It is twelve years old and something has failed. Every page you find offers a table: fridges last so many years, dishwashers so many, washing machines so many. We went looking for who publishes those tables and what they are based on, and the honest report is that we did not find an authority behind them.
So this page does not print one. What it does instead is set out the four questions that actually decide this, none of which is a national average.
That is not a dodge. A national average lifespan tells you about a population of appliances, and you own one appliance, whose history you know and whose average nobody measured.
What the trace found
The lifespan figures that circulate are attributed in a familiar pattern: to trade associations, to manufacturers in general, or to nobody at all. When you follow a specific number back, it commonly leads to another article citing another article.
We could not establish a primary source with the authority to set these figures. That does not mean the numbers are wrong; it means they are not standards, and they should not be used as though they were.
This is the same pattern as the 50 percent rule, the one that says replace rather than repair when the repair costs more than half the price of a new appliance. That rule is widely attributed and we could not verify it at a primary source either, and our appliance triage guide reports that failed trace rather than repeating it: is this a DIY fix or a service call.
Two unverifiable rules of thumb are the foundation of most of the advice on this subject. Knowing that is more useful than either of them.
The four questions that do decide it
1. What is the actual quoted repair cost, from a real person, in writing
Not an estimate from an article. A diagnosis from a technician, with parts and labor.
Until you have that, you are comparing an imagined repair to a real replacement, and that comparison always favors replacing.
Ask whether the diagnostic fee comes off the repair if you go ahead. Many firms do that and it changes the arithmetic of getting a diagnosis at all.
2. Is the part still available for this model
This is the question that quietly settles a lot of cases and almost nobody asks it first.
A part that is discontinued ends the conversation regardless of how old the appliance is or how good it looked yesterday.
A part that is available but on a long lead time is a different kind of no, especially for a refrigerator or a cooker you cannot live without.
Your model number is what answers this, and finding it is a two-minute job on the plate inside the door, behind a drawer, or on the frame. It is also the number a technician will ask for before quoting anything.
3. What has already failed, and what is that telling you
One thing failing on an otherwise sound appliance is a different situation from a third failure in two years.
Write down what has been repaired before and when. A pattern of small failures is the most reliable signal available to you, and it is one no table can supply.
A failure of the expensive core component is a different case again: a sealed system on a refrigerator, a motor, a drum bearing. Those are the repairs where the quote gets close to replacement cost on its own.
4. What would you actually replace it with, and what would that cost, installed
Installed is the word people leave out. Delivery, fitting, removal of the old unit, and on a built-in appliance the cabinetry question all belong in the figure.
A built-in or integrated appliance is not a like-for-like swap the way a freestanding one is. If the replacement has to fit an existing opening, that constrains the choice and can add cost.
And on an over-range microwave, the replacement is doing the range hood's job too, which brings ventilation into the decision. Whether yours is ducted or recirculating changes what you can fit: ducted vs ductless range hood.
The energy argument, which is real and smaller than the marketing
"A new one will pay for itself in running costs" is a common part of the pitch and it deserves the same treatment as the lifespan tables: check the number rather than accept the direction.
The EnergyGuide label required on many appliances in the United States gives an estimated yearly operating cost, and the Federal Trade Commission is clear about what it is: an estimate, based on typical use and a national average price for energy, and your own cost will depend on how you use the appliance and your local energy price.
So the label supports a comparison between two new models far better than it supports a claim about your old one, because nobody publishes an EnergyGuide figure for a twelve-year-old machine in your kitchen. What the label does well is compare like with like at the point of purchase, and that is worth its own page rather than a paragraph here.
The maintenance question underneath all of this
An appliance that has been maintained is not the same appliance as one that has not, which is another reason a population average does not describe yours.
Two examples from this site's own articles, both of which cut against the common advice.
Refrigerator coils. Whirlpool's own product help states that routine condenser coil cleaning is not typically needed in a normal home, and that some models cannot be owner-cleaned at all. So "you should have been cleaning the coils" is not a general truth. See how to clean refrigerator coils.
Dishwasher filters. A filter that has never been cleaned is a maintenance failure that produces symptoms people read as the machine dying. That one is genuinely on the owner and it is quick: how to clean a dishwasher filter.
And hard water shortens the life of anything that heats water, which is a real mechanism rather than a sales line, and whether it applies in your house is checkable rather than assumable: signs of hard water in the house.
The one figure this page will give you
Zero. No lifespan, no average, no percentage.
What it will say is that the decision is made from a written quote, a parts availability answer, a repair history you can write down in five minutes, and an installed replacement price. All four are obtainable, all four are about your appliance, and none of them requires a table.
FAQ
How long do kitchen appliances last? We could not find an authority that publishes lifespan figures with the standing to set them, so this page does not quote one. The figures that circulate are widely repeated and thinly attributed.
Is the 50 percent rule real? It is widely attributed and we could not verify it at a primary source. Our appliance triage guide reports that failed trace rather than repeating it as a published standard.
What should I actually base the decision on? A written repair quote from a technician, whether the part is still available for your model, what has already failed and when, and the installed cost of a replacement.
How do I find my model number? On the rating plate, usually inside a door, behind a drawer, or on the frame. It is also the first thing a technician asks for, and it is what answers the parts availability question.
Will a new appliance really pay for itself in energy savings? The EnergyGuide label gives an estimated yearly operating cost, and the FTC is explicit that it is an estimate based on typical use and a national average energy price, with your own cost depending on your usage and local prices. It compares two new models well; it says nothing about your existing one.
Does maintenance actually extend the life? For some things clearly yes, such as a dishwasher filter, and for others the manufacturer says the maintenance is not routinely needed at all, as Whirlpool does for condenser coils. Which is another reason a population average does not describe your appliance.
Sources: Federal Trade Commission consumer guidance on the EnergyGuide label, checked 2026-08-28, for what the label shows and the statement that the estimated yearly operating cost is an estimate based on typical use and a national average price for energy, with the reader's cost depending on their usage and local energy price. Our fetcher received an HTTP 403 from consumer.ftc.gov on that date, so that guidance is reported from the FTC's own indexed consumer pages rather than from a page we opened directly, and is labeled as such; that is our retrieval failing rather than anything on the FTC's side. The Whirlpool condenser coil statement and the unverifiable status of the 50 percent repair-or-replace rule are carried from this site's own articles, which record their sources and dates.
No lifespan figure, average, repair cost, replacement cost or percentage appears anywhere on this page. That is the point of it.
