16' Series Brand new - fridge broken

[kts20]

We picked up our brand new 16.49-4 about 4 weeks ago in Sydney. Took it down to Melbourne on Thursday (on our way home now). Before leaving Sydney plugged the fridge in to 240v for 24 hours to get it cold, loaded it up and off we went. When we arrived in Victoria the fridge was a bit warmer (which we were expecting), we plugged it straight in to 240v at the caravan park (back on to ac after driving on dc). It just kept getting warmer and after 24 hours was 20 degrees and food had spoiled. We turned it to gas, could feel heat via the vent at the back but again after 24 hours the fridge hadn't even started to cool.


After leaving messages all day on Saturday at the dealership we bought it from, someone finally called us back this morning. She gave us attitude on the phone and said she hopes we don't have plans to use the van over Xmas as they won't be able to look at it until February.


Does anyone know the ins and outs of Jayco warranty? Given it's only a few weeks old we shouldn't have to fork out $$ for a portable fridge to be able to use the van over Xmas.

 

[Mick]

HI
kts 20 welcome to the forum you will learn a lot from the guy and gals on this site
as for your fridge you could search on the site and find information,
I had also purchased a new van were a the fridge just would not get cold on AC or gas found this out when on first test trip.
As its a new van and you are dealing with Jayco they will look after you it was a quick call to the dealer and it was straight back and fixed I only had the van for a week it was found that the fridge refrigerant pipes were kinked at time it was place in the van,they replaced the pipes and its been the best Jayco fridge ive ever had all under Jayco warranty.
if your still in Melbourne try giving Victorian dealers a call and see if they can help

 

[jdove]

I have a new Starcraft OB (fridge ok) but have a A/C problem, both my dealer and a local Jayco service agent have told me that Jayco now don't want you to go to them with fridge, AC , and other appliance problems. they are palming it of to the suppliers like Dometic, Thetford, Camec etc. I was also told if the local Dometic A/C technician came out and found nothing I would have to pay the call out fee..WTF..

I guess what I'm saying is bypass Jayco and call a authorized repairer and get it sorted before Xmas but check that you won't be charged a call out fee.

 

[Mick]

yes jdove you are correct but as my van was one week old it was done at a dealer most likely buy a service man from Dometic

 

[kts20]

My van is only 4 weeks old and Jayco Sydney refused to look at it straight away, the lady said to me in a very arrogant manner "what are your plans for Christmas because there's no way we will look at your fridge before February"!!

I was very unimpressed. Thankfully Dometic gave me the number of the service place in Sydney and they will be looking at it next Wednesday.

I will definitely be on the phone to the person that sold us the van, and the dealership manager, in the next couple of days to let them know how unhappy we are with the after sales service (or lack of) that we've received.

 

[rags]

KTs, not sure where you are but if you have no luck with Jayco Sydney then you could try
http://www.alternategasfridges.com.au as they are a Dometic agent and good.
Also if the Jayco dealer can't help and you get the ok from the Jayco factory then this company is a Jayco agent and I can recommend Paul, http://www.paultall.com.au

 

[kts20]

Thanks Rags, alternate gas is who dometic put me in touch with today, they are looking at it next Wednesday.

 

[jdove]

yes jdove you are correct but as my van was one week old it was done at a dealer most likely buy a service man from Dometic

Our Van was one day old and the dealer didn't want to know about it and just handed us the business card of the local A/C guy and said call them and be prepared to get a call out fee if they said it was ok. Ours is very noisy compared to our old van. This is probably why Jayco can now have a two year warranty from 2018 onward as they will only fix things that they make themselves.

 

[Drover]

Hope it all gets sorted out okay @kts20 don't forget to let us all know how you got on with things, the manuals with these things are pretty informative and there are some good instructions online which can help you find problems with them once you understand the workings....

It is most important to have your van leveled to within half a bubble both ways as you will find anymore the things won't work, the element will heat up but if not level the ammonia fluid won't flow and will pool in the line, it will get hot but with no flow it won't cool...............of course some new ones leak, if you had a strong smell of cats wee around the place thats a sure sign its leaked.

 

[Hylux]

Thanks Rags, alternate gas is who dometic put me in touch with today, they are looking at it next Wednesday.

I understand the dealer may not be able to fix a fridge, but why tell you bring it back in Feb, and probably say we need dometic to look at it in say another 3 weeks after that.

I think they could have given you a referral after your first call

 

[Crusty181]

My van is only 4 weeks old and Jayco Sydney refused to look at it straight away, the lady said to me in a very arrogant manner "what are your plans for Christmas because there's no way we will look at your fridge before February"!!

I was very unimpressed. Thankfully Dometic gave me the number of the service place in Sydney and they will be looking at it next Wednesday.

I will definitely be on the phone to the person that sold us the van, and the dealership manager, in the next couple of days to let them know how unhappy we are with the after sales service (or lack of) that we've received.

Wow, what a pack of absolute turds. We likewise discovered a list of issues on our van's weekend maiden test voyage, and a couple of those issues would impact on a planned 5 week xmas sojourn up the coast shortly after. On the phone, our dealer gave us the same arrogant and dismissive new year warranty response. Expecting a little empathy, and a resolution of some description, I was taken by surprise and exploded on the phone. I immediately downed tools, hitched up the van and towed it straight back to the dealer, got very animated and theatrical, and ripped them a new one. Some issues could wait which was the trade off, but some couldn't. I made them deal with it right then, or take the bloody thing back and refund my money. My argument was, its most certainly not warranty; it was a brand new van which was delivered as a broken unserviceable product that, to add further insult I paid indirectly (according to their BS) to be thoroughly inspected and expertly tested before handover. If they'd done there job, the issues would have been identified and fixed.

I also have a major issue with Jayco wiping their hands of "add-on" products that fail. They provide the products, they dictate which products you can and cant have, they instal the products and then they make a profit on it. All care (and profit) and no responsibility, I dont bloody think so Jose. Our oven failed due to installation issues, not the product itself, so there's a "he said", "she said" right there, with me in the middle. I'd be very interested in the legalities of that deflection bull$hit. In the building industry where I wander about, the buck stops for everything, and I mean everything with me. The legislative and the Building Authorities position is I am the expert, not the client, and thats why they come to me, rely on me and pay me. I certainly have a claim against others down the line, but as far as the client is concerned I'm the only phone number they need ... and thats been held up in court time and time again.

 

[Ssil2000]

as @Drover said, make sure the van is level... you may think its close enough but the fridge is really finicky and needs to be pretty close to perfect. maybe double check this before they come out to check it or you may be out of pocket.

 

[BaxnRach]

What the?
I don't understand this, Jayco sell us vans, so I would have thought they have to warranty the whole van.
I'm sure if Isuzu for example said "nah we dont cover the engines because they're made by Cummins" all hell would break loose, I be threatening the dealer first, then Jayco, with legal action.
Grrrr.

 

[icetechaus]

This is from the ACCC WEBSITE.

A supplier of goods cannot refuse to help a consumer by sending them to the manufacturer or importer.

Whilst you can seek remedy from the manufacturer Jayco cannot force you to do it.

 

[Bellbirdweb]

as @Drover said, make sure the van is level... you may think its close enough but the fridge is really finicky and needs to be pretty close to perfect. maybe double check this before they come out to check it or you may be out of pocket.

And don’t listen to the mob on the Facebook forum that are saying that the level doesn’t matter, it absolutely does matter.

 

[MDS69]

We live in Sydney but purchased our van from Jayco Newcastle. On our maiden voyage we woke on the first morning to find my ice cream birthday cake running across the floor. The fridge wasn’t working on gas. We chilled it down at home on 240V and travelled on 12V then fired up the gas at camp. Couldn’t get into Jayco in a reasonable timeframe so was directed to alternate gas fridges as mentioned above who found the main gas jet blocked by sealing paste. So the fridge would fire on the bypass circuit but not on the main.
Also Paul Tall does my van servicing so you can’t go wrong with either to fix your fridge.

Please reply back with how you get on getting it sorted.

 

[bigcol]

Wow, what a pack of absolute turds. We likewise discovered a list of issues on our van's weekend maiden test voyage, and a couple of those issues would impact on a planned 5 week xmas sojourn up the coast shortly after. On the phone, our dealer gave us the same arrogant and dismissive new year warranty response. Expecting a little empathy, and a resolution of some description, I was taken by surprise and exploded on the phone. I immediately downed tools, hitched up the van and towed it straight back to the dealer, got very animated and theatrical, and ripped them a new one. Some issues could wait which was the trade off, but some couldn't. I made them deal with it right then, or take the bloody thing back and refund my money. My argument was, its most certainly not warranty; it was a brand new van which was delivered as a broken unserviceable product that, to add further insult I paid indirectly (according to their BS) to be thoroughly inspected and expertly tested before handover. If they'd done there job, the issues would have been identified and fixed.

I also have a major issue with Jayco wiping their hands of "add-on" products that fail. They provide the products, they dictate which products you can and cant have, they instal the products and then they make a profit on it. All care (and profit) and no responsibility, I dont bloody think so Jose. Our oven failed due to installation issues, not the product itself, so there's a "he said", "she said" right there, with me in the middle. I'd be very interested in the legalities of that deflection bull$hit. In the building industry where I wander about, the buck stops for everything, and I mean everything with me. The legislative and the Building Authorities position is I am the expert, not the client, and thats why they come to me, rely on me and pay me. I certainly have a claim against others down the line, but as far as the client is concerned I'm the only phone number they need ... and thats been held up in court time and time again.

I too would do this

I understand that @kts20 has had it for over 4 weeks, but I would be parking it out the front of the dealer and demanding it rectified, or my money back