The answer is different for your two freezers.
For the refrigerator/freezer, unless you spent a very large amount of money on that unit, you almost certainly have a very simple temperature control loop. Almost all consumer units operate about the same: they have one temperature sensor in the refrigerator to control the temperature of BOTH the refrigerator and the freezer. Meaning that it cannot control both temperatures. Instead it makes some assumptions (such as assuming the doors are shut most but not all of the time and that the unit is at room temperature) and hopes for the best. Putting the unit in the garage violates the units assumptions and the result is the freezer doesn't freeze.
Basically, the unit produces only one source of cold air (below freezing) and diverts that cold air as needed. The unit will use more and more cold air until the refrigerator is at the set temperature (one of your dials). You probably have a second dial for the freezer temperature. What actually happens is that dial adjusts the percent of cold air going to the freezer vs the refrigerator. So, in the proper environment, you put more cold air in the freezer than the refrigerator. Thus, when the refrigerator is a bit above freezing temperature, the freezer will be a bit below freezing temperature. By adjusting the dial, you can give more cold air to the freezer and less to the refrigerator. Thus when the refrigerator is kept at a constant temp, the freezer will get colder and colder as you divert more and more cold air to the freezer section.
But, the problem is when you put the unit in a cold garage. The refrigerator is cold without the need for any cold air. The entire compressor unit shuts off since the one and only temperature sensor says the refrigerator is cold enough. No cold air is blown into the refrigerator OR the freezer. The units only temperature sensor and doesn't know the freezer is too hot. Both units become the same temperature and your food thaws.
This is why you should NEVER put dual refrigerator/freezer units in the garage if the garage can approach freezing temperatures. First, you'll thaw your freezer and spoil that food. Second, you'll cut your unit's lifespan from maybe 30 years to maybe 5 years. Dkozloski described why you'll destroy its lifespan. Get that out of your garage ASAP.
The single unit is fairly easy to explain. Since the garage is right near freezing, the unit doesn't need to run its compressor to cool things down. But, the anti-frost components still run. You essentially have a freezer where you are using only the heating element. Of course some food near the walls will thaw. The solution is to simply turn down the temperature of the freezer to make certain that the compressor kicks in. Of course, you still may be shortening its lifespan by having it in the garage.
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