One thing to note: the '-o ashift' option is a per-drive (vdev) attribute according to the manual. So, when replacing a vdev, be sure to specify this option again if you do not use the default:
zpool replace -o ashift=12 old new.
zpool replace -o ashift=12 old new.
vfs.zfs.min_auto_ashift=12
in /etc/sysctl.conf to handle this automatically.