Maytag's French door lineup suffers from ice maker failures inside the warranty window and a freezer drawer that turns into a food graveyard. The shallow vegetable bins can't fit a full head of lettuce, and door wiring harnesses snap under normal use. If you need this layout, skip any model with a through-door dispenser and buy the simplest version you can find, but know you're betting on sparse reliability data and a category where even older Maytags' longevity doesn't predict how today's units will age.
Whirlpool once meant a fridge that outlasted your mortgage. The current French door lineup trades that legacy for a systematic ice maker defect: the valve sticks, the water line freezes, and the entire assembly dies within two years. Whirlpool acknowledged the flaw but only fixed newer production, leaving earlier buyers with a $2,000 appliance that can't make ice and vegetable drawers too shallow for a head of cabbage. If you're willing to disable the ice maker and overlook sloppy assembly (insulation hanging out, crooked badges), the box itself is spacious and affordable. If you want features that work or a brand that still stands behind its name, spend the extra $300 on GE or Bosch.