What the Maytag Refrigerator Recall Means, and What to Check on Yours

On March 10, 2009, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission announced CPSC recall 09145: about 1.6 million Maytag-built side-by-side and top-freezer refrigerators recalled because an electrical failure in the relay — the component that turns on the compressor — can cause overheating and pose a serious fire hazard. By units affected, this is the largest single-brand refrigerator recall in the Fridge.com recall record. This guide explains what was recalled, exactly how to check whether a refrigerator you own is included, and what the official remedy is. Every fact here comes from the official CPSC notice and the Fridge.com recall record; the full record for this notice lives on the Fridge.com page for CPSC recall 09145.

What Happened

Maytag Corp., of Newton, Iowa, recalled about 1.6 million refrigerators after reports that the compressor relay could fail electrically. When the relay fails in this way, it can overheat, and the CPSC notice describes the result as a serious fire hazard. The recall was announced with a free in-home repair as the remedy, which tells you the manufacturer judged the units fixable in place rather than needing replacement.

The scale matters. Refrigerators run unattended around the clock, and a fire-hazard failure in a component that cycles every time the compressor starts is not something an owner can watch for. That is why the official remedy is a repair, not a usage change: there is no safe workaround an owner can apply on their own.

Which Refrigerators Are Recalled

The recall covers certain side-by-side and top-freezer refrigerators sold under seven brand names: Maytag, Jenn-Air, Amana, Admiral, Magic Chef, Performa by Maytag, and Crosley. The affected units were manufactured in black, bisque, white, and stainless steel. Refrigerators with the freezer on the bottom are not included in this recall.

Inclusion is determined by the combination of where the model number begins and where the serial number ends. The CPSC notice lists these combinations:

A unit is included only when both parts match: the model number begins with one of the listed prefixes and the serial number ends with one of the listed two-letter combinations for that configuration.

How to Check the Refrigerator You Own

Checking takes a few minutes and requires no tools:

1. Open the refrigerator door and find the label printed with the model and serial numbers. On these units the label is located on the top middle or the left upper side of the refrigerator liner — the interior wall of the fresh-food compartment.
2. Write down the full model number and the full serial number.
3. Compare the beginning of the model number and the ending of the serial number against the table above for your configuration (side-by-side or top-freezer).
4. If both match, treat the unit as recalled and contact Maytag using the details below. If you are unsure, contact Maytag anyway — the official guidance is to contact the company to determine whether your refrigerator is included.

If your refrigerator has a bottom freezer, it is not part of this recall regardless of its numbers.

The Hazard, in Plain Terms

Every refrigerator compressor needs a starting mechanism, and on these units that job belongs to an electrical relay. The CPSC notice states that an electrical failure in that relay can cause overheating and pose a serious fire hazard. Because the relay operates each time the compressor cycles on — many times a day, whether anyone is home or not — a failing relay is a persistent ignition risk rather than a one-time event.

Incidents on Record

At the time of the notice, Maytag had received 41 reports of refrigerator relay ignition. Sixteen of those reports involved property damage, ranging from smoke damage to extensive kitchen damage. The notice does not list injuries, and the Fridge.com recall record stores none for this notice. Those are the incident facts on record; nothing beyond them should be assumed in either direction.

What to Do Now

The official remedy is a free in-home repair. The CPSC notice directs consumers to contact Maytag immediately to determine whether their refrigerator is included and to schedule the repair. Two specifics from the notice are worth repeating exactly:

• Do not return the refrigerator to the retailer where it was purchased — the retailer is not the remedy channel for this recall.
• Contact Maytag toll-free at (866) 533-9817, or through the recall page the company maintains at repair.maytag.com.

Because this recall dates to 2009, an owner checking an older refrigerator today should confirm the current status of the remedy program directly with the manufacturer or on the official notice at CPSC.gov before acting. The Fridge.com recall page for CPSC 09145 links the official notice.

Where the Units Were Sold

According to the CPSC notice, the recalled refrigerators were sold at department and appliance stores and by homebuilders nationwide from January 2001 through January 2004, for between about $350 and $1,600. The homebuilder channel is easy to overlook: if your home was built or renovated in that window and came with a Maytag-family refrigerator already installed, the unit belongs in this check even though nobody in your household bought it at a store.

Why This Check Still Matters on an Older Unit

A 2009 recall might sound like history, but refrigerators are among the longest-lived appliances in a home, and units from the 2001–2004 manufacturing window are exactly the kind that get demoted rather than discarded: moved to the garage as an overflow fridge, left behind in a home sale, passed along secondhand, or kept running in a rental. A recalled unit does not stop being recalled because it changed hands — the hazard travels with the serial number, not with the original owner. If you acquired a Maytag-family side-by-side or top-freezer refrigerator secondhand, or inherited one with a home purchase, it has likely never been checked against this notice at all.

One practical note on reading the numbers: this recall keys on the ending of the serial number, not the beginning, which is the opposite of how many recalls are written. Read the serial number through to its last two characters and compare those against the table. The model number works the other way — it is the beginning that counts. Getting the two reversed is the most likely way to wrongly clear a unit that is actually included, so check both directions deliberately.

How This Recall Fits the Record

The Fridge.com recall record, built on U.S. CPSC filings, lists three Maytag recalls between 2003 and 2009, together covering 1,652,800 units — and CPSC 09145 accounts for nearly all of that figure on its own. Only one refrigeration recall in the record affects more units than this one: the pre-1970 chest freezer recall initiative, which was an industry-wide program rather than a single brand's action.

Two useful places to go deeper:

• Every Maytag recall on record — each notice with its official hazard, remedy, and source link.
• The full Fridge.com recall record — every CPSC refrigeration recall tracked, newest first, refreshed from CPSC.gov.

Tracking Recalls for the Refrigerator You Own

Each appliance tracked on Fridge.com carries a FIN — Fridge.com Identification Number — the permanent canonical ID that links each appliance across retailers, covering prices, specifications, and recall history. Product pages with a FIN carry a recall-alert signup: subscribe on the page for the model you own, and a new CPSC match against that FIN triggers an alert. That closes the gap this recall illustrates — most owners never hear about a recall the year it happens.

If a recalled unit leads you to replace an older refrigerator, the current side-by-side and top-freezer configurations are cataloged at side-by-side refrigerators and top-freezer refrigerators, each with specifications and price history per model.

The Short Version

• CPSC recall 09145, announced March 10, 2009 — about 1.6 million side-by-side and top-freezer refrigerators under the Maytag, Jenn-Air, Amana, Admiral, Magic Chef, Performa by Maytag, and Crosley names.
• The hazard is an electrical failure in the compressor relay that can overheat and pose a serious fire hazard; 41 ignition reports and 16 property-damage reports were on record at announcement.
• Check the label on the top middle or left upper side of the refrigerator liner; the unit is included when the model-number beginning and serial-number ending both match the notice.
• The remedy is a free in-home repair — contact Maytag at (866) 533-9817; do not return the unit to the retailer.
• Bottom-freezer refrigerators are not included.

Sources: U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission recall notice 09145 (CPSC.gov) and the Fridge.com recall record.