Wow, this sounds exactly like what is happening to me. I sent mine in & they received it Nov 8th. Couldn't repair but promised a replacement. Still no replacement. I call every week & keep getting no real answers. Getting frustrated. The reader was a gift from my sister & she didn't want to mess with getting it repaired yet again so she passed this nightmare on to me.
Believe it or not she actually bought another Sony.
Think I would have been hesitant to do that.