saoesch
Fremont, MI USA
Full Member
Joined: 04/23/2004
View Profile
|
I got home to the camper last Friday evening and could smell ammonia and my fridge was not working. We got on line and that is when we discovered that there was a recall on our fridge. We called Dometic today and they tell us that the only thing that they are responsible for is the "sleeve" recall repair. Not recharging the fridge which went bad at the spot that the recall is suppose to fix. Have any of you had the same problem and how did you resolve it. We have filed a complaint with the National Highway Saftey Adm. I hope you can help us with a good plan of attack on settling this matter. We are thinking about replaceing the old fridge with a Norcold. Will that be a good choice???
saoesch
2003 Chevy HD2500 Crewcab/D-max/Allison/Bullydog Chip
2005 361-RKDS-5 Open Road by Pilgrim International
|
kaydeejay
SE Michigan, USA
Senior Member
Joined: 07/26/2004
View Profile
 Offline
|
How old is the fridge? You MAY get a replacement if it not very old.
And how was the recall responsible for the failure if you haven't had it done yet??
The recall is only to prevent fire from spreading in the unlikely event it goes up in smoke if the fridge fails. The recall does not prevent the failure, just reduces the possible consequences.
Sounds like yours has failed.
Good luck getting it replaced, I suspect you may need it.
Keith J, Retired from GM Engineering
2005 GMC Sierra 2500HD SLE 2WD/CC/SB/DA.
1999 Sunnybrook 27RKFS Fiver
Bilsteins, Line-X, Westin steps, Prodigy, Retrax, 16K Superglide, 5th-Airborne pin-box, Multi-vex mirrors.
|
davidj54
South Alabama
Senior Member
Joined: 06/23/2006
View Profile
Offline
|
If it failed during the warranty period they'll fix it. If it failed outside the warranty period (as I suspect yours has) they won't. Unless I'm reading wrong, you'll be footing the bill on this one. It really sucks too. Sorry about your troubles.
Dodge Ram 2500 Mega Cab (Yeah, it's got a Cummins)
2006 Forest River Grand Surveyor GS-280
Prodigy Brake Controller
1000/10000lb Equal-i-zer with 4-way sway control
|
skipnchar
Topeka Kansas USA
Senior Member
Joined: 12/17/2003
View Profile
|
The recall is to correct a fire hazard NOT to keep the fridge working. Your best hope is that it's within the three year warranty period. Norcold is a good brand but they have just as many problems as the Dometic. All you could expect from filing a complaint is to get them to put out a recall, which they've already done and apparently yours didn't catch fire so don't know what you'd complain about to NTSB. Good luck getting it repaired under warranty though since your RV SEEMS to be within the three year warranty.
2004 F-150 HD 3,050 lb. payload
Rockwood 8314SS 34' travel trailer
We have enough YOUTH...how about a fountain of SMART
|
DianneOK
Donnelly, ID
Moderator
Joined: 03/19/2004
View Profile
Offline
|
Moved from Fulltiming
Dianne
Donnelly, ID
DataStorm
HAM WB6N (Terry)
2005 Teton 39' Frontier Grand
2003 Freightliner FL60
Life Member Good Sam
Escapees
Geocache..."RVcachers"
RV net Blog
|
|
|
saoesch
Fremont, MI USA
Full Member
Joined: 04/23/2004
View Profile
|
The recall is to repair a faulty tubing which can crack and cause a fire. If the tubing was not faulty then the recall would not be needed. Is that not the case?
|
Camper Ken
Oregon
Senior Member
Joined: 06/02/2007
View Profile
Offline
|
Note that with both Dometic or Norcold there are annual service checks and maintenance procedures which are "required". I don't know if they would, but they could deny a warranty claim based on this. I worked in the RV service business for a couple of years, and I've seen these kind of things happen.
2007 Winnebago Access 31c
2006 Ford E450 chassis
|
ScottG
Bothell Wa.
Senior Member
Joined: 02/25/2005
View Profile
|
saoesch wrote:The recall is to repair a faulty tubing which can crack and cause a fire. If the tubing was not faulty then the recall would not be needed. Is that not the case?
Not exactly. The recall is to protectect the area that breaks from spewing refridgerant onto the open gas flame and burning the rig down. The recall simply adds a shield arround the flame and a new temp sensor to shut it down if it gets too hot. Sadly it does nothing to fix the potentially faulty tubing and keep it from cracking.
Scott, Grace and Wesly
2003 Dodge 3500 4x4 Cummins (lightly bombed),
2004 Forest River 25RKS many, many mods.
|
JJBIRISH
Butler, PA, USA
Senior Member
Joined: 10/06/2002
View Profile
|
as said you may be within the warranty period by age...
if you weren't the original owner that may not help though, on most things the warranty doesn't transfer and if it can it's not automatic and usually has a transfer fee...
I don't think the recall will cover your problem, but if you say the right words they may cover it as a good will gesture (hint: hollering or swearing won't do it)... maybe suggesting that you are surprised that high quality products such as theirs would fail so early... they will agree with you, and it will be up to you to keep them agreeing until they decide it must have been defective material...
it's not always easy, but often works...
Love my mass produced, entry level, built by Lazy American Workers, Hornet
|
javaseuf
Southern Cal
Senior Member
Joined: 03/30/2005
View Profile
|
saoesch wrote:The recall is to repair a faulty tubing which can crack and cause a fire. If the tubing was not faulty then the recall would not be needed. Is that not the case?
Sorry if this has already been mentioned. I didn't read all of the responses.
This relpy is not correct. If the refer is still working, it has no "faulty tubing". The recall doesn't repair tubing or any thing else.
The recall addresses a possible fire issue should the tubing fail. All it is is additional sheet metal to contain flames should a leak of the ammonia develop and the recall kit also includes a Klixon thermal sensor that mounts on the flue sheet metal to detect overly high temperaturs and in that case, will shut down power to the gas valve.
Again, the recall doesn't fix or repair anything. It is a band-aide to cover Dometic's butt if and when a failure occurs.
Read the sticky at the top of the Fith Wheel Forum regarding Dometic's replacement of a refer under recall.
Steve
2007 Springdale 291RKL
2003 F150 King Ranch
2001 Dodge Van w/Wheelchair Ramp
1991 Palomino Mustang PUP
Eureka Timberline Tent
Yamaha IF2400isc
Yamaha EF3000iSEBC
"Politically Incorrect And Proud Of It"
|
|
|
