Stan47 wrote: I don't like repeating myself, but in this case I will: it's time for a class-action lawsuit against Dometic.
Just about every last one of us is out some fuel money and time, and if these bum refrigerators crash out of warranty, we are just S.O.L. as far as Dometic is concerned.
After twenty years and three trailers, I am sick of seeing the product get glitzier and more expensive each year, along with a general decline in quality.
You read TL, Highways or the other publications that are essentially owned by Art Rouse's empire and they are chock full of problems getting dealers and manufacturers to stand behind their product. The RV clubs (e.g. Good Sam) are not about to do anything to police this, because they are in the loop, with these others as advertisers.
Presumably, the RV makers are going to see a downturn with the continuing rise in fuel costs. We need to send them the message that they need to start doing better with design reliability, quality, warranties and customer support. If sales are indeed shrinking, THEY WILL LISTEN.
stan47,
Sounds as if you and I (and others) are of the same mind set concerning this rip off. Check out my previous posts about Dometic.
My hopes are that once these RV manufacturer's and dealers realize that they can't move their Dometic equipped products due to this mess; they (the dealers and manufacturers) will have a "little chat" with Dometic concerning making their previous customers whole. If I were trying to sell a product outfitted with a Dometic product at this point, I would not be a "happy camper."
I know I am done with Dometic. This is not so much because their product(s) has/have a problem, but because of the way they swept it under the carpet as long as they could, causing units to fall out of warranty thereby avoiding actual repair or replacement. Additionally, Dometic didn't FIX anything; they only applied the Band-Aid in attempt to cover their rears.
Okay, I'll stop now. This is the short version of my previous rant.
Robert, if it were limited to Dometic--or even Dometic and one or two other parts suppliers--I wouldn't be so outraged. I'm of the opinion that there is so much collusion among RV manufacturers, component suppliers, and the RV publishing industry that there is little hope of change. Consider the fact that just about every RV publication except Gypsy Journal is controlled by the same financial interests, which also happen to control Good Sam and Camping World.
As much as I am loathe to sick the government on anyone, I think the entire industry bears investigating under the anti-trust laws.
I haven't seen this asked:
Is there such a thing as a "coolant detector"? If the leaking coolant is the real problem, why not check for it? I know this still doesn't address the root of the problem, but if it keeps my coach from going up in flames....
And another quick one:
My refer is not on the list (right model number, wrong serial number), but if they are all essentially the same, why hasn't mine been recalled?
Quote: "And another quick one:
My refer is not on the list (right model number, wrong serial number), but if they are all essentially the same, why hasn't mine been recalled?"
Sage
Good question. I would hope that it is because you are lucky enough to have a refrigerator that does not actually have the flaw. However, my now negative and suspicious attitude towards Dometic tells me that it may be for reasons more in the interest of Dometic. I wouldn't be surprised if you (like many others) will be added to the recall after your WARRANTY has expired.
As you may know, many including myself, were never notified of the problem/flaw by Dometic. By luck, we happened upon news of the recall by other means, of course as mentioned above, for many, their (my) warranty had expired.
100ton wrote: Quote: "And another quick one:
My refer is not on the list (right model number, wrong serial number), but if they are all essentially the same, why hasn't mine been recalled?"
Sage
Good question. I would hope that it is because you are lucky enough to have a refrigerator that does not actually have the flaw. However, my now negative and suspicious attitude towards Dometic tells me that it may be for reasons more in the interest of Dometic. I wouldn't be surprised if you (like many others) will be added to the recall after your WARRANTY has expired.
As you may know, many including myself, were never notified of the problem/flaw by Dometic. By luck, we happened upon news of the recall by other means, of course as mentioned above, for many, their (my) warranty had expired.
Stay tuned,
Robert
I was not part of the previous recall for the same thing. They just recently came out with this new recall. It may be as you state, they are waiting for the warranties to expire. I hope a competitor is reading and taking stock. If mine goes it will be replaced by a different make.
I just brought my unit in for recall (warranty expired in march) and was told the cooling unit burst. Anyone had any luck with getting dometic to cover replacing the cooling unit?
Sage, you can find coolant sniffers at places that sell HVAC instruments, such as W.W. Grainger. Whether it's financially practical to own one is another question, and I don't think it would be useful unless you established a fairly rigid schedule of inspection.
As to the non-inclusion of your reefer, my experience has been that recalls or defects are associated with some change either in design or production/fabrication. For example, the risky units could have resulted from some poorly thought-out change in the assembly instructions that workers use on the production floor. In which case, the company's engineering department would know when the faulty instructions were put into effect, and when the error was discovered and corrected.
I spent more than ten years in quality-assurance and reliability engineering, and it's been my experience that sometimes the most innocuous omission from an instruction sheet mushrooms into a big problem. We had one run of stuff where a particular electric connector seemed especially prone to shorting-out. After a lot of destructive testing, we learned that the assemblers were leaving one of the internal wires too long. More specifically, they were stripping off more insulation than they should have been. We learned that their assembly instructions said to "strip at least 0.5 inch of insulation," but did not specify a maximum. So in the interest of working a little faster, the assemblers were just eyeballing it, sometimes leaving the exposed wire twice as long as it should have been. We corrected the instructions and created a comparative gauge for use on the assembly bench.
This stuff is not really rocket science, but it does involve using SOME of your brain cells. That's why so many of us are wondering whether Dometic will leave us twisting in the wind if these units fail, just because they've covered their butt on the liability for fire.
As for class action, as I understand the process an individual (known as the "lead plaintiff") files a lawsuit, and asks the court to certify it as a class action. Someone has to be willing to spend the time and up-front money to do that. Such an action is beyond my financial means, but I'd urge anyone to try it. There must be some RV-owning lawyer out there who could file, and cover some of his own costs.
Life would be far simpler if there were an advocacy group for RV owners, but as I've said, Good Sam is not an advocacy group, having financial ties to Camping World and countless other places. Perhaps the Escapees are the right organization.
I just finished going around and around with a supervisor at Dometic. Bottom line I kept getting the scripted response that a parts failure will only occur in a very small percentage of the refrigerators, but Dometic is so "concerned about your safety" that they are doing this retrofit to all units.
I asked if they would also show come concern to my wallet and replace my cooling unit if it should be one of the tiny percentage that fails due to the defect that they know exists and are not correcting. Answer - ONLY if the refrigerator is still under the original warrenty.
* This post was
edited 07/26/08 08:00pm by an administrator/moderator *
JohnG3 wrote: Had my kit installed today. Repair facility came to the trailer (just over 1 mile from his shop) to install the parts. Cost me $40.00 for the service call. Is that normal? Were those who took their trailers to the dealers charged labor for the install? I called Dometic to ask about the labor charge but they were already closed. Only took the mechanic about 30 minutes to make the installation.
I live in SoCal, Orange County and use a mobile repair service. Beats going to the dealer who is 15 miles and a lot of stop and go traffic away. It took him about 20 minutes to install and it cost me $ 50.0. To me it's well worth it.
2001 F250 7.3L PSD, air lifts, 4" pipes, 6637 mod, Husky sliderhitch
2005 Crossroads Cruiser CF29CK (with all the goodies)
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