Not for the Physically Challenged

Full Review

We recently did an extensive kitchen remodeling job and found ourselves "boxed into a corner" needing a refrigerator of a very specific size and shape, and found that the only apparent solution was to choose a Sub-Zero 611 model.

The only other major requirement we gave our designer was that the ergonomics were very important, as my wife has Rheumatoid Arthritis, and she has some limits on strength and joint flexibility. After much research, consultation with our kitchen designer, and checking out the Sub-Zero 611 at the local distributor, we decided to up the budget and spend $5,000 for the refrigerator instead of the planned $1,500.

The 611 was ordered, put into place and all seemed well. Completion of the installation would take another few weeks as we waited for the wood panel covering for the door to be installed, and power connected.

The front door panel (per Sub-Zero specifications) was installed, and power applied, my wife began normal day-to-day usage of the Sub-Zero and quickly discovered that the force required to open the refrigerator door (and also the freezer drawer) was well beyond the limits imposed by her arthritis.

We consulted with the kitchen designer and Sub-Zero directly and thus began a long process that has ended with us having to replace the refrigerator ENTIRELY at our own cost.

The first discussions with the kitchen designer and Sub-Zero quickly revealed that it was common knowledge in "the industry" that the Sub-Zero units have a "hard to very hard pull" due to a number of factors. Right away we voiced to all that in light of this and the prior disclosure of the limitations due to my wife's illness, that someone should have alerted us to this fact and that we expected someone to resolve this.

The factors that were explained to us as causing the tightness of the door included:
a) A very strong magnetic seal around the door seal
b) A strong internal vacuum (which was the "secret" of the freshness of the food)
c) The weight (30 pounds) of the decorative wood panel on the door

At this point we should note that factor B was not always evident when we inspected units at the distributor prior to buying, as the unit is not typically powered up (so no vacuum).

All involved generally explained it away by saying that there were things we could try to improve the situation. In order, we had the local Sub-Zero technician come out and he demagnetized the door seal as much as he felt he could, and he suggested that we try to get a lighter wood panel for the door.

The demagnetization helped a bit, removing the wood panel altogether helped a bit, and changing the style of door handle (at our expense) reduced the stress on my wife's joints but after all this, the door still requires between 8 and 10 pounds of force to open (well beyond any "normal" refrigerator), and this is with a bare unfinished metal front door.

At this point the kitchen designer, the repair technician and the Sub Zero support staff all basically told us that they'd done all they could and we were on our own.

We wrote letters to the CEO and VP of sales of Sub Zero and got no response at all.

Through much perseverance, my wife managed to contact a senior executive at Sub-Zero who listened attentively and came to the same conclusion, and also was very adamant that Sub Zero had a no returns - no refund policy.

The kitchen designer said the same, and so we are left with a $5,000 refrigerator (and attendant custom cabinetry for around the refrigerator) that is useless (this despite our very timely complaint and our working long and hard with anyone we could to work around a known characteristic of this unit).

Considering that you can buy a $400 LG refrigerator from Best Buy or a $600 Kenmore from Sears and have a 30 day no hassle return/refund policy, the level of support from this "premier" supplier of $5,000 refrigerators is very disappointing.

In this entire process, EVERYONE we came into contact with stated that it is well known "within the industry" that Sub Zero doors require a strong to very strong pull to open.


We are now in the process of finding a refrigerator that will not fit the space nearly as well, require extensive (at our cost) rework of cabinetry, and labor to remove the Sub Zero and install the new refrigerator, all through no fault of our own and pretty extensive due diligence on our part before buying the unit.

Buyer Beware..Price and Reputation do not guarantee quality product or good service and support.