Comments on: Dometic recalls, right and wrong… http://rx4rv.com/archives/21 RV Service tips and opinions Mon, 26 Jul 2010 18:17:49 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=abc By: Joan Miller http://rx4rv.com/archives/21/comment-page-2#comment-2133 Joan Miller Thu, 17 Jun 2010 03:36:20 +0000 http://rx4rv.com/archives/21#comment-2133 We were getting our 2006 Laredo ready for the camping season only to find that our fridge isn't working, it has the yellow powder and amonia smell. Of course after checking with a dealer to find out how much it would be to fix or replace we were told $1800.00. I got on line looking for something less expensive only to find out about the recall. We were never notified. I have read all the documents filed with the NHTSA and I just don't understand how Dometic can document their knowledge of a fatigue crack that may develop due to an inconsistant weld process and not take care of the problem!! They actually say that all of these units have been used and are no longer in inventory. Of course they aren't in inventory, they are in our RVs. I just can not believe that they are not being held responsible for replacing the documented problem. Has anyone had any luck getting a replacement part paid for? I contacted Dometic today and the person who you talk to has no clue what is going on, she just keeps reading the same information that is printed on their web site. We were getting our 2006 Laredo ready for the camping season only to find that our fridge isn’t working, it has the yellow powder and amonia smell. Of course after checking with a dealer to find out how much it would be to fix or replace we were told $1800.00. I got on line looking for something less expensive only to find out about the recall. We were never notified. I have read all the documents filed with the NHTSA and I just don’t understand how Dometic can document their knowledge of a fatigue crack that may develop due to an inconsistant weld process and not take care of the problem!! They actually say that all of these units have been used and are no longer in inventory. Of course they aren’t in inventory, they are in our RVs. I just can not believe that they are not being held responsible for replacing the documented problem. Has anyone had any luck getting a replacement part paid for? I contacted Dometic today and the person who you talk to has no clue what is going on, she just keeps reading the same information that is printed on their web site.

]]> By: glenn spiegler http://rx4rv.com/archives/21/comment-page-2#comment-651 glenn spiegler Mon, 15 Mar 2010 20:02:33 +0000 http://rx4rv.com/archives/21#comment-651 My 2004 Weekend Warrier just burned to the ground due to this problem. Not insured due to a miscommunication with my insurance co. Have pictures of a black square on the outside behind the frig as it went up. My 2004 Weekend Warrier just burned to the ground due to this problem. Not insured due to a miscommunication with my insurance co. Have pictures of a black square on the outside behind the frig as it went up.

]]> By: T. Bailey CFI Ct CMI CGC http://rx4rv.com/archives/21/comment-page-2#comment-631 T. Bailey CFI Ct CMI CGC Thu, 25 Feb 2010 14:41:35 +0000 http://rx4rv.com/archives/21#comment-631 I am a certified fire investigator that conducts RV fire investigations throughout the USA and abroad. Over the years I have conducted hundreds of RV fire investigations that were directly the result of the refrigerator. Having worked with both Dometic and Norcold I have found that Norcold consistantly steps up to the plate and does the right thing for the injured parties, while Dometic takes a hard position. Some of Dometic's stuborness may be warranted due to fraudulant claims and coils that were reconditioned by other companies and then reinstalled in the Dometic refrigerator. Our company has conducted joint destructive tesing on Dometic refrigerators with Dometic when we have represented the insurance company and owner, and through SEM tesing there was clear and conviencing evidence ot weld failures. What is most distrurbing is that most of the refrigerator fires were not on any recall list. Do not rely totally on what is stated. Another area of concern that nobody considers is the real loss and what you may recover. We have represented numerous owners of RVs when the dollar amount of the loss exceeds the dollars paid by the insurance company. What so many owners fail to understand is that an insurance company wlll only pay what they are obligated to pay under the policy and that amount seldom covers all personal items. When this happens you have to have your own investigation. Insurance company investigations are the property of the insurance company. Having conducted death case RV fires and examining what could be done to save a life it appears that multiple working smoke detectors may be the best defense. At this time the refrigerator failure issure has not been resolved and the fix is suppost to shut the unit down automaticly befor a fire develops. If we can be of assistance you may contact our office at 407-688-9800 or the web at www.rvinvestigations.com T. Bailey CFI CT CMI CGC Sr. Investigator I am a certified fire investigator that conducts RV fire investigations throughout the USA and abroad. Over the years I have conducted hundreds of RV fire investigations that were directly the result of the refrigerator. Having worked with both Dometic and Norcold I have found that Norcold consistantly steps up to the plate and does the right thing for the injured parties, while Dometic takes a hard position. Some of Dometic’s stuborness may be warranted due to fraudulant claims and coils that were reconditioned by other companies and then reinstalled in the Dometic refrigerator. Our company has conducted joint destructive tesing on Dometic refrigerators with Dometic when we have represented the insurance company and owner, and through SEM tesing there was clear and conviencing evidence ot weld failures.

What is most distrurbing is that most of the refrigerator fires were not on any recall list. Do not rely totally on what is stated.

Another area of concern that nobody considers is the real loss and what you may recover. We have represented numerous owners of RVs when the dollar amount of the loss exceeds the dollars paid by the insurance company. What so many owners fail to understand is that an insurance company wlll only pay what they are obligated to pay under the policy and that amount seldom covers all personal items. When this happens you have to have your own investigation. Insurance company investigations are the property of the insurance company.

Having conducted death case RV fires and examining what could be done to save a life it appears that multiple working smoke detectors may be the best defense. At this time the refrigerator failure issure has not been resolved and the fix is suppost to shut the unit down automaticly befor a fire develops. If we can be of assistance you may contact our office at 407-688-9800 or the web at http://www.rvinvestigations.com

T. Bailey CFI CT CMI CGC
Sr. Investigator

]]> By: Joe http://rx4rv.com/archives/21/comment-page-2#comment-630 Joe Wed, 17 Feb 2010 23:50:02 +0000 http://rx4rv.com/archives/21#comment-630 All, Class action suit on the way. I just turned all the information to the machine to get this going. If you go to the NHTSA site you will find they (OEMs and Dometic) did not complete the recall. They only notified registered owners per the e-mails I have. Look at the quarterly reports and look at the dates they completed the notifications then look at the date of the document the filed stating they are having problems with the CA DMV. The dates do not jive. TrailerFires.com will be up shortly to start tracking and collection data. http://nhthqnwws111.odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/acms/documentList.do?docId=06E076&docType=RCL&fromPublic=true Joe All, Class action suit on the way. I just turned all the information to the machine to get this going. If you go to the NHTSA site you will find they (OEMs and Dometic) did not complete the recall. They only notified registered owners per the e-mails I have. Look at the quarterly reports and look at the dates they completed the notifications then look at the date of the document the filed stating they are having problems with the CA DMV. The dates do not jive. TrailerFires.com will be up shortly to start tracking and collection data.

http://nhthqnwws111.odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/acms/documentList.do?docId=06E076&docType=RCL&fromPublic=true

Joe

]]> By: Mark http://rx4rv.com/archives/21/comment-page-2#comment-629 Mark Thu, 07 Jan 2010 04:22:14 +0000 http://rx4rv.com/archives/21#comment-629 Dometic people are scum of the earth!!! I have called, filled out papers, and ranted and raved to no avail. My fridge falls in the recall, and has gone out. Same symptoms as everyone else. Dometic offers a fire shield instead of fixing the problem. If anyone knows of a class action lawsuit to force them to fix a major design flaw due to faulty construction/engineering, let me know. Sorry @*#%$@%&!!!!!! Dometic people are scum of the earth!!! I have called, filled out papers, and ranted and raved to no avail. My fridge falls in the recall, and has gone out. Same symptoms as everyone else. Dometic offers a fire shield instead of fixing the problem. If anyone knows of a class action lawsuit to force them to fix a major design flaw due to faulty construction/engineering, let me know.
Sorry @*#%$@%&!!!!!!

]]> By: Stephen and Karen Knowlton http://rx4rv.com/archives/21/comment-page-1#comment-470 Stephen and Karen Knowlton Fri, 04 Dec 2009 23:57:44 +0000 http://rx4rv.com/archives/21#comment-470 Our 2004 Alpha 40' toy hauler burnt to the ground January 21, 2009. We found out about the recall 5 days after the fire. We have been told by two fire inspectors that it was a Dometic fire. Dometics insurance company wants us to prove our case with Forensic testing. It's at the lab right now. We are facing mounting costs and are very unhappy with our own insurance carriers lack of testing. Our insurance company is sueing. We too want a class action lawsuit. We are in Washington State. We also would like to contact the media and get this company exposed. We almost lost our lives in the fire. Had it happened two hours later we would have... Our cat and bird died. With difficulty we made it out with the side of the coach on fire; next to the door! Who out there has a story? Our 2004 Alpha 40′ toy hauler burnt to the ground January 21, 2009. We found out about the recall 5 days after the fire. We have been told by two fire inspectors that it was a Dometic fire. Dometics insurance company wants us to prove our case with Forensic testing. It’s at the lab right now. We are facing mounting costs and are very unhappy with our own insurance carriers lack of testing. Our insurance company is sueing. We too want a class action lawsuit. We are in Washington State. We also would like to contact the media and get this company exposed. We almost lost our lives in the fire. Had it happened two hours later we would have… Our cat and bird died. With difficulty we made it out with the side of the coach on fire; next to the door! Who out there has a story?

]]> By: Tim west http://rx4rv.com/archives/21/comment-page-2#comment-469 Tim west Wed, 25 Nov 2009 04:02:54 +0000 http://rx4rv.com/archives/21#comment-469 I have a leak in my burner part on my refridgerator,I checked and it falls under the recall.Will they fix the line that is leaking? if not what will they do> I have a leak in my burner part on my refridgerator,I checked and it falls under the recall.Will they fix the line that is leaking? if not what will they do>

]]> By: Joe Lost http://rx4rv.com/archives/21/comment-page-2#comment-468 Joe Lost Tue, 03 Nov 2009 20:25:35 +0000 http://rx4rv.com/archives/21#comment-468 I feel the pain you all are having. I bought my Rv in 2002 to provide a temporary living space while on offsite work locations. A few days ago I got a call from the RV Park where my unit is parked, and was told my unit has burnt to the ground. I had no clue of the recall, no notices or anything. I can’t check to see the serial numbers to see if my unit was even covered everything was completely melted and/or burned. The fire Capt. Stated this was a standard fire that originated with the refrigerator (Dometic of course). The insurance company is now walking away from the claim after telling us we were 100% covered. It’s a good thing I was not sleeping at the time the trailer burned. Has anyone found a place to file a property loss claim related to this recall? I feel the pain you all are having. I bought my Rv in 2002 to provide a temporary living space while on offsite work locations. A few days ago I got a call from the RV Park where my unit is parked, and was told my unit has burnt to the ground. I had no clue of the recall, no notices or anything. I can’t check to see the serial numbers to see if my unit was even covered everything was completely melted and/or burned. The fire Capt. Stated this was a standard fire that originated with the refrigerator (Dometic of course). The insurance company is now walking away from the claim after telling us we were 100% covered. It’s a good thing I was not sleeping at the time the trailer burned. Has anyone found a place to file a property loss claim related to this recall?

]]> By: Bonnie & Roger Payne http://rx4rv.com/archives/21/comment-page-#comment-466 Bonnie & Roger Payne Tue, 11 Aug 2009 16:49:52 +0000 http://rx4rv.com/archives/21#comment-466 1-888-446-5157 1800-544-4881 good luck - I have a dometic refrig involved in this recall too. Im not satisfied with the fix. I think they should replace the part that leaks. PERIOD> 1-888-446-5157

1800-544-4881

good luck -
I have a dometic refrig involved in this recall too. Im not satisfied with the fix. I think they should replace the part that leaks. PERIOD>

]]> By: Bonnie & Roger Payne http://rx4rv.com/archives/21/comment-page-2#comment-467 Bonnie & Roger Payne Tue, 11 Aug 2009 16:37:41 +0000 http://rx4rv.com/archives/21#comment-467 We just purchased our first travel trailer. It's a gently used 1999 Forest River - 30 ft Cherokee . We love it. However when I got online to purchase new bulbs for the fridge I noticed mention of the recall . Sure enough our camper has a dometic 2 door refrigerator Model 2652 and the serial number is listed amongst the vast number of units effected . I do not understand how a piece of sheet metal could be considered a fix - when the whole faulty line is left in the unit. This is not going to keep the line from rupture and leaks. They should be made to replace the faulty part ..PERIOD. I am not convinced that our insurance company will even cover the trailer until this is replaced . I guess someone has to die in the fire before Dometic begins to realize human life is important , and there's no way the sheet metal insert is going to actually assure the persons of their saftey -while sleeping in this unit. We just purchased our first travel trailer. It’s a gently used 1999 Forest River – 30 ft Cherokee . We love it. However when I got online to purchase new bulbs for the fridge I noticed mention of the recall . Sure enough our camper has a dometic 2 door refrigerator Model 2652 and the serial number is listed amongst the vast number of units effected . I do not understand how a piece of sheet metal could be considered a fix – when the whole faulty line is left in the unit. This is not going to keep the line from rupture and leaks. They should be made to replace the faulty part ..PERIOD. I am not convinced that our insurance company will even cover the trailer until this is replaced . I guess someone has to die in the fire before Dometic begins to realize human life is important , and there’s no way the sheet metal insert is going to actually assure the persons of their saftey -while sleeping in this unit.

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