Sears review: Bad odor coming from back of unit when running & fan is on. 133

Purchased our Kenmore Elite French door refrigerator in May 2014. Foul odor started 12/23/14. Searched and cleaned everything in my kitchen inside and out. Decided it had to be coming from the fan on the fridge. Still under warranty so called Sears. They are coming on Friday, the day after Christmas. Have to smell this disgusting foul smell through the holiday. Will post if there is a resolution. Seeing that there is a major design flaw with the drip pan for over four years now is very disappointing. Can't believe they haven't fixed the issue.

Ours too is smelling and I have also cleaned 2-3 times its discusting!
Ours is about 3 years old. So still new in my eyes!

I am also having the same issue with my KE refrigerator. The smell started about a week ago and comes and goes. It is starting to get worse and more frequent. I tried to clean out the drip pan as best I could with bleach water and that worked for a few hours, but now the smell is back. I am extremely disappointed and hope that Sears will remedy this situation. I purchased the fridge is May 2011.

have you gotten any help on this. Sears is impossible to deal with. Can we call one of the shows and have them put on Shame on You

It eventually went away but has come back more than once. I now have water leaking from the bottom of refrigerator. It seems to be an over filled drip pan but I cannot find a way to access it to empty it. We are very disappointed in this brand and the service response. They wanted $95 to just come out and look at it. I wasn't willing to pay that for them to tell me we had a horrid smell, I already knew that. If you find the answer to this problem, please share it on this page. Thanks!

I have a very foul odor in my kitchen that I was driving me crazy. It took me a while to finally figure out that it was coming from the fridge. I have a KENMORE side by side fridge that is still under warrantee. I called sears to set up an appointment for a tech to come out. He came and did nothing. He claimed that he did not smell anything and left. I called sears to set up another appointment. They would not give me another appointment until the tech notes were in. Turns out the tech lied to me. Put in the notes that it smells like a rodent. I do not have any rodents in my fridge or house. The people at sears are impossible to talk to. After reading about all the complaints that their fridges have with bad odors they are not willing to consider that fact that there is a problem with their fridge. Any resolutions from anybody about the smell in the fridge.

I have the same problem with the sears Kenmore refrigerator having a bad smelling odor coming from the bottom back of the refrigerator. My husband could not get to the drip pan. Sears technician came and stated he could not get to the drip pan either. The smell is unbearable and unacceptable. Something must be done. Is there a recall on the product. Please help.

This is the second time we have had this problem. The first time we did exactly as everyone else on here, cleaned everything hoping to wash away the smell. It finally went away but is back now. We have company coming over for lunch! We can hardly stand the smell let alone inviting others inside our home. I have emailed Sears. I don't have a solution but wanted to add my complaint to the list so Sears might take notice.

A fix we found was to vacuum up the foul fluid from the drip pan with a shopvac and then flush the drip pan repeatedly with hot water while vacuuming with the shopvac. Seems to have taken care of the odor

I am having the same problem. We built a house in 2012 and bought all Kenmore Elite appliance. So far we have had trouble with everyone of them. Dishwasher leaked on the hardwood floors, warping them. Oven door wont stay shut. Now this, the refrigerator smells when the door is opened. We too have cleaned everything out more than once. Only to find that the smell is coming from the back of the refrigerator. I am very disappointed with sears. I will not buy Kenmore appliances again. I have been a faithful sear customer for years. I tend to buy three to four appliance a year for rental and my other business needs. It is sad that Kenmore cant be trusted to build a good appliance anymore.

We just moved into a home that has the Kenmore Elite french door refrigerator purchased in 2008 by the previous owners. We didn't realize at the time of purchase that the refrigerator smells bad and that certain foods stored in it are consequently unusable. At the moment we're on our second big cleaning, and if that doesn't work I will replace it with some other make of refrigerator. We're wondering whether the multi-flow channel at the back contributes to the problem...especially since there seems to be no way to clean that. The odor is NOT of rotten food. It was present when it was empty. skoehrsen

This is clearly Engineering 101. We've all paid a huge amount for our beautiful high end stainless steel KE Refrigerators, and ended up less than impressed on this front. After all of the reading I have done, this is not at all a new problem and has presented itself since the newer sleeker design moved the front vent (so we don't clean those slats anymore)- as if it took that much energy, and made it now impossible for any husband wife duo to even get this out on their own. I put this amount of money into a frig, and now putting more into it by having to pay to empty my drain pan. I am so truly disappointed with sears. Shame on you, and shame on me for not doing the leg work to find out more. However I had no problems in the past, but that was when the pain was easy to remove. After the last several years, and all the accumulating complaints- why has it not changed.
Disgusted in big business, NE - Pa.

I also am experiencing this same issue! I thought I concurred the smell after taking a screw driver and paper towel through it and placing a car air freshener near it but sure enough the smell came back!l as did the sludge in the non removable drop pan! This refrigerator should be recalled by Kenmore due to brain dead engineers not allowing a drip pan to be removed!

Fabreze odor almost as bad as the previous musty one ... tried Hartz Nodor Litter Spray, happened to have it on hand ... that worked, no odor whatsoever now.

Well, we pulled our Kemore out from the wall, but nothing accessible, so back to the front, vacuumed as much lint and cat hair from the coils as we could. Then with the fan running, sprayed copious amounts of Fabreeze. Musty stink smell gone, but now it smells like Fabreeze. Guess that will fade. WIll pick up some baking soda boxes to put under there ...

Sure wish someone would post the solution to this problem!

Has anybody found a solution to this odor problem? There is no way to remove the drip pan to clean it, nor to clean the coils deep inside, other than what can be reached from the front underside with a vacuum cleaner. Our problem started when the bottom freezer door was left ajar for a few days and melting ice and condensation pooled underneath, saturating the accumulated dust. The dust has taken on the odor of a sour dishrag. Going to try spraying Fabreeze underneath while the fan is running ...

We have the same issue. THIS is a shame that they haven't been able to address this issue. I did not buy this fridge expecting that it would make my kitchen and breakfast area stink. Any ideas how fix this?

Frustrated after cleaning our Kenmore Elite Refrigerator and still having a dirty smell coming off the blower fan into the kitchen. Obviously a bad engineering design if the average owner can't properly clean the refrigerator. Kenmore, can you help me? Westfield Woman

We just noticed a smell also! Took off back panel and cannot figure out what it is! We just bought the fridge two months ago and this is the second one because the first one didn't even cool! I am so disappointed!

We've been noticing a bad odor from the area of the Kenmore Elite French door refrigerator for a few weeks/months and after cleaning it thoroughly, removing aromatic items (fermented garlic) and waiting several weeks, it still smells. I then replaced the air filter, cleaned the area underneath and around it. The smell is pronounced w/o opening the doors or freezer. Today, I decided to check to see if anyone else had this issue. I see its likely the pan? Does Sears have any suggestions? If so, please don't just ask individuals to contact you. Please post the suggestions for all to see!

I bought my Kenmore Elite, model 795.72043.112, back in September 2012. Up until now it was fine and we didn't have any problems. The past few weeks, we began smelling something awful, that appeared to be from the bottom right side of the fridge. Like all others, we pulled the fridge out and the awful smell (sour milk or worse) came from the drip pan and the fan was blowing it out. I then searched on the website for a solution, but instead came across this blog. I am so disappointed to hear that there is no resolution. I was impacted by Hurrican Sandy and have invested a lot of money in Sears Kemore Elite products. I would definitely reconsider buying another Kemore Elite refrigerator.

I have same problem with Sears side by side purchased less than two years ago - started same kind of awful smell a few weeks ago, no dead mouse etc. Smell only when fridge side door is opened, and some when freezer is opened. Cleaned out all contents and washed insides twice. Since it is cold air it goes right down my stairs as well as smelling up the whole house. Took off rear panel to look, nothing there but of course cannot get to drip pan (a design blunder). My theory is it is something in drip pan or inside walls, and perhaps is not even due to a spill, perhaps just defect in how unit is built or failure of venting or air circulation. I live in a cold, low humidity place and it does not smell like mold, also fridge has not lost power recently.
I would advise anyone considering this model to hold off or get a fridge with a removable drip pan - my only recourse might be to replace it with a different design, and not from Sears (and I understand Sears are made by different makers).

Kenmore elite side by side model # 795.72053.112 bought 10/2012 in 11/2013 the frig stop making ice.
Called Sears no go out of warranty tried to sell me a one year service contract for 10% of the cost of the
frig. The problem is a heating element in the door but they can't find where this part is in the door from
looking at the service diagrams so they can't give me an estimate of cost. Sorry Sears I remember when
you stood by your product now it seems money is the bottom line. I will fix this problem myself for the $35.00
part and in the future go some where else for high priced purchases.

We have a new fridge and are experiencing the same smell. Actually it smells like rotten peaches and we have never opened a can of peaches or bought fresh peaches lately .

We have a Kenmore 253.7717350 about 6 years old and a week ago it started to smell like rotten cabbage. It has been cleaned from top to bottom twice, pulled out, floor cleaned, coils and back vacuumed, drip pan cleaned as best as possible (what a STUPID DESIGN) and the smell is overwhelming when the door is opened, wafting into the living room and dining room. There is no spoiled food, no dead mice, no reason that we can find and we are at our wit's end. I gag when I have to open the door. What is going on?

I have a Kenmore Elite from 1999 and other then having the thermostat changed I have never had any problems. Now every time I open the door it has a sour sweet smell. I removed everything and cleaned the entire fridge. The smell never budged. I smell nothing until I open either door. I am planning to have someone come over to see if anything can be done with it. Otherwise Im never buying this brand again.
rexweaver1@gmail.com

I am having a similar problem with a smell from the fan at the bottom of, y ken, ire. Been in and off for over a year. It has been very frustrating, as the fridge is only 3 years old.

I have a Kenmore also model # 253•648 12400. It came w/ our house so I'm not sure about warenty. We have luved here a few years & this is the 4th time we've had this horridsmell that stinks up our entire house. It is coming from the drip pan, the problem is its a non removable drip pan & has two weird bowl shapes to hold a lot of liquid. Well its surround the compresser & there is NO way to remove or clean it. 50/50 bleach water don't even touch the smell. I tried paper towels but cramming them back in there & pulling them out cuts up my hands. Why in the world would Kenmore make refrigerators w/ non removable drip pans? I'm from a small town & the closes Sears or Kenmore appliances store is over an hour away. This is rediculas. I ended up using a shop vac. & a large bendy stray, my hands stunk like nothing id ever smelled before so I bleached them. There's no possible way to clean the back pan so I used the straw on it & got out what I could. I see on this forum Kenmore reps. actually reply so can you reply to this & let us know why would a non removable non accable drip pan is installed on your refrigerators?

I am having the same problem with the KE french door fridge I purchased in late 2011 with warranty. Fridge is clean with no spills in past. Loved the fridge up until now. The smell is coming from under the fridge and the sides especially when the fan is running. It has a sweet moldy smell and other times smells like a dead animal around the sides. Gets really strong with the fan runs. Sears is coming out tomorrow to figure it all out. Has anyone else had the issue resolved?

By the way... it doesn't look like there are any resolution to the posts here. Have issues been resolved for anyone by Sears?

I am having the same problem with a Kenmore Model 795.69004.900 that is less than a year old. Only smells when I open the refrigerator door. There is nothing inside that is rotting or expired. So frustrating. Smells up my kitchen. Anyone else having issues with a new model?

We have been having the same problem with our Kenmore Elite fridge (also bought in 2010, like most of the above writers) for just over a month now... smells like a dead animal and/or horrible old-human urine. Smell comes and goes, sometimes when the fan is on, sometimes not... and often when we open the fridge. Took us a long time - after thoroughly cleaning the entire kitchen, inside cupboards, everywhere.. to figure out that it was the fridge.
We had a Sears teck come yesterday... he dismissed it as "probably a dead mouse somewhere".. said he had never heard of problems like this before. If it was a dead mouse it would have quit smelling weeks ago.
We called sears warranty centre again and were told that the Tech "couldn't determine that it was the fridge that smells".. and that they weren't prepared to do anything more for us about this!
very unhappy longtime sears customers... getting very pissed off!

Customers will have a need to remove the pan because over time, you will have a spill in your fridge. The designers are expecting only water but even at that, if you have hard water, you're going to have a problem eventually.

I'm looking at the front of the fridge. You "could" slide the pan out the front, after removing the water filter assembly with only 3 screws. I say "could" because the hoses are too short to allow you to move it out of the way. This method would also involve bending down a thin piece of sheet metal that holds the front of the pan from moving forward. It was also taped for transport as was the back bracket (cut the tape, obviously.)

I too have the same smell, it when away and now it back, I can't for the life of me figure out how to get rid of the smell and it starting to smell my entire kitchen . Can someone please tell me how to get rid of the smell. For a while I thought I was going crazy until I good smell from Kenmore Elite refrigerator . My fridge is about two years old.

OMGosh! My kitchen has had the worse smell in the whole world for over a week, finally we narrowed the smell down to the Kenmore Elite fridge and it is coming from the back panel near the floor. When I figured it out I came online and now I see I am not the only one. Not sure what to do about it. I wish I would have known this in all the reviews I read before I bought this fridge.

I too have this problem, used a screwdriver and paper towel to soak up some of the liquid in the drip pan and poured bleach in, however it is back after only 3 days! I absolutely cannot fathom that this drop pan is non-removable! Am I missing something here? My model is MOD 253-[protected] without and ice maker, refrigerator only with a freezer next to it to make it seem "extra large" but I have taken the back off as much as I can with not access.

We are having the same issue! Smells like dead something and it's not anything inside the fridge or freezer because we've cleaned it all out. It is coming from the fan or some mechanism within the fridge. Very frustrating because we've tried everything we can. Mopped, baking soda, charcoal, etc. It is smelling up our whole house. Guess I'll call Kenmore directly and avoid Sears if at all possible. We just bought it in 2010 so it's not old!

Follow-up...
Sears found a dead mouse in the workings underneath the fridge. Unfortunately, there is not easy access to a drip pan / workings in this type of model, or this would have been easy to find and resolve without a service call. We had taken off the back panel ourselves prior to the service call. Thanks Sears for the service and resolution.

Experiencing the same problem. Unfortunately nobody has followed up here with their solutions. Here is our note to Kenmore customer care.

Our Kenmore Elite refrigerator has a foul smell. Not from inside the refrigerator or freezer, but from underneath in the workings. We have a service appointment for this week.

model number 795.78773.800

I am writing to highlight to you that you have a recurring issue on this model or similar models, for the same cause, as evidenced by many online complaints. Your customer service team on the phone was not aware of this recurring issue. I suggest that you write a service bulletin for your team so that they recognize this as a recurring problem. Maybe they can offer a solution over the phone once that this is understood. In my case, I have warranty coverage.

Here is one example of a complaint string with 6 users experiencing the problem.

Sears / Kenmore Elite French Door Refrigerator — Bad odor coming from back of unit when running & fan is on.

A google search will point you to more complaint threads.

Thank you!