McDonald's Broken Ice Cream Machine Problem May Be Solved Soon

If you've pulled up to the McDonald's drive-thru to order a McFlurry only to be told that the ice cream machine is broken, you're not alone. The status of McDonald's ice cream machines has become a running joke online in recent years. But according to a former corporate chef for the fast food giant, the issue of the broken ice cream machine may soon be a problem of the past.

Mike Haracz frequently shares insider secrets from behind the counter at McDonald's on his TikTok account. In a Dec. 15 video, Haracz explained how the ice cream machines at the Golden Arches are set to undergo a major upgrade.

"This magical new ice cream machine is a lot less maintenance. It needs a lot less cleaning cycles per month, or whatever it might be," he pointed out. It might sound like great news, but Haracz brought up two important caveats with installing these machines at McDonald's locations across the country.

"The current ice cream machine is something like $15,000. The new one? Forty thousand dollars for owner-operators," he said.

"The second [problem] is getting owner-operators to buy it, and its lead time," he continued. "Everything that's customizable equipment-wise from McDonald's has long lead times, and owner-operators are to pay for the ice cream machine, but they might not want to pay $40,000 for the new ice cream machine."

A world with working ice cream machines is within reach, but Haracz stated plainly that the cost of the new devices may be too prohibitive for many restaurant owners.

"It is quite possible that although McDonald's has a solve for the ice cream machine issues, the owner-operators are not going to spend their money on the new ice cream machine, and we will continue to not have ice cream available when you want it," he said.

At this rate, just buy a pint at the grocery store and save yourself the trouble. And if you absolutely need a McFlurry, head to McBroken.com to see if your local ice cream machine is up and running.