Why in the world do the shelves leave a 2" gap from the back wall? This is absolutely the worst design! Already jars are falling down into it! I am so dissapointed and stunned at this major design flaw. What in the world was Kitchen Aid thinking??? null

Question

Angrycamper · Accepted Answer

There is no excuse- I spent thousands for a high end fridge and I am miserable. I can’t justify replacing but things are slipping through all the time. I’ve had broken glass jars more than once. I am looking for some fridge organizers to place at the back to make it more livable though not ideal. These are available at places like bed bath and beyond.

Answered by Angrycamper 7 years ago

KelleyG · Answer

I fix the major design flaw on the KitchenAid refrigerator. The back shelves has a huge gap but no lip to stop things from tilting back through. After dealing with this I had to find a solution. I found a platic long piece at Lowe’s and is deigned to hide cords. It has a slit in it. I cut to size and got e6000 put on clean dry slelf and slide the piece on . It has a sticker probably used to stick to wall but I left it as is . When in place it is under the bottom of the shelf . Lg and other manufacturers have a lip. Super design flaw for a 4k refrigerator. I will check bad to see if this was helpful or if you have any questions.

Answered by KelleyG 1 year ago

Hilarious · Answer

Hilarious that everyone marks the non-answer from Kitchenaid Social Care at "Unhelpful." It doesn't matter if the managers and engineers review the comments because I wouldn't trust the idiots who thought the gap was a good idea to design a shoebox. There's a big "Made in the USA" stamp on mine which just reminds me I should have brought my Made in S Korea Samsung refrigerator when we moved. At least they were smart enough to know that a big space at the back of a refrigerator full of glass jars might not be the best idea.

Answered by Hilarious 4 years ago

Paul · Answer

I have that gap problem and share exactly your complaint. I wanted to state that KitchenAid factory was no help and would not even answer my letter. They would not tell me why that gap is necessary. I assume they do not know. The 2" gap in the back is excessive in my opinion, and I broke an olive bottle that slipped through the gap. I am looking for retro shelves if they exist that have a 1/2" - 1" gap like a half dozen other major manufacturers. I am an engineer and the excessive gap results in a 15% reduction in shelf storage capacity area. With a counter depth fridge every square inch counts. My previous counter depth fridge was a Amana which did not have that situation. The gap is 1/2" and when I replaced it with the KRFC300EWH01 KitchenAid arrived I started to swap fridge contents and that was when I realized the KitchenAid would not hold as much. Very frustrating. Also the KitchenAid crisper drawers need a redesign (overly shallow and rear of the drawer slope is excessive in my opinion), they do not hold nearly the same amount that my previous Amana refrigerator drawers held.

Answered by Paul 5 years ago

Alat · Answer

As explained to us this morning by a technician for our Whirlpool side by side refrigerator, because we are having cold spots in our frig compartment, the gap in the back is to allow the cold air to flow freely down the back and through the compartment evenly. If you were to close that off, as we were able to do with bottles and other food items, you will get cold air trapped in various different shelf areas and sections of your refrigerator possibly freezing some items as we were having.

The cold air is sent from your freezer compartment through a damper in to the refrigerator. The air is designed to flow down the back of at least side by sides and top freezer models and thus circulate through the whole compartment unobstructed.

I am surprised that Kitchen Aid representatives did not explain this to anyone in this forum. Shelves should have a bumper guard at the back to prevent items from being pushed against the back wall and obstructing the cold air flow or worse yet falling through and spilling or breaking. Ours, in our 10 year old Whirlpool model, do not unfortunately. Previous refrigerators we have owned did. 

So this is the functional reason for the gap at the back of your refrigerator shelves.

Answer

It is the worst!! So disappointed in KitchenAid not offering a solution to such an obvious design flaw.

Melinda · Answer

I thought the very same thing and was determined to find a way to fix that gap when I realized the shelf just needs to be be lifted in the front enough to get passed the locking mechanism and slid all the way back.

Answered by Melinda 4 years ago

SArah · Answer

I have the exact same complaint and what is worse the normal size refrigerators do not have the same type shelves. Those shelves have a white trim and they go all the way to the back. GRRRR. Tried to contact Kitchen Aid to see if there were replacement shelves and gave up after being on hold for 25 minutes. MAYOR DESIGN FLAW and I would recommend you think twice before purchasing. These shelves are a pain.

Answered by SArah 5 years ago

Answer

It's now 4 years since this thread started, and my brand-new KitchenAid refrig that was installed  yesterday has a 2.5" gap in the back. Instead of fixing this long-standing problem, KitchenAid has made the problem worse, opening the gap another half inch! This is just plain horrible!
Avoid KitchenAid refrigerators!

Justme · Answer

Pool noodle cut to size ?

Answer

Whirlpool is the same way .........and it "SUCKS" always spilling things  ..... What a "IDIOTIC" design !!

Answer

Use this part: Refrigerator Shelf Trim, Rear WR38X10192, a fridgeadaire part

Shelfgap · Answer

I have a whirlpool with the same issue! Our service tech said it was indeed to provide cooling air flow from the top to the bottom and that if I blocked it the fridge temp would be uneven. They need to design a shelf extender with holes or slits in it that can push back. I saw RV fridge tension bars that are supposed to hold your food from falling off the front. I wonder if they would work as a guard rail to stop jars from falling off the back. If I try them I’ll let you know!

FedUpwithMessUps · Answer

I was thinking the same thing. I don't understand why my Whirlpool refrigerator has shelves with a 2" gap between the all the glass shelves and the back wall. Small bottles and jars are constantly falling to the bottom of the refrigerator, causing messy spills and constant cleanup. I had a service technician come to my house to see if the shelves could be adjusted or to provide me with an extender shelf piece to rectify this major design defect. He told me the shelves could not be adjusted and Whirlpool has no such part to rectify my problem. He told me the best solution is to not put any food containers towards the back of each shelf. I was stunned by his remark and asked him, "Are you kidding me?' Three years later, I"m still cleaning up broken bottles and wiping up messy spills.

Fridgejustok · Answer

I'm having this same issue....but since I also purchased the matching oven and dishwasher, I'm trying to figure out a solution. I'm thinking that the cooling method of this refrigerator may be the culprit for why they did that--airflow. (Extendafresh temperature management system?)
Therefore I'm going to use some bees wax and teflon tape on the drawers to help them glide more easily. (no rollers--crazy plastic on plastic)
and will be looking for something to help things not fall through the shelves. I think I've seen shelve extenders but not sure where....also storage containers/organizers might work if they don't obstruct airflow too much. We need a product engineer to look into this and give us a solution, but after seeing all of these complaints from a few years ago, not going to hold my breath.

HappyCamper · Answer

Air Flow.................

Melinda · Answer

I thought the very same thing and was determined to find a way to fix this gap. Then I realized that you just have to lift up on the front of shelf while sliding it in and it will slide all the way back. 
(Slide the shelf in its tracks gently back until it stops then lift the front a little and keep sliding. )

KitchenAidTeam · Answer

UnhappyCamper, we thank you for your review. At KitchenAid, we are constantly working to improve our appliances and our service, and it is only through feedback from customers like yourself that we are able to do so. We have documented all of the concerns you have mentioned, for review by our managers and engineers. Our managers and engineers do regularly review our files, to look for areas in which we can improve our products. Thank you, KitchenAid Social Care

“Why in the world do the shelves leave a 2" gap from the back wall? This is absolutely the worst design! Already jars are falling down into it! I am so dissapointed and stunned at this major design flaw. What in the world was Kitchen Aid thinking???”

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