I bought an LG fridge about 3 months ago and lately I've noticed the food spoils faster, especially the vegetables. The freezer still works fine but the upper section isn't maintaining the temperature. I've already cleaned the rear vents but it's still the same. Could it be a thermostat issue or something more serious?
One thing that happened with a fridge at my place was that the evaporator had completely frozen over because the bypass valve wasn't working properly, and that was blocking the air to the normal refrigeration section. The weird part is that the freezer kept cooling just fine, exactly like what's happening to you. You'd want to check if there's ice buildup inside the duct or if that valve is stuck; sometimes with three months of use it can happen if the unit isn't regulating the cold air flow well. I'd tell you to contact LG's tech support while it's still under warranty, because this usually requires taking apart internal parts and it's not something you should mess with if you don't know what you're doing.
If the freezer is working fine but the refrigerated section isn't, it's most likely an air duct blockage that distributes the cold between both compartments, not a thermostat problem. That happens pretty often and sometimes it's just accumulated ice that you can defrost, or something blocking the air vents; before calling the service, check if there's visible ice inside the fridge or if you feel air coming out of the small holes at the top. If everything's clear, then it could be a more serious issue with the compressor or the valve that controls the flow, and you'll need someone from LG to come out because it's under warranty.
I had exactly the same thing with a fridge a few years ago - the freezer was spitting out ice and the fridge up top was getting warm. Turned out the air duct was partially blocked by ice, which is exactly what they already mentioned. But before you assume that's it, check if the thermostat is set to some weird position; sometimes people put it way too low without realizing. Anyway, with 3 months old you should definitely contact LG because it's probably still under warranty and they can send someone to check it without charging you anything.
Have you tried putting your hand at the back of the fridge (where the freezer compartment is) to see if you feel hot air coming out? What the others say about the ice-clogged duct is very likely, but there's something almost nobody mentions: sometimes the problem is just that the thermostat in that section is poorly calibrated from the factory or got knocked out of calibration during shipping, and the regulating valve doesn't open enough to let cold air flow upward.
Before you call the technician, try this: turn the temperature dial all the way down (coldest setting) for a week and see if anything changes. If the fridge section still isn't cooling but the freezer is working fine, then it's almost definitely a blockage or an air valve failure, and you'll need to have someone open it up because it's covered by warranty being so new.
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