A genuine OEM part, or an aftermarket one?
A genuine, or OEM, part comes from the appliance’s maker under the maker’s own part number; an aftermarket part is made by another company to fit. Under the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act a maker cannot void your warranty solely because you used the second kind, unless it supplies its own part free or holds a waiver from the Federal Trade Commission. It can refuse to pay for damage it shows that part caused. In the passages cited on this page, Sub-Zero, Wolf, Viking and GE Appliances, the maker of Monogram, each exclude certain damage in their own terms, and none says a part from elsewhere ends the warranty.
What changes for you is who answers for the part. A genuine Sub-Zero or Wolf part carries a one-year, parts-only warranty, and GE’s carries one year, with 30 days on a water filter. An aftermarket part answers to its own seller. Wolf says it cannot guarantee such a part’s fit, function or safety, and Sub-Zero’s answer on part compatibility says the same in its passage on Wolf products.
On This Page
What Do OEM, Aftermarket, Used and Rebuilt Mean?
Four words cover the parts offered for a built-in. The makers use some of them. The Federal Trade Commission defines two, in an article it wrote about car warranties.
- 01
Genuine, or OEM
OEM stands for original equipment manufacturer: the part comes from the appliance’s maker, under the maker’s part number. Sub-Zero says genuine parts for Sub-Zero, Wolf and Cove are sold by phone through the parts distributor it lists for your area, and that its online store carries only filters and cleaners. GE’s advice is to buy from its own website or from its authorized retailers and parts distributors. Viking’s support page links to a Middleby Residential parts site.
- 02
Aftermarket, generic or “compatible”
A part made by a company other than the maker, to fit the maker’s appliance. The FTC’s definition, written for vehicles: “An aftermarket part is a part made by a company that didn’t make your vehicle.” Sub-Zero and Wolf call these third-party parts, or parts from a different manufacturer.
- 03
Used or salvaged
A genuine part with a past. The FTC’s word is recycled: a part “made for and installed in a new vehicle, then removed and made available for resale or reuse.” GE mentions such sellers once, for a part it no longer stocks: sites that sell used or refurbished parts may still have the item.
- 04
Rebuilt or refurbished
An original part, repaired and sold again: a control board, for example. The word does not always mean an outsider: GE’s parts warranty allows GE to replace a defective part with a new one or, at its option, a rebuilt one. A board rebuilt by an independent shop is a different thing, and none of the makers’ pages read for this guide mentions one.
One more word sits beside these: counterfeit. GE uses it for a part or a filter sold as genuine GE that is not, and says it sells no parts or filters through individuals or internet auction sites, so that an item offered there as genuine GE is most likely counterfeit, stolen or simply not genuine. An aftermarket part sold under its own name is not a counterfeit. This page does not rank sellers of any kind.
Does an aftermarket part void the warranty?
Not by itself. The rule is one sentence of the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, 15 U.S.C. § 2302(c): “No warrantor of a consumer product may condition his written or implied warranty of such product on the consumer’s using, in connection with such product, any article or service (other than article or service provided without charge under the terms of the warranty) which is identified by brand, trade, or corporate name.” The Federal Trade Commission may waive the rule only if the maker satisfies it that the product “will function properly only if” the named article or service is used, and the waiver is in the public interest.
The FTC’s plain version, written for businesses: “companies can’t void a consumer’s warranty or deny warranty coverage solely because the consumer uses a part made by someone else or gets someone not authorized by the company to perform service on the product.” It names two exceptions: the company provides the part or service free, or it holds an FTC waiver. The Act’s definition of a consumer product, property normally used for personal, family or household purposes, includes property “intended to be attached to or installed in any real property without regard to whether it is so attached or installed”; the section applies to products that cost the consumer more than $5.
What the provision does not do is just as exact. It does not make the maker pay for what another company’s part breaks. The FTC’s interpretation, 16 CFR 700.10(c), says the rule “does not preclude a warrantor from expressly excluding liability for defects or damage caused by ‘unauthorized’ articles or service; nor does it preclude the warrantor from denying liability where the warrantor can demonstrate that the defect or damage was so caused.” The same paragraph says a warrantor cannot avoid liability “where a defect is unrelated to the use by a consumer of ‘unauthorized’ articles or service.”
So the showing is the maker’s to make. The FTC’s article on car warranties puts it in plainer words: “The manufacturer or dealer must prove the aftermarket or recycled part caused the damage before they can deny warranty coverage.” Two details complete the rule. A part or a repair that the maker provides without charge under the warranty may be the maker’s own: that is the parenthesis in the statute. And under a warranty that supplies parts only, with no labor, paragraph (b) of the interpretation bars a condition that the owner use only the maker’s designated labor to install them. This is the text of the law and the Commission’s reading of it, not advice on a claim.
What Does Each Maker’s Warranty Say About Parts and Service?
Each row comes from the maker’s own documents, with the date each was read. In these passages no maker says a part from elsewhere ends the warranty. Each excludes damage, which is the line the federal interpretation allows.
| Maker | Who performs warranty service | What the warranty excludes | A part from elsewhere |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sub-Zero refrigeration | Sub-Zero Factory Certified Service, unless Sub-Zero specifies otherwiseResidential limited warranty, read September 22 and 29, 2026 | A defect caused by negligence, accident or improper use, maintenance, service or repair | Damage from an incompatible service part or accessory is not covered; the answer’s words on a different manufacturer’s parts sit in its passage on Wolf products. In the parts-only years, an owner using non-certified service asks Sub-Zero for the part; one bought from any other source is not reimbursedPart Compatibility answer, October 7, 2026; the parts-only route from the residential limited warranty, read September 22 and 29, 2026 |
| Wolf cooking | Wolf Factory Certified ServiceResidential limited warranty, read September 22 and 29, 2026 | The same exclusion as Sub-Zero’s | Wolf does not test third-party parts and cannot guarantee their fit, function or safety; damage from one is not covered. For the five-year list of parts the owner asks Wolf for the part; one bought elsewhere is not reimbursedWolf Part Compatibility answer, October 7, 2026; the five-year route from the residential limited warranty, read September 22 and 29, 2026 |
| Viking | A Viking Range, LLC authorized service agency or representative | Damage resulting from abuse, accident, natural disaster, loss of electrical power to the product for any reason, alteration, improper installation, improper operation, or repair or service of the product by anyone other than such an agency | The warranty page does not mention parts from another makerWarranty Information page, October 7, 2026 |
| Monogram | Monogram’s Factory Service Centers or its Customer Care techniciansSide-by-side owner’s manual, read September 29, 2026 | Improper installation; a product abused, misused, used for other than its intended purpose or used commercially; accident, fire, floods or acts of God. The built-in side-by-side manual adds damage caused by a non-GE water filterMonogram Appliance Warranty article, October 7, 2026; the water filter exclusion from the side-by-side owner’s manual, read September 29, 2026 | GE’s warranty overview does not mention parts from another makerMonogram Appliance Warranty article, October 7, 2026 |
Inside the full warranty period a covered repair is the maker’s to make and to pay for, with its own parts. The choice of part becomes the owner’s in the parts-only years, where Sub-Zero and Wolf supply the covered part and the owner pays whoever fits it, and after the warranty has ended. How long each maker’s warranty runs, and what it covers.
Is a generic water filter OK in a Sub-Zero?
Sub-Zero answers on a page of its own: with a non-Sub-Zero water filter in a unit that has a built-in filter, filtration may be poor, or other problems may arise from a filter not designed for its products. Its troubleshooting page for the UC-15I ice maker is blunter: “Third-party water filters have not been tested and might lead to poor performance.” It recommends ordering from its dealers, its parts distributors or its own accessory store, and its air cartridge page adds that it does not sell or recommend buying filters from online retailers such as Amazon.com.
Neither passage mentions the warranty. Sub-Zero’s own filters carry none: its water filter answer says they have no individual part warranty, and the product warranty does not cover them either. What the warranty excludes is in the table above; neither passage says how that applies to a filter from another maker. An in-line filter on the supply pipe is a separate matter. Sub-Zero neither supports nor sells them, sends the owner to a plumber, and asks that the water reach the unit at 20 to 100 psi, or 35 to 120 on some models.
What a genuine cartridge does is published too. Sub-Zero says all of its water filters reduce particulates and chlorine taste and odor, that some also reduce asbestos, lead and mercury, and that anything not listed on a filter’s performance sheet is not filtered. It names one outside certification. The UC-15I ice maker’s filter, part 7042803, formerly 7012333, is system-tested by NSF International and holds its certification against NSF/ANSI Standard 42, for the reduction of chlorine taste and odor and Particulate Class III.
GE goes further for Monogram. It recommends that refrigerators with a filtration system use only genuine GE Appliances water filters, says those filters hold certification to NSF/ANSI Drinking Water Treatment standards, and reports testing by AHAM, the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers, with NSF, IAPMO and WQA, in which counterfeit filters did not always meet those standards. The XWFE filter, which Monogram’s manuals name for its integrated and column models beside the older XWF, carries an RFID sensor. On a refrigerator built for it, GE lists what follows from no filter, a damaged filter, a wrong filter or a non-GE filter: ERR on the control, the water valve deactivated, and no water or ice until a new filter or the RFID bypass plug goes in. GE’s parts warranty gives its own water filters 30 days.
Viking’s owner FAQ says where to buy a replacement filter: an authorized Viking dealer, the Viking online store, or by phone. Neither that page nor Viking’s warranty page mentions another maker’s filter. Sub-Zero’s air purification cartridge has one part number, 7042798, a direct replacement for the earlier 7007067, and fits every model that has the system; no page read for this guide discusses a third-party version of it. What the two Sub-Zero cartridges do, and when each is due.
What Changes in Practice With a Non-Genuine Part?
Four things, by the makers’ own pages: whether the part fits, what number it now goes by, who answers for it if it fails, and whether a genuine one can still be had.
- 01
Fit
Sub-Zero and Wolf each say that parts from one model generally will not be compatible with another, and that only the specified service part should be used on the unit it is designated for. GE says most repair parts are specific to the model. On gaskets, igniters and control boards none of the makers’ pages read for this guide says anything part by part. What they publish is general: Wolf’s statement on fit, function and safety, repeated in a Sub-Zero answer, and GE’s on imitation parts, which it says are too often made to look like genuine parts without being engineered to perform like them.
- 02
The number on the part
Part numbers are replaced over time. Sub-Zero’s filter list marks 7005017 as no longer produced, to be replaced with 7045454. GE says its XWFE filter can be used where an XWF was, and that the XWF is not forward compatible with newer models. Sub-Zero does not publish part numbers by model; its parts distributors look them up, so that the correct part is sent. Where the model and serial tag sits.
- 03
The part’s own warranty
Sub-Zero, Wolf and Cove replacement parts carry a one-year, parts-only warranty that runs from the date the part was first installed. Labor is not included, the unit’s serial number must be registered, and filters and light bulbs are covered only if defective. On filters Sub-Zero’s two answers differ: its water filter answer, described above, says they have no individual part warranty. GE gives its parts and accessories a limited one-year warranty, honors claims only on parts bought from its authorized resellers, and excludes labor to remove, install or diagnose. Viking’s warranty and support pages state no separate term for a part bought alone. A part from anywhere else carries its seller’s terms; Sub-Zero says it does not support problems with part numbers, pricing, quality or shipping from an unauthorized parts provider.
- 04
Older models
Sub-Zero has no formal guideline, but says it, Wolf and Cove try to keep replacement parts in stock for 20 years for most products; another of its pages says most parts are available for at least 15 years, and many for much longer. GE’s term is NLA, no longer available: the part is no longer made and no longer in its stock, and GE has no compatible part to substitute. GE’s own suggestions then are an authorized distributor’s remaining stock, or sites that sell used or refurbished parts. That is the case in which a used part can be the only part. Parts for older Viking built-ins, store by store.
A maker’s part number does not come with one price, either. On October 5, 2026 the Viking oven igniter 065650-000 was $234.00 at AllVikingParts and $379.47 at AppliancePartsPros. This page gives no aftermarket prices. What refrigerator parts cost at retail · range and oven parts, the same way.
Genuine, Aftermarket or Used: Side by Side
The middle columns are the law and the makers’ positions as published, not a judgment of any part or seller. The last column is ours.
| Part | Who makes it | The maker’s warranty position | The part’s own warranty | What we do with it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Genuine, or OEM | The appliance’s maker, sold under its part number through its distributors, its dealers or its own store | The part the warranty itself supplies. Sub-Zero and Wolf do not reimburse a covered part bought elsewhere | Sub-Zero and Wolf: one year, parts only, from installation. GE: one year, 30 days on a water filter. Viking: none stated on the pages read | The only kind we supply, quoted on its own line |
| Aftermarket, generic or “compatible” | Another company, to fit | By federal law its use alone cannot void the warranty; the maker may exclude damage it can demonstrate the part caused. Wolf, and a Sub-Zero answer on Wolf products: not tested, no guarantee of fit, function or safety, damage not covered. Monogram: damage from a non-GE water filter excluded | Its seller’s terms, not the appliance maker’s | We do not supply it. Brought by you, it is fitted on the terms below |
| Used or salvaged | The appliance’s maker originally; taken out of another unit and resold | In its car-warranty article the FTC treats a recycled part as it does an aftermarket one. GE names used and refurbished sellers as a place to look for a part it no longer stocks | The seller’s, if any. GE honors claims only on parts from its authorized resellers | The same as any part you bring |
Where our work stops.
We are an independent company, not affiliated with Sub-Zero, Wolf, Viking or GE Appliances, and we cannot file or decide a warranty claim. Inside the maker’s warranty the call goes to the maker first. Nothing on this page is legal advice.
Our terms on parts, in full. Every part we supply is genuine OEM, quoted on its own line. A part you supply yourself is fitted for the labor cost alone, without warranty, and that labor is not refunded if the part does not fit or fails. Our 12-month warranty on parts and labor applies to Sub-Zero, Wolf, Viking and Monogram repairs made with the genuine parts we supply. A part that has to be ordered usually reaches us within a week. Some arrive sooner, and now and then one takes longer. The day it arrives we call you, and you choose the time for the repair.
The diagnostic visit is $119 for the first appliance and $69 for each additional appliance on the same visit, both waived if you go ahead with the repair. The repair is one fixed price, approved before work begins, never hourly. What happens on the visit · who we are, and what we leave alone.
Questions
Does using an aftermarket part void my appliance warranty?
Not by itself. The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, at 15 U.S.C. § 2302(c), bars a warrantor from conditioning a warranty on the consumer’s using an article or service identified by brand, trade or corporate name, unless it is provided without charge under the warranty or the FTC has granted a waiver. The FTC’s interpretation at 16 CFR 700.10 still lets a maker exclude defects or damage caused by the other part, where the maker can demonstrate that the part caused them. This is the text of the rule, not advice on a claim.
Is a generic water filter OK in a Sub-Zero?
Sub-Zero says that with a non-Sub-Zero water filter in a unit that has a built-in filter, filtration may be poor or other problems may arise, and, on its UC-15I ice maker troubleshooting page, that third-party water filters have not been tested. It recommends its dealers, its parts distributors or its own accessory store. Its own filters carry no separate part warranty and are not covered by the product warranty.
What is the difference between an OEM part and an aftermarket part?
An OEM, or genuine, part comes from the appliance’s maker under the maker’s own part number: Sub-Zero sells its parts by phone through the parts distributors it lists by area, and GE through its website and its authorized retailers and distributors. An aftermarket part is made by another company to fit. A used part is a genuine one taken out of another appliance, and a rebuilt part is an original that has been repaired and sold again.
Do genuine parts have their own warranty?
From Sub-Zero Group and from GE, in writing. Sub-Zero says replacement parts for Sub-Zero, Wolf and Cove carry a one-year, parts-only warranty from the date of the part’s original installation, with the unit’s serial number registered and labor not included. GE gives its parts and accessories a limited one-year warranty and its water filters 30 days, on parts bought from its authorized resellers. Viking’s warranty and support pages state no separate term for a part bought alone.
Will you install a part I bought myself?
Yes. A part you supply yourself is fitted for the labor cost alone, without warranty, and that labor is not refunded if the part does not fit or fails. Every part we supply is genuine OEM, quoted on its own line, and our 12-month warranty on parts and labor applies to Sub-Zero, Wolf, Viking and Monogram repairs made with those parts.
Sources
- Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act: 15 U.S.C. § 2302, subsection (c), the prohibition and the waiver, and subsection (e), products costing more than $5; 15 U.S.C. § 2301, paragraph (1), the definition of a consumer product.
- 16 CFR 700.10, Prohibited tying, paragraphs (a), (b) and (c), as last amended at 80 FR 42721 (July 20, 2015).
- Federal Trade Commission: FTC staff sends warranty warnings, business blog, April 10, 2018 (the plain version and the two exceptions); Businessperson’s Guide to Federal Warranty Law, the section on tie-in sales provisions, updated March 2018; Warranties, consumer advice, July 2023; Auto Warranties and Auto Service Contracts, April 2024 (aftermarket and recycled parts defined, and who must prove the damage).
- Sub-Zero Group, owner support answers: Sub-Zero Part Compatibility; Wolf Part Compatibility; How to Order Product Parts; One-Year Replacement Part Warranty; Length of Time Parts Are Available; and its page on the factory service and parts program (parts available for at least 15 years).
- Sub-Zero, water and air filter answers: Non Sub Zero Water Filters; Water Filter Warranty; Water Filter Part Numbers; Sub-Zero Water Filter Performance Information; In-Line Water Filters; Undercounter Ice Maker UC-15I Troubleshooting (step 4); Sub-Zero Built In Air Filter Part Number.
- Sub-Zero Residential Limited Warranty with Factory Certified Installation and Wolf Appliance Residential Limited Warranty with Factory Certified Installation, documents dated 09/18: who performs service, the exclusion for improper service or repair, and the route for owners who use non-certified service. Read for our warranty and compressor guides on September 22 and 29, 2026, and not reopened for this page.
- Viking Range, LLC: Warranty Information page (the exclusions, and who performs warranty service); Support FAQs for Owners (where replacement water filters are sold); Support Center (the parts link, to Middleby Residential).
- GE Appliances, support articles: Monogram Appliance Warranty; GE Appliances - Parts Warranty; Refrigerator - Genuine Water Filter vs Counterfeit Filter; Refrigerator Water Filter - XWFE; Monogram Appliances, Parts, and Literature No Longer Available; GE Appliance - Finding Parts for Your Appliance; and its page Genuine Replacement Parts and Accessories.
- GE Appliances, Monogram owner’s manuals: 49-1000362 Rev. 8 (04-26), built-in side-by-side refrigerators, the limited warranty (p. 27); 49-1000709 Rev. 4 (03-24), integrated bottom-freezers, and 49-1000529 Rev. 5 (04-26), columns, the XWF or XWFE filter (pp. 12 and 8). Read for our Monogram maintenance guide on September 29, 2026, and not reopened for this page.
- AllVikingParts.com and AppliancePartsPros.com, the Viking 065650-000 igniter: retail prices checked on October 5, 2026 for our range and oven parts guide.
Written from these sources by Aphelion Appliance Repair, Phoenix, and checked on (checked again ), except where an earlier date stands beside a document. Warranty terms change and vary by model and year, and the document that came with your appliance governs it. Nothing here is legal advice or a manufacturer’s instruction, and we are an independent company with no authority to interpret or file a factory claim.
Read Next
- Is the built-in still under warranty?Two years in full from all four makers, then the sealed system or, on a Wolf, a list of named parts.
- Refrigerator parts: what each one doesHow each part fails, and what Sub-Zero, Viking and Monogram parts cost at retail.
- Range and oven parts, in plain wordsIgniters, sensors, boards and gaskets, with Wolf, Viking and Monogram part prices.
- Does a home warranty cover a Sub-Zero, Wolf or Viking?Four Arizona contracts read line by line: the limits, and who picks the technician.
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