Kenmore Elite Serial Number Lookup: Check the Maker First

Kenmore Elite is a Sears product badge, not one manufacturer, so Kenmore Elite appliances do not share one serial number structure. The first three digits of the model number are the manufacturer prefix; they identify the company that built the appliance. Appliage reads that prefix first to choose the correct manufacturer’s date coding method, and then it decodes the serial number. You need the complete model and serial numbers from the same rating plate.

For example, split model number 795.7554440 as 795 | .7554440. Prefix 795 identifies LG Electronics, while the remaining characters identify the refrigerator model. Then split serial number 405KR12345 as 4 | 05 | KR12345. The year digit 4 repeats every ten years, and month code 05 means May.

A dated record for that model and serial range selects May 2004. Appliage returns one manufacture date when the model and serial information identify one cycle. Otherwise, it shows every possible date allowed by the routed manufacturer’s rule.

Appliage dates Kenmore Elite appliances from 1991 to today. The model prefix picks the maker’s system, the date characters sit where that system places them, and the result is whatever that system gives, one manufacture date or a short list of years. If the maker’s system is not in the decoder yet, the unit is recognized without a date.

Kenmore Elite Age Rules

1. model 1–3 manufacturer prefix
2. model remainder product identity
3. serial number date fields depend on manufacturer

The model prefix tells Appliage who built the appliance. The rest of the model number identifies the product and version. The serial number is a separate identifier, and its date positions depend on the routed manufacturer.

Use the first three model digits in the table below to identify the manufacturer before reading the serial number.

Kenmore Elite has no universal month, week, or year table. First find the three-digit model prefix below. Appliage then uses the listed manufacturer’s serial number rules.

Prefixes 106, 110, 116, and 665 use Whirlpool serial rules. Prefixes 580, 795, and 796 use LG rules. Prefixes 253, 417, 587, and 790 use Frigidaire rules. Prefix 363 identifies a GE-built dishwasher.

Three other prefixes need a closer check.

Appliage applies the Maytag date rule only to the TRIO model series in CPSC recall 03-533 (596.73502, 596.73503, 596.73504 and 596.73509) when the serial ends with the letter pair printed there: A for 2002 followed by V or X, meaning November or December 2002. That Maytag rule does not apply to every 596 refrigerator.

CPSC 95-023 lists six Amana-built Kenmore 596 models, not Kenmore Elite models: 596.9530820, 596.9530850, 596.9530880, 596.9535610, 596.9535650, and 596.95356800 (also accepted as 596.9535680). For these models only, a ten-digit serial from 9304000000 through 9409156208 uses Amana’s older YYMM format: the first two digits give the year and the next two give the month. These 1993–94 refrigerators predate the Kenmore Elite name, which entered commercial use in 1999. If the rating plate says Kenmore, select Kenmore for this cohort; selecting Kenmore Elite returns no date for a pre-1999 serial. The recall identifies the Amana-built group; the YYMM code gives the unit’s month. Outside these two documented groups, the 596 prefix alone is not enough to date the refrigerator.

Prefix 204 points to Galanz, but the published date code applies only to microwave model 204.77603610, serials 17042700001 through 17042700684. Those units were made on April 27, 2017.

Prefix 407 identifies Gree-made dehumidifiers. Appliage can identify the maker, but it does not have a verified rule for dating their serials.

Age Decode Examples

When Appliage Cannot Find the Age

If the first three model digits are not in the prefix table, Appliage cannot identify the manufacturer. It will not guess a date coding method from the shape of the serial number.

If you enter the serial number without the model number, Appliage cannot know which manufacturer’s rules apply. Several manufacturers use similar combinations of letters and numbers, so the complete model prefix is required.

Kenmore water heaters, central heating and cooling equipment, Canadian models beginning with C, and product categories outside the table use other identification systems.

After the Prefix: Manufacturer Serial Guides

The Kenmore serial number lookup explains the same routing system for Elite and non-Elite products. Whirlpool-built models use Whirlpool date fields, LG-built models use LG fields, and Frigidaire-built models use the Electrolux year-and-production-week structure.

A warranty or registration date does not replace the manufacture date. It usually begins when the appliance is purchased, while the routed serial number identifies when it was built.

Sources

• CPSC: LG and Sears refrigerator recall (2005). The notice pairs Kenmore Elite 795.751 and 795.755 models with serial prefixes 405–410 and dates in 2004–2005.
• CPSC: Whirlpool washer and dryer recall (2002). Whirlpool made the Kenmore 110 models named in this notice.
• CPSC: LG and Sears gas dryer recall (2012). LG made the Kenmore Elite 796 models named in this notice.
• Frigidaire and Kenmore range recall record. The record includes the 790.99012 model group and dated VF serial range used in the example.
• CPSC: Amana refrigerator notice (95-023). Names the six Kenmore 596 models, serial range 9304000000–9409156208, and April 1993–September 1994 production span.
• CPSC: Maytag-built Kenmore Elite TRIO recall (03-533). Lists the 596 models and serial ranges used for the bounded Maytag route.
• CPSC: Galanz-made Kenmore Elite microwave recall (20-020). Gives the exact 204 model, serial range, and April 27, 2017 build date.
• CPSC: Gree dehumidifier recall (23-262). Names Kenmore 407 models and Gree as manufacturer; it does not publish a serial-date rule.

For other brands, see our appliance serial number lookup.