Scanning with VCDS while a car is still under warranty

[Speed-FReek]

My car is going into the dealers for a service next week and it has a recurring intermittent communication fault with the Interior Monitoring Sensors that I have informed them of and have asked them to look at as part of the service and while the car is still under warranty.

Address 09: Cent. Elect.       Labels: 1K0-937-08x-09.clb
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1 Fault Found:

01135 - Interior Monitoring Sensors
            004 - No Signal/Communication – Intermittent
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Whenever I clear the fault it just comes back again almost straight away. I’ve already tried re-seating the connector to the offending sensor module but it hasn’t fixed the fault so a replacement of the module and/or any associated wiring is probably ultimately going to be required.

To prevent the dealer from just trying to fob me off by them clearing the faults and then booking the car back in again for another check-up to confirm whether or not the fault does actually persist before doing any further investigation or ordering of new parts, I would like to try and force them to accept that there is definitely an ongoing fault that needs to be sorted by providing them with printouts of my previous VCDS scans as evidence that I already know the fault continues to persist even after a reset.

What I don’t want to end up doing is to cause myself a load of grief by trying to help speed up the resolution process.

Is there any risk of the dealer getting funny about the fact that the car has been independently scanned by someone with non-VAG diagnostics software (VCDS) while the car is still within its warranty period?

 

[Daniel M]

I wouldn't of thought scanning your own car would void the warranty etc or make the dealer be funny about it. Sure mine always brings one fault up too which is similar to the one you've posted. Will have to dig out one of my old scans though.

 

[mds1256]

Both my MK2 Leons have also displayed this error, seems common and is accepted as normal. It seems to me that only vag com picks up this error as I have used other diagnostic equipment and the error does not show up but when I plug it into vagcom it shows it.

I wouldn't worry about it

 

[Rusty2k]

I doubt the dealer will accept any scans from third party diagnostic systems as firm proof of a fault.

At the very least they'll want to see the fault on their own diag systems, and they'll likely go by whether or not the interior sensors actually work.

 

[Speed-FReek]

Both my MK2 Leons have also displayed this error, seems common and is accepted as normal. It seems to me that only vag com picks up this error as I have used other diagnostic equipment and the error does not show up but when I plug it into vagcom it shows it.

I wouldn't worry about it

I know there is definitely an intermittent problem with interior sensors because I already previously tested them and found them not to be working. The recent VCDS scans back up those physical findings. I thought I'd originally fixed it back in 2013 by re-seating the plug but my scans have proven that the problem actually still exists.

http://www.seatcupra.net/forums/showthread.php?t=384720​

The scan I took on 20th November before clearing the fault shows that it first started occurred on some time back at the beginning of July 2013...

01135 - Interior Monitoring Sensors 
            004 - No Signal/Communication - Intermittent
             Freeze Frame:
                    Fault Status: 00100100
                    Fault Priority: 4
                    Fault Frequency: 179
                    Reset counter: 22
                    Mileage: 17140 km
                    Time Indication: 0
                    Date: 2013.07.06
                    Time: 09:14:34

And from the scan I did on 8th January it shows that after I'd cleared the fault it had returned again one day later...

01135 - Interior Monitoring Sensors 
            004 - No Signal/Communication - Intermittent
             Freeze Frame:
                    Fault Status: 00100100
                    Fault Priority: 4
                    Fault Frequency: 27
                    Reset counter: 36
                    Mileage: 27283 km
                    Time Indication: 0
                    Date: 2014.11.21
                    Time: 14:50:48

The frequency count seems to indicate that the fault is occurring fairly reegularly. Going on the actual count value, probably each time the car is used or the alarm is armed.

Yes, from looking around on the internet I agree that this error code does seem to be a common(ish) problem. However, other people reported that they have managed to resolve it by getting the interior sensor module replaced. So before my warranty runs out I will be pressing for SEAT to replace whatever components or wiring is necessary to fix the issue as it will cost me nothing while the car is still under warranty and I would like a car with a fully working alarm system.

 

[Speed-FReek]

I doubt the dealer will accept any scans from third party diagnostic systems as firm proof of a fault.

At the very least they'll want to see the fault on their own diag systems, and they'll likely go by whether or not the interior sensors actually work.

You're probably right but I would like to try and get them to acknowledge / accept that there is definitely some kind of fault with the interior sensors so that any new parts can just be ordered ASAP. I purposely haven't cleared the fault code this time so the last scan I did on 8th January will tie up with they find when they hook my car up to their VAS system at the service next week.

I'm fairly certain that they would normally just clear the fault code and then ask me to bring the car back again for a re-scan to see if the fault has returned which I already know it will, so I need to try and convince them that the only return trip I need to make is to get the actual repair done once the replacement parts have arrived. It's a 45 mile round trip and a day off work each time I visit my nearest dealer so the fewer of those I have to make the better.

 

[Rusty2k]

You could leave the car with them? The dealer I bought my used FR from had it back for about 3 weeks when I took it in with a few electrical problems, and I got a free loan car for that time.

(long story, but basically they needed to fit a new central electrics module and had trouble coding it and had to spend ages going back and forth with SEAT technical in Spain...)

Also, you may hit a snag with your plan with the warranty authorisation. The warranty company has to authorise all repairs, and I doubt they will do that based on your saved VCDS scans, which could very easily have been faked (not saying you have, mind...).

 

[Speed-FReek]

You could leave the car with them? The dealer I bought my used FR from had it back for about 3 weeks when I took it in with a few electrical problems, and I got a free loan car for that time.

(long story, but basically they needed to fit a new central electrics module and had trouble coding it and had to spend ages going back and forth with SEAT technical in Spain...)

Also, you may hit a snag with your plan with the warranty authorisation. The warranty company has to authorise all repairs, and I doubt they will do that based on your saved VCDS scans, which could very easily have been faked (not saying you have, mind...).

That's a good suggestion. I've got a courtesy car booked for the day of the service so if it hasn't been booked out to someone else on subsequent days and they are prepared to let me keep hold of it for longer, I might suggest they just keep my car so they can prove to themselves that the fault code does just return again after being cleared and so they can get the required authorisation to fix it under warranty.

It's true that there is nothing I can do to prove that I haven't just knocked up the scan output results in notepad or something (which for the record I haven't - they're genuine scan results) so maybe it isn't really worth bothering to give them a printout.

Thanks.

 

[Speed-FReek]

Well, the car went in for it's service today and I made sure I highlighted the fact that the Interior Alarm Sensor fault had been going on for some time and showed them a printout of the VCDS scan data but as Rusty2k previously suggested, they didn't really seem interested and just said that the technician would look into the problem.

On picking the car up I was queried the outcome of the issues and was just told that the problem had been fixed. What that actually means though and what they did to fix it is a mystery because the service advisor didn't really know which didn't inspire a huge amount of confidence. There is also nothing specific on the the work report / invoice about what was actually done either. Just a note stating that I wanted the problem looked at but no details about it having been fixed or what was actually done to investigate the problem. Not very helpful TBH.

I guess I'll find out at the weekend when I get time to hook the car up to VCDS if their "fix" was simply just clearing the fault codes which is what I suspect it probably was.

 

[tjagnewLCR265]

Of the exact subject guys but which one vcds or vagcom is able to be bought ? Which one is better ? And a rough cost including a lead ???

 

[Speed-FReek]

Of the exact subject guys but which one vcds or vagcom is able to be bought ? Which one is better ? And a rough cost including a lead ???

Probably best if you posted a new thread but the short answer is that VAG-COM and VCDS is one and the same thing. The earlier versions were called VAG-COM and they later renamed it to VCDS (which is an acronym for VAG-COM Diagnostics System).

If you want an up-to-date version it is VCDS you need. Genuine VCDS costs either £210 (Micro-CAN interface) or £270 (HEX-USB+CAN interface).

 

[Speed-FReek]

I guess I'll find out at the weekend when I get time to hook the car up to VCDS if their "fix" was simply just clearing the fault codes which is what I suspect it probably was.

I did a scan today and this is what came back. Why am I not surprised

01135 - Interior Monitoring Sensors 
            004 - No Signal/Communication - Intermittent
             Freeze Frame:
                    Fault Status: 00100100
                    Fault Priority: 4
                    Fault Frequency: 2
                    Reset counter: 40
                    Mileage: 27800 km
                    Time Indication: 0
                    Date: 2015.01.12
                    Time: 17:31:13

The date / time shown against the fault is approximately the time I unlocked the car and drove it away from the dealer so the fault came back pretty much straight away which proves that all they did was to simply clear the fault and not bother to check if it would return again.

So now I'm going to have to make another 45 mile round trip to take the car back to them so they can bother to actually investigate the problem properly and fix it.

This along with a number or other customer service related issues that I wasn't particularly happy about certainly left much to be desired for my first service experience with a SEAT dealer.

It's no wonder UK SEAT dealers get a bad name.