--- title: "Kenmore refrigerator showing r3 | RefrigeratorRepair.center" description: "What r3 means on Kenmore refrigerators, what to check before booking, and when it is not a failure at all." url: "https://refrigeratorrepair.center/error-codes/kenmore-r3-111/" --- # Kenmore refrigerator showing r3 r3 reports a failed defrost heater on the fresh food side of the Trio. ## What r3 actually means. r3 reports a failed defrost heater on the fresh food side of the Trio. Sears checks the heater's wiring for damage and replaces the heater when the wires are fine. Frost left on that coil gradually cuts the cold air reaching the fresh food shelves. Kenmore refrigerator display What to do when r3 shows on the refrigerator ### Kind of code Defrost The defrost cycle did not finish in the time the board allows. A heater, its thermostat or the sensor that ends the cycle. ### Usually leads to Defrost system repair The failure behind most slow, gradual losses of cooling — and behind most visible frost. ### Shows up as Fresh Food Section Warm, Freezer Cold The single most diagnostic pattern on a refrigerator, and almost never the compressor. ### Make Kenmore A retail badge on appliances built by several different manufacturers. ### Source Sears PartsDirect: Kenmore 111 bottom-freezer error codes (Wayback copy, Nov 2019) Kenmore bottom-freezer Trio models whose number starts 111; r3 is the refrigerator defrost heater code in the diagnostic mode. ## Before you book, in this order. Each step comes from Kenmore's own guidance for r3 on its refrigerators. Follow it to the end: the last card says whether this is a visit. 01 Check the model plate for a 111 prefix and a bottom freezer. 02 Keep an eye on the fresh food temperature over the next day or two. 03 Book a visit and say r3, so the fresh food heater is tested rather than the freezer's. ### Still there? It usually turns into [defrost system repair](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/services/defrost-system-repair/). Book with the code and the model number. ### What not to do r3 is not the freezer heater. That one appears as F3 on the same list. ## What you may notice with it. The refrigerator problems r3 tends to arrive with. Answer these at the refrigerator before anyone is booked. [All problems](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/problems/) Before you call ### [Fresh Food Section Warm, Freezer Cold](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/problems/fresh-food-warm-freezer-cold/) [All 5 causes, cheapest first](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/problems/fresh-food-warm-freezer-cold/) It also comes with - [**Frost Building Up in the Refrigerator**](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/problems/frost-buildup/) Food safety applies ### Fresh Food Section Warm, Freezer Cold 5 causes, cheapest first Where r3 usually leads ## Defrost system repair. **Defrost heater, thermostat or sensor · low.** Book a visit [What the job involves](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/services/defrost-system-repair/) ## Read these before the visit. Short guides that make the call quicker and the diagnosis cheaper. [All guides](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/guides/) How not to need us ### Keeping the defrost drain clear before it floods Why it is doing that ### Why refrigerators stop cooling, in order of likelihood Error codes ### All 247 codes, by make ## Kenmore refrigerators. A retail badge on appliances built by several different manufacturers. [Kenmore refrigerator repair](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/brands/kenmore/) More Kenmore codes [COOLING OFF](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/error-codes/kenmore-cooling-off/) [Er FF](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/error-codes/kenmore-er-ff/) [F dH](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/error-codes/kenmore-dh/) [Door Ajar](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/error-codes/kenmore-frigidaire-door-ajar/) [Sb](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/error-codes/kenmore-frigidaire-sb-sb/) [Er FS](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/error-codes/kenmore-er-fs/) [Er rS](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/error-codes/kenmore-er-rs/) [F dS](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/error-codes/kenmore-f-ds/) [r dS](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/error-codes/kenmore-r-ds/) [Er HS](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/error-codes/kenmore-er-hs/) [Er IS](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/error-codes/kenmore-er-is/) [Er SS](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/error-codes/kenmore-er-ss/) [All 51 Kenmore codes](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/error-codes/#codes-kenmore) Defrost on other makes [LG dH](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/error-codes/lg-dh/) [GE dE](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/error-codes/ge-de/) [Sub-Zero 20 2 00](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/error-codes/sub-zero-20-2-00/) [Café dE](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/error-codes/cafe-de/) [Monogram dE](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/error-codes/monogram-de/) [GE Profile dE](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/error-codes/ge-profile-de/) Kenmore builds this ### French door refrigerator Two fresh-food doors over a freezer drawer — the most common premium layout, and the one with the most to go wrong at the door line. Kenmore builds this ### Side-by-side refrigerator Full-height freezer beside full-height fresh food, with the ice maker and dispenser built into the freezer door. ## In Kenmore's own words > r3 Refrigerator defrost heater failure [Sears PartsDirect: Kenmore 111 bottom-freezer error codes (Wayback copy, Nov 2019)](https://web.archive.org/web/20191119031439/https://www.searspartsdirect.com/diy/error-codes/refrigerator-repair/1234589/kenmore-111-model-bottom-freezer-refrigerator/0582) Every code on this site is taken from the manufacturer's documentation, never from a forum or a parts listing. Kenmore bottom-freezer Trio models whose number starts 111; r3 is the refrigerator defrost heater code in the diagnostic mode. ## Kenmore r3 refrigerator repair, where we come out. The same visit in every metro below: the code, the model number, and a diagnosis before any part is ordered. 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Check the model plate for a 111 prefix and a bottom freezer. If it comes back, it needs a visit. ### How does r3 on my Kenmore Trio affect the fresh food side? Frost left on the fresh food coil gradually reduces the cold air reaching the shelves. Watching that section's temperature for a day or two shows how fast it is changing. ### Is r3 the same as F3 on a Kenmore 111? No, r3 is the fresh food defrost heater and F3 is the freezer's. Saying r3 when you book gets the right heater tested. --- **[Read on the site: Kenmore refrigerator showing r3 | RefrigeratorRepair.center](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/error-codes/kenmore-r3-111/)** **[Book a visit with RefrigeratorRepair.center](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/schedule/)**