Nothing stops a Trane... Except Trane!!

[SG_Player1974]

Heed and be WARNED....

In December of 2011, I decided to put my ENTIRE upcoming tax refund into a brand new shiny heating system. At the time, Besche was the installer and it appeared that all was grand (after some re-work that was immediately corrected) The unit came with a 2 year FULL warranty from Besche and 10 year warrant from Trane (Limited)
Fast forward to October of 2012. I began to notice that as the temperature was getitng cooler, my electric bill was getting higher! I paid no immediate attention to it since I figured it was just due to the Heat Pump running. It wasn't all THAT much more... but more none the less. This continued for a few months.
Now, fast forward to February when I happen to reach in the mailbox to find a $525 bill from SMECO!!! My eyes about popped out of my head as this is about $300-325 more than our normal amount. I immediately began looking for the reason and low-and-behold I noticed that my good 'ole Trane system was CONSTANTLY ON and in EMERGENCY HEAT MODE!!!!
To condense the story, SMO (whom bought Besche) made a few attempts to repair the unit and finally fixed it by replacing 3/4 of the outside unit! Now, this WAS covered under the maintenance plan and I have ZERO problem with SMO. Very helpful and they even extended my maintenance contract to start on the day of the repairs!
Which leads me to Trane. I notified them of the problems and faxed them EVERY document I had regarding the maintenance, my billing, and an explanation. This was faxed to them on a Friday shortly after lunch. I requested that they re-baseline THEIR warranty package and also look into compensation for the massive overages in my electric bills due to THEIR faulty unit.
Low and behold, MONDAY in the mail was a letter form Trane saying that they "reviewed" my information and decide to do NOT A DAMN THING!!! So, essentially, they received my info Friday afternoon and I receive a denial letter MONDAY?? Sounds like they spent a lot of time on their "review!"

Now, I am contemplating contacting local papers or even 7 on your side to see if this can get fixed. We are talking over $1000 in overages in electric bills compared to my trending AND about 18 months lost on the Limited Warranty from them! I have emailed them several times (Trane Customer Service) with no response!

Any recommendations?

BEWARE... evidently SOMETHING can stop a Trane. And when it does, they don't care who it effects!

 

[nobody really]

had something similair happen, got stuck with a $967 electric bill (i live in a townhouse). Sent copies of everyting to Md attorney general for consumer affairs, they fowarded it to Maryland home improvement commission, said they handle those complaints. Got a ltr from MHIC saying they received the complaint and were working towards resolution

its worth a shot for your situation.

 

[dave1959]

I may be wrong, ( did that once before)... But if it is running in emergency mode that means that the heat strips are running as well as the compressor.
The heat strips are inside the air handler that is inside the house. I dont think
replaceing anything in the condenser ( outside) has anthing to do with the heat strips. Sounds like something was wired wrong. IMHO

 

[itsbob]

I may be wrong, ( did that once before)... But if it is running in emergency mode that means that the heat strips are running as well as the compressor.
The heat strips are inside the air handler that is inside the house. I dont think
replaceing anything in the condenser ( outside) has anthing to do with the heat strips. Sounds like something was wired wrong. IMHO

Unless the condensor isn't working and providing heat..

The unit detects low temp, and automatically turns on the heat strips to compensate for the lack of heat from the compressor.

 

[struggler44]

It doesn't make sense why the "Emergency" light would be on if the Tstat wasn't placed in emergency mode, normally your 2nd and maybe 3rd stage aux heat light will light up for extended periods of time if you have a problem where the compressor can't carry the load or the HP is in defrost...... I'm not questioning your judgement but WTF made you wait 4 months of high electric usage to call especially if you seen a light illuminated on your stat that normally hasn't been for the first 2 years?

They fixed the problem when you contacted them, in my opinion the bills are on you for waiting so long.

 

[SG_Player1974]

It doesn't make sense why the "Emergency" light would be on if the Tstat wasn't placed in emergency mode, normally your 2nd and maybe 3rd stage aux heat light will light up for extended periods of time if you have a problem where the compressor can't carry the load or the HP is in defrost...... I'm not questioning your judgement but WTF made you wait 4 months of high electric usage to call especially if you seen a light illuminated on your stat that normally hasn't been for the first 2 years?

They fixed the problem when you contacted them, in my opinion the bills are on you for waiting so long.

There is no "Emergency" light. The only indication that the system is in what you call "Emergency" mode is when the Thermostat reads "Aux Heat ON" Even so, the problems in the unit(s) were causing the system to constantly switch back and forth between regular heat and aux heat. There was NO solid indication that the emergency heat was on.... but it was!

Basically, and how it was explained to me, is that due to the bad components within the outside unit... it was FORCING my system to go into Emergency heat mode but was not indicating that on the thermostat ALL THE TIME. So bottom line was that my unit was running emergency heat with little or no indication ALL THE TIME!!!

As for the bills being "on me," The huge jump only occurred during the last 2 months. Before that, it was not very much more than normal (maybe $50-60) so I did not take much notice of it. But then, I get one that is $300 more and I take notice. Also, i just received another bill that is $345 more. So, that brings the overage total to more than $1000

 

[abcxyz]

I know a good lawyer that will take this case!! It only takes $20K down to get started, you'll be expected to pay that again in about a month when the papers go out, then the same amount again once they start responding to those papers. After that the bills will be higher until you get to court where you have a no so good of a chance of getting a judgement on a portion of your higher electric bill.

 

[struggler44]

There is no "Emergency" light. The only indication that the system is in what you call "Emergency" mode is when the Thermostat reads "Aux Heat ON" Even so, the problems in the unit(s) were causing the system to constantly switch back and forth between regular heat and aux heat. There was NO solid indication that the emergency heat was on.... but it was!

Basically, and how it was explained to me, is that due to the bad components within the outside unit... it was FORCING my system to go into Emergency heat mode but was not indicating that on the thermostat ALL THE TIME. So bottom line was that my unit was running emergency heat with little or no indication ALL THE TIME!!!

As for the bills being "on me," The huge jump only occurred during the last 2 months. Before that, it was not very much more than normal (maybe $50-60) so I did not take much notice of it. But then, I get one that is $300 more and I take notice. Also, i just received another bill that is $345 more. So, that brings the overage total to more than $1000

The only reason I used the term "emergency" was because that's what you used in your post ...... one way to know if your HP is not heating right is the indoor fan will run a whole lot more than it should, a sign that your 1st stage heat is not carrying the load and the back-up heat (Aux) is doing the heating. Hopefully you can get your $$ back and wont have any more problems with it.

 

[officeguy]

I know a good lawyer that will take this case!! It only takes $20K down to get started, you'll be expected to pay that again in about a month when the papers go out, then the same amount again once they start responding to those papers. After that the bills will be higher until you get to court where you have a no so good of a chance of getting a judgement on a portion of your higher electric bill.

This is less than $5000, something you can file 'pro-se' as a small-claim in district court. $28 + $10 for service by mail.

Unless Trane just wants it to go away, the chance of winning that judgement is about 0. For one, their warranty document probably excludes those types of secondary damages, in addition maintaining your heating system is your responsibility, not theirs.

I've had 2 heat-pumps fail in that way (compressor seized on one, expansion valve on the other). Took me a day to find out each time, if the thermostat says 'Aux' or 'Emerg' and it's not 15 below outside (when the heatpump loses its ability to generate heat), there is something wrong.

 

[StrawberryGal]

Wow... I have had Trane High Efficeny Heat Pump installed in summer of 2001, and it is almost 12 years old. I never have any problems with Trane heat pump. My electric bill is between $75 to $100 in the summer, and in the winter it is between $150 to $250 depending on how cold it is outside. When I receive a electric bill that is higher than usual, it is a sign that something is wrong with the heat pump, and I call Tri-County Aire to come out to take a look and sure enough, some parts are bad and need to be replaced.

I think you have a faulty Trane Heat Pump or bad installer who installed your Heat Pump.

 

[morningrain]

I have worked in the HVAC industry for 10+ years....and I can tell you all the reasons why Trane cannot be legally held responsible for your electric bill...but bottom line is they do not have to reimburse you. I could not count the numbers of times I have seen this same situation with all brands of HVAC equipment. Save your self the time and use this as a learning experience of understanding the signs that your heat pump is not working properly. I understand your feelings about the situation but figured I would offer my advice because if your anything like me I would have a hard time letting this matter drop but honestly there really is nothing legally or otherwise you can do about it. Image how many units have failures like this nationwide...Trane would go broke if they have to reimburse everyone for electric bills when this happened. Sorry you had such a bad experience.

 

[SG_Player1974]

I appreciate your post and I have given up on the reimbursement for my electric bill as you say. I understand that however...

What really upsets me is the fact that they refused to renew or re-baseline my warranty through Trane! This was after they had me jumping through hoops to fax them ALL of the repair information, electric bills, and even write a statement regarding the entire issue. All I wanted them to do was to restart my equipment warranty and they absolutely REFUSED to do so. Now, SMO did this with their portion of the warranty and they were nothing but helpful and accomidating however, Trane was demanding, rude, and their customer service was terrible.

I don't think it is unreasonable that their equipment failed 18 months into having it installed and to ask that I get a full warranty (10 years) on their extensively repaired equipment instead of 8 1/2 years.

 

[RPMDAD]

SG, i am taking it for sure, that you are stating you would not recommend a Trane to anyone, just happen to be in the market for a heat pump right now and am trying to narrow my choices. At one point in time i thought Trane was a good product.

 

[SG_Player1974]

SG, i am taking it for sure, that you are stating you would not recommend a Trane to anyone, just happen to be in the market for a heat pump right now and am trying to narrow my choices. At one point in time i thought Trane was a good product.

I dont think it is completely fair to say that you should not consider Trane only because the unit that I have (its an x16i by the way) went bad so quickly however, I will say that I DO NOT have anything good to say about Trane Customer Service or Customer Satisfaction.

Im just old school and if you stand behind your product then you should stand behind it ALL THE WAY! I believe that they make a decent product but the fact that they would not stand behind it and guarantee the unit for the full extent of the warranty AFTER the extensive repairs is very discouraging and upsetting!

 

[mamatutu]

It makes me think of the saying that "nothing is like it used to be". I am like RPM, you hear for years about the integrity of a product, and then it goes down hill because of cheap labor and parts; same goes for houses are not built the same, anymore. Not standing behind the product really bothers me. I am sorry for your troubles when you thought you were buying a good product to make a good investment, and be energy efficient; and then were let down. My daughter just bought a house in Olney that was built in 1978, and I am sure it was built much better than houses being constructed today.

 

[struggler44]

SG, i am taking it for sure, that you are stating you would not recommend a Trane to anyone, just happen to be in the market for a heat pump right now and am trying to narrow my choices. At one point in time i thought Trane was a good product.

My opinion from dealing with many manufactures over the years is that the install has as much to do with the quality of the system as the brand of units installed. Whether you choose Trane, Carrier, Lennox or another brand isn't as big as the choice of installer. Some companies give great warranties but if you don't get a quality installation then the warranty part is mute as SG found out, a warranty is only as good as your dealer makes it. A subpar installation can cost you as much over the years to operate as your system does to purchase, the company you choose to purchase your system from is what I would spend my time researching over the brand of equipment .... just my .2

 

[jasonandjen]

this is why when we install our heat pump this year, i am requesting that their be NO auxilary electric heat. we have ac for cooling, and oil for heat now, i just assume keep my seperate oil thermostat for "emergency" heat. also, i know how to start a fire