The short answer
Most noise complaints on Aviva ARTM resolve to one of three moving parts and to the cabinet that surrounds them. Owners report the lower compartment because that is where the food spoils, but the fault is usually decided in the compartment above it, which is why a noise that would pass unnoticed on a full-size machine gets reported on this family. The first job is not to find the part but to establish when the noise happens.
What you observe on these models
- A hum or buzz that starts and stops with the cooling — Machine-bay noise.
- Gurgling, ticking or a sigh after the machine stops — Refrigerant settling and plastic contracting.
- A rattle that changes when you press on the cabinet — A line or a panel in contact with the shell.
- NEAR MISS — a loud click and then nothing cools — A start-relay fault, not a noise fault.
Causes, most likely first on ARTM
- The compressor and its mounts — A compressor sitting on tired rubber mounts transmits its own running note into the cabinet, which amplifies it. The sound is steady, low and present only while the circuit runs. The machine bay is at the bottom and the shell is thin, so the note carries. Ranked first here rather than further down, because a top-mount refrigerator gives this cause more opportunities than any other on the list.
- The condenser fan in the machine bay — A fan blade that has picked up debris, or a bearing that has dried out, produces a rattle or a whine that starts and stops exactly with the compressor.
- Ice contacting a fan or a panel — Ice growing where it should not be eventually reaches a moving part, and the noise arrives long after the ice did.
- Tubing or a wiring loom touching the cabinet — A line that has drifted into contact with the shell turns a normal vibration into a buzz. It is the most common cause of a noise that appears suddenly after the machine has been moved. Last on this list, and the item that every cause above it can imitate exactly.
Check in this order, and why that order
- Time the noise against the cooling cycle — Stand by the cabinet for one full cycle. Whether the sound starts with the compressor, stops with it or ignores it entirely eliminates two thirds of the list before anything is touched.
- Open the door while the noise is happening — The interior fan stops when the door opens on most cabinets. A noise that survives the door being open is not inside the cabinet.
- Press firmly on the cabinet sides and top — If the noise changes or stops, it is panel or tubing contact rather than a failing part — and that is a fix rather than a repair.
- Check the machine bay: check the upper compartment first: on this layout it is the source, and a fault above always reads as a fault below — The freezer rear panel from inside the upper compartment, and the base bay from behind with the cabinet drawn forward. Look for debris at the fan blade before assuming a bearing.
Before you open anything
Safety
Unplug the appliance or switch off its breaker before removing any panel or reaching into the machine bay. A capacitor can hold a charge after the power is off, and a condenser fan will start without warning while the door is shut.
Models this page covers — the ARTM family
Reference| Model number | Family key |
|---|---|
| ARTM142** | aviva:refrigerator:artm |
When to call a technician
Call when the noise is mechanical and inside the sealed part of the machine — a compressor that knocks under load, or a rising scrape that arrives with a cooling complaint. Call sooner if the noise is accompanied by a loss of cooling, because together they mean a part is failing rather than resonating. Before ordering anything, match the plate against the ARTM variant table above. The family is a top-mount refrigerator, and parts that look alike across a brand's other lines often do not fit it.
Other problems covered for the ARTM family
Lead Appliance Repair Technician · 12 years experience
Experienced technician with 12 years specializing in washing machine and dryer repairs across all major brands.
