Kenmore Elite s by s

I love this refrigerator. It is 12 years old and has never had one single problem until now. I have looked online at newer models of GE, Whirlpool & Kenmore, but am afraid to purchase a new one because of so many negative reviews. Have also checked Consumer Reports magazine which made me feel somewhat better, however I would love to be able to fix this one. Had a Sears repairman come when ice maker stopped making ice and our ice cream seemed to be melting, while meat remained frozen. He showed me that it was the emitter & receiver which he said would cost about $600 to fix. I said I'll probably just by a new one so the issue if soft ice cream was not adressed. I checked for parts online and ordered the receiver and emitter boards- it was easy to replace these thanks to the generous people out there who share repair videos. That did not fix the problem and the meat began to defrost, freezer still cold, but not freezing. Refrigerator works fine. I am going to check the freezer coils next and go from there. All the cooling coils under the fridge are dust free. If I get it fixed, I will report back.