Thermador Weird Water Filter

It’s always a scary proposition to change the water filter. I can’t say we like the Thermador appliances that came with the condo unit when we bought it over five years ago. All I know is that the microwave didn’t work, the oven needed to be replaced because it didn’t work, and the refrigerator has a weird configuration to replace the water filter. The only appliance that gave us no headache was the dishwasher. Now the water filter is loud and churns and sounds like it needs to be greased. The filter is located on the bottom of the unit. The freezer door needs to be opened all the way and you have to literally crawl on the floor to change it out. And heaven help you if the filter doesn’t fit - even though you purchase the same type every time. So it’s always a test in patience and resolve when we replace the filter which we have done every time the message appears. This time the filter came out and went in without incident. But we never know if it will start churning again. So we always feel so lucky when we finally hear the ice fall. I do have to say that at least the system is still working. We never had any luck with our GE refrigerator ice makers. Hopefully we will be lucky again next time around. 

Amazon Refund

It all started in December 2021. We ordered a water filter for the refrigerator on Amazon from a company called Depth Falo. We have ordered many filters on Amazon over the last three years. One of them did not fit and we were given a refund immediately. We always keep a back up filter on hand so we have it when we need it. So we don’t use it right away. Sometimes it takes several months until it needs changing. So when it was time to change it this time, the new filter simply did not fit in to the slot. Upon closer inspection, the new filter was slightly larger and slightly different. So we contacted the third party seller. They said we missed the three month window and would not refund the product. I told them it was defective. They didn’t care. So I contacted Amazon to report the vendor and the defective product. They guaranteed the vendor would address it because they would be contacting them instead of me. Well, I got the same stupid message that it didn’t meet the timeline. So I contacted Amazon again. They said they would contact the vendor again - and I told them I had already gone through this step already. But they insisted the vendor would respond. The vendor did respond - with the same stupid answer. So I contacted Amazon again and they said they couldn’t do anything about a third party vendor. I then asked to talk to a supervisor. I was not happy with the vendor, the product, and now Amazon because I was told twice that I would get a refund. She then offered a “goodwill” refund and charged it against another item that I just purchased that had nothing to do with the third party vendor or the filter. At that time I didn’t care. But the refund didn’t show up on the bank account credit card. So I called again to make sure the transaction occurred because it had been two weeks. I was given the transaction number so I could follow up with the bank. They said that the refund did hit and I should see it on the next statement because it was in between months. Finally I could see the transaction on line after all the time spent tracking it down. Lesson learned: Do NOT use the vendor Depth Falo and only order from the vendor who actually makes the refrigerator filters. I won’t use Amazon again for this purchase. 

McLean Hardware Crescent Wrench for a Thermador Refrigerator Filter

It happened when we first moved in to our new condo about six months ago. The thermador refrigerator water filter needed to be changed. But it was impossible to remove it. Three people tried and failed until the service man finally budged the thing. Now it’s six months later and the same thing happened. There was nothing a you tube video or internet could do to help. So we went to the McLean hardware store to find a tool of some sort to disengage the stupid plug. What was recommended was a crescent wrench with teeth with long enough reach to get at the awkward plastic piece that is located behind the freezer door. With one try my husband was able to finally twist the thing free! So we removed the filter cap holder from the old filter and replaced it with the new one and twisted the whole thing back in to place. We saved a few cubes in case the mechanism stops working, but also to allow for the first 24 hours of cubes to be dumped - per instruction. Then I reset the filter cycle in the touch screen in the refrigerator. I hope this production ends with good news. Automatic ice cube makers and us have never seen eye to eye. But removing a filter has never been so difficult. 

Thermador Refrigerator Water Filter Impossible to Remove

When we first moved in to our new condo in northern Virginia about six months ago from DC, we had nothing but problems with the Thermador appliances. The microwave didn’t work, the oven could not hold a temp above 350, the dishwasher didn’t dry the dishes well, and the refrigerator water filter was impossible to remove. The filter is also located in a very odd place so it is difficult to access behind the pull out freezer door. All of these irritants resulted in several service calls. The oven was eventually replaced because three repair jobs didn’t work. We ended up buying a small microwave so we could at least use the kitchen! Even the service man had trouble getting the filter removed after our building maintenance man couldn’t get it to budge. I started using extra dry on the dishwasher and that helped with the dishes. On the flip side, our LG washer and dryer are running perfect! So it’s been six months since we changed the refrigerator water filter and we are back to where we were - neither my husband nor I could get the darn thing out and no You Tube videos were helpful. My husband at least got it turned half way, but that resulted in no more ice. So I filled our old ice cube tray just in case. And rather than try to do something on the weekend we decided to wait until Monday to try again.  So he turned the filter back to its original position and the ice at least started again. I hope we don’t have to call Thermador AGAIN because we can’t get the filter out. I have never heard of so many problems with appliances although the ice cube makers never worked in any of our GE refrigerators. What should be a simple maneuver isn’t. I suppose things could always be worse.