York International Corporation sells defective Coleman furnaces that do not always work, says a class action lawsuit filed in Pennsylvania. This leaves homeowners not only having to pay for the cost of parts, but also forces them to suffer discomfort, inconvenience and potential hazards by not having a properly functioning heating furnace during cold weather months.
The Coleman furnace class action lawsuit alleges York International Corp. designed Coleman DGU series furnaces with a defective component called the Hot Surface Igniter (HSI). The HSI is the ignition source for the furnaces and was designed so that the entire coiled heating component lights up, creating a heat source to ignite the fuel. The original HSI was designed without any casing or protective covering, however, which results in it often failing.
“During normal use of the furnaces, condensation is created in the combustion chamber as a by-product of combustion. The condensation builds up on the surfaces of the combustion chamber and then drips onto the Hot Surface Igniter causing it to crack, thus preventing it from generating sufficient heat to ignite the fuel supplied to the furnaces,” states the Coleman furnace class action lawsuit. “Additionally, the fact that the original Hot Surface Igniter has no protective covering often prevents it from igniting the fuel. Since the fuel cannot be ignited, the furnaces are unable to deliver heated air to the home. Basically, the furnace does not work if the Hot Surface Igniter does not ignite the fuel.”
According to the class action lawsuit, York International knows about the defect and has been using an upgraded, redesigned HSI since 2003. This upgraded HSI is protected by a casing that prevents condensation, dirt or dust buildup, and keeps people from touching the piece of the component that ignites. This upgraded HSI is compatible with, and can be installed in, furnaces with the original defective Hot Surface Igniter, but the company has not advised furnaces owners that the upgraded HSI is available for replacement or that they should be replaced if their furnaces exhibit failure from the defective Hot Surface Igniter.
The York International Corporation class action lawsuit is brought on behalf of all purchasers of Coleman DGU Series Furnaces. It is seeking damages, restitution, interest and other relief.
A copy of the Defective Coleman Furnace Class Action Lawsuit can be read here.
Updated March 6th, 2010
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3 thoughts onYork International Defective Furnace Class Action
After two years of complaining about exposure to black soot emitting from furnace my apartment manager has only recently had a diagnosis that it is dangerous and should be replaced.
I have had this issue occur twice the first two winters on the coldest week of the year each time. The condesation. Caused the ignitor to blow out .
Or installer made us wait a week or more each time. Told me to clean the contacts.
The second time the condensor was replaced we had to wait two weeks.
The third year the mother board went out we had to wait two weeks. Than we were charged for the service call.
Year four it blew a contact.
Year six its out and I dont know whats wrong with it. But my biggest beef is that the filter hits a wall on the way out of the device. YORK sucks. I want to rip the unit out and replace with a barand i can trust.
York International Defective Furnace Class Action
We have sold the York product . It proved to be very troublesome. The factory was very difficult to deal with the warranty issues around this difficult design. It is more than just a bad ignitor .The pressure switches are suspect as well.We would like to know ; who is representing the plantiffs and is there any other states (like CA.) that have been contacted or can join this suit. We have several intact units that we replaced (on our own volition) because of REPEATED FAILURE and UNRELIABILITY.