Product review (3 stars): Started out real bad but is now pretty stable...
If you ever wondered about the metaphors "you can't judge a book by its cover" or "every rose has its thorn", or "beauty is in the eye of the beholder", wonder no more. This beautiful refrigerator (on the outside) is loaded with so much ugliness on the inside, that it will leave you angry, frustrated, and cheated at the same time.

Once upon a time we moved into our house in late 2009 and sitting there was a nice-looking Galaxy side by side refrigerator in white. Pretty enough but not intoxicatingly beautiful. Well, in 09, the stainless steel french door combo was all the rage, so we thought, lets stainless-steel up our kitchen and put the ol' Galaxy in the garage. Let's just say I am glad we did not put the ol Galaxy to the curb but more on that later.

The new Samsung RF265ABPN (a little different than the one here because the one here is white) started off all nice and good (kind of like a romance with a sociopath). It even was OK until about this summer when we started hearing noises sounding like a helicopter. Since we do not have a landing pad in our backyard, we wondered what it could be. Turned out it was one of the twin-cooling fans (the refrigerator fan) desperately trying to do its job but being rebuffed by ice buildup. We figured that it would work itself out as this is a highly ranked Samsung frost-free refrigerator and $1600 to boot. What could possibly happen to a relatively new and expensive refrigerator? The answer is a lot.

While the poor fan was struggling to double as an ice-breaker, the refrigerator temperature gauge stayed at the expected 38 degrees. We were relieved at first and then after a few days and a few food spoilings, my wife said, "Hey, the food is warm!!!". I said, "It can't be! This is a digital thermometer that does not know how to lie!!!" How wrong was I when I grabbed a regular old thermometer, popped it into the fridge, and then saw the naked truth that is was 67 degrees!!! A little balmy for a fridge, no?

Well I live in a reasonably populated area about 40 miles north of NYC. You would think there would be a Samsung approved repair person nearby. Nope, one is 30 miles south in New Jersey. Now if you were such a repair person, would you want to come all the way up to NY for an $85 service call? So, we then called Sears who offered us a 1 year warranty for $275 and this would cover everything. At that point I declined the warranty but asked the Sears guy to come by but just for the $85 diagnosis visit. He calls me on the day he is supposed to show. The first question he asks is "Is this a Samsung or LG?" I'm like "YES". He said he sees the problem all the time. We should remove everything from the machine, pull the plug, defrost for 24 hours, and then restart. I said thanks and canceled the appointment. What is this, the 1950s? Defrosting? Thankfully we were able to move most of the food to the old reliable Galaxy in the garage. I am surprised the Galaxy didn't flip us the bird or give us the cold shoulder.

So we defrost the beautiful beast, start it up, and then move the food back after it has hit the desired 38 degrees (as told to us by the trustworthy analog thermometer). All is going well for two weeks and then we notice that the digital refrigerator thermometer is working great! Yes sir, it is now working real swell and saying it is 57 degrees!!! What the? I look in the back and there is frost in the little air holes! Moreover, since the reboot, the ice maker stopped making ice! Must remain calm... We move everything back to the Galaxy which smugly accepts the food without an argument. I call Sears and this time happily sign up for the 1-year warranty. The guy comes over on a Friday to tell us that we need a new fan and two temperature sensors. They'll be delivered in a few days after which we will need to make another appointment for him to come back and do the replacement. I can only imagine where we would be if we did not have a backup fridge. We are now in wait.

Sorry to sound "cold", but please, don't buy a Samsung refrigerator. If you do, you will eventually be sorry. They are pretty pieces of junk. I expect more failures to occur during and after the 1-year warranty period. I decided that after the warranty runs out I will bite the bullet and junk the thing and go back to a GE, Frigidaire, Hotpoint or something along those lines. I am now scared of the French Door system too. Going forward it will top and bottom just like the good ol days when fridges were part of the family for generations. If you don't trust my opinion, you will see many others on the Consumer Affairs site. Look up Samsung Refrigerator. It is loaded with complaints, mostly angrier than mine.
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Update 12/24/12: Hi -as a follow-up, it took 4 visits from Sears but they finally got the correct temperature sensor replacement. The refrigerator has been working well for the past two months. I am still out the $275 for the Sears warranty but things are going well... for now.

Update 4/14/16: Ok, I waited 4 years to update this. At this point in time, the fridge is working well. No major problems to speak of. Well, the ice maker broke and I will have to address that issue but I think it is because someone forced the freezer open and pulled it apart. So, to let you know, maybe I got a lemon part at the start but 4 years later, the thing is keeping things cool nice and steady every day. It even kept food preserved for 26 hours after the power went out. So, for now, we are good.