Kenmore Refrigerator Won't Make Ice? First, Find Out Who Built It

Kenmore is a Sears house brand, not a manufacturer — the refrigerators are built by other companies and badged Kenmore. The first three digits of your model number identify who really built it: 106 (also 110, 596, 562) is Whirlpool, which built the most Kenmore refrigerators; 253 is the Frigidaire/Electrolux family; 795 or 796 is LG; 363 or 364 is GE; and 401 or 402 indicates a Samsung-built unit. This matters for a no-ice repair because a Whirlpool-built Kenmore takes Whirlpool ice-maker parts and reset steps, an LG-built one takes LG parts and uses LG's Test button, and so on — same badge, different hardware.

Whoever built it, the water path comes first: a clogged water filter (replace every six months), a supply valve that's partly closed or a kinked line, a frozen fill tube, a freezer that's too warm to cycle, and the ice maker being off or its feeler arm stuck up. If those check out, the fault is usually the water inlet valve or the ice maker itself — and the specific part and the reset procedure depend on the real maker, which the model-number prefix tells you.

It's on a rating label, usually inside the refrigerator on a side wall or ceiling, or along the door frame. It typically starts with three digits, then a period, then more digits (for example 106.xxxxxxx). Those first three digits are the key: match them to the maker list above to know whether your no-ice repair needs Whirlpool, Frigidaire, LG, GE, or Samsung parts — and which brand's reset steps to use. If you're unsure, our techs identify the maker from the model number when you call.

The safe steps are the same no matter who built your Kenmore: replace an overdue filter, confirm the supply valve is open and the line isn't kinked, free a stuck feeler arm and make sure the maker is on, verify the freezer is cold enough, and thaw a frozen fill tube gently. A reset (power-cycle, or the maker's own button) clears many transient faults. Don't replace the water inlet valve or open the ice maker module — those are electrically live, plumbed-in tech jobs. If the water checks and reset don't restore ice, that's the handoff point.

Usually yes. The no-ice fixes — a filter, a fill-tube thaw, the water inlet valve, or the ice maker assembly — are affordable against a refrigerator you're keeping, and they're the same mainstream parts as the underlying brand. Our techs identify the real maker from your model number, carry the right Whirlpool, LG, or Samsung part, and verify the water path first. In LA's hard water, mineral scale on the inlet-valve screen and fill tube is a common flow restriction that's often the whole fix. $89 residential diagnostic, waived with the repair.