Bryant Evolution Warranty Question

[raynman]

I had a Bryant Evolution A/C system installed when my home was built (Dec 2004). When I upgraded to the Evolution system instead of the basic A/C system, the installer said it came with an upgraded 10 year 100% parts and labor warranty.

The original installer has gone out of business and my warranty was transferred to another local dealer/service company that is relatively new to the business.

Until recently, I have not had to pay for any service calls and this system has had many failures (e.g. failed compressor, failed zone board, stuck open bypass damper, etc.).

We recently noticed that several zones were not getting any air and the service techs reported that 2 damper motors have burned out. They have since notified me that Bryant claims the damper motors are not covered by my warranty since they are accessories. I have called Bryant and talked to a 1st level tech who said yes the motors were covered, but a subsequent call to a 2nd level tech said no, they are accessories and not covered but no clear explanation as to how the motors are considered accessories.

Aren't the damper motors needed for a zone system, how can they be an accessory?

I'd appreciate if any Bryant dealers can help me better understand this situation. Are the damper motors really accessories?

Thanks!

[beb]

I would think if they covered the zone board then the damper motors are part of the total system and should be covered.
You have had lots of problems with that system!! Have another Company look at it if they are not going to warranty it.

[raynman]

Beb, thanks for the reply.

I was thinking the same thing, if the zone board was covered than why not the motors? And yes, we've had lots of problems with this system.

[raynman]

George2, thanks for the reply.

The wife and I were discussing this issue over the weekend. When we contacted Bryant to move the warrenty(s) she recalled the rep mentioned that there were several warranties she had to hunt down and wasn't sure why the installer did the warranties the way they did, but she "linked" them all so we wouldn't have any problems in the future.

I'll try contacting a Bryant customer rep and see if we can get all of the warranties id'd and go from there.

The invoice from the original installer says "100% parts and 100% labor"

[George2]

The equipment (furnace and A/C, H/P) is a totally differant warranty policy.

The zoning is covered by another "policy".

It depends on how it was presented to you and more importantly, how is it written down as to the what is covered.

[bmathews]

Hopefully it was a legitimate warranty and not a warranty through your installer. Dampers do not come with a 10 year warranty out of the box. It would be an add on. I don't think those are serial numbered either to track them. You will need a certificate or something stating that there was a 10 year warranty purchased. It cannot be a warranty with the contractor either. Only one recognized by Carrier.

[raynman]

bmathews, thanks for the reply.

Please see my reply to George2. The wife recalls talking to the Bryant rep when we moved the warranty to the new A/C company and was told that we had warranties with Bryant, not the original installer.

I remember the original installer said Bryant "upgraded" the standard warranty from 5 years to 10 years for purchasers of the Evolution system.

[bmathews]

It's all going to be about documentation that you have. You should have received something in the mail or from the contractor regarding extended warranty. Something with some sort of number on it. I just did an extended warranty for a customer on something we did not install. He had a certificate that I copied and submitted with the warranty. The dampers are just Carrier dampers and are not used exclusively for the Evolution/Infinity system. So warranties will be different. With this system, there should be no bypass damper, so not sure why that would be a problem as stated in your original post. You need some sort of low voltage surge protector on these zoning systems, they are fairly sensitive.

[raynman]

bmathews, thanks again for the info.

I do have a document from Bryant with warrenty contract numbers on it, but I'm puzzled by the 2nd level tech's comments about the damper motors being accessories. I would think they would be critical components of a zone system. Kind of like wings on an airplane, it can't do it's designed to do without them.

The bypass damper is what was reported by a tech from the current A/C company. We heard a banging noise coming from the attic over the living room and they came out to check it out. The ticket reported the damper was making the banging noise. Shortly thereafter we noticed a lot of cold air coming out of the air return vent in the living room. Called the A/C company and they thought I was nuts. Finally taped a pastic bag to the return grill and took video of the bag inflating and the water damage around the return vent to show the owner of the company and they sent a tech out to fix the issue.

While talking to the owner I suggested it would be a good idea to conduct an audit of my system so we both had an understanding of the condition of my system and what might be needed to resolve the problems we have had with it. They agreed, but have not set up a time to do the audit as of yet. I'm begining to suspect that they don't have the man power to deal with this system (it really has had a lot of problems since it was installed)

[bmathews]

The entire zoning system is an accessory. All or part. It's not considered equipment. The problem you are going to run into is that this company or any other has basically had your gorilla in the room dumped on them. It's not theirs, they don't want it and are about to own it. It's probably being rammed down their throats by Carrier. On top of that you have this parts and labor warranty. Which in my opinion, they suck for the contractor. You get dictated by Carrier what is reimburseable and for how much. Which I can tell you is probably at least 50% less than what they charge and sometimes unrealistic in the amount of time they will pay you for. Be patient with the company and you'll get further with them. Remember they don't want to be there anymore than you want them there.