Who actually builds a GE appliance now
GE Appliances has belonged to Haier since 2016, and it still runs out of Louisville, Kentucky. One company turns out the GE, GE Profile, Café, Monogram, Hotpoint and Haier nameplates. For repair, the full model number matters more than the badge.
Most GE laundry, dishwashers and refrigerators come out of US plants in Kentucky and Alabama. Cooking products are built in Georgia.
Model number or serial number? Here's the tell
A GE or GE Profile model number starts with a letter and ends with a letter, every time. Copied one that ends in a digit? You've probably got the serial. Here's where to look.
- Refrigerators have it high on a side wall in the fresh food section, or behind or beside the crisper drawers. Some top-freezer models put it on the freezer ceiling.
- Dishwashers have it on the left or right inside edge of the tub, or along the right edge of the door.
- A top-load washer has it under the lid by the hinge or on the back of the control panel.
- Front-load washers carry it on the frame inside the door opening or low on the right side of the cabinet.
- Dryers keep it on the front frame behind the door.
- Ranges have it on the oven frame behind the door or inside the storage drawer.
- Microwaves put it on the inside left wall, on the back, or underneath on over-the-range models.
Codes, refrigerant and other things that change the repair
Plenty of GE refrigerators with electronic dispensers flash two-letter fault codes like dE or CI. GE ovens use F codes. A code tells you which circuit is complaining, not always which part failed. A power reset clears some. One that comes back is a real fault.
GE has switched a number of its newer refrigerators and freezers to R600a, an HFC-free refrigerant. Which refrigerant your unit runs on matters for any sealed-system repair, which is always a technician's job.
What GE's warranty covers
The GE owner's manuals we went through list a one-year limited warranty on parts and labor, counted from the original purchase date. Some models get longer coverage on certain components. What's covered on yours depends on the model and the date you bought it.
Garages up north, seasonal homes down south
GE says a refrigerator may not cool well in a room below 60 degrees Fahrenheit. That's a real issue in an unheated Minnesota or Wisconsin garage. For Southwest Florida seasonal homes, swap the water filter every six months and purge the dispenser line after a long absence.