The homeowners allege that beginning in the mid-1980s, Carrier started manufacturing its high-end furnaces out of inferior material that corrodes and prematurely fails, without disclosing that fact to consumers. The case was filed on behalf of an estimated 250,000 residents of Michigan that own Carrier and Bryant furnaces.

Michigan homeowners often run their furnaces for at least five months of the year,” stated counsel for plaintiffs. “It is of great concern that Carrier would sell a furnace that could potentially malfunction in the dead of winter well before the end of their warranted life" said the lawyer for the homeowners.

This lawsuit marks the fourth class action lawsuit filed against Carrier Corporation for failing to disclose defects in its furnaces. In 2005, homeowners in the State of Washington filed suit. Two months ago, homeowners in Wisconsin and Ontario also filed class action complaints.

The complaints in each case allege that in the mid-1980s Carrier stopped using stainless steel secondary heat exchangers in favor of cheaper polypropylene-laminated mild steel. Carrier switched to the cheaper product despite the fact that the industry standard was (and still is) to use stainless steel parts to prevent corrosion. Plaintiffs allege that the polypropylene separates from the steel and degrades due to the high temperatures in the furnace, exposing the underlying mild steel to acidic condensate. In some cases the corrosion proceeds to the point of actually perforating the outside wall of the heat exchanger.

In the United States, Carrier warrants the heat exchanger for the lifetime of the original purchaser and for 20 years for subsequent purchasers. Despite the warranty, plaintiffs allege that Carrier’s condensing furnaces fail prematurely and well before their warranted and expected life.

The lawsuit seeks to represent Michigan Homeowners that own a defective Carrier furnace.