Adria overhead locker catches

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Tio64

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Hi all, don't know if anyone else is having these difficulties.

We bought a new Adria Matrix 600DT Plus last November, and amongst other issues, we are suffering repeated failures of the latches on the overhead cupboards. They are only lasting a few months each, although the latest replacement has failed after a few days.

Clearly Adria have sourced a bad batch or a faulty design of latch from a supplier.

Has anyone else suffered anything similar? I'm at a bit of a loss as to what to do, replacing a faulty design with the same type of latch just isn't going to work, the latch is completely unfit for purpose.

What I'm finding frustrating is that there appears to be no central Adria UK or Adria Europe office, our only point of contact is via the dealers, but this is a problem that the dealer can't resolve, the solution can only come from the factory.

I'd be interested to hear if anyone else has suffered this problem.

TIA, Mike.
 
What does your latch look like?

I broke one this summer on my Adria but it is 13 years old.
 
Adria coral 3years old and never had a problem.
 
Thanks for answers guys.

Stupidly, I completely forgot to take a pic of the catches before returning van to storage this afternoon, but coincidentally I've found them on Amazon, these look exactly the same.
I guess I better put an order in for when the van is no longer under warranty.

Amazon product ASIN B06Y6G7YBX
 
Your Dealer is the one to solve the problem, whether it’s a bad batch or not or just poorly designed for job, it’s the Dealer who has to resolve this. It should be under warranty. Suggest you write to the dealer stating how many have become faulty and request they come up with a solution. They in turn, if they know what they are doing, should approach Adria and solve the issue, even if it means replacing all the catches for another suitable design.
In the letter advise the Dealer that you expect a response in the affirmative within 14 days.

In reality what is 12 or so catches going to cost Adria? £150 max

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Tio64 said:
Thanks for answers guys.

Stupidly, I completely forgot to take a pic of the catches before returning van to storage this afternoon, but coincidentally I've found them on Amazon, these look exactly the same.
I guess I better put an order in for when the van is no longer under warranty.

Amazon product ASIN B06Y6G7YBX
Click to expand...
With that type of catch I would say you problem is not with the catch but the fitting of it. If not lined up correctly so the pin meets the latch central they will break.
It does seem a poor method of keeping the cabinet closed most manufacturers use metal latches.
 
Tio64 said:
Hi all, don't know if anyone else is having these difficulties.

We bought a new Adria Matrix 600DT Plus last November, and amongst other issues, we are suffering repeated failures of the latches on the overhead cupboards. They are only lasting a few months each, although the latest replacement has failed after a few days.

Clearly Adria have sourced a bad batch or a faulty design of latch from a supplier.

Has anyone else suffered anything similar? I'm at a bit of a loss as to what to do, replacing a faulty design with the same type of latch just isn't going to work, the latch is completely unfit for purpose.

What I'm finding frustrating is that there appears to be no central Adria UK or Adria Europe office, our only point of contact is via the dealers, but this is a problem that the dealer can't resolve, the solution can only come from the factory.

I'd be interested to hear if anyone else has suffered this problem.

TIA, Mike.
Click to expand...
Yes, we have had the same. Perhaps, like purs, there were set a bit tight. You can adjust the base of them with a screwdriver. A bit of trial and error, as too loose and the doors rattle.
We got our spares from Marquis at Birtley. They had to order them though, but comped them as we were having some warranty issues. Hope this helps.
 
Our 11 month old Compact has a catch that has failed on one of the lower drawers in the kitchen. It has been poorly fitted and is not holding properly. It was really annoying on our recent trip to France, we were on a very bendy road with no opportunity to pull over and put something in place to stop it banging open and closed. OH has carried out a temporary fix by moving the catch so it lines up better, and discovered that it has already been fitted twice at factory.
The overhead lockers in a previous Adria had the same plastic catches and as my OH is a retired aircraft engineer he made a jig and manufactured replacements out of metal. Fortunately he still has the jig in the garage and will again be making replacements.
Perhaps I'll have to tell him to get out of retirement and fill a need in the market.
 
Had two fail on our new Adria within first week of ownership. Decided not worth the fuel expense and time to return to the supplying Dealer. Only around £1 each. Bought a pack of 6 from Amazon. 10 mins to fit. No problem since and I have 4 spares if needed.
 
Tio64 said:
Thanks for answers guys.

Stupidly, I completely forgot to take a pic of the catches before returning van to storage this afternoon, but coincidentally I've found them on Amazon, these look exactly the same.
I guess I better put an order in for when the van is no longer under warranty.

Amazon product ASIN B06Y6G7YBX
Click to expand...
They are different to the ones on our Coral. So maybe cheaper in the long run to change to the older catches.

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Millcourt said:
Had two fail on our new Adria within first week of ownership. Decided not worth the fuel expense and time to return to the supplying Dealer. Only around £1 each. Bought a pack of 6 from Amazon. 10 mins to fit. No problem since and I have 4 spares if needed.
Click to expand...
We have spares, thanks for the offer, the dealer just handed us a few knowing we'd need them. Also, we're having blind issues, two have failed (amongst other minor things) so we get the catches dealt with when they're carrying out other warranty work.

Unfortunately I think we have a pandemic-built van. :-(
 
Fragle said:
They are different to the ones on our Coral. So maybe cheaper in the long run to change to the older catches.
Click to expand...
Good point, when I'm next at the dealer I might ask to have a look in another model of Adria.
 
Fragle said:
They are different to the ones on our Coral. So maybe cheaper in the long run to change to the older catches.
Click to expand...
Ours are also different. We have had one of the upright retainers fail and also a push button wardrobe catch.
 
Lenny HB said:
With that type of catch I would say you problem is not with the catch but the fitting of it. If not lined up correctly so the pin meets the latch central they will break.
It does seem a poor method of keeping the cabinet closed most manufacturers use metal latches.
Click to expand...
It's the actual internal mechanism of the catch that seems to fail. There's actually very little adjustment available.
 
Otter Spotter said:
Your Dealer is the one to solve the problem, whether it’s a bad batch or not or just poorly designed for job, it’s the Dealer who has to resolve this. It should be under warranty. Suggest you write to the dealer stating how many have become faulty and request they come up with a solution. They in turn, if they know what they are doing, should approach Adria and solve the issue, even if it means replacing all the catches for another suitable design.
In the letter advise the Dealer that you expect a response in the affirmative within 14 days.

In reality what is 12 or so catches going to cost Adria? £150 max
Click to expand...
I haven't actually written yet, but so far the conversation has been along those lines. Perhaps unwisely, one of the things the dealer says is "our hands are tied" which is why I'd like to be able to escalte the problem myself, either to a UK or European head office.

No can do though, with Adria you can only speak to the dealer, and for me this isn't a dealer-level problem, it's a factory one - they've sourced and supplied the wrong catches.

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Tio64 said:
I haven't actually written yet, but so far the conversation has been along those lines. Perhaps unwisely, one of the things the dealer says is "our hands are tied" which is why I'd like to be able to escalte the problem myself, either to a UK or European head office.
Click to expand...
Your contract is with the dealer not with Adria.
It really bugs me with Motorhome dealers when you have a warranty problem and they say they have to get authority from the manufacturer before they carry out the repair. They should do the repair then it's their problem to get the manufacturer to pay for it.
 
I have had the same issue with these catches on my Twin. I worked out that the door vibrated slightly when going down the road and it was enough to spring the catch open. Solved by putting a small 1 cm strip of self adhesive foam window insulating on the cabinet edge. This stops any movement going along and has the added benefit of stopping a squeak I had given up finding. No squeak and doors stay closed, result.
 
Just noticed a couple of reviews on the Amazon link I posted earlier.

"These seem ok when you first install them, but after one or two uses the mechanism breaks and they no longer hold on to the 'ball'.
I would return them for a refund but Amazon as they are faulty will not allow me to as the order is over 3 months old."

"These seemed great to start with. Easy to install and a satisfying click when shutting cupboards fitted to. Unfortunately the mechanism broke within half a day. Thought it might be just one or that I'd damaged when installing perhaps. Tried another, same result. Third one, exactly the same."

"First and foremost they do work.
Second, if you pull them open they break, immediately.
OR AT LEAST THEY APPEAR TO.
Actually there is a safeguard inside the lock that stops the ham-fisted amongst us from wrecking it.

So... if you pop off the cover and put the small metal bar back in its place its fine.

and don't be so rough, its only plastic!"

Regarding the last quote, I'll check our catches out for a removeable cover, certainly didn't notice them before."
 
Just an update on the catch situation, we're currently on a 4 week trip with an overhead locker door open, finally got round to fitting new catch as given me by the dealership workshop, I've replaced it but still won't work.

The catch locks if I push it in with a screwdriver so I think the catch is OK. The ball thingy that attaches to door of locker is slightly longer than original but catch still doesn't lock, I've cut and fitted a little spacer to pad the ball out and the catch still won't lock. Push the catch in with screwdriver it locks.

I've given up for the time being. I shouldn't be mucking about with this crap on an £80k van that's not a year old. Thanks Adria. 🤬
 
I was under the impression that Adria motorhomes uk was based at Sudbury uk.
Don’t know the address as I’m not at home but try the Adria owners club.

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Here you go.
Adria Concessionaire, 2 Drury Dr, Woodhall Business Park, Sudbury CO10 1WH

But don't be supprised if they refer you to the dealer from where you purchased the vehicle.
 
An update:

Still being plagued by overhead locker doors failing.

It has occurred to me the problem may not be the catches but the gas/spring struts, which may be too strong for the catches. The dealership replaces the catches, like for like, but after just days of use they fail again.

I'm going to report this as a safety issue to https://www.gov.uk/vehicle-recalls-and-faults/report-a-serious-safety-defect

because the problem most definitely is something " that happens suddenly and without warning " as when driving, a locker door opens and any hard or solid contents crashes to the floor, which is quite a distraction.

I find it amazing and totally disheartening to find ourselves in this situation - that in the 2020's a leading motorhome manufacturer can supply a vehicle in which the locker doors won't even stay closed.
 
Having been giving our Adria Compact a good workout over the Cretan mountain roads tracks, maybe I shouldn’t have been surprised to have one of the overhead locker catches fail - luckily with no ejection of contents.

Removed the offending article this morning and popped the rear cover off - it’s held in place by two small plastic tabs fore and aft - and could immediately see the problem. The hooked metal pin that sits in a retaining hole at the rear and locates into a track on the central ‘push/pull’ part of the catch had become displaced.
IMG_9526.jpeg


Once I’d relocated it the catch worked as intended.
IMG_9527.jpeg


The cover has a spring inside it that should bear down on the fixed end of the metal pin to keep it in place. I suspect that the catch wasn’t screwed to the cupboard wall tightly enough in the first place, which allowed the cover to flex slightly, and the pin to escape from its intended position. I’ll go around all the others and check the screws.
 
Further Update.

While investigating another catch that didn’t quite feel right I found that the plastic moulding that retains the rear hook of the metal pin had split, allowing the pin to almost pull out of it. Revisiting the original failed catch I could see that the same had occurred with that one, so ignore my previous theory about the loose cover being the culprit!

I’ve managed to sort both of them with Superglue, which I’ve also smeared over the outside surface of the locating hole to give some additional strength.

IMG_9530.jpeg

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Thanks for the update. I fear our situation is getting worse, our dealership now can not get two of the doors to close properly, they can only do so by adjusting the doors and leaving them completely misaligned with the others, and it can be clearly seen that the doors aren't going to remain closed for long, I doubt they will do so for one journey.
I've now got a pack of these and will be fitting them.
www.ebay.co.uk

Booboo [10 PACK] Baby Safety Cupboard Door Strap Locks. Home Child Proofing | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Booboo [10 PACK] Baby Safety Cupboard Door Strap Locks. Home Child Proofing at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products.
www.ebay.co.uk
 
This site contains affiliate links for which MHF may be compensated.
Oh, that’s bad news that the dealer can’t get it sorted. With the issue that I’ve identified with that rear pin location splitting, I’m sure it could be avoided if the moulding was simply beefed up in that area - making it solid plastic across the rear of the fitting with the retainer hole in it. The catch design appears to me to be otherwise quite good.
 
I had a van for sale with those push to latch and push to release catches. The buyer viewing the vehicle broke one by pulling hard on the door to open it. A bad design though
 
I'm not sure if the issue is the catches or whether the struts are too strong, or what, I just know the doors don't stay closed, the dealer doesn't seem to have an answer, Adria UK are of no use, and I never ever expected to have this issue with a brand new Adria. :-(

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