Alarm issue - advice needed

djliamo

Hi folks,

I hope someone here might be able give me some advice.

I bought a 2008 car from a dealer back in March this year. A 3 month bumper to bumper warranty was given. Towards the end of the warranty period the alarm started going off at random times (several times most days/nights). I reported this to the dealer and they made note of it and said the issue would be fixed because it was reported during the warranty period.

There was a Bluetooth kit in the car when I bought it, which I had never used, so they removed in case it was wired incorrectly and might be triggering the alarm. They also changed the battery. This didn't make any difference. A couple of weeks later after the issue still continuing almost daily they got an alarm specialist out to look at it. His diagnostics didn't show any issues, so he disconnected the infrared motion sensor inside the car to test if this might be the cause. This didn't fix the issue either. He called out again to reconnect the sensor and said he couldn't help any further. As it was the original car manufacturer's alarm it would have to go back to them to check further.

About 2 months ago I brought the car into the manufacturer's main service centre. They ran their tests and determined the PCB or PCM (can't recall the exact name) needed replacing. After a bit of back and forth with the dealer they agreed to pay the cost of this, approximately 600 euro. The part was ordered and arrived 1 month later.

So last Friday this part was replaced, but there is no improvement since. The alarm went off twice yesterday evening and once at 4am this morning. The car is going back to the manufacturer's main service centre again next Monday, but at this stage I have wasted so much time going back and forth, being without the car for days while it's being worked on, spending money on taxis to get in and out of work etc. It's also very stressful being woken up in the middle of the night by the alarm going off, or wondering when it will go off again. Some nights I just leave it unlocked for peace.

The dealer in question is part of SIMI. Not sure if that helps my case in any way, but i'm completely sick of all this and would love to either get a refund or come to some agreement with the dealer to get a different car. How likely is it at this stage? What would be the best course of action - should I seek legal advice or go through the SIMI complaints procedure?

To be fair, the dealer has been pretty good so far in standing over the warranty, but the months are going by and no progress is being made. I have had to make so many phone calls and calls in person to follow up on things or look for updates. I reported another issue during the warranty with the driver seat, which they said they would replace, but they tell me that they're finding it very difficult to get a matching seat from another car.

Sorry for the rambling post but i'm beyond fed up at this stage. As far as i'm concerned this is the last chance for the car to be fixed before I consider taking further action. As I see it the car isn't fit for purpose, so I would love to hear if anyone has had similar issues and what would be the best way for me to go forward here.

Thanks in advance.

GavMan

An alarm and seat issue hardly makes the car not fit for purpose. As you state, the dealer has been making a genuine attempt to put the alarm issue right for you.

Any chance the alarm is genuinely being activated because the car is being disturbed, say by a cat or something?

Also there are no specifics about the car or the alarm make so it will be hard to give advice

tossy

Whats the make and model of the car ? Perhaps someone here might know of a known issue with that model.

Mouse in the car?

djliamo

Thanks for the reply. At first I thought it might be something like a cat or a gust of wind triggering it, but at times it goes off 2 or 3 times within a few minutes. It's happening too often now for it to be something like that.

Regarding the seat issue.The drivers seat actually moves slightly on it's mounts when I brake or turn and it sort of clicks into place. Hard to describe but it seems to be a problem with the rails. The dealer has told me its perfectly safe, but I'm not convinced. They say the only way to get it fixed is put in a new seat. They've supposedly been on the lookout for a replacement for months now but nothing has come of it.

Maybe "not fit for purpose" isn't the correct way of putting it, but I don't think it's fair to have to put up with that for so long. I've just run out of patience.

It's a Mazda 6 by the way, with the standard factory alarm.

Thanks

djliamo

Mazda 6 - 2008. I've done a good bit of reading through various forums and I've read lot of people have had issues with electrics. Some people with similar alarm issues have mentioned that the faulty sensors in the rear doors can trigger it, but Mazda checked this and found no issues.

Atlantic Dawn

Maybe take a hoover to the sensors to clear any dust resting in them.

djliamo

Thanks I'll try the hoover on it. Worth a shot.

A few months back one of the mechanics said it could be a mouse and I presumed he was joking, but he said he had seen it happen before.

Wibbs

This sounds a bit daft but close all the air vents on the dash for a night and see if the alarm issues go away.

djliamo

Wibbs wrote: »

This sounds a bit daft but close all the air vents on the dash for a night and see if the alarm issues go away.

Hi, ive tried that several times. Doesn't make any real difference. Also removed anything hanging from the back window that may have moved by air blowing through vents. Still the same.

Even switching off the shock alarm doesn't improve the situation. Nothing in particular seems to trigger the alarm. It can go off any time in any weather conditions.

What I'm really wondering is at what point can I just say enough is enough? Do I have any case for partial refund or exchange? The longer this drags on the less chance I would say I have. Its not practical to continue on like this with the alarm going off several times a day and night. My neighbours have been understanding so far but it's getting ridiculous now.

Obviously I hope the issue is fixed when Mazda check it out again next week but I have lost all faith that it will be.