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.

[hyrax]

Firstly, many thanks to so many of you guys that obviously really know what you're talking about on this hugely informative forum.

My DOMETIC refer quit last week (we use it exclusively on AC). I checked Dometics' recall list and sure enough mine matches both model # and serial #. This refer is in our home of 5 years - a 2001 Teton. Repairman was called, he looked and said that the ammonia had leaked out. He says the only way to go is to buy a new replacement NDR 1062 as it would cost almost as much to repair and the 'other' components would still be 5 years old and likely to fail shortly anyway?? Hmm, well, OK, I guess. But then his price, all said and done, is just over $400 more than Camping Worlds price installation included - although I would save the faily extreme hassle, in my case, of having to get it to a Camping World. Sure seems to me like $2223 to replace a 5 year old 'top of the line' refridgerator is somewhat steep - and I don't see Dometic helping out on this at all. Maybe I'm just whinning here but anybody have a suggestion?

[kerryedwards]

Had the recall fix done. After 4 days of use, frig failed. No lights at all so I figured it was a lack of power. Called Camping World which did the fix and asked them if anything in the recall work would cut the power. Answer was no. After waiting for 20 minutes to talk to a tech, I gave up and called Dometic. Asked the tech there if anything in the recall would cause frig to lose power. Was told no, and that I probably had a bad circuit board. Didn't really believe this given the timing so started doing some investigating. Found power going to the initial wire going to the frig but no power coming out from the same wire once it disappeared behind the additional metal work. Disassembled the recall metal and found a failed diode which had been added during the recall.
Called back Dometic and they finally admitted that the failed diode (thermal fuse) would cause a power failure. I then tried to figure out if the diode failed due to overheating or a bad diode. Measured the temperature of the burner (running with the diode jumped) on propane at a high of 300 degrees in one small spot with most of the chimney surrounding the burner in the 150-200 degree range. (measured with an infrared thermometer) Called Dometic and tried to get them to tell me what the normal operating temperatures were. They refused to tell me. I argued with them for about half an hour. Got nowhere. Called them back the next day and kept insisting that I wanted the info (which they denied they had) since I suspected that they had installed a diode that would fail at a low temperature to further limit their liabiities. Finally they told me that 300 degrees was a safe operating temperature.
Since I was 4 days into a month long roadtrip, I had to pay $85 for a service call for a tech to replace the failed diode. The diode was installed within about one inch of the hot portion of the burner chimney. Tech said diode was installed too close and failed because of this.
So, be warmed, the recall can cause the frig to fail and Dometic will deny that the recall had anything to do with it. It is in their interest to deny the connection and get the consumer to replace their frig since it takes a frig which is a liability to them out of service.
I would like to know the exact temperatures at which the diode is designed to fail and also the temperatures of the limit switch which is installed in the burner chimney.

[Irelands_child]

DONE< DONE< DONE

While camping on Sunday a service man was completing the mod on the camper on the next site - I asked if he had another kit - he did. About 30 minutes later mine was done. He corrected another reefer minor mechanical problem as well. I did cost me $20 for the 'service call' - but I sure saved that and more on gas and time to take it to my closest dealer.

I just wonder what the next Band-Aid fix on it will be (which he agreed that this one was)

[grenelda]

Are these only on two-door fridges? My model # is RM 2551 and Serial # is 00400348. It is a single door unit.

[GWMAYES]

I guess I haven't been on this site in awhile? I never saw the recall notice.

A couple of weeks ago, I got a letter from Sunnybrook telling me about the recall. I took it into Camping World here in Albuquerque (authorized repair place) and frankly was NOT too thrilled with the service.

I had made an appointment for 8:15am. I arrived at 7:30 and stood in line at the CW service counter until about 8:30 waiting to be "served". They really weren't very busy, either. Just really, really slow! The gent said it would take about 1 1/2 hours and I could wait for it. I said, "OK" and waited and waited and waited. Finally about 10:00 am I look outside where I dropped the FW in the service lane and it was still sitting there. Two other units that were in front of me were gone and so were a couple of units that came in after me? I went to the service counter and complained. Thirty minutes later they took the FW into a service bay. At 1pm I saw them bring my FW outside and park it. I then waited some more until my keys and the ticket arrived back at the CW service counter. Good thing I really didn't have anything else to do this day. Finally got out of there about 2pm.

CW in Albuquerque is a joint operation with American RV. Apparently CW contracts with American RV for repairs. Being that Dometic only gives $40 for labor hours and the fact that I was going through CW for the repair, I guess I know where my priority was!!!

The fridge even worked..... after I cleaned the @#$%^&* spider web out of the mixer tube 🙂

[stedos321]

had mine done at wilkins rv in bath ny. service was great, took about 1 1/2 hrs. mechanic was??????????, but it got done and is working fine........

[time2roll]

Thanks Tim.

[timsrv]

Your refer is not affected. You need to enter the entire SN for it to give you good info (especially the 1st 3 digits). The serial number breaks down as follows: 1st digit is year, so yours was made in 05. The next 2 digits are week in that year, so yours was made in the 21st week of 05. Since the recall only effects units made between April 1997 and May 2003, you have nothing to worry about. Tim

[time2roll]

Model number RM2652
Serial number 521 05122

From recall website:

When I put in 52105122 for S/N it says not affected.
When I put in just 05122 then it says needs repair.

Question... What is the correct input length for the S/N?
There does not seem to be an error check just yes or no.

My trailer was built about 10/2005.

Am I safe or need repair?

[George-r]

Thank you very much for the recall info. My 2003 Trail-Lite TT is involved but wouldn't have known except for this forum. Thanks:)


2001 Dodge Ram 2500/2003 Trail-Lite 8263S/EAZ-Lift WDH.

[tandmcox88]

ok becareful with Dometic, I called them and used their website to find out if we were affected by the recall, was given the anser no, took TT in to have AC fan replaced, and we asked and they check and performed the recall work on the refrig. Said it needed to be done. Always pays to double check.

[balvert]

Well, my kit was installed today. I guess I should feel better now that my rig probably won't burn down if the boiler should fail. And while I know that fires were in fact pretty rare, boiler failures are not. At the very least Dometic should step up to the plate and provide owners of these units with a free fifteen year warrantee on the cooling unit. As far as the kit goes, it is pretty pathetic. Maybe five bucks worth of sheet metal, wires and fuses. At least my wife will sleep better.

Casey

[Lightningjack]

As part of the letter from Dometic it walked me through how to shut off the gas at the fridge. When my kit was installed the installers forgot to turn the gas valve back on so mine did not work

I removed the shield and sure enough they forgot. Turned it back on and it works fine.

Just thought I would bring this up.

[osbornk]

Lee In Calif wrote:

Skeet25 wrote:
Lee, This is what edge540 said about the same problem.


Had my kit installed two days ago. Now doesn,t work. Yes it worked fine on gas or 115 vac. prior to retrofit. I removed fount cover of the kit 5x8 sheetmetal now it works. Guess it restricts draft up the flew. If you haven,t checked yours on gas, may be you should.

Thanks Skeet25..... I WAS trying mine on GAS... I removed the sheetmetal and it seemed to help.... Now I have to try it on Electric..... Hmmmmm I wonder if others are having the same problem?

Does Dometic need to re-think what they are doing? Some times BANDAIDS leak........ In other words they DON"T work........

Maybe it's the installation. I had mine done and it works exactly the same as it did before.

[balvert]

I think it all depends on how close the sheet metal cover is to the vent grill. If it is close enough, I can see it reducing the airflow by about half. And in this weather it needs all the airflow it can get. Luckily, there should be about three inches of space between the sheet metal cover and the vent on mine when I get it done. I have to agree, Dometic didn't think this one through real well. Sort of like having a leaking fuel tank and tying a can under the leak to catch the gas. It just doesn't address the real problem.

Casey