Yes, Norcold ended up replacing cooling units, but not before trying a band-aid fix of their own (they tried replacing the 120v elements with new ones that distributed the heat differently). That band-aid didn't work, so they eventually ponied up and replaced cores. This protective shield idea is something new and in my opinion is only a cheap attempt to limit their liability.
The bigger concern I have is future refer sales. I really like the design and function of the Dometic refers, and want to keep selling them, but I need to believe in their dependability to sell. Unfortunately I can no longer recommend these Dometic products in good conscience......at least not until they address the actual problem.
As for Norcold, I don't like them mainly because of past negative experiences I've had dealing with their warranty dept. I have also experienced a higher failure rate with Norcold's electronics & have also seen more than a normal rate of insufficient cooling issues (that ended up being units). I can't speak for all service centers, but this has been my personal experience as a technician.
For these reasons I don't normally recommend Norcold to my customers, but unless Dometic straightens this out soon, this will change as I am quickly losing confidence in Dometic's quality and commitment to deal with this in a responsible manner. Let's hope I'm wrong. I guess we'll see how they handle this. Tim
