Refrigerator running defrost cycle every couple of hours fixit

We have one of those stupid frost-free refrigerators. It's a Hotpoint, no idea how old it is (we rent and it came with the apartment).

I read that the defrost cycle is only supposed to run once every 6-10 hours. But this one is going into defrost mode every 2-4 hours. It doesn't really seem to have a set schedule for doing it either.

It also sucks at regulating the temperature. It's either too cold or too warm. When it's running, the freezer gets down to -10 degrees F and the refrigerator gets down to about 25. This results in a lot of items inside the refrigerator freezing, such as vegetables, and even stuff like cheese and yogurt. Then during the defrost cycle, the refrigerator warms up to 40-45 degrees, and the freezer warms up to around 20 degrees or sometimes even 30, which is way too warm. Then it turns on again.

The maintenance guy for our apartment complex removed the back panel to see if there was ice buildup on the coils, but there wasn't. Then he tried replacing the motor but that didn't change anything to affect how it runs. Then he basically told me I was making a big deal out of nothing.

So anyway, what could the problem be? Is this something that I have to worry about when it comes to food safety? I try not to keep anything in the refrigerator or freezer for longer than two weeks unless it's like, condiments or something like that, for this reason. Is it common for a refrigerator to run the defrost cycle this often? Do I need to get it fixed or replaced?

Thanks.

Submitted April 29, 2016 at 12:22AM by dragthewaters91 http://ift.tt/26xZL1i fixit