4 Reasons Why Samsung Fridge Is Making Knocking Noise

Like most home appliances, your Samsung fridge is prone to make a few noises during its regular operation. Some of them, however, might cause you to feel concerned. For example, a Samsung fridge making knocking noises would cause any homeowner worry, but that’s not always a clear indicator of a problem.

When a Samsung fridge makes knocking noises, it could be caused by a frosted-over ice maker fan, loose water pipes, or even a malfunctioning ice maker. What’s more, those knocking sounds could be coming from the plastic parts inside the fridge as they expand and contract along with the temperature changes.

Whatever the case might be, don’t worry! In this article, you’re going to learn everything you need to know about each of those possibilities, including what you can do to fix the issue.

Ice Maker Fan

It’s helpful to think of the ice maker as being a separate appliance of its own, even though it’s located inside your Samsung fridge. We mean that the ice maker assembly generally has coils, a thermostat, electrical connectors, and other components of its own. 

You’ll notice that those components are very similar to that of the fridge’s cooling system. The difference here is that they’re focused specifically on making sure the ice maker works correctly.

Suppose you were to look closely towards the back of the ice maker (probably with the ice bucket removed). In that case, you’d notice that there’s a fan in there which helps circulate cold air throughout the ice maker.

How it fails:

Unfortunately, the components in the ice maker can suffer from a buildup of ice and frost over time. When that happens to the fan, its blades won’t be able to spin around unobstructed.

That buildup of ice and frost can lead to the fan causing a knocking noise. Even though the fan will continuously try to spin as it usually does, it might keep hitting the ice blocking the fan blades’ path. 

As this continues, so will the knocking noise that you hear coming from the ice maker in the fridge.

How to fix:

Fixing this problem is relatively straightforward: you’ll need to melt the ice and frost that’s built up around the ice maker fan. The tricky part is in finding a way to deliver the heat to the frozen ice maker fan to get the job done.

Now, you may be tempted to use a heat gun or a hairdryer to help melt all that ice. Many online guides and YouTube videos might also suggest that you do this.

However, that’s not the best solution. You risk damaging the ice maker’s parts by applying too much direct heat onto them.

Instead, the slow and steady route is the safest. Thawing or defrosting your fridge until all the ice is gone from the ice maker fan is your best bet. Yes, it’ll take quite a bit of time before all the ice melts.

Still, it’s the safest and easiest way to get the job done.

You can also diagnose Samsung ice maker problems by visiting their own ice maker diagnostics website here

Water Pipes

These days, many Samsung fridge models come with features like ice makers and water dispensers for added convenience.

For these features to work correctly, the fridge requires a direct water supply from pipes connected behind the appliance.

These direct water connections to the fridge make all the difference, as you’ll never have to continuously fill up the ice maker or water dispenser with water manually.

How it fails:

The water pipes connected to your Samsung fridge can also be the source of any knocking noises. That’s because loose water supply connections and changes in water pressure can cause the pipes to knock onto the back of the fridge repeatedly.

What causes this? The most likely reason for it is that the water connection wasn’t tightened enough when they were installed.

A less likely but still possible reason would be that the connection has somehow come loose after being in use for a long time.

Whatever the case might be, you must resolve this issue not only to resolve the knocking sounds but also to prevent the water pipes from coming totally undone and spraying water all over the back of the fridge or onto your kitchen floor.

How to fix:

To troubleshoot this issue, the first thing you need to do is inspect the back of the fridge where you’ll find the water pipes.

With just your hands, you can feel the connection to see if it’s loose. Plus, you might be able to see and hear the pipes are knocking first-hand and confirm that this is the noise source.

Then, all you’ll have to do is tighten the water connection between those pipes and the fridge. Like with any other type of plumbing, always remember never to over-tighten those pipes, as that will cause other problems as well.

Ice Maker

As mentioned earlier, several Samsung fridge models come with built-in ice makers. Depending on the exact model, some fridges might have ice makers that produce a higher number of cubes than others.

Even though these ice makers are built into the ice maker, their assemblies are also removable. That makes them very easy to replace if they were to ever malfunction.

How it fails:

It’s not unusual for the ice maker in a Samsung fridge to make a knocking noise. Firstly, you should rule out the possibility that the sound is being caused by the fan hitting a buildup of frost and ice (as discussed earlier in this article).

Once you’ve confirmed that the fan isn’t the culprit, then the ice maker itself might be problematic. You can confirm this by also looking out for other telltale signs.

For example, the knocking noise might also be accompanied by a lack of ice being made by the ice maker. When these symptoms happen together, they’re all clear signs that tell you the ice maker is malfunctioning and causing that knocking noise that you hear.

How to fix:

To fix a malfunctioning ice maker in a Samsung fridge, all you have to do is replace it with a new one. The first step to doing that is to identify the exact type of ice maker you have in your fridge.

There are two ways to do this. Firstly, refer to any documentation you might have, such as the fridge’s user manual and its technical sheet. Those documents should tell you the exact part number for the replacement ice maker.

If those aren’t helpful, then you can remove the ice maker from the fridge and see what type it’s using. Doing that might be challenging if there’s a buildup of ice and frost, which might require you to thaw out the ice maker before you can remove it.

Once you’ve gotten the correct replacement part, all you have to do is slide it in place and plug in its electrical connector.

Of course, be sure to disconnect the machine from its power and water sources before doing any of this to reduce any risk of injury or damage.

Fridge’s Plastic Parts

The inside of your fridge features many plastic parts. That includes the walls on all sides and some of the shelves, racks, and bins.

More importantly, those plastic parts separate the fridge’s inner compartment from all of its other parts, such as the electrical wiring, as well as the coils and the rest of the cooling system.

How it fails:

Here’s the thing you need to understand about the plastic parts inside a fridge: just like many other materials, plastic also expands and contracts with temperature changes.

Those fridge parts do that continuously throughout the day, especially when the fridge starts to warm up and then cool down when the compressor switches on.

Related: How Do You Know If Refrigerator Compressor Is Bad?

As those expansions and contractions occur, you may hear a knocking noise happen for no apparent reason. In older fridges, those noises might be louder and more frequent. Still, that’s no cause for concern.

Once you’ve ruled out all the other possibilities that might cause knocking noises to come from your fridge, the likelihood is high that the noise comes from these plastic parts.

How to fix:

If the knocking noise comes from the plastic parts expanding and contracting, then there’s nothing much that needs to be “fixed”. That knocking noise is very normal and not an indicator of a problem. 

However, suppose you still want to try and minimize it. In that case, you can place the fridge where the expanding and contracting of those plastic parts are less affected by external temperatures.

For example, you’ll want to place your fridge in a spot that’s far away from any direct sunlight. Besides that, it’s also best not to place your fridge near the stove, oven, or any other appliances that generate heat.

Your fridge will still heat up slightly when it automatically defrosts and then cool down when the compressor switches on.

However, keeping the fridge in a cooler spot would minimize those temperature fluctuations and perhaps reduce the knocking noise you keep hearing.