can’t see why it cuts out every time we fill it up (this has been ongoing for a month now) and hotpoint have done diagnostic checks and they can’t find a fault so they have just order new drawers and seals for the freezer part.

Anyone here have any ideas about this stuff? I’ve tried Switching it off for a time to see if it will rejig it but no joy. When it goes off it usually comes back to life 2-3 days later

EDIT: I removed all the drawers and took the back panel off and there was a load of ice built up so I took a hair dryer to it and now it’s kick back in again

My previous refrigerator was a Hotpoint and it was the digital info panel (i.e. the computer) which failed twice rather than it being a mechanical based issue. I had an error message pop up on that though, replacing the temperature info. It resulted in the exact same issue you’re having however in regards to the fridge going warm. Turning it off would temporarily correct the issue but it would quickly return.

Unless it’s specifically not a frost free model (in which case it will need to be turned off and sporadically defrosted - this can take around 24 hours), no refrigerator should be having any issues with ice build up at all.

Have you tried calling out a third party engineer rather than Hotpoint and asking for their opinion?

KK wrote:My previous refrigerator was a Hotpoint and it was the digital info panel (i.e. the computer) which failed twice rather than it being a mechanical based issue. I had an error message pop up on that though, replacing the temperature info. It resulted in the exact same issue you’re having however in regards to the fridge going warm. Turning it off would temporarily correct the issue but it would quickly return.

Unless it’s specifically not a frost free model (in which case it will need to be turned off and sporadically defrosted - this can take around 24 hours), no refrigerator should be having any issues with ice build up at all.

Have you tried calling out a third party engineer rather than Hotpoint and asking for their opinion?

I removed all the drawers and took the back panel off and there was a load of ice built up so I took a hair dryer to it and now it’s kick back in again. We have them back out soon to replace all the drawers and seals so I’m going to mention to them about all the ice that’s built up

Yeah, I think Hotpoint are attempting to fob you off here. Even if it wasn’t frost free, you should never have to be removing the back panel to defrost it. In what world is water on the outside of an electrical appliance acceptable. They’re standard now, but there have been a number of critics within the industry about the back panel as it can be a fire hazard. It used to be common for those back coils to be visible. A dust magnet, sure, but easily cleaned.

Does your home insurance cover refrigerator failure? Not on my current one (Churchill) but with Aviva they covered the loss of food up to £500.

KK wrote:Does your home insurance cover refrigerator failure? Not on my current one (Churchill) but with Aviva they covered the loss of food up to £500.

It does but it’s £100 excess so it wouldn’t have been worth claiming in the end. I’m going to mention it to the engineer when they come back but I was looking on Google last night and it seems to be an issue that a lot of people get with the fridge freezers. Like you say tho that really shouldn’t be the case.

So you what you are saying is the Fridge section is becoming a .... hot point..... in the fridge freezer?

My Hotpoint is 11 years old and still seems alright. KK has made me scared of it catching fire though.

Never ever buy Hotpoint end off!
Or Hoover or Samsung fridges.

Yes this kind of ice build up issue is always due to blocked air vents preventing air circulation. Due to doors not being closed properly etc. Defrosting is the solution but it can take ages as manufacturers recommend 72hours leaving it off.
I placed pans of hot water inside and closed the doors which melted all those ice in like two hours. Well done for taking the back panel off, mine has one of those star screws so I can't at the moment :/
Also when you say back panel is it from the inside? Or did you have to pull your fridge out to access it from the back? Thanks


I decided to give Liebherr a try and have had nothing but issues with it. I would advise don't ever buy Liebherr either. I'll stick to Siemens or Bosch next time.

No:1 Final Fantasy Fan wrote:Never ever buy Hotpoint end off!
Or Hoover or Samsung fridges.

Yes this kind of ice build up issue is always due to blocked air vents preventing air circulation. Due to doors not being closed properly etc. Defrosting is the solution but it can take ages as manufacturers recommend 72hours leaving it off.
I placed pans of hot water inside and closed the doors which melted all those ice in like two hours. Well done for taking the back panel off, mine has one of those star screws so I can't at the moment :/
Also when you say back panel is it from the inside? Or did you have to pull your fridge out to access it from the back? Thanks


I decided to give Liebherr a try and have had nothing but issues with it. I would advise don't ever buy Liebherr either. I'll stick to Siemens or Bosch next time.

Yeah the back panel inside the fridge I took off, it had Philips head screws so I used a blunt knife and got them off. Once inside there was a load of ice built up around the cables etc.., which does seem dangerous in hindsight anyway, I plugged a hair dryer in and put it on full blast for a few minutes and got the majority of the ice off.

Talking of those backs, anyone that wants to check that their fridge isn’t the second coming of the Hindenburg can do so here: https://www.which.co.uk/reviews/fridge- ... NGD8C4QQlX