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Dometic Group review: Terrible products 14

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8:30 am EDT
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I have a $30, 000.00 camper. I should have been informed that the fridge was defected. They put a cover around the defected part so a fire would be contained . Why not fix the problem with the boiler tube . I am not happy with Dometic. They do not stand behind their products. I will not buy anything with the name Dometic. They need to stop making products that are defected. I can not afford $ 1200.00 for a new fridge. My trailer is only 3 years old.

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14 comments
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Tammy Martinsen
, US
Jun 25, 2023 7:48 am EDT
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2018 Rockwood Mini- lite. Dometic fridge stopped working. The fridge will not cool. Took to service center and the cooling unit is bad. Not even 5 years old and use a handful of times. Terrible products. $2,600 to replace or $2400 for parts and labor. Of course there is no warranty anymore but really upset that it was barely used.

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Dean Mcfaite
, US
Apr 19, 2023 11:44 pm EDT
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The toilet leaked the first time I used it throught the sight level glass .I've been chasing this warranty claim for over a year and would make it 15 months since purchase .I've had no email or phone response despite leaving the details every time I've ozone. They just don't want to know .warranty means nothing to this company

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Dian Maney
, US
Jul 31, 2022 10:28 pm EDT

Has anyone had problems with their stoves? I have CU401 gas stove (purchased April 2022) that is useless. The gas cooktop cover blistered at first use, the griller wont toast a slice of frozen bread in under 10-12 minutes, and after 25 minutes use the griller must be turned off to cool down. How would you grill a steak or chop. We have added two 30 x 30mm aluminium angles to raise the griller closer to the flame but is really not very safe or user friendly.

The oven is smaller than standard, has numbers instead of degrees on the selector knob, has 1 shelf in the oven so not able to cook eg a sponge cake or layered cake, plus only goes to 240 degrees. An extra wire shelf is available for $95.00!

Contact with them has been hopeless - have been told what I want to use it for is called "Discrete" uses - not what would normally be asked to do! Solution to grilling - use a fry pan!

Any advice appreciated!

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JimnCyn
Sterling, US
Jun 07, 2021 11:34 pm EDT

I am sad to say I am going to add to the misery here. We purchased a 2019 Keystone Cougar 315RLS with a Dometic refrigerator and HVAC system. After 6 miserable months with the financing, we were unable to use the trailer until 2020--and guess what! COVID closed the parks, so we spent a year without using the RV. Once we did, we had it 6 weeks before the fridge failed. Took us 6 months to get the RV back from Camping World (another problem), only to find out the fridge still doesn't work. Freezer is fine--fridge will not get cold. I've had 3 refrigerators full of food thrown away because the temp is not working. Now I'm told it's at least 2 months before anyone can assist. This company should be ashamed of itself for its shoddy product and even worse customer "service."

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eveready1
, AU
Jan 08, 2020 4:33 am EST
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Just over 2 years ago I bought a Dometic Fridge and battery pack for camping. 3 weeks ago I discovered that the battery does not charge fully and the fridge turns off after a few hours use on the battery pack. I returned the battery to the shop I bought it from in its original packaging and in an immaculate condition. I went over with the sales people about the problem with the power pack. They told me that if after testing they find the battery faulty, they will contact Dometic to try claiming warranty on this item. I had a call 2 days later to say there was a problem with the battery pack and after contacting Dometic, they were not able to claim warranty despite me having used the pack on 3 occasions and charging the battery every 6 months as in instructions. They told the retail shop not to get involved and if any problems to get me to ring Dometic direct.

I rang Dometic to be told they would not cover warranty as the pack is over 2 years old despite it's condition and limited use. I told them that after paying almost $400.00 if I know their battery pack was only good for 2 years, I would have bought a cheap car battery for $50.00 and got more use out of it. They flatly refused to offer any assistance despite acknowledging that deep cycle battery should have lasted longer than 2 years.

After reading the comments above I too am of the opinion that Dometic make garbage products and will never buy their rubbish again. There are a lot of cheaper and better equipment around for campers. Buyer beware, this company will leave you high and dry in the event of failure of their product.

I intend to take this matter further with Fair trading and will one way or another get warranty- watch this space.

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shmoozes
, US
May 07, 2019 9:24 pm EDT

To whom it may concern,

Please review the letter below and respond with answers on how to deal with the US branch of your company who are hiding many defective issues from their customers pertaining to the failures of the above unit and are not willing to resolve the situation or address my many concerns. They are close to committing fraud by trying to hide the many defective issues of this unit instead of repairing them or if they are not able to, then to remove this unit from the marketplace.. I believe your companies offices all over the world should be concerned by the actions of the American branch and deal with them before they damage other branches of Domestic worldwide.

I have provided copies of different emails showing some of the issues encountered in testing this unit and the US company acknowledging that there are issues but then when they realized that it could not be repaired tried to ignore these issues and my concerns and denied proper compensation for the cost of the unit, the losses in returning the second unit and additional costs that were incurred.

The Microsoft Word letter below with its attached documentation will be sent worldwide to more and more locations until there is a resolution to my satisfaction of this matter. All blogs and sites dealing with Dometic customer issues are being contacted in writing for worldwide consumption and review. The US branch has still not replaced or refunded the unit I bought which constitutes fraud on their part and will be dealt with through the Attorney General of their state.

Yours Sincerely,

To whom it may concern,

I purchased two Dometic auto refrigerator coolers Model CFX75DZW from a Canadian dealer on July 30, 2018. Immediately after opening the first box I discovered that the first unit was leaking oil and the fan motor was making a lot of noise. The second unit had one of the same issues as the first unit in that the fan motor made the same amount of noise. The second unit was returned and the dealer took off a restocking charge of $125.00 because Dometic USA refused to cover this restocking charge. The amount paid for the two units was $2, 450.00 including all taxes.

I contacted Dometic USA and told them I liked the Model CFX75DZW and to send me a replacement unit that worked. They sent an additional two units and both leaked oil. The dates they were sent were August 13, 2018 and September 27, 2018. I sent Dometic USA photos and video of the issues with all the units they sent, and asked them to test a unit that did not have these issues. The stated that they had tested the units that they replaced but when I opened the boxes both were coated with oil which I provided photos proving that they leaked.

I also spoke to Crystyl Miller Head Supervisor of Quality Control and RJ head technician for Dometic USA. Both had no answers on how to resolve the problems and tried to ignore the issues and deny any liability.

I then dealt with Judy Schutz director of customer service who took a position that they would refund part of the amount spent with a different currency that it was purchases with. I refused to accept any refund and insisted they find a unit that worked as I liked the unit because it would refrigerate and freeze at the same time and couldn’t find another unit by a different manufacture that was able to do this. She refused to do this and stated she would only offer a refund but would not replace the unit.

I made it very clear to her that what I was able to conclude by her position was that all Dometic units with that model number leaked or had other issues and Dometic was trying to hide this information and therefore was afraid to provide another defective unit as they knew it would be.

This is fraud and will be dealt with by contacting the Attorney General for the state of Indiana, the Justice Department of the US Federal Government and have Dometic investigated for selling units that they know are defective. Further social media will be used to the furthest extent to provide this information worldwide in many languages to the public for them to decide if they want to do any further business with your company.

Until the time of this letter I have not received any refund of the products in Canadian dollars and based on the company’s decision I will not. I made it clear that I wanted a replacement unit that worked but that has been refused numerous times. As an alternative I asked that the full refund be issued in Canadian dollars with all the additional cost that I incurred that also was refused. I am surprised that a company your size with branches all over the world hires staff that would participate in fraudulent activities. I leave it up to your management to deal with your US head office staff and do what is necessary to make sure no other customer goes through this abuse and illegal activities.

I have at my disposal more documentation that can be provided but I believe what I have sent clearly provides what has transpired and the only remedy that can be had before it becomes public. Your company has not offered a full refund in Canadian currency for the unit, the restocking charge of $125.00, the costs of returning the unit three times and the time spent trying to resolve this matter. The more time I spent trying to resolve this matter the more my costs will rise. Under State and Federal laws this is considered fraud and theft and it will be pursued on those grounds.

I will give this matter time to resolve to my satisfaction until April 15, 2019 and then start further action as stated.

Your Sincerely,

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JB4Trucks
, US
Oct 15, 2018 5:20 pm EDT
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Not impressed with product or Customer Service, long holds, slow or no returned calls, been waiting for three days for a RMA and call ticket to send back my one week old unit with back thermostat

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Shryl
, US
Mar 19, 2018 2:05 pm EDT
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

www.Vitrifrigoamerica.com

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Ray Brandt
, US
Jun 29, 2017 9:19 pm EDT

I too bought a Dometic 1350 refrigerator total cost to install and modify the opening to house the unit was $5, 300. Approximately $2, 800 for the refrigerator. 30 days after the install I was back because the refrigerator kept gettin warm - sometimes 50 degrees. They adjusted the door latches (sorry quality), Next they replaced the door latches. Next they replace a piece under the door. Next they ran it in the shop, and it stayed at 34 degrees. We went out - temperature as soon as the unit was loaded went up to the high 40's. We took it back, they installed a baffle - loaded it up and went out - temperature went up to the hight 40's. Brought it back to the shop, empty temperature stayed in 30's. Dear made another "fix adjustment" - took it out and temperataure in 40;'s. Brought it back in and dealer ran it for over a week. Temperature stayed in 30's. We took it out on a trip - temperature in the 40's. The next time we went out - we kept a log for about 15 days - everytime we passed the refrigerator - temperature ranged from 34 to 49. Called dometic - they wanted ohm readings, temperature readings - now say I need to pay $250 to install two more fans in rear (already has 4 fans - refrigerator still in sop - now two years old, and never once have we made a trip where the refrigerator worked as it should. Not much hope of resolving the problem . Anybody for a class action lawsuit against dometic? This last time the temperature at the dealer stayed at 34-36 degrees EMPTY - so I put 9 gallons of water in refrigerator and freezer - temperature is now running about 8 degrees warmer - and refrigerator and freezer are only half filled. Very discouraging - and I am running out of patience -

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HowardEE
, US
Jun 23, 2017 9:05 am EDT

The Dometic refrigerator in my $50000 RV failed one month beyond the supposed 3 year warranty and Dometic will NOT stand behind the product! A new replacement (with labor to install it) will be $2000, and to fix it would set us back $1600. One of the reasons you get an RV is to have the convenience of a refrigerator, and one of the reasons you spend $50K on a new RV is to make sure you aren't buying someone else's problems. With Dometic products installed, you pay for a new RV, but you buy problem products from a company that won't stand behind the poor quality junk that they produce. What a joke, what a shame, I only wish there was more that could be done to warn people who are being duped into buying a new RV with a Dometic product in it. Now it's time to go drop $2K of my retirement income on replacing something that should have lasted for 10-15 years longer than it did.

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Andrea Wisnieski
, US
Sep 28, 2015 1:38 pm EDT

I also have a top of the line 5th wheel with a Dometic refrigerator that may as well be a shoe closet since the temperature never goes below 44degrees once you put food in it. As the day goes on it just climbs higher. Maxes out at 60. I am not comfortable putting food in there for more than a few hours. They sent new seals for the doors now I can open the door with my little finger. This product is the worst on the market. I have a video i am sending to them

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klparker
Roseburg, US
Mar 28, 2014 7:47 pm EDT

We own a 2007 travel trailer. it has a dometic fridge in it. We never received the recall notice the second they added more fridges to the recall list. I called Dometic and all they said it that they used to replace the fridge and when to many people needed them replaced they decided to make a repair kit. Well in our situation the kit is to late. they said they woud not be able to do anything for us and we would need to buy a new fridge. I am not happy with Dometic appliances at all.

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Cali Couple
, US
Jun 01, 2013 8:36 pm EDT
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We have a top of the line side by side Dometic refrigerator in our $200, 000 motorhome. This unit has ALWAYS been a problem! First it wouldn't make ice. Once that was fixed it only ran for 2-3 days then quit. It was found that the refrigerator defrost heater stops working and doesn't allow the unit to defrost. After having that part replaced it worked fine FOR 3 OUTINGS. Back to the repair shop! Once again, the same part had to be replaced.
The error message on the display reads "Err 12 CALL". Okay, just TRY to call Dometic. Hahahaha! When you call the recorded message tells you all about the models that are being recalled and then hangs up.
So now it has been used for a total of 15 days when it stopped again. We finished the last 2 weeks of a 3 week vacation without a refrigerator. We called the repair shop to order the heater unit a week before we got home. We've been home for 9 days now and we are still waiting for the part. This has caused us to miss out on a 5 day water skiing trip with friends and family.
With the inconvenience of not having a refrigerator work properly, and the hundreds of dollars worth of food we have thrown away over the past 4 years we will NEVER buy anything from Dometic again. Their customer service is NON-EXISTENT, troubleshooting in the manual is of no help and the product is sub-standard. You would think that after making RV refrigerators for decades they could get it right.
OH and be assured that I am not just whining. I am licensed in heating, ventilation and air conditioning. I know quality products and this thing is just a piece of junk. Shame on Dometic for their products and service!

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Hoss Foster
Apache Junction, US
Oct 12, 2011 9:00 pm EDT
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I have the same issue they have a product that they tell you will fail but will not stand behind that product. I have a $65, 00.00 unit with a crap refrigerator that they say is too bad because they wont warranty it after 3 years on a product they built even when they knew it was junk.. I will never buy another unit with any dometic product on it and will make sure no one I know does. So dealers need to be aware that they will be changing a lot of Items to sell their products. I have a retail business and we sell more than $2, 00, 000 worth of products per quarter to thousands of customers I can make sure all of my customers know what kind of company does what dometic is doing.

Karl A Foster