The Short Answer
Kenmore appliances were built under contract by the industry's major manufacturers — Whirlpool, LG, Frigidaire (Electrolux), GE, and others — and badged for Sears. The first three digits of your model number identify the real builder: 110 and 106 are Whirlpool, 665 is a Whirlpool dishwasher, 795 and 796 are LG, 253 and 417 are Frigidaire, 363 is GE. That prefix decides which parts fit, which known faults apply, and which warranties may still stand.
The Open Secret
Sears never owned an appliance factory. From the catalogue era onward, Kenmore was a house brand — Sears wrote specifications, the industry's biggest builders manufactured to them, and the machines arrived wearing the Kenmore badge. Often they were the builder's own current model with a different control panel and a different price. That is why a 1990s Kenmore washer feels identical to a 1990s Whirlpool inside, and why a Kenmore Elite French-door fridge shares its guts — and its habits — with an LG. The badge was retail; the engineering never was.
The Prefix Decoder
Find the model number sticker (washer lid or door frame, fridge interior wall, dishwasher door edge, range drawer or door frame) and read the first three digits before the dot. The common Canadian prefixes: 110 — Whirlpool laundry, the most-sold washer platform in Sears history; 106 — Whirlpool refrigeration; 665 — Whirlpool dishwashers; 795 and 796 — LG refrigerators and laundry, including most Kenmore Elite; 253 and 417 — Frigidaire/Electrolux refrigeration and laundry; 363 — GE; and 401 commonly Samsung on later machines. There are rarer codes, but those cover the overwhelming majority of Alberta's Kenmore fleet.
“Owners tell us the brand. The model sticker tells us the truth. We've never once brought the wrong parts because of three digits.”
Field note — The Technician Team
Why It Matters for Repair
The prefix is a diagnosis before the diagnosis. A 110 washer that fills but won't agitate has the classic Whirlpool motor coupling story; a 796 front-loader flashing UE has LG's suspension conversation; a 795 Elite fridge fading over days belongs to the linear compressor era; a 253 freezer frosting over follows the Frigidaire defrost script. Parts follow the same logic — they're ordered from the real builder's network, which is why Kenmore parts availability is exactly as good as Whirlpool's, LG's, or Frigidaire's. The badge adds nothing and costs nothing.
Kenmore After Sears
Sears Canada's liquidation in 2017–2018 ended Kenmore retail here and dissolved the Sears service network that came with it — the moment thousands of mid-life machines became orphans on paper. In practice, nothing mechanical changed: the builders kept making parts, the platforms kept their documented faults and fixes, and independent companies like ours became the service department the badge lost. If your Kenmore needs help, the machine under the name is one we already know — our Kenmore repair page covers the whole fleet.
Kenmore Origin Questions
Who made Kenmore refrigerators?
Check the model prefix: 106 means Whirlpool built it, 795 means LG built it (including most Kenmore Elite French-door fridges), 253 means Frigidaire/Electrolux, and 363 means GE. LG-built 795 models from the mid-2010s share LG’s linear compressor story — including the ten-year compressor parts warranty, which follows the component maker rather than the departed retailer.
Is Kenmore still in business?
The brand still exists in the United States under Transformco, which acquired it after Sears’ collapse, and some products are still sold there. In Canada, Sears Canada’s 2017–2018 liquidation ended Kenmore’s retail presence — no new machines, no Sears service network. The millions of Kenmore appliances already in Canadian homes remain entirely repairable, because their real builders and parts networks never went anywhere.
Does the Kenmore badge make repair harder or more expensive?
No — if your technician reads the prefix. A 110-series washer is repaired with Whirlpool parts at Whirlpool prices; a 796 front-loader takes LG components. The only expensive Kenmore repair is the one done by a shop that treats the badge as the brand and guesses at parts. Bring the full model number to the first phone call and the visit starts half-finished.