The service writer said this is a common problem.

short them out so they dont work, then file the claim again

I hate warranty companies because of things like that. Bills idea is wrong BTW, JMHO. The warranty companies decide what they will pay for, and what they wont. I NEVER recommend anyone purchase one of these policies. Take that money and go buy a CD and leave it in the bank gathering interest. If the car breaks use that money to help pay to fix it. If it never breaks, and quite often that IS the case then when the policy would have expired treat yourself to a nice vacation, maybe even a cruise.

Bill, we disucssed just that idea!!

John, we have had more warranty repair on the car than the cost of the policy. So in this case, it was a good purchase. The extended warranty runs out in Feb., and we are nervous about keeping the car without coverage because it has quite a repair reputation.

It's a $1200 repair to replace the seat modules. Ow.

I just thought there was some process to protest other than talking with the service manager and warranty people.

Thanks for the sympathy!

Your actually one of the few if the policy has paid for itself. Think about it, they wouldn't sell them if they didn't make money on the deal.

As far as not showing much sympathy, I'll plead guilty to that. However there are some pretty strong mitigating circumstances. Imagine doing business where the warranty company treats you as if you don't have any right to operate in a profitable manner. They want to set a labor rate that is below average, and then often times attempt to cut out parts profits, which are necessary for the survival, and reinvestment in the shops future.

There are times when even once all of the nonsense is dealt with, the car is repaired (correctly) and then picked up by the customer who only pays the deductible, the shop ends up waiting for the final payment which in some cases never comes! These problems force us to have to take the position of the customer pay us the same as any other customer would, and then they wait for what ever reimbursement the warranty company wants to pay back. Its turned into a serious PITA on occasion, and can be a complete distraction from the principal operation of repairing the car completely, and correctly the first time.

As you said in your case the policy actually already paid for itself. But this time you got caught in one of their "Hot Potato" games. You have my sympathy, but its not to be shared with THEM.

I agree with john g. They shouldn't even call it warranty. It's insurance by another name, and they're not in business to save you money.

Here's what may be a couple cost effective alternatives for you depending on how long it's taking this malfunction to kill the battery and how you use the car. You can get a battery tender type charger to keep the battery up. They make them with a plug you can leave hanging out in a convenient location so you just plug it in when you're done with the car for the day. Another suggestion is have an on/off switch installed in the circuit between the power source and the component(s) that's draining your battery. Switch the power off to that component when it's not needed. It also be possible to re-wire that circuit so that power is supplied to the battery draining component only when the ignition switch is on. That way when you shut the engine off, the circuit to that component will be dead. Wouldn't have to remember to turn off a switch or plug your car in if that would work. Just an idea. Your mechanic will have to tell you if any of those are viable options in your case. Good luck with it.

The problem potentially is this vehicle may have memory seats, and that may mean the BCM has to communicate to the seat modules with the key off. (Think key-less remote door unlock operations etc.)

While it may be possible to interrupt the vehicle power to the modules in one fashion or another the results of doing so can be quite unpredictable. It may not seem to have much if any effect other than the loss of the memory seat functions or it may render a number of systems inoperative because of node communication issues.

I hear you, John, but I'm not worried about the warranty co. They can take care of themselves, I'm trying to take care of me! LOL!

Yes, they are memory seats. A useless function if you ask me.

Thanks for all your thoughts.

Susan

The fuction is useless if you never use it. I have " memory
seats in my car. My wife has 32 inch legs. I have 28 inch legs. When i get into the car after she has driven it i can't even reach the peddles. When i drive it she smashes into the steering wheel and can't even fit into the car.
We just press the mem. button and the seat re possisions.
That is the best invention since the birth control pill.