Matheson Heating & Air Conditioning review: Enforcement of furnace warranty extension per class action lawsuit direction

Background:

Our Warranted furnace model: MVC080

SITUATION:

Carrier is providing an enhanced warranty on the secondary or “condensing” heat exchangers for the above listed 90% high-efficiency furnace models. This bulletin announces and provides details of this new enhanced warranty coverage policy. This policy ONLY covers the failure and required replacement of a secondary or “condensing” heat exchanger and the following related parts: coupling box kits, cold spot baffle, and cell inlet and outlet panels.

The coverage period for this policy is twenty (20) years from original furnace installation date.

According to Carrier dealer service bulletin DSB09-0022 an official Carrier dealer has to perform Furnace Heat Exchangers inspection procedure. The Heat exchangers inspection must be completed and signed as part of Heat exchangers warranty claim and Trade-in allowance approval process.

This inspection is free of charge.

this link provides pics of the replacement: https://www.furnaceacexperts.ca/carrier-heat-exchanger-replacement/

There are also other options, including furnace trade-in options and refunds.

I believe is one of the parts that failed and Matheson had us previously replace, but they did not make us aware of the fact that the faulty heat exchanger caused it and also did not give us the ability to replace that part when they did the work they charged us for.

In addition, Matheson, three times told us they "right sized" this furnace for our square footage and warrantied it for 10 years. Upon further research, within that time, we twice told them that the furnace did not keep our upstairs opposite end bedrooms warm in winter and cold in summer requiring us to buy extra space heaters to run during the winter and just be completely uncomfortable on hot summer nights sleeping in those rooms. They reassured us that this was the appropriate-sized furnace for our house and that if we got the size up, we would cause all kinds of problems in other places. It was just the way the new technology worked and we would need to deal with it. They would not replace what they installed with a larger furnace, even though their warranty claimed they would if we were not satisfied. The replacement part they installed ran much more loudly than the old part. It causes insomnia and headaches for my wife.

When we called about this incident, again on Friday, January 28, 2022, because the furnace signs had Matheson's number and the thermostat told us to call Matheson due to failure, we explained the putrid smell that had occurred outside from the exhaust and more subtly through the vents inside and occasionally near the furnace in the basement (also more subtle). Matheson, diagnosed it over the phone. They said they knew that was the heat exchanger and that we could replace the furnace, but they would not replace the heat exchanger. They said their 10 year parts and service warranty expired. When I asked if Carrier had any type of warranty, Kevin said they may, but we should call Thornton and Grooms for part replacement. Matheson was not interested in helping us replace a part. Again, he reiterated, they would only replace the furnace.

I looked up Thornton and Grooms in Farmington, MI. They are not a factory authorized dealer like Matheson. So, we called Sun Heating. They are a FAD and they recently replaced two furnaces for my elderly in-laws.

Joe answered and came out to the house. He told us there was a class action law suit that carrier settled. There were two options available: 1. replace the heat exchanger, but they will need to replace both heat exchangers if they do one. The cost would be the cost of the primary heat exchanger (about $2,200) because Carrier would pay parts and labor for the secondary heat exchanger to be replaced. But, he inspected out furnace set up and said we would need a larger furnace for our size house. Upon further questioning and telling him we had asked Matheson about that three times, he was definite about our square footage home not being adequately serviced by a size furnace that was currently in place installed by Matheson.

On further inspection, he noted that if we went with the furnace replacement option we would have to replace the vent/exhaust tubing to 3"instead of the 2" Matheson had used. In addition, the electrical box showed that Matheson used a 15 Amp fuse rather than a 20 Amp fuse. Finally, our vent/exhaust was in a corner and within a couple of feet of the living space door which should not have happened. It should have been further out from a corner and further away from the home back entrance into living area.