Cheapest Fridge to Repair in Australia: Hisense vs Westinghouse

Quick answer: Westinghouse (with Kelvinator and Electrolux on the same platform) is the cheapest fridge to repair in Australia: thermostats and sensors $15 to $67, evaporator fan motors $24 to $90, and a very wide parts catalogue. Samsung is next: defrost sensors and thermostats $10 to $40, fan motors $33 to $38. Hisense and LG cost more per part (fan motors $35 to $90 and $30 to $80) and rely on fewer, model-specific parts. Nine in ten fridge repairs are a thermostat, sensor or fan motor, so those two prices decide it.

Every brand’s error codes in one index · Find your exact part

Last updated September 2026

Fridges fail electrically, not mechanically. In our Australian Appliance Failure Index, thermostats and sensors are about half of fridge part purchases and evaporator and condenser fan motors most of the rest; compressors barely register, because when a compressor fails the fridge is usually replaced. So the cheapest fridge to repair is the one whose sensors and fan motors are cheap, plentiful and reachable behind a panel you can remove yourself.

This comparison ranks four brands common in Australian kitchens: Westinghouse (sharing the Electrolux platform with Kelvinator), Samsung, Hisense and LG. The prices are ranges from the fridge parts we currently stock. The verdicts are about repair cost and ease, not energy use, noise or how often the fridges fail.

Cheapest fridge to repair: the four brands compared

Codes are listed as they appear on the display. Where two generations of the platform use different codes for the same fault, both are shown. Always confirm against the manual for your exact model before ordering a part.

Brand	Parts availability in Australia	Typical price of the part that fails most	Second most common repair	DIY difficulty	Verdict
Westinghouse (Kelvinator, Electrolux)	Very wide: sensors, thermostats, defrost parts and fan motors for models back to the 1990s	Thermostat or sensor $15 to $67	Evaporator fan motor $24 to $90; defrost element $26 to $58	Easy: most parts sit behind the rear freezer panel	Cheapest to repair. Decades of shared platform and cheap electrical parts
Samsung	Good for the SR and RF series; strong on defrost sensors and thermostats	Defrost thermostat or sensor $10 to $40	Evaporator fan motor $34 to $36	Easy to moderate: some models bury the fan behind ice-maker assemblies	Second cheapest. Very cheap sensors; the F and E codes on the display name the part
Hisense	Good for the HR6 and HRSBS series; growing	Sensor or thermostat $23 to $67	Fan motor $35 to $90	Easy to moderate	More expensive per part and fewer parts listed; fault codes help, and the common ones are sensors — fit the Hisense Fridge Thermostat NWPF5K-089, HR6TFF342, HR6TFF460-S
LG	Good for the GF, GS and GT series	Sensor or thermostat $12 to $30	Evaporator fan motor $30 to $80	Moderate: some fans are deep behind the freezer	Cheap sensors but the fan motors, which fail often on LG, sit at the higher end
What fails, all brands	From the Failure Index	Thermostats and sensors: 49 per cent of fridge part purchases	Motors and fans: 43 per cent	Sensor and fan are DIY on every brand; refrigerant is not	Buy on sensor and fan motor price

Not sure which part?Enter your model number and the Part Finder returns only parts confirmed to fit.

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Why fridge repair is about two parts

A fridge has almost no moving parts. What ages is the small electrical hardware: the thermistors that read temperature, the bimetal defrost thermostats that switch the heater, and the fan motors that push cold air from the evaporator into the compartments. When any of those fails the symptoms are the ones every owner recognises: fridge warm, freezer fine; ice building up; a buzzing or clicking from the back. All of them are reached by emptying the freezer and removing the rear panel, and none of them touches the sealed refrigerant system.

Where Westinghouse wins

Westinghouse, Kelvinator and Electrolux fridges have been built on shared platforms for a very long time, and their sensors, thermostats, defrost heaters and fan motors are among the cheapest and most plentiful fridge parts in the country. A fan motor for a twenty-year-old Kelvinator is still a stock item. That depth, more than any single price, is why the platform is the cheapest to keep running.

Samsung, Hisense and LG

Samsung fridges have very cheap defrost sensors and thermostats, and a display that shows a code naming the fault, which makes them cheap to repair when the fault is electrical. Hisense fridges are newer to the market; the common faults are sensors and fan motors, the codes are documented, and prices sit a little higher with fewer parts listed. LG fridges have cheap sensors but their evaporator fan motors, which fail often, are at the higher end and sometimes deep behind the freezer panel.

What this does not tell you

This compares the cost and ease of the repairs fridges actually need. It does not compare running cost, noise, capacity or how often each brand fails. A compressor or refrigerant fault is outside the scope of DIY repair on any brand and usually ends in replacement.

fridge parts in stock in Sydney

These are the parts behind the codes above that we hold in stock and ship Australia-wide. Match the model number on your model sticker before ordering, or run it through the Part Finder and let it match for you. Every part we hold for the brand is listed on the parts page, and by model on the model pages; the wider range is in the fridge parts store.

Is it safe to fix an error code yourself?

Most of the codes above are cleared with a filter clean, a hose check or a plug-in part swap, and those are ordinary DIY jobs: unplug the machine, photograph the wiring before you unplug anything, and never bypass a door lock or a thermal cut-out. Anything involving the sealed refrigerant circuit, gas, or a mains-side repair belongs with a licensed repairer.

Frequently asked questions

Which fridge brand is cheapest to repair in Australia?

Westinghouse, with Kelvinator and Electrolux on the same platform: thermostats and sensors $15 to $67, fan motors $24 to $90, and a parts catalogue going back decades.

Are Hisense fridges expensive to repair?

A little more per part than Westinghouse or Samsung, with fan motors $35 to $90 and sensors $23 to $67, and fewer parts listed. The common faults are sensors and fans, which are DIY.

What fails most on a fridge?

Thermostats and sensors, then fan motors. Together they are around nine in ten fridge part purchases. Compressor failures rarely lead to a repair.

How were these repair costs worked out?

From the fridge parts we stock and ship in Australia: the price range of each brand’s common failure parts, how many of those parts exist for each brand, and how often each part category is bought across the year (published in our Australian Appliance Failure Index). Labour is not included; the comparison is about parts cost and how easy the repair is to do at home.

Does cheapest to repair mean most reliable?

No. This compares what it costs and how hard it is to fix the machine when it does fail. A brand can be inexpensive to repair and still fail often, or expensive to repair and rarely need it.

Are the prices here exact?

They are ranges from the parts currently listed, rounded, and they move with stock and exchange rates. Click through to the part for today’s price.

Should I repair or replace?

If the part is in the ranges here and the machine is under about ten years old, repair almost always wins: the median parts bill for a repair in Australia is around forty dollars against several hundred for a replacement plus delivery and disposal.

Read the code, then fit the part

Sensor price, fan motor price, and how many of each exist: Westinghouse wins on all three, and every one of those repairs is a rear-panel job. Find your part now

Disclaimer: this article is general information only and is provided without warranty of any kind. Appliance designs vary between models and production runs — always follow the manufacturer’s instructions, switch off and unplug the appliance before starting any work, and confirm parts against the model number on your appliance’s model sticker. Any repair is undertaken at your own risk and Oz Appliance Spares accepts no liability for injury, loss or damage arising from work performed after reading this guide, to the maximum extent permitted by law. If in doubt, use a qualified technician.