Breach of extended-warranty: to sue or not to sue?

What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state?
CA

So I got an extended warranty for my car a while back, and recently, for the first time, something went wrong that should be covered by the warranty: a little "microsensor" within my door latch stopped working, resulting in the car "thinking" that the door is always open, so that (1) it won't let me engage the car alarm, and (2) it beeps at me for a while every time I turn on the car or turn on the headlights because it thinks I've left the door open. Number (2) is very annoying, and I believe that (1) means the extended warranty should cover this problem.

My extended warranty has a big list of what is covered and one of the covered items is "Electronic Combination Entry System", i.e., the car alarm. My thought is, the fact that I can't engage the car alarm means this system isn't working, so they should cover the costs of fixing it. But my service person talked to their "adjuster" and received a denial because the "microsensor" isn't a "covered part". The contract, which I've now read through in detail, includes a "schedule of coverage" listing what is covered, and many of the items on that schedule are individual parts such as "Alternator" and "Power Window Switch", but this one says it covers the entire entry "System", which I would think should include all parts required to make the system work, which in this case clearly includes the door microsensor.

So I believe that when they declare this part "not covered" they're in breach of contract.

My question is, what do I do? (My goal is not to "win" or "teach them a lesson". My goal is to fix this problem in my car without having to pay the $450 or so which the service guy says it will cost to fix.) Do I hire a lawyer to sue them? (I don't see anything in the contract about requiring mediation/arbitration.) Do I call them and tell them everything I wrote above and hope they'll suddenly repent and be nice? (They gave the denial to my service person, so I haven't tried talking to them myself yet.) If I simply threaten them with a lawsuit, is there any chance they'll just back down and approve the coverage?

Or might they back down if I threatened to post to a bunch of message boards (craigslist, automotive forums, etc), and also tell my family & friends that their company is unethical and doesn't honor their warranties and nobody should buy them? (I don't want opinions about this... I want reports of personal experience from people who have tried something similar and had it either succeed or fail.)

If I do sue, what are the chances they'll find some weasly way of showing it's not really covered even though the obvious layman's reading of the contract is that it is covered? If I sue and don't win, how much will I have spent on lawyers' fees? (Is it likely to be more than $450?) If I sue and win, do they have to cover my lawyers' fees as well as pay the cost of the repair? Is there any lawyer who would take a case like this without my having to pay them a lot of money up front? (I've never used a lawyer before, so I apologize if these are naive questions.)

One other thought: at one point the contract says "Our obligations to you and the performance to you under this contract is guaranteed by a California approvedinsurance company. You may file a claim directly with the insurance company ifany promise made in the contract has been denied or has not been honored within 60 days of the date proof of loss was filed [and it gives the name and mailing address of this insurance company]. If you are not satisfied with the insurance company's response, you may contact the California Dept of Insurance at [phone number]." Would this be a better way to pursue this rather than trying to sue? And what is "proof of loss" and whom would I file it with?

Thanks in advance for your help!

alarming situation

While I sympathize with your situation, by your argument, if the car's battery failed ( which is required to make the system work), it would be "covered". The extended coverage here does not appear to extend beyond the connectionbetween the system and the failed microsensor. HOWEVER I have seen situations where alarms have been badly installed that might POSSIBLY have caused damage to microsensor. This would be the fault of the installer or manufacturer of the alarm This might be worth checking out.

BTW this would not be a "contingency" case. You would have to pay an attorney up front to represent you. How much do they want to fix the microsensor? This shouldn't be an expensive problem.What kind of vehicle is it? (Ford Rangers and Mazda pickups are famous for having the microswitch that senses if the door is open malfunction)

You need to find out what caused the sensor to malfunction to find out if it is actionable. If it is a standard part of the vehicle and simply wore out, your ext warr probably will not cover it

Go back to square 1 and ask the warranty rep why they denied the coverage. They have to provide a specific answer. If you don't agree with the answer you can take it to a supervisor or "analyst". There's no sense in getting lawyers involved without using the company's own system first, and in doing so, getting the information a lawyer would need if they refuse without a legal basis. If they don't cover it, and you still think yoour contract specifies that they should, pay the bill and take them to small claims court. No lawyer's fees...just show the contract to the judge. I doubt they will want to send one of their attorneys to court for $450(+).

warranty problems

It's hard to know exactly what's going on, but I have encountered problems JUST like yours many times in the 10 years I sold vehicles. There is probably a "microswitch" (what you called a microsensor) inside the door frame that is depressed when the door is closed, kind of like the little switch that turns off your washer on spin cycle if you open the lid. If the switch malfunctioned on your washer, depending on how it was wired, the washer would either not operate OR it would continue spinning when you opened the lid. This switch or sensor came with the vehicle. It tells your dome light to go on or off when the door is opened. It sets off the "bing-bing-bing" if you open the door and forgot to turn off your headlights. That's why it goes off when you turn on your headlights; it thinks you forgot to turn off your lights and were exiting the car.

It is NOT technically a part of the alarm system any more than the car's battery even though they are both necessary for the alarm to function.

The ONLY question here is whether the alarm system, or how it was installed, damaged this switch. BTW $450 sounds outrageously expensive to replace this little switch. You can see it yourself if you open the driver's door and look for a little switch (usually its on the wall by the hinges)

I would add that extended warranties, depending on their cost, have varying levels of coverage. The basic warranty on your car (3yr/36k?) would cover it, but it's EXTREMELY unlikely (in my experience) that an extended one would. Find out if the alarm system ITSELF caused the microsensor to malfunction, then you go after the alarm manufacturer or installer.