Norcold 1200 is being extended

[P3TC]

On another forum an extended Norcold recall cited including serials to 1273700,Thetford site does not say that. Any info?
Thanks....Bill

Edited to change the title - the extension process has just begun. See my posts below. Mel

[was_butnotnow]

I had the recall done on my Norcold 1210 today and the dealer told me to send my paperwork to Norcold and they would send me $50. They paid the dealer directly $45 for the recall so why would they also send me money? He said it was true.

Is It?

[gmachine]

Our 19 cu.ft Kenmore(replacement for a 1200)weighed LESS, and went in w/o much modification. Not as pretty but works better and saves $30.00/mo. in electricity.
Runs on MSW inverter just fine and in approx. 4,000 mi we have had perfect performance. We are quite pleased but would like to sell the 1200 to get it out of my workshed in FL.

[homeon6wheels]

Just received a recall letter from Norcold dated 11/8/2010 extending a recall to the entire 1200 series out through 1212, This time it involves installing a "high temperature sensor".Sound familiar?
My unit is included in the recall even though it was installed in February 2009, replacing a 6 year old unit, original to the M/H, That unit failed 3 months prior to a recall being issued for it, also for a heat sensor. To their credit, Norcold participated in the expenses of replacement.
My question is: Has it occurred to Norcold to address the problem of leakage and overheating, rather than throwing "band aid" measures at the symptoms?
The inconvenience is outstripping the otherwise fine performance of the reefer, which is a model 1210IM

[was_butnotnow]

I called Norcold and they said my unit was a part of the recall. Now wanting to know if the problem is only when the unit is used on AC. I am dry camping in AZ for the winter with my 1210 unit set on propane.

[firedoc]

How much does that Kenmore weigh. If its more than the Norcold (and I assume that it is) would that make a difference being in a slide?

[grousehunter_61]

What is the life expectancy of an AC-home unit being turned off and on all the time in a motor-home.

[dllfo]

I keep hearing people say "after the repair, my unit failed..."

What failed? Something we can watch for??

[AFChap]

SHOULD I GET IT REPAIRED IF IT IS WORKING OK??????

ABSOLUTELY!!!! It is a fire hazard without the recall kit installed. Three months after we had the recall kit installed our cooling unit failed. The recall kit is primarily a thermostatic switch that cuts all power when the chimney overheats. It shut ours down with visible heat damage to the foil wrapping on the chimney ...and the unit was running on AC at the time, not LP. I am now wishing we had replaced with a normal household unit rather than having a new cooling unit put in.

PeoriaJim ...tell us the Kenmore model number you bought? ...and how did you tie it down?

[dllfo]

I have owned my 1200 for many years, just got notified of the recall today. After reading about the continuing problems, I am thinking about the Kenmore. My concern with a residential unit is the bouncing and bumping it would get as we drive around the country. If I were living in my coach, it might not make a difference.

$4400 for another headache???????????????????? Egad, they MUST make better RV refrigerators than the 1200 by now. What else would fit into the 1200's location? RV refrigerator that is.

My unit is actually working ok compared to what many of you have said about your units. SHOULD I GET IT REPAIRED IF IT IS WORKING OK??????
(Not shouting, just all caps for emphasis)

Thanks for your suggestions.

[griddle]

Yeah, you made the right decision. The 1200 Norcold can cause a lot of trouble, and in the summer the fridge can barely get to mid 40s. While replacement is not cheap its probably the best option 😉
For those who already got the 1200 Norcold I don't know what to do. If its working good in your area and climate then I suppose its just fine. I hope that they would improve their products and spare their customers the annoying problems. 🙂

[PeoriaJim]

I had a 1200 Norcold that the cooling unit failed on in Feburary of 09. Lower box got up to 65 degrees while the ice maker continued to make ice. Camping World replaced the cooling unit with a new one at that time on my extended warranty. Almost exactly 6 months later same thing happened. Camping World offered to change unit again on their dime as was still under their one year warranty. After talking to Norcold warranty department I decided that it just wasn't worth the effort to go through the work and change again. We live in our coach full time and just getting to a Camping World is at least an hour each way. We both have jobs so can't leave the coach as we need a place to sleep at night. We opted to replace the Norcold unit with a Kenmore residentual refridgerator. This unit neetly fit right in the hole that the Norcold came out of with only minor adjustment. Needed to cut the 2 inch header out and 1/8 inch from one side of the opening. Kenmore unit slid right in. It does protrud out about 6 inches further than the Norcold did. But now I have ice and water through the door and nearly double the amount of cubic feet of storage space. The Norcold was 12.6 cu.ft. while the Kenmore is 21.8 cu.ft. I can put 3 one gallon of milk jugs front to back inside and not fill all the shelf space. We are nearly always plugged into shore power and when we travel we just run the generator every couple hours or on short trips all the time. It only uses about a pint of diesel per hour. I highly recommend anyone who is a full timer like us to convert to a real refridgerator. Cost of a replacement Norcold was $4400 cost of a new Kenmore while on sale was $1300. It will take me a long time to burn up the difference in what extra diesel I will have to use while traveling to run my generator. The headaches of the RV fridge are gone now. I don't have to worry about running my battery down or the propane tank dry. I can stock enough food to last all week or longer instead of 3 or 4 days. Why anyone thinks they need an RV fridge is beyond me. You pay a lot for nothing. ANd by the way when we removed the Norcold there was a black charred area where the exhaust stack ends inside the opening. Our unit was in a slide room so no cooling vent hole to the roof.
Jim

[MELM]

For those that haven't followed the recall process, I'll add some information that I've gotten from other recalls.

There is a significant amount of time between the initial determination of the need for a recall and the availability of the hardware, etc. needed for the owners to have the recall work done. In the current Dometic recall, it took about 6 months from the notification to NHTSA until the first kits were available.

The letter in the above post was dated for March 28, so it has only been a little over a month since the initiation of the recall process. Hopefully for owners of these reefers, the process will be faster than the Dometic recall since there is an existing recall for the same, but slightly older, models.

The letter states they plan to begin recalls in May - this month.

If you have one of the newer units, I suggest you check this thread periodically to see what others have learned.

And if you have new information, please post it in this thread.

Mel

[MELM]

Thank you. I have found that Norcold is in the process of extending the recall.

From their letter dated March 28, 2008 to NHTSA: "Norcold has determined that this recall should be extended to embrace coolirlg units made by Norcold serving as components in Norcold models 1200LR, 1200LRIM and 1201 \-RIM manufactured from March 1, 1999 to February 28, 2001. Each cooling unit under this extension has a serial number between 1008701 and 1273700, non consecutively."

Link to the letter: Norcold March 28 Letter.

Link to NHTSA reply: NHTSA April 16 Reply to Norcold.

Link to Norcold Recall site: Norcold Recalls.

There is an online registration form and also a phone number for owners to contact.

I doubt that RV manufacturers and Norcold dealers and service centers have received formal notification yet, but the Norcold recall staff may have the information.

If anyone contacts Norcold and gets additional info, please post it in this thread.

Mel

[Chris_Bryant]

Not that I am aware of- be aware that the serial numbers Norcold is giving is the cooling unit serial number (on the tank of the cooling unit), and not the refrigerator serial number.
You can call the Norcold recall line at (800) 767-9101 to get the info.