Cheers Johnsy (and all). after my last post, we took it to the other dealer with techline number in hand. They re-applied the software patch the other dealer had tried to put on, it'd either failed or not been done at all. The screen has been tip-top since then. It's been back again as the central locking stopped working - was within 13Km - yes, 99,987 KM of being out of warranty. My wife managed to get it to the nearest dealership while she was away visitng her folks. She was told the second/spare key was required for the software patch to repair the issue to be applied. This was several hundred K's away at home and she was told that if we bought it back later with over 100,000 it'd not be covered. I express posted the key to them but it seems they'll try anything on.
I'd reckon at least 50% of the problems we've had with this car have been fixed with software patches - Shouldn't these be applied free of charge after warranty as it fixes issues with the original programs???? In fact the only mechanical issues I can recall are a grinding in the rear end which was a dud suspension bush, a squeaking AC compressor which was fixed with a shim and a few busted bits and pieces on the interior - everything else has been software patches: No display on the entertainment system, car not starting sometimes, headlights not coming on in auto mode, remote (keyless entry) not working, rough idle, car requiring high RPM to start moving in reverse plus a few others.
Sorry, I work in the IT industry where updates are normally not only free but supplied with an air of apology for not getting it right in the first place. We were told that the central locking patch could cost up to $1500 to have done out of warranty and indications were that the LCD display fix could be over $4K!
As for the warranty extension, it's rediculous - no-one knows anything about it at holden yet it's on their website and there's also a pamphlet on it in my service manual warning to avoid third party warranty extensions, to accept only holden factory warranty extensions. W - T - F ???????????????
Suppose it's too late for me now - but would be interested to see if someone else gets anywhere with this in the future - the first VE's will be coming up on 3 years old now. Expect more people will be lookming to extend?
