Kitchen Large Electric Appliances - Refrigerator hiss

The lower part of the freezer section of my side-by-side seems to be warm behind a grated section in the back wall. When the freezer door is open we hear a hissing sound like liquid drops hitting a hot surface. Everything seems to be staying frozen but I can feel heat through the grate behind the lower section.

The heat and hissing sound are normal. The refer is in the defrost cycle. Water is indeed hitting a hot surface-the defrost tube. My guess is most of the time when you open the freezer door you do not feel heat or hear the sounds you describe, only when you catch it in the defrost cycle. Depending on the refer it should defrost 1-3 times per day with each cycle lasting somewhere around 20 or 30 minutes. You said everything in the freezer is frozen so it sounds normal to me.

Thanks! This list is a real service!