Why Don’t New Appliances Last Very Long?
Last updated June 2026
In the market for a new stove or dishwasher? Don’t expect it to keep working for several decades, since appliances simply don’t last as long as they used to. Even your new, tricked-out refrigerator with the in-door water and ice dispenser that spits out cubes in multiple sizes and shapes might die in as little as five years.
“Though we don’t have conclusive data from now compared to 20 years ago, appliances don’t last as long as consumers expect them to,” said Dan Wroclawski, senior home and appliances writer for Consumer Reports. “Take refrigerators. Typically, people expect them to last a decade. They do, but Consumer Reports survey data shows an estimated 30 percent need repairs after five years. One-third is a lot.”
Appliance manufacturers have told Consumer Reports that they only expect their products to last 10 to 12 years or so. That seems awfully short compared to the long-lived ones your parents or grandparents owned.
So what’s going on?
High-Tech Features Make Appliances Finicky
Technology, energy efficiency, and economics all factor in. The push towards high efficiency, smart features, and sleek designs means washers, fridges, stovetops, ovens, and dishwashers have more electronic components and sensors than ever before. While these may add convenience, they also create more points of failure.
Energy-efficiency standards mandated by the U.S. government mean that dishwashers, which formerly had 30-minute wash cycles, now run for two to three hours. Gas ranges use electronic ignitions instead of pilot lights.
More bells and more whistles add up to more problems, said Bonnie Woolsey, owner of All American Appliance Service in Stafford, Va. She blames the rise of electronic control boards and sensors for the shorter lifespans of appliances. For example, steam created by boiling pots might cause digital controls on your stove to short out.
Refrigerators are especially problematic. Older models had one thermostat that turned the power on and off and a compressor that switched on as needed. Many new fridges use as many as eight sensors and a sophisticated linear compressor with an electronic control board that runs 24/7 to maintain a stable temperature. While this technology saves energy, it shortens the lifespan of your compressor. And that fab in-door water dispenser? “Now we see a two-year-old refrigerator water line freezing and we have to replace the entire door,” Woolsey said.
Cheaper Construction Means Short-Lived Products
Another reason older appliances lasted longer was that most had metal moving parts. Today, most new appliances are made with plastic components, which are brittle. Timur Bai, an appliance technician in Irvine, Calif., said that older washing machines were powered by sturdy motors. “Now the drum is twice as big and everything is plastic, even the motor, so it is weaker by design,” he said. “Washing machines once had a projected lifespan of 10,000 cycles. That’s now 2,000 to 3,000 cycles.”
Power surges also slay many modern appliances, since few of them can handle large spikes in voltage. “We turn off computers during a storm, but not appliances (if you could even figure out how to unplug them). Then a power surge fries the control board,” Woolsey said.
And that fabulous self-cleaning feature offered in most ovens? Don’t use it! All the experts we consulted said the self-cleaning mode gets so hot that it breaks down the oven wall insulation (which is thinner than ever).
The Cost of Repairs Often Isn’t Worth It
Sometimes a newer appliance can be fixed, but the cost of parts and labor to do so approaches or exceeds the price of a new unit. Often, even simple repairs are expensive. For instance, replacing a refrigerator light bulb used to be easy. Now it requires a wiring harness kit with control board and LED lights that costs $350 or more. Need new controls for your cooktop? They may run you $75 each (and you’ll probably need five), plus a technician to properly install them. Buying a new cooktop might make more financial sense.
More serious repairs require even more cost-benefit math. It might make sense to pay $150 to $300 for a simple repair if the appliance is otherwise in good working order. But it’s more difficult to justify paying $500 or more to fix a seven-year-old fridge that has a lifespan of less than 10 years.
“The $500 washer that needs new suspension rods? Technically, it’s repairable, and the repair isn’t considered major,” Bai said. “But the cost of parts—$100 to $120 per rod, and four are needed, totaling $400 to $480 for parts alone—makes it unreasonable. So, while the washer could technically last longer, it’s realistically ‘gone’ due to the cost of the repair.”
Still, don’t write off an appliance just because it needs a repair.
With the increasing breakdowns and shorter lifespans projected for their products, you’d expect manufacturers to retool appliances and maybe even go back to some of the more reliable older systems. Woolsey recalls recently seeing a new washer with knobs, buttons, and dials instead of a digital panel. Turns out it was all cosmetic. “The machine wasn’t using analog technology; there was still a control board back there. It’s deceitful,” she said.
If appliance manufacturers truly aren’t reverting to analog, what can you do if you need to buy or replace one? Know that new appliances are designed for looks, not durability. Focus on the simplest models and prioritize the features you want. Do you really need a freezer that churns out ice cubes in a range of shapes? Will you really use a smartphone app to remotely turn on the dryer?
One of the simplest ways to help your new appliance last longer? Maintain it by following the manufacturer’s recommendations. A little TLC can often ward off repairs.