Oops!
The new models roll out of the factory into dealerships and eventually into your garage. During the first year, a dealer mechanic notices he’s seeing a number of the same models coming in with the same complaints. The source of the problem is, unfortunately, a defect in design or a component. He alerts his boss who alerts the factory. The engineering department set their experts on the problem and issue Technical Service Bulletins (TSBs) to all dealers. The TSB describes the issue and outlines the fix.
The consumer is not alerted; this is not a recall. Recalls only address safety and emissions issues, not pesky little problems like oil leaks and bad transmissions. The manufacturer covers the repair only if the vehicle is still under warranty, though in some cases the manufacturer opts to cover repair after the warranty has expired. Examples of TSBs issued in 2008 were described in an article in the New York Times. Some small GM cars may have an oil leak from the oil pressure switch, requiring a replacement. Some Honda Pilots have front inner fenders that rub the tire. When the engine heats up, the inner fender can become deformed and make contact with the tire, requiring that the inner fender be replaced and better secured to the bumper. Honda may offer help to pay for the fix on vehicles out of warranty—at the discretion of the district service manager. These are fairly minor, but 2002-05 Saturn Vues and 03-04 Ions with their nifty new continuously variable transmissions have experienced a high failure rate forcing GM to extend the warranty to five years/75,000 miles. Customers who have already paid for the repairs may be reimbursed.
Not every car within the model group will have the defect. Sometimes the engineers can narrow the possibilities down to specific VIN ranges. Sometimes they can’t. The good news, if you want to call it that, is you can find out if there TSBs on your vehicle. Edmunds.com is one of a number of sites that provide the information. However, because of the volume of the database, you’ll only be able to get the TSB title, number and brief description of the problem, often too brief for a layman to figure out if it applies to any problems he’s experiencing with his vehicle.
For a complete print out of the pertinent TSBs you can fill out the search authorization form on the National Traffic Safety Administration’s website, they make copies and mail them to you. ALLDATAwill give you a whole year’s worth of TSBs for your vehicle for $24.95, a service renewable at $14.95 annually. ALLDATA provides the full text of the TSB as well as diagnosis and repair procedures with diagrams. A third source is BatAuto.com, a site with an online request form and forums for consumer and mechanics that provides full TSB text at no charge, though donations are not discouraged.
You can use these TSBs to encourage your dealership to do the repair under warranty. If you have no hope of a free repair, primarily because the vehicle is out of warranty, you can always take the full print out of the TSB to your local mechanic to expedite the repair at best. When the problem is within your mechanical ability to repair, you can always do it yourself.
Unless you walk into your dealership with the TSB in hand, the service manager and mechanics will not be inclined to offer the information. They are only reimbursed a portion of the repair so they’re not making much money to fix your vehicle.
Another issue is duplicating the exact problem described in the TSB. Unless the dealership can justify the repair based on more than just a TSB number, the manufacturer may not reimburse them at all. If it seems like you’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t, that’s pretty close, but there are steps you can take.
- Go to your dealer with an exact description of the problem; leave that copy of the TSB at home. Be sure to include the circumstances under which the problem rears its ugly head. For instance, if the misfiring cylinders or rattle or whatever only happens after the vehicle is warmed up, drive up to the bay and ask for a service writer or mechanic to jump in so he can verify the problem. (You may have to phone ahead to get this kind of response.) The purpose of this exercise is to give the mechanic a good opportunity to actually experience the problem.
- If the dealer is still having trouble resolving the issue, now’s the time to whip out the TSB. Unfortunately, attitude plays a major role in talking a TSB repair out of a reluctant dealership, so maintain a professional, calm attitude.
- If that doesn’t work, sit down with the service manager with as sincere a “can you help me work this out” attitude as you can muster.
A number of experts in the fix-my-car wars suggest taking that shiny, new vehicle back to the dealer for normal maintenance like oil changes and tune-ups—not required under the warranty. The theory is that the dealer will love you to pieces since they make a significantly higher profit on this type of service. With all this love, you can cruise into the dealership with an issue covered in a TSB and get the problem resolved free of charge. Independent mechanics will charge close to half for regular maintenance so you’re basically paying for goodwill, or paying for the dealer to do its job, depending on your degree of outraged indignation. It sounds smarmy, but to a certain extent, it’s just human nature. Anyone will provide a high level of service to a regular customer.
If you’ve come to the conclusion that all auto makers are scoundrels, that’s not necessarily true across the board. Hyundai’s website includes shop manuals with troubleshooting guides and diagnostic procedures—all available to the consumer. The company does not provide access to TSBs on their vehicles, but does provide a lot of helpful information for either the owner or the owner’s independent mechanic.
If you suspect your vehicle is a lemon, contact us using the form on the right and we’ll help you locate a lemon lawyer.
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