Expanded Dometic Refrigerator Recall

Dometic has expanded the recall on some of their refrigerators to include the period of manufacture June 2003-September 2006.

To see if your qualifies for the recall you will need the Model Number and 8 digit Serial Number; then visit:

Dometic Recall Check


Thanks to IvanSurvivor who posted this on the other forum.

The original recall involved certain models of Dometic two-door refrigerators manufactured between April 1997 and May 2003.

Did it say what the defect was ?

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.

Hey, mine cracked, and depressurized the cooling solution. I got a new refrigerator, but had to pay for installation. At the time, mine was not on the recall list.

Thanks for the update, ours is listed as needing the repair kit.

Mine is on the new list for repair also.

timge,

Many thanks for posting this. I went to the Dometic site and sure enough, our fridge is listed. Fortunately, we have a repair tech who does this work and makes housecalls.

The RM2652 in my '07 cat is not recalled.

scottz wrote:The RM2652 in my '07 cat is not recalled.

You mean YET!!!!

Our RM2652 in our 06 cat is.

oldelmer1 wrote:

scottz wrote:The RM2652 in my '07 cat is not recalled.

You mean YET!!!!

Our RM2652 in our 06 cat is.

Yeah, that's what I meant!

Has anyone had this recall/repair done yet ? Did you have any trouble getting the shop to bill Dometic ? I was told by a mobil service that i called that Dometic was only allowing $40 for labor.

I don't know what they are allowing and I haven't had it done yet, but their website says "at no charge to you". They qualify that by listing authorized repair personnel/facilities. You plug in your location variable by zip code or city or state and it brings up a list of the authorized personnel/facilities.

If you do not use one of these authorized repair listings there may be some problems I guess, however, if I use one of them I will expect them to honor "at no charge to you".

Just got mine fixed, all they did was add some tin shields around the exhaust stack and burner tub. Also put a new sensor there too. Took about 20 minutes.

He said what happens is the tubes that are in the exhaust stack are welded together, these welds break and cause the tubes to leak. When the flame is on, and the leak happens, it can cause a fire. The added shields are suppose to stop the leak from coming down into the flame.

I just got home from having ours fixed too. It took less than 30 minutes and they just billed Dometic. The tech said he put a tin sheild in and added some type of a thermo coupler that he said was to keep things from over heating.

jacandjan wrote:Has anyone had this recall/repair done yet ? Did you have any trouble getting the shop to bill Dometic ? I was told by a mobil service that i called that Dometic was only allowing $40 for labor.

One of the workkampers in the park here in Swannanoa had a mobile repair service (authorized by Dometic) come in and do the job for him. The mobile charge was $50.00 which Dometic also authorized. As others have said, the repair took about 20 - 30 minutes. I've got him coming back next week to do mine.

Here's what mine looks like after the fix:

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I missed the first recall but got caught in this one. Time to call some dealers next week.

Looks like something that one can do by themselves. Is it?

Pickle wrote:Looks like something that one can do by themselves. Is it?

Yes, it is very simple, but you would have to have GREAT directions, and we all know how good some of them are.


Shooter, where you been?

schrowang wrote:

jacandjan wrote:Has anyone had this recall/repair done yet ? Did you have any trouble getting the shop to bill Dometic ? I was told by a mobil service that i called that Dometic was only allowing $40 for labor.

One of the workkampers in the park here in Swannanoa had a mobile repair service (authorized by Dometic) come in and do the job for him. The mobile charge was $50.00 which Dometic also authorized. As others have said, the repair took about 20 - 30 minutes. I've got him coming back next week to do mine.

Called the triple 8 number listed on the web-site and went through all the gobble-de-gook of entering model and serial numbers and finally got a real live human being . Gave her the model #, serial # and VIN 3 of the Cat all over again and told her we were static in the park and needed a house call. She approved the $50.00 house call charge and the guy will be here tomorrow to add the mod kit.

All in all, not a lot of hassle to get this thing fixed.

Shooter, where you been?

Been accross the big pond to the East - Germany and Switzerland for the last two weeks visiting family.

scottz :
The RM2652 in my '07 cat is not recalled

Same one in my cat. Works fine so far. I ran into someone with a motorhome at fortwilderness that said theres stopped working . I didn't think to tell them about the recall.

Admin wrote:

scottz :
The RM2652 in my '07 cat is not recalled

Same one in my cat. Works fine so far. I ran into someone with a motorhome at fortwilderness that said theres stopped working . I didn't think to tell them about the recall.

According to the website, the recall was only expanded to those units manufactured between 1993 and 2006. I think the 2007's are fine, unless the recall is expanded again.

My 07 32qbbs is included.

Crud, my refrigerator is affected. Gotta make the call to get it fixed. At least I found out before going to Yellowstone.

schrowang wrote:

Admin wrote:

scottz :
The RM2652 in my '07 cat is not recalled

Same one in my cat. Works fine so far. I ran into someone with a motorhome at fortwilderness that said theres stopped working . I didn't think to tell them about the recall.

According to the website, the recall was only expanded to those units manufactured between 1993 and 2006. I think the 2007's are fine, unless the recall is expanded again.

Yep, ours is a 2007 Model RM2852 and they say no problem.

"yet"..

mattebury wrote:Crud, my refrigerator is affected. Gotta make the call to get it fixed. At least I found out before going to Yellowstone.

We are going to Yellowstone too. We will be there 21-25 of July, how 'bout you?

Pickle wrote:We are going to Yellowstone too. We will be there 21-25 of July, how 'bout you?

We'll pass each other on the highway

Took the trailer in today to have the recall work done.

Interesting, the guy that was putting the recall kit in my Dometic said that he thought that my unit was OK. He said it had the thermocouple already installed, but not the heat shielding. He called Dometic to verify that it was part of the recall and it was, so he put the heat shields in place and sent me on my way. He said that he's done a ton of these and this is the first he's ever seen like this. Even with the pause to verify, it only took him 20 minutes.

They didn't even have me unhook.

Mobil RV repairman was scheduled for Fri the 20th @5pm.
He called around noon to say dometic hasnt shipped the kits (there was 3 of us to be done on his stop).
He said that it could be weeks to get the parts due to the high volume of recall repairs.
Shows you just how far a GOOD site like ours is keeping people informed on issues like this.
Happy Camping to all.....