LG UM23BZH98 refrigerator repair

What the UM23BZH98 is

UM23BZH98 is the model number of a bottom-freezer, French-door refrigerator in the LG SIGNATURE series, listed at 22.3 cu ft. Two fresh-food doors sit above a pull-out freezer, which is the layout most households picture when they say “French door”. Anything we say about its behavior comes from that layout, because the number tells you the type, the series and the size.

Complaints that bring owners to us

On a tall double-door cabinet like this one, the calls usually fall into a few groups. The fresh-food side runs warm while the drawer below stays hard. Frost builds up along the back wall of the freezer. Water collects under the crisper drawers. A door will not seat evenly against its gasket, so the cabinet sweats. A technician starts from the symptom, then works out whether the cause sits in airflow, defrost, the door seals, the water line or the control side.

Ice and water problems get their own track. If a tray of cubes has stopped arriving, our notes on small, hollow ice cubes explain what that pattern can point to, and a flow fault shows up on the display as the gF water flow code.

Fitting a SIGNATURE-size cabinet into a San Francisco kitchen

A refrigerator of this footprint often goes into an opening that was cut for something smaller, especially in older flats and condos where cabinetry surrounds it. Tight sides and a boxed-in top restrict the airflow the condenser needs, and a restricted cabinet runs hot and long. When we arrive we check the clearance around the unit, whether it sits level, whether the doors swing without hitting a wall or an island, and whether the water supply line has a loop of slack behind it so the unit can slide out for service.

Checks you can do from the outside

• Read the display for a code and write it down exactly as shown before anything is switched off.
• Look for a toy, a bottle or a bag holding a French door or the freezer drawer slightly open; the door-not-closing code refers to this kind of gap.
• Wipe the door gaskets and see whether they lie flat along every edge.
• Clear food away from the air vents inside both compartments.
• Confirm the water shutoff valve is open if the fault concerns the dispenser.

Please leave the back panel and any sealed parts alone. If the unit smells of burning, switch it off at the breaker.

Where to find the number and what to send

The label with UM23BZH98 on it is usually on an inside wall of the fresh-food compartment or along a door frame. Photograph it together with the display and tell us what you changed or tried. Then read about the wider LG refrigerator repair service or browse all LG refrigerators; the Cycle Error display is a good example of a message that calls for an inspection rather than a guess. We give a written estimate after diagnosis and touch nothing without your approval.

Frequently asked questions