I WOULD LIKE TO REPORT A POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS SITUATION THAT OCCURRED ON MAY 11, 2015 TO OUR 2009 LANCE 1040 TRUCK CAMPER. WE HAD BEEN CAMPING FOR A WEEK AND ALL WAS WELL. WE DECIDED TO MOVE TO ANOTHER SPOT IN THE CAMPGROUND FOR OUR SECOND WEEK OF CAMPING. AFTER A DAY OF BEING IN THE NEW SPOT I OPENED THE REFRIGERATOR AND NOTICED THAT IT WAS NOT COLD INSIDE. I THOUGHT I HAD FORGOTTEN TO TURN IT BACK ON AFTER THE MOVE BUT THAT WAS NOT THE CASE. IT WAS ON BUT WAS NOT WORKING. SO WE CALLED A REPAIRMAN. AFTER THE REPAIRMAN REMOVED THE REFRIGERATOR HE INFORMED US THAT THE POWER CONNECTION BOX ON OUR NORCOLD N145 REFRIGERATOR HAD MELTED. HE ALSO TOLD US THAT IT COULD HAVE SET THE CAMPER ON FIRE. THIS HAS STUCK WITH ME SINCE I HEARD THE WORDS COME OUT OF HIS MOUTH. I REPORTED THE INCIDENT TO BOTH NORCOLD (TETFORD CORP.) AND LANCE. ONE OF NORCOLD'S RESPONSES - "IT IS NOT A DANGEROUS SITUATION. IF NO ONE HAS BEEN MESSING WITH THE WIRES IT WOULD NOT BE FROM THE WIRES ACCIDENTALLY TOUCHING EACH OTHER. IT COULD OF BEEN A POWER SURGE ( LIGHTING, 220 VOLTAGE ECT.)". AND HERE IS ONE FROM LANCE - "THOU IT HAS BEEN 6 YEARS SINCE THE MANUFACTURING DATE OF YOUR TRUCK CAMPER, A NUMBER OF VARIABLES COULD HAVE TAKEN PLACE DURING THOSE 6 YEARS OF USE. THERE IS NOTHING WE CAN ATTRIBUTE TO THE CAUSE OF THE MELTING OF THE REFRIGERATOR COMPONENTS, THIS INCLUDES FAULTY WIRING. THIS IS JUST AN UNFORTUNATE CIRCUMSTANCE." I FEEL VERY LUCKY THAT MY FAMILY AND I WERE OK AFTER THIS UNFORTUNATE INCIDENT. I DO
2009 Lance 1040
Routine
Owners filed 1 complaints about this vehicle with federal regulators, most often about the electrical system. No safety recall has been issued.
What fails
| Component | Reports | Crashes | Fires | Injuries | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electrical System | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
What owners reported
Newest filingsElectrical System
Filed Jun 4, 2015MD
1 of 1 complaints, reproduced as filed.
Other Lance models
All Lance models →Reading this record
No unusual pattern of severe incidents in the complaint record.
Complaint counts track how many cars were sold and how long they have been on the road as much as they track quality. A common model from 2013 has had a decade to accumulate reports; a rare one from last year has not. The signal worth weighing is in the severity columns, in whether the same component keeps appearing, and in whether the manufacturer eventually opened a recall for it.
Most recent recall on file: none. Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation.