Norcold 4-door Refrigerator

[bob n pam]

For those of you with the 4-door Norcold fridge who had the little tabs installed at the rally - you know the ones to keep condensation from forming on the ceiling of the fridge - our little tabs caused the seal on the right side door to split and begin falling off. Well, a call to Norcold produced a brand new door with a modified seal that has the little tab extrusion as an integral part of the seal. Still being under the parts warranty the cost was zero dollars for the door and shipping to Tri-Am here in Ocala, and the extended warranty covered the labor, less our deductible. Took one hour to replace the door. So, keep an eye on your little tabs!

[David and Jo-Anna]

Pam--Thanks for the info. We had the same tabs installed at the fall rally. We just checked our seals and see that the seal has torn loose along most of the tab on the bottom of one door and is starting to tear along the top tab on the same door. We are just about at the end of our three year warranty (we bought the rig in April 2007), so we'll check to see if we qualify for warranty service.

One question--in reading the warranty info, I now see a paragraph that says that the owner must have certain specified maintenance performed before the start of the third year of the warranty coverage, and the failure to have that maintenance performed will void the remainder of the warranty. Did they raise that issue with you to try to escape warranty coverage, or had you had that maintenance performed?

[bob n pam]

David & Jo-Anna, they did not raise any issues. In fact, they were most accommodating. Have your build date, model number and serial number handy. Ours had not been previously registered with them, but the customer service rep handled that right then and there. When Tri-Am first called them about ordering a door, the cost was $600.00, so call quick to get in under the 3 years. Who knows, this may be a recall situation.

[Exnavydiver]

Bob, as I found out with my 4 door Norcold requires you to have the cooling unit serviced at the 2 year mark. The dealer that does the service will forward the results to Norcold thus validating the third year of warranty. This is stated in the owners manual and of course I didn't read it so my fridge is now out of warranty. My problem ended up not being the cooling unit but the thermistor which I replaced for 30.00... Dave

[David and Jo-Anna]

Pam--when I called Norcold warranty, they asked for the serial number of the frig and then put me on hold. When they came back, they told me that my warranty coverage had expired after two years because I hadn't had certain maintenance done during the second year of the warranty coverage--just like Dave's experience. So word to the wise for those who have Norcold frigs--get that maintenance work done and certiied or lose your third year of warranty coverage.

Fortunately, when the warranty guy told me this, I then stressed how the torn seal seemed to be caused by the tabs that were installed by the Norcold tech during the Fall Rally. The warranty guy (who sounded young) at first said he'd have to discuss that with someone else and then, without putting me on hold, told me they'd ship me a new door at no charge but that I'd be responsible for having it installed.

An interesting experience, but one that ended happily. Now I wonder whether I should cut those tabs off the other door before they start to tear that seal. Did you cut them off or leave them on?

[bob n pam]

David, we left them on. If you look at the two doors, the left door seal doesn't extend quite as far as the right, and the little tab doesn't seem to be right on a weak place on the seal. So far it seems to be in good shape.

Dave and David, thanks for the heads up about the cooling unit servicing. I should have read that more closely in the warranty information and we could have had Tri-Am do that at the same time.

[bob n pam]

David, we left them on. If you look at the two doors, the left door seal doesn't extend quite as far as the right, and the little tab doesn't seem to be right on a weak place on the seal. So far it seems to be in good shape.

Dave and David, thanks for the heads up about the cooling unit servicing. I should have read that more closely in the warranty information and we could have had Tri-Am do that at the same time. I wonder if the fact that we didn't own the unit during most of its second year makes any difference?

[Jdrobone]

What do they do in performing this "service"? I can't imagine any service being less than $50.00. So. . . if a body has an extended warranty with a $50.00 deductable wouldn't that person be ahead of the game by ignoring the service requirement and simply driving it till it blows?
Jerry

[bob n pam]

Jerry, I asked that same question of the service rep at Tri-Am and he said they check the voltage to make sure it is correct and inspect the cooling unit and vent area to make sure there are no obstructions and that it's clean. He said it takes about an hour and at this juncture we could do the inspection and save $100. Bob did just that, except for checking the voltage.

[Jdrobone]

Pam,
You are right on. A man could easily do that himself, but, of course the warranty people would say that you weren't "certified". So, I'll just keep it clean, monitor the CG voltage like I always do and let 'er go.
Thanks,
Jerry