What Did the 2020 LG Compressor Settlement Cover?
In 2020, LG settled a class action — the Bentley/Rosen litigation — over refrigerators with linear compressors that failed far earlier than owners were led to expect. Consumer Reports' survey data had found LG French-door compressor failures running around 8%, against roughly 3% for refrigerators overall. The settlement covered approximately 1.5 to 1.6 million refrigerators manufactured between 1 January 2014 and 31 December 2017 with linear compressors — units that commonly sold for $1,800 to $3,500 or more.
The settlement combined cash compensation tiers for owners who had paid for repairs or lost food, with extended warranty protections. It also closed: the claims process ended in 2021, and no owner can newly claim under it today. Its lasting legacy for a 2026 owner is not the settlement itself — it is the warranty structure that surrounds these compressors, which is where your actual protection lives now.
One more group belongs in this picture: owners of Kenmore Elite refrigerators with model numbers beginning 795. Those units were built by LG, and many carry LG linear compressors from exactly the settlement era. The badge on the door says Kenmore; the warranty conversation may still run through the LG-built hardware. If your door badge and this page seem to disagree, check the model prefix on the sticker before assuming none of it applies to you.
What Does the 10-Year Warranty Actually Cover — and What Doesn't It?
LG's compressor coverage on these models runs 10 years on the part. If the linear compressor on your 2016 French door fails in year nine, the replacement compressor itself is covered. What surprises owners — and what settlement headlines never made clear — is that the warranty is a parts warranty. Labour coverage runs out years earlier, and sealed-system labour is skilled, slow work: recovering refrigerant, brazing in the new compressor and filter drier, evacuating and recharging the system.
That labour typically runs $400–$700, and it is billed to you even when the compressor arrives free. For comparison, the full out-of-warranty job — part, labour, refrigerant and drier — is quoted in repair-industry guides at $650–$1,040. A covered compressor therefore still saves you real money; it just does not make the repair free, and any pro who implies otherwise before checking your serial number is guessing at your expense.
It helps to know what that labour charge actually buys, so a labour-only warranty job never looks like a parts-priced one. The technician recovers the refrigerant, cuts out the failed compressor and the filter drier, brazes the new compressor in without contaminating the sealed system, pulls a deep vacuum to boil off any moisture, recharges to a precise weighed charge, and on many models updates the compressor's control software. Done carelessly, the same job fails in a year; done properly, it is the most technically demanding repair in residential refrigeration — which is what the $400–$700 reflects.
Fridge getting warmer while you read?
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Call (972) 555-0148How Can You Check Whether Your LG Is Still Covered?
Work through this list before you pay for anything. One: find the model and serial sticker, usually on the inside wall of the fresh-food compartment. Two: establish the manufacture date — the serial number encodes it, and a pro or LG support can decode it in minutes; January 2014 to December 2017 builds are the settlement-era units. Three: confirm the compressor type — the settlement and the long parts warranty centre on linear (inverter) compressors in French-door, side-by-side and bottom-freezer models, including the LFXS, LFXC, LRMVS, LMXS and LRFVS series.
Four: count the 10-year parts window from your purchase date, not the build date, and dig out the receipt if you can. Five: get coverage confirmed — by LG or by the repairing pro, in writing — before authorising work. Six: if your fridge was built after 2017, accept that neither the settlement nor (soon) the parts window may apply, and make the decision on repair economics instead. This checklist is general information, not legal advice — but it is the exact sequence that separates a $500 warranty repair from a $1,000 mistake.
What About the Newer LG Lawsuits From 2024 and 2025?
The story did not end in 2020. Owners of later LG fridges filed new lawsuits — Armour v. LG in 2024 in New Jersey, and Kurant v. LG in 2025 in New York — alleging the compressor problems continued beyond the settlement-era builds. As of late 2026, both cases are pending: no settlement has been announced, no claim form exists, and no deadline is running.
Pending means exactly that. There is nothing to join, nothing to file, and nothing to claim from these cases today. Be wary of any service offering to 'register' you in an LG settlement for a fee. If a settlement ever does open, it will come with a court-approved notice and a free claims process — and we will update this page when the status changes.
If a settlement ever does emerge from the pending cases, it will follow the same pattern as the 2020 one: court approval, a public claims administrator, mailed or published notice to owners, and a free filing process with a deadline measured in months. Until you see those mechanics — not a social-media post, not a call centre pitch — there is nothing to sign up for, and the correct action remains the one on this page: document your fridge, keep your receipts, and keep the unit's paperwork with your home records.
Your LG Stopped Cooling. What Should You Do First?
The failure has a signature: fans run, lights work, the fridge sounds completely normal — and cooling fades over 12 to 48 hours until both compartments are warm. That 'sounds fine, cools nothing' pattern is the linear compressor's classic exit, detailed on our LG linear compressor failure page. When it happens, the sequence matters: unplug nothing in a panic, move food within the roughly 4-hour safety window, and do not authorise a compressor job until the warranty check above has been run.
ChillCrew connects The Colony owners with licensed local pros who work on LG units daily — call (972) 555-0148 with your model and serial ready. The pro confirms the diagnosis, confirms what the warranty covers, and gives you the labour-only or full price in writing. That order of operations — diagnose, check coverage, then decide — is the whole value of the call.
Frequently asked questions
Does the LG 10-year warranty cover labour too?
No. The 10-year compressor warranty covers the compressor part itself. Labour is covered for a shorter period early in the fridge's life; after that window, the installation labour — typically $400–$700 for sealed-system work — is the owner's cost, even when the replacement compressor is free. This single fact is the most misunderstood part of LG ownership.
My LG was built in 2019. Am I covered by anything?
That serial range sits outside both the 2020 settlement (2014–2017 builds) and, for most purchases, the working life of the compressor warranty. Newer lawsuits filed in 2024 and 2025 cover similar allegations but are pending — there is no settlement or claims process to join as of late 2026. Your practical route is a diagnosis and an honest repair-or-replace decision.
What do I need to check my eligibility?
The model and serial sticker inside the fresh-food compartment, plus your purchase receipt if you have it. The manufacture date in the serial tells you which era your fridge belongs to, and the purchase date starts the 10-year parts clock. A pro or LG's own support line can confirm compressor coverage from those two data points.
If the part is covered, what will the repair actually cost me?
Between you and paying out of pocket — nothing, if the fridge is genuinely inside its window: the compressor itself is the expensive component. You still pay labour and any non-covered sealed-system consumables. Get the coverage confirmed in writing before authorising the job, so the invoice holds no surprises.
I never registered my fridge with LG. Does the warranty still apply?
Generally, yes — manufacturer warranty coverage follows the product and its purchase date, not a registration card, though registration and a purchase receipt make any claim faster to prove. If you lack a receipt, the manufacture date encoded in the serial number is the fallback evidence. Have both ready when coverage is checked; it removes the easiest reason for a claim to stall.
Fridge trouble in The Colony? The food clock is running.
LG not cooling? Call (972) 555-0148 before you pay anyone — ChillCrew connects you with a licensed local pro who checks the warranty angle first.
Call (972) 555-0148