Which Brands Make the Most Reliable Appliances?

To calculate predicted reliability, we ask members whether their appliances broke or stopped working as well as they should. We use that data to estimate how a given brand’s new models will hold up over the first five years of use. The chart includes only brands for which we have reliability ratings in at least two categories of major appliances.

The predicted reliability ratings for appliances from each brand are an average of the ratings for all types of that brand’s appliances (for example, front-loaders, top-loaders, etc., for washing machines).

For each brand, the average predicted reliability score has been adjusted to account for differences among types of appliances. A brand that earns relatively high marks for its French-door refrigerators, for example, will get a bump in its score because French-door models are less reliable than other refrigerator types. Without this statistical adjustment, a brand that makes only top-freezer refrigerators—the most reliable type—would have an unfair advantage over brands that make multiple types.

Yet again, the most reliable brand, Speed Queen, and the least reliable brand, Viking, maintain their positions at the top and bottom of our chart. And this year saw one new addition, Beko; we now have large-enough sample sizes to assign reliability ratings for the brand’s dishwashers and washing machines.

CR members can read on, below, for a deep dive into appliance reliability, across 29 brands including Bosch, Electrolux, Frigidaire, GE, Ikea, Kenmore, KitchenAid, LG, Maytag, Miele, Monogram, Samsung, Sub-Zero/Wolf, Thermador, and Whirlpool.

Keep in mind that our predicted reliability ratings are not an indicator of performance. So even when you settle on a reliable brand, you’ll want to check our full appliance ratings to find a specific model that performs well in our rigorous lab tests. And in our washing machine and dishwasher ratings, look for our newly expanded Green Choice designation, which identifies appliances with a lower environmental impact.