Appliances might be smarter than ever, but 2025 study data from J.D. Power suggests that they aren’t as reliable as they used to be. Senior managing director of retail practice at J.D. Power, Michael Taylor, explained that although “modern appliances are far more sophisticated and packed with more technologies than ever before,” the increased complexity of today’s appliances means that there are more systems to potentially go wrong. As a result, he said that reliability was now a “critical factor” in picking a new appliance.

According to the study, buyers looking for the most reliable French door refrigerator from a major refrigerator brand should look toward GE’s current lineup. The brand saw the lowest number of problems per 100 appliances (PP100), with owners reporting 65 PP100. GE’s score was slightly ahead of Whirlpool’s rival refrigerators, which saw 68 PP100 reported. The third most reliable brand in the segment was LG, with owners reporting 74 PP100.

French door refrigerators suffered from more problems on average than most other types of appliances. Across the category, owners reported 76 PP100 on average, while side-by-side refrigerators were subject to 68 PP100 on average. Two appliance categories shared top honors for being the most reliable on average: cooking appliances and clothes dryers. Both saw an average of 56 PP100 reported.

GE scored highly for reliability in other categories Aaron of L

A. Photography/Shutterstock Although it didn’t quite achieve a clean sweep, GE managed a first-place finish for reliability in almost all appliance categories in J.D. Power’s study. As well as being the most reliable French door refrigerator brand, GE also took top honors in the clothes dryer, front-load washer, and top-load washer categories, among others. However, not everyone agrees with J.D. Power’s verdict, with Consumer Reports crowning LG’s front-load washers the best on the market.

Even so, J.D. Power’s study unequivocally puts GE’s home appliance range at the top of the pile for reliability. As a bonus, when things do go wrong, the study claims that GE has the best service experience, too. The brand received 778 points for its appliance service out of a possible 1,000 points, while Samsung earned second place with a score of 768 points. Unfortunately, owners of Samsung appliances are more likely to end up testing out its appliance service than most, since the Korean brand’s appliances were subject to more problems than average in seven out of eight appliance categories.