NHTSA Complaint #10824895 — 2002 KEYSTONE SPRINTER

MY DOMETIC REFRIGERATOR RM2852, SERIAL NO.13505075 UNDER RECALL 06E-076. CRACK IN BURNER.THIS RECALL STATES THAT THE COOLING UNIT IS DEFECTIVE AS A CRACK WILL OCCUR IN THE BURNER AREA CAUSING THE LOSS OF REFRIGERANT AND LOSS OF COOLING AND THE POSSIBILITY OF FIRE EXISTS IF LEFT IN OPERATION. YET THEY ADVISE NOT TO OPERATE THE UNIT IF AMMONIA ODOR OR YELLOW RESIDUE FROM LEAKAGE EXISTS. THIS HAS OCCURRED WITH MY UNIT. AFTER TALKING TO DOMETIC DIRECTLY, TODAY, THEY ADVISED ME THAT THEY WILL INSTALL A KIT TO DETER A FIRE FROM SPREADING SHOULD ONE OCCUR AFTER THE KIT HAS BEEN INSTALLED. THEY SAY THEY WILL NOT REPAIR OR REPLACE MY FAILED COOLING UNIT, AFTER WHICH THEIR IMPLIED RECALL REMEDY IS OF NO VALUE AT ALL BECAUSE THE REFRIGERATOR WILL NO LONGER OPERATE. THE WOMAN I SPOKE WITH AT DOMETIC TOLD ME, WHEN I ASKED WHY THEY WERE NOT REPLACING THE COOLING UNIT ITSELF, IT WAS BECAUSE MY UNIT WAS OUT OF WARRANTY. THIS ANSWER WAS SIMPLY A DIVERSION BECAUSE THIS PARTICULAR UNIT WAS OUT OF WARRANTY LONG BEFORE THE RECALL CAMPAIGN WAS EVER DEVELOPED. WARRANTY DOES NOT APPLY. SHE THEN SAID THAT ONCE "I COVER THE COST" TO HAVE THE COOLING UNIT REPLACED THEN THEY WILL INSTALL THE RECALL KIT AT NO COST TO ME. OF COURSE, ONCE AGAIN, AT THAT POINT THE RECALL KIT WILL NO LONGER BE NECESSARY UNLESS THEY ARE ADMITTING THAT THEY ARE STILL SHIPPING DEFECTIVE COOLING UNITS. EVERY EFFORT SEEMS TO HAVE BEEN MADE BY DOMETIC TO PASS ON THE COSTS OF THEIR RESPONSIBILITY TO THEIR CUSTOMERS, BE IT CAUSED BY DAMAGE FROM FIRES, OR ASSUREDLY THE EVENTUAL REPLACEMENT OF THE DEFECTIVE COOLING UNIT. RESEARCH TELLS ME THAT MANY TIMES CUSTOMERS HAVE BEEN TOLD TO JUST REPLACE THE REFRIGERATOR EVEN WHEN REPAIRABLE. THESE EXPENSES, IF THE CUSTOMER PAYS, CAN REACH MULTI-THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS EACH IN SOME CASES. DOMESTIC'S COSTS FOR THEIR KIT, AS OFFERED, IS LESS THAN 100 DOLLARS PER UNIT PARTS AND LABOR.