I don't think it's common...however, assuming that there's not an issue with the DRBii then the OBD port wiring might be the next logical step. Since you went to two dealers, would assume it's in your wiring. It could be a bad ECU I suppose too. I believe the port only had two screws holding it in and in my case they identified and fixed the broken wire in less than 30 minutes. The broken wire was right behind the port. Also, they didn't charge anything extra beyond the $110 TPMS reset fee. Once the computer is communicating it's a 5 minute process.

One thing to note, generic scan tools would work on mine with the broken wire and the week before I got my emissions done too. The broken wire must have been something specific to the car and the DRBii scan tool.