Sub-Zero repair
Sub-Zero Sealed System and Compressor Repair in Portland, Oregon
When a Sub-Zero stops cooling and the fans, the condenser and the controls have been ruled out, the fault is in the sealed system: a compressor, an evaporator, a condenser or the refrigerant itself. Mend My Appliance does this work at home across the Portland metro area.
It is the largest repair a Sub-Zero can need, and usually still the right one: the unit is built into your kitchen, and a replacement costs many times more.
First: is it still under Sub-Zero's warranty?
Sub-Zero covers the sealed system for longer than the rest of the unit. By the warranty it publishes for home use, the compressor, the condenser, the evaporator, the drier and the connecting tubing are covered in full for five years from installation, and their parts for twelve years, when the work is done by Sub-Zero's own service network.
We are an independent service and not part of that network, and we do not do warranty repairs on Sub-Zero's behalf. If your unit is inside those years, call Sub-Zero before you call us: the repair, or at least the parts, may cost you less through them. The terms that count are the ones that came with your unit.
Past those years the repair is yours to arrange, and that is the work this page describes.
Two sealed systems in one cabinet
Most full-size Sub-Zero units cool the refrigerator and the freezer separately, each with its own compressor and its own evaporator. So a sealed-system fault usually takes out one side and leaves the other working. Which side is warm, and how the frost lies on its coil, tells us which system to open.
It also means the fault is in half of the machine, not in all of it: the working side is left alone.
Sub-Zero compressor replacement
A compressor that runs without pumping, or that will not start, is replaced together with its filter-drier. Before that the start parts and the controls are tested, because a relay or a control fault gives the same warm cabinet and costs a small part of what a compressor does.
Sub-Zero evaporator leaks
On a unit that has served for many years a leaking evaporator is a common sealed-system fault: the coil sits in moisture and corrodes. The sign is a coil that frosts only at one end while the compressor runs without stopping. The evaporator is replaced with a new drier, and the system is pulled into a vacuum and charged by weight.
Sub-Zero condenser
The condenser sits behind the grille: at the top on the classic built-in models, at the bottom on the integrated ones. A condenser matted with dust is one of the most common reasons a Sub-Zero runs warm, and it is cleaned, not replaced. A condenser that leaks, or a condenser fan that has stopped, is a repair.
Sub-Zero refrigerant leaks
A Sub-Zero does not use its refrigerant up. If a system is low, there is a leak, and topping it up without finding the leak does not last. The system is put under pressure, the leak is found, the joint is repaired or the part replaced, and only then is the system charged.
What a Sub-Zero sealed-system repair costs
We do not print a price for sealed-system work: a compressor, an evaporator and a leak at a joint are three different jobs. You get the exact price after the diagnosis and before the system is opened. The diagnostic visit costs $90 and is applied toward the repair if you go ahead.
What moves the price
- Which part has failed.
- Which of the two systems it is in.
- How the unit is reached: from the front, or out of its niche.
- Whether the work takes one visit or two.
Is a Sub-Zero worth a sealed-system repair?
Usually, yes. A replacement costs many times the repair and has to match the opening and the panels of your kitchen, while the rest of the unit (the cabinet, the doors, the second system) has years left in it. We say so plainly when it is not: a unit with both systems failing, or with a cabinet that has rusted through, is a different decision.
Credentials
EPA Section 608 Certified Technician
Sealed-system work on a Sub-Zero is refrigerant work, and Section 608 of the Clean Air Act requires the person who does it to hold this credential. It is not a credential from Sub-Zero, and we do not claim one.
How the visit works
- Book online: choose the appliance, describe the problem and pick up to three times that suit you.
- We confirm one of your times by phone or text. You are not booked until we do.
- We come to your home, test the Sub-Zero and find the cause.
- You get the price before any repair begins. We repair it with your approval; if a part has to be ordered, we come back to fit it.
The diagnostic visit costs $90. If you go ahead with the repair, the $90 is applied toward it; if you decide not to repair, the $90 covers the diagnosis.
Our work and the parts we install carry a 90-day warranty. The terms are printed on your invoice.
Where we work
We come to homes across the Portland metro area in Oregon, among them Portland, Beaverton, Hillsboro, Tigard, Tualatin and Lake Oswego. Enter your ZIP code when you book and the form checks it right away.
An independent service
Mend My Appliance is an independent appliance repair company and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Sub-Zero. The Sub-Zero name belongs to its owner, and we use it only to say which appliances we repair. We do not do warranty repairs on Sub-Zero's behalf.
Book a Sub-Zero repair
Tell us what is wrong and pick the times that suit you. We confirm your visit by phone or text.