Dometic Refer Recall - Possible Fire Hazard -Update 2/13/07

[MELM]

Click here to go directly to Updates.
Update Number 1 Nov 23, 2006
Update Number 2 Dec 5, 2006
Update Number 3 Jan 10, 2007
Update Number 4 Jan 19, 2007 - Recall Instructions - click here: Dometic Recall You need your model and serial numbers.
Update Number 5 Feb 13, 2007 - Added links to new info on the NHTSA website including the info/form for claiming reimbursement for a failure. These are at the end of the post below where all the updates are posted.

Also, edited the below Recall to include the change made prior to the Dec 5 update showing the proposed remedy.

Below is information from the NHTSA website on a recall of certain Dometic refrigerators. This recall is in its very early stages, and there is no resolution in place as of Nov 1, 2006.

From the NHTSA website:

Dometic Recall NHTSA Campaign ID 06E076000

Make / Models : Model/Build Years:
DOMETIC / NDR1062 9999
DOMETIC / RM2652 9999
DOMETIC / RM2662 9999
DOMETIC / RM2663 9999
DOMETIC / RM2852 9999
DOMETIC / RM2862 9999
DOMETIC / RM3662 9999
DOMETIC / RM3663 9999
DOMETIC / RM3862 9999
DOMETIC / RM3863 9999

Manufacturer : DOMETIC CORPORATION

NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID Number : 06E076000 Mfg's Report Date : AUG 28, 2006

Component: EQUIPMENT: RECREATIONAL VEHICLE

Potential Number Of Units Affected : 926877

Summary:
CERTAIN DOMETIC TWO-DOOR REFRIGERATORS MANUFACTURED BETWEEN APRIL 1997 AND MAY 2003: SERIAL NOS.
713XXXXX THROUGH 752XXXXX;
801XXXXX THROUGH 852XXXXX;
901XXXXX THROUGH 952XXXXX;
001XXXXX THROUGH 052XXXXX;
101XXXXX THROUGH 152XXXXX;
201XXXXX THROUGH 252XXXXX;
301XXXXX THROUGH 319XXXXX,
INSTALLED IN CERTAIN RECREATIONAL VEHICLES AS ORIGINAL EQUIPMENT AND SOLD AS AFTERMARKET EQUIPMENT. A FATIGUE CRACK MAY DEVELOP IN THE BOILER TUBE WHICH MAY RELEASE A SUFFICIENT AMOUNT OF PRESSURIZED COOLANT SOLUTION INTO AN AREA WHERE AN IGNITION SOURCE (GAS FLAME) IS PRESENT.

Consequence:
THE RELEASE OF COOLANT UNDER CERTAIN CONDITIONS COULD IGNITE AND RESULT IN A FIRE.

Remedy:
THE VEHICLE MANUFACTURERS WILL NOTIFY OWNERS OF RECREATIONAL VEHICLES THAT HAD THE REFRIGERATORS INSTALLED AS ORIGINAL EQUIPMENT AND DOMETIC WILL NOTIFY OWNERS OF THE AFTERMARKET REFRIGERATORS. DOMETIC WILL INSTALL A SECONDARY BURNER HOUSING FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN BETWEEN APRIL AND JUNE 2007. OWNERS MAY CONTACT DOMETIC AT 888-446-5157.

Notes:
CUSTOMERS MAY CONTACT THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION'S VEHICLE SAFETY HOTLINE AT 1-888-327-4236 (TTY: 1-800-424-9153); OR GO TO HTTP://WWW.SAFERCAR.GOV.

The following is extracted from the notice provided by Dometic to the NHTSA dated 8/26/06:

The potential defect is associated with cooling unit at the back of the refrigeration cabinet.

A fractional percentage of the potentially affected refrigerators have experienced a fatigue crack that may develop in the boiler tube in the area of the weld between the boiler tube and the heater pocket. A fatigue crack may release a sufficient amount of pressurized coolant solution into an area where an ignition source (gas flame) is present. Dometic's investigation has shown that a simulated release of cooling solution (refrigerant) in the area of the boiler, under certain conditions, could be ignited by the presence of an open flame. A boiler fatigue crack with the loss of cooling solution without ignition would result in a non-operational refrigerator that is not a safety issue. Under certain conditions, the released coolant could ignite and result in a fire. In order to have a fire, at a minimum, all of the following conditions must exist:

1. The refrigerator must be on and normally operating and gas burner must be lit;
2. 'There must be an oversized heating element in the refrigerator;
3. The boiler tube must develop a throughway fatigue crack of a
specific size;
4. There must be a release of the cooling solution at a rate which will
allow the accumulation of the cooling solution at a concentration within its range of flammability; and
5. There must be ignition source (gas flame) present.

If any of these conditions are not present, a release of the cooling solution will not result in a fire.

In April of 1997 Dometic modified the design of the affected refrigerators by increasing the wattage of the heating element from 325 watts to 354 watts. All production of the affected units from April 1997 through May of 2003 utilized the 354 watt heating element. In May of 2003, in order to improve the operating life of the refrigerators, Dometic returned to the use of the 325 watt heating element which it continues to use today. It is now believed that the use of the higher wattage heater contributed to abnormal fatigue in the boiler tube.

The products in question are all refrigerators used in the original manufacture of recreation vehicles or as replacement equipment for recreation vehicles. The total population of refrigerators potentially containing the defect is 926,877. Dometic estimates a potential maximum incident rate of 0.01% related to boiler fatigue cracks that leak and may result in a fire. There have been no incidents of injury or death related to the affected population of Dometic refrigerators.

Dometic became aware of the occurrence of fires which may have involved their products and retained an independent engineering testing laboratory to fully evaluate and investigate any potential defect in their refrigerators which might result in a fire. A number of returned units were analyzed and microscopic fatigue cracks which could release coolant into the area of the burner were identified in the boiler tube metal in the area of the weld between the heater pocket and boiler tube. Tests simulating the cracks were conducted the week of August 18, 2006 and confirmed a possible cause of fire in the refrigerators under certain conditions. These test results prompted the preparation of this notice.

Dometic continues to gather information on the potential defect and will forward additional relevant information as it becomes available.

Dometic has not yet identified a proposed remedy for the potential defect. Dometic will continue a testing program designed to identify and evaluate possible remedies. This evaluation will take place both in the United States and in Sweden. Once a remedy has been identified, Dometic will initiate or participate in a remedy campaign initiated by the original equipment manufacturers and aftermarket suppliers who have purchased, sold, and distributed these products. A list of original equipment manufacturers and aftermarket suppliers to whom Dometic has sold the potentially defective refrigerators is being prepared and will be provided to the NHTSA upon its
completion.

The following is extracted from the NHTSA response on 9/18/06:

Please provide the following additional information and be reminded of the following requirements:

Dometic must provide an estimated dealer notification date as well as an owner notification date including the day, month, and year. You are required to submit a draft owner notification letter to this office no less than five days prior to mailing it to the customers. Also, copies of all notices, bulletins, dealer notifications, and other communications that relate to this recall, including a copy of the final owner notification letter and any subsequent owner follow-up notification letter(s), are required to be submitted to this office no later than 5 days after they are originally sent (if they are sent to more than one manufacturer, distributor, dealer, or purchaser/owner).

Dometic must file a sample of the envelope which you intend to use to mail the recall notice to owners. The words "SAFETY", "RECALL", "NOTICE" in any order must be printed on the envelope in larger font than the customers name and address.

[rsg33]

Well, we're definitely on the same page.

The Dometic rep in Elkhart told me flat out the recall "kit" did not include an element. When I tried to discuss the element issue and question why they wouldn't cover their supposed reason for the recall fault, all he said was "the kit doesn't include an element" and that was that. He did state that the kit will include a thermofuse and one other fusible link (no explanation why the second fuse), confirming the previous posts by you and charlan.

I realize the recall team is exceedingly busy these days and I considered this as reason for his abruptness. I'll attempt further dialogue when the initial crunch has died down a bit. These people in Elkhart have to field ALL recall related calls, even those from Canada, so I can imagine the chaos they're enduring.

[timsrv]

I was just trying to emphasize your position and make a point. The statement in my previous post was extracted from the notice provided by Dometic to the NHTSA on 8/26/06. So why wouldn't they replace that element? Just how much $$$ does a heating element cost Dometic anyhow? If the hotter elements caused this problem in the 1st place, then what possible reason could they have to avoid fixing the root problem....... Unless of course there is something they are not telling us & the NHTSA. Up til now I had assumed new elements would be included in the recall kits, but now I'm not so sure. I'm sorry, but this confuses the hell out of me. Tim

[rsg33]

Not sure what you're trying to tell me, Tim. :?

[timsrv]

rsg33 wrote:
Dometic would NOT cover the cost of a new element despite the fact that it was way out of range resistance-wise. I find this odd since their whole premise was that these cooling units are failing (under the recall) because of metal fatigue due to too high a wattage element.

I'm not satisfied with their decision and will prod them for more of a clarification.

:h

In April of 1997 Dometic modified the design of the affected refrigerators by increasing the wattage of the heating element from 325 watts to 354 watts. All production of the affected units from April 1997 through May of 2003 utilized the 354 watt heating element. In May of 2003, in order to improve the operating life of the refrigerators, Dometic returned to the use of the 325 watt heating element which it continues to use today. It is now believed that the use of the higher wattage heater contributed to abnormal fatigue in the boiler tube.

:S

[rsg33]

summerpaws wrote:
...by far the best information about this on the Web.

I think you may be right. When the owner of the failed RM3862 I posted about earlier first arrived with his fridge, he had copies of this exact thread in his hand. Not being an RV.net member, he had typed "ammonia leak" (or something similar) in Google and this thread was the first in the list.

Just a bit of an update on that particular repair...Dometic would NOT cover the cost of a new element despite the fact that it was way out of range resistance-wise. I find this odd since their whole premise was that these cooling units are failing (under the recall) because of metal fatigue due to too high a wattage element.

I'm not satisfied with their decision and will prod them for more of a clarification.

[summerpaws]

I registered when this first came to light..was it September? October?..Anyways, just got my recall in the mail today. Nothing new, just what was on the website. There was a paragraph stating that they are commited to my happiness....You all have done a great job staying on top of this..by far the best information about this on the Web. Thank you.

[WilleyB]

Thanks for the information Eric, I registered way back when, some sort of recording type answering service, so I guess I'd better call again. Good tip about the VIN number.

Willis

[Community Alumni]

balvert wrote:
I would hope that if you registered your warrantee for the fridge they would have a record of it and notify you. Or is that too much to expect from Dometic?

Well they certainly didn't have mine and my warranty was registered (or I thought it had been). :E

Just another reminder for anyone who calls Dometic, make sure that you have your rv's VIN as well as your fridge model and s/n. I had not expected to need the VIN but luckly it was on a copy of my insurance papers in my wallet when I called from my work today.

... eric

[balvert]

I made the call and gave my info to a human in January. Even so I would hope that if you registered your warrantee for the fridge they would have a record of it and notify you. Or is that too much to expect from Dometic?

[Community Alumni]

A heads up ...

As someone wrote earlier on the forum, make sure that you are registered to receive the info package from Dometic; you will need it to get the fix done.

I thought I was registered from a previous call that I made in early January through an automated reply line but when I called today to verify, I found out that I was not registered. This time I spoke to an actual person who will send out the package by UPS. She also looked up the authorized Dometic repair center closest to me and fortunately it's the rv repair guy 12 miles from my house.

... Eric

[CrossCountryNom]

timsrv wrote:
If you need to run it before the recall, for safety reasons, run only on AC electric during the day, & shut it off at night. Tim

We have a week in Key West the first week of April. We'll need our Refer running, but with that said we'll use electric just during the day.

[timsrv]

It is more likely to break while using on AC, however if a break occurs, it would be less likely to ignite and cause a fire. It is less likely to break while running on gas, however the potential fire danger makes gas operation much more risky. If at all possible, it's best not to use it at all until after the recall has been performed. After that, running on gas only would be preferred (for longevity reasons) because it puts less stress on the boiler. If you need to run it before the recall, for safety reasons, run only on AC electric during the day (12vdc is better if you have that option), & shut it off at night. Tim

[CrossCountryNom]

So let me get this straight. After reading the last few post here, it appears the the cause of all of this 'might' be the hot spot on the heating element.

So Dometic is telling us to use our Refer on electric only (our only option is 120) and that might actually be making the problem worse?

I'm so confused...

[Jiver51]

My Dometic refer just went out. I took it to the dealer and was told about the recall. We found yellow residue around the base of the burner unit which the dealer identified as evidence of a coolant release.

This unit is less than 3 years old and has been used mainly on electric service. The only times it is on propane is during transport.

My claim has been filed. I will post an update when appropriate.

[timsrv]

Wow, I took a look at that thread. Very impressive analysis. So much info here a person can really get lost. Sorry about getting off topic, but should I be warning my customers that have those OEM GM hitches? Was there ever a recall?