Dometic Refrigerator Fires? - Page 4

Silvertwinkie · 05-09-2007, 07:23 AM

Cracker, you were right on to refuse, as a matter of fact, I'd wonder if this dealer tries this with every repair. If so, Dometic should hear about this. Sounds pretty shadey to me.

Cracker · 05-09-2007, 09:37 AM

Lew:

I certainly agree with you about the additional charge - if, like you said, it had been explained to me up front. $20.00 is a relatively small surcharge, but what about those individuals whose refrigerator will have to be removed - or otherwise require some unusual additional expense - similar to your air conditioner replacement scenario? How can Dometic simply refuse to pay the additional expense? It would seem like, in this litigation-happy world, that they're setting themselves up for a lawsuit. Especially, if the involved partie's RV went up in flames because they couldn't afford to pay the surcharge for the fix. The thing that makes this fix a bit different is that the alternative to not doing it could be life-threatening - similar to the problem Ford had with their spontaneous fires. The other difference is that, a Ford is a Ford - and the cost of the fix is easy to pre-determine - unlike in the world of RVs. I can see this as a gold mine for unscrupulous RV centers.

HowieE · 05-09-2007, 09:46 AM

Cracker

One question. Was it the Dealer that asked for the extra or the Tech. who did the job?

If it was the Dealer you should post his name as many of us travel through Maine and would like to know of his business practices before we stop in.

If it was his Tech. maybe you should mention it to the Dealer and see if he is still there a few weeks later. I have no problem tipping a serviceman if he has done a good job but have a huge problem with gouging.

Cracker · 05-09-2007, 10:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HowieE

Cracker

One question. Was it the Dealer that asked for the extra or the Tech. who did the job?

If it was the Dealer you should post his name as many of us travel through Maine and would like to know of his business practices before we stop in.

If it was his Tech. maybe you should mention it to the Dealer and see if he is still there a few weeks later. I have no problem tipping a serviceman if he has done a good job but have a huge problem with gouging.

It was the dealership - but I would not want to black-ball them because I think that, at this point in the game, it may have been an honest misunderstanding. They could have been under the impression that a surcharge was legitimate and proper - and I was the first one to come along and question it. They were going to contact Dometic about my refusal to pay the surcharge. To date, they have a large inventory of RVs on their lot for sale that they have had to fix before delivery. I believe that they just started doing outside units. I otherwise know them to be a very reputable service center - and one of the few that I would take my Airstream to! I'm also aware that some tech centers are charging as much as $80/hr nowadays - so it wouldn't take much to bump the cost by $20.00! I was simply trying to give everyone a "heads up" in order to avoid any unpleasant surprises.

Silvertwinkie · 05-09-2007, 01:18 PM

I'm still interested in seeing the flame out kit that was talked about earlier. Very eager to see one and install one. Yea, the Dometic fix is a band-aid, but what if.....

For about $75, I'd consider it....can't wait to see more info on it....hopefully soon!

genearnold · 06-04-2008, 10:11 AM

On our recent trip to Nebraska when we came home from church at Lincoln on May 4th we were greeted by an overpowering ammonia smell when we opened the door (fridge was on AC at the time). After allowing some time to pass with the door open, I sucked a big breath and went inside and opened a window. I repeated this until all windows and vents were open, then sat down outside to wait until I felt safe in entering (about two hours). We lost most of the food in the refrigerator (Dometic) and some of the non-perishables that were elsewhere in the trailer (ammonia sure makes red apples look different. Purple-black with green highlights).

I tried one RV service place in Lincoln but they had no replacement in stock. Since we’d planned to return to Grand Island anyway, we went on and I was able to get a replacement on Tuesday. Since our trailer is sixteen years old it is long out of warranty so I coughed up the nearly $1600.00 and felt fortunate that we’d not had the event in the middle of the night. I’m not sure if the smell would have awakened us or if we’d be walking on golden streets.

Although we thought of what would have happened if the leak came at night it didn’t dawn on us until a couple of weeks later how blessed we were. Shanell, our college age granddaughter had lived with us for two and one-half years before returning to work in Nebraska. We agreed to keep Shasta, a beautiful Russian Blue cat, until she got on her feet with her own place. We had Shasta for a year and one-half. A few days before the above incident we had delivered Shasta to her new home with Shanell. Had Shasta been in the trailer she would have not survived. My wife and I agree that we would never have gotten over the horrible experience had the cat been killed. So, every cloud has a silver lining!

lewster · 05-09-2007, 09:19 PM

[quote=Cracker] I'm also aware that some tech centers are charging as much as $80/hr nowadays - so it wouldn't take much to bump the cost by $20.00! quote]

Hey Cracker,

$80/ hour is a BARGAIN!!! Some service centers down here are at $120/hour and climbing!!!

dieterdog · 05-09-2007, 10:13 PM

To All, i was not charged anything for the recall fix,, whether it is a fix or a band aid i do not know,, it is done and over with,, am still interested in the rv cool invention,, that seems to make common physical sense,, hoping to hear more about it,,, ps,, rv service center here charges one hundred dollars per hour,,, SPENDY,,, donna

jimmickle · 05-16-2007, 06:43 PM

Got my recall done today at the local Winnebago/Fleetwood/etc dealer. Airstream Dealer is 60 miles away. you don't have to go to an Airstream dealer to get it done.

codybear · 05-29-2007, 12:29 PM

Hi,

I just made an appointment w/the repair shop here in Sacramento for Thursday for our safari..the gal said it'd only take a half hour to do the fix..she did say there would be no charge and she mentioned adding an aluminum shield..so we'll see how it goes..we've had the refrig since 1997 and have had no problems..

lewster · 05-29-2007, 08:52 PM

Hi gang,

I received a letter from Dometic today that specifically referred to additional charges concerning the warranty fix for the affected units. I don't remember the exact wording, but the gist of the letter stated that 'it is against Dometic policy and a violation of NHTSA policy and statute to include any additional charges when completing this warranty procedure'

THERE YOU HAVE IT!

I'll post the exact wording to this thread when I get back in the office tomorrow.

TomW · 05-30-2007, 07:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lewster

... I'll post the exact wording to this thread when I get back in the office tomorrow.

Don't forget.

Tom

Cracker · 05-30-2007, 07:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lewster

Hi gang,

I received a letter from Dometic today that specifically referred to additional charges concerning the warranty fix for the affected units. I don't remember the exact wording, but the gist of the letter stated that 'it is against Dometic policy and a violation of NHTSA policy and statute to include any additional charges when completing this warranty procedure'

THERE YOU HAVE IT!

I'll post the exact wording to this thread when I get back in the office tomorrow.

Lew:

I never heard anything more from my local tech about the additional charges - so I assume that they got the word from Dometic. In any event, I'd like to copy your information and forward it on to them.

lewster · 05-30-2007, 08:07 PM

Never made it to the office today!

I'll try again tomorrow!