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Maintenance Tips
You, Your Vehicle and the Technical Service Bulletin (TSB)
By Erin Riches, Senior Content Editor , Edmunds.com
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After charging over to the
dealership with your sick car - perhaps more than once - only to be told that
technicians were unable to duplicate the problem, you find yourself heartened by the discovery of Edmunds.com's Maintenance Guide, which allows you to access technical service bulletins - or TSBs - regarding your vehicle. You enter the year, make
and model of your car and the component in question, and anxiously await the search
results.
But your irritation returns when you see that your search
has yielded only titles, numbers and a barely intelligible description of the
problem. How can you be certain that you've matched a TSB correctly to your vehicle's
symptoms? And how will this confusing bit of information ever be good enough to
convince your service advisor to make a repair?
"... Does anybody
here have access to the actual write-ups on these TSBs? I would like to be able
to go to the dealership with the TSB write-ups in hand so they can see exactly
what the problem is and fix it. (no more of the 'we can't create it, so you
must be imagining it' crap)." - frank12, "Technical Service Bulletins"
(Maintenance & Repair Conference, Town Hall), #93 of 200, Feb. 4, 2000
Though an apparent nugget of
good hope for consumers, a technical service bulletin is actually an advisory
issued by a manufacturer for use by dealership service departments. "Most TSBs
are released during the first year that a vehicle is offered or the year following
a redesign," our road test editor, Neil Chirico (a former service advisor for
Ford, Lincoln-Mercury and Volvo), observed - in order to address areas that might
have been overlooked when designing the car.
These bulletins differ from recalls in that they are not considered safety or
emissions issues and they usually apply only when your vehicle is in its warranty
period (whereas a recall is "open" until the work has been performed). TSBs frequently
(but not always) address a recurring problem and include illustrated instructions
for repair, a list of the parts needed, the warranty status and the labor charge.
If a problem addressed in a TSB is particularly widespread, the manufacturer may
decide to send out "Owner Notification" letters - in this case, the manufacturer
has a good idea of which vehicles (by VIN) will experience the problem. For example,
our staff received such a letter in regard to our long-term
Honda Insight. The letter listed two potential problems: (1) difficulty starting
the Insight in very cold weather (0° F) due to a faulty engine control module;
and (2) AM radio static due to an improperly grounded rear wiper motor. We were
instructed to make an appointment at a Honda dealership and to allow half a day
for the free repairs. Owner notifications have mileage and time restrictions -
these may extend beyond the warranty period.
Service bulletin content varies in severity - you'll find TSBs that cover hard-to-start
engines and clunking transmissions alongside those that offer remedies for inoperable
cigarette lighters and slight paint imperfections. And some TSBs merely outline
updated service procedures and troubleshooting strategies, or offer hints for
installing something as simple as a front license plate holder.
And, of course, the best thing about finding a TSB that seems to cover a persistent
problem in your vehicle is that dealerships will make the repair for free,
provided that
- Your vehicle is under warranty;
- Your service advisor and/or technicians are able to confirm that the problem
exists.
The second mandate is not to be taken lightly, Chirico warned. Even if your vehicle
is within the warranty period, "the dealership is not going to do anything about
it, if [technicians] cannot verify the concern.... The manufacturer pays for the
repair, not the dealership, and the dealership has to treat the manufacturer like
a customer.... The service writer can't write up an invoice with just the TSB
number and expect the manufacturer to pay for the procedure. The manufacturer
wants to know that the car is legitimately broken."
Rather than going into the dealer with the TSB number in hand, it is more effective,
according to Chirico, to come to the dealer with a complete description of your
vehicle's particular problem - what are the exact symptoms, and when and where
did/do they occur. He offered this example: Suppose you have a cold-running concern
with your vehicle. Don't drive the vehicle into the dealer before work in the
morning and expect technicians to be able to duplicate the problem - the vehicle
will be warm. Instead, bring the vehicle into the dealer the evening before and
let it sit overnight. In short, someone in the service department has to be able
to duplicate the problem, and the TSB number and a brief description of the problem
won't always do it. "You don't want to go in there sounding bull-headed - you
won't get good service," Chirico said.
If the technicians and your service writer seem to be having trouble resolving
a problem with your vehicle and you've already given them the most complete description
possible, our road test editor continued, then you might say politely, "Someone
suggested that this TSB might cover it." "Did anyone try this TSB?" A customer
who makes an effort to sound intelligent (that is, provides a full description
of the problem and demonstrates a history of regularly maintaining the vehicle)
and to treat service writers (and technicians) with respect is more likely to
find resolution for her vehicle's problems.
A further option, he said, is to arrange a meeting with the service manager and
then, calmly discuss the matter (bring applicable service receipts). Usually,
service managers will respond favorably to customers who ask, "Could you help
me out?", rather than ranting. The service manager and writers always have a manufacturer's
representative (a field technician) whom they can contact. You might want to suggest
that they try this, if they haven't already.
Forging civil ties with a service department over several years may have its benefits
when something goes wrong with your car after it is out of warranty. If you know
that a particular problem is covered by a TSB and have a reputation of spending
money with the dealership, the service writer might be willing to write off all
or part of the repair cost.
"A word of advice
on TSBs. I got on the dealer's good side early by having every single oil change,
tune-up, etc., done by them for the first 2 years I owned the car. When I needed
to have the top on my convertible replaced ('93 Mercury Capri) after 3 ½ years,
I came with a stack of receipts from cash work they'd done, and the service
manager okayed the free replacement. Very rare, but building a relationship
cinched the deal, I think. Now they have a loyal customer for life, despite
higher prices for certain services." - mjm37, "Technical Service Bulletins"
(Finance, Warranty & Insurance Conference, Town Hall), #14 of 27, Aug. 12, 1998
" ... I have a '94 Honda Accord, which began to have a buzzing problem
at a certain rpm. I checked the TSBs and found that the exact problem was listed,
along with the corrections necessary. My dealer did the work for me for free.
Oh, the car has 72,000 miles on it." - Ed209, "Technical Service Bulletins"
(Finance, Warranty & Insurance Conference, Town Hall), #3 of 27, April 30, 1998
If you want the complete TSB
But not everyone fits the model of the faithful customer and not every dealership
service advisor is happy to discuss your concerns about your vehicle with you.
Maybe, in spite of your best efforts, the service department claims they have
been unable to find a problem. Perhaps, your vehicle has long since passed its
warranty period, and you use an independent mechanic to save money. Or perhaps,
you do all the work on your vehicle.
In these situations, owners might find it helpful to see the full text
of the technical service bulletins that cover particular vehicle problems. You see, the search engine associated with the Edmunds.com Maintenance Guide provides only titles, numbers and summaries, but dealership service departments have access to each TSB in its entirety, as it is sent to them by the manufacturer(s).
It is possible to get the full text of a TSB but you have to pay for this information. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Web site has a search authorization form, on which you enter the information you gathered from the TSB summaries (as exactly as you can). A NHTSA employee makes copies from their microfiche collection of bulletins and mails them to you. The ALLDATA site offers a more attractive option for those who want continuing access to technical service bulletins - $24.95 buys you one year of access for a single vehicle to the ALLDATA DIYtm database, which in addition to the full text of model-specific TSBs, contains diagnosis and repair procedures with diagrams, maintenance schedules, etc. The ALLDATA service can be renewed yearly for $14.95.
We uncovered another alternative for those seeking TSB bulletins. Three mechanics
started Bat Auto Technical
in July 2000 - the objective of their site is to "get mechanics and people
together," and thus "combine those who need information and those who have information
to give," site founder Tony Murray said. The Bat Auto site offers several forums,
some for vehicle owners and others just for mechanics.
Best of all, if you fill in the site's online
request form with the details of a TSB summary, Murray will gladly send you
the full text of the TSB at no charge. Donations are optional. While Bat Auto
doesn't claim to have complete bulletin holdings for every manufacturer, their
resources are rather expansive, Murray said, given that 14 mechanics (some independent,
some fleet) contribute to the site.
Murray has worked as a field mechanic for the Oregon Department of Transportation
since 1980, so the Bat Auto site is a side project, as it is for the other mechanics.
Why then, go to the trouble of providing owners with this kind of information?
"The biggest reason is that this information wasn't available," he said. "A lot
of us are fleet mechanics, and it doesn't matter to us if someone makes money
off a repair or not."
While people who take their cars to dealerships for service may be able to get
by with the information available at the NHTSA, this often does not suffice for
the large group of people who use independent shops. "Independent mechanics may
not have access to all of this information [the full text of every TSB issued
by a manufacturer], if they don't pay for continual updates," Murray said.
If you have tried to have a problem repaired numerous times, he continued, you
might take the TSB to your mechanic and say, "'Here's a service bulletin, read
it and explain to me where I should go from here.' If [consumers] find the TSB,
instead of the mechanic spending numerous hours, they will help the mechanic go
directly to the problem."
Further, as many Town Hall participants have noted, many dealerships are guarded
with the contents of service bulletins. Murray offered this example: "GM has a
special policy for vehicles with the 6.5-liter turbodiesel engine (1994-98). They
have a special warranty for the injection pumps (11 years/120,000 miles). But
[service advisors] might not tell customers.
"... [They] don't make any money off of [TSB repairs]. They are reimbursed for
only a percentage [of the actual cost] by the manufacturer.... It's like an HMO....
If a person walks in there and doesn't know about [a service bulletin], they would
just as soon not tell the customer. They're not making any money, so they would
just as soon nobody knows."
Finally, TSBs often include part numbers, which makes it easy for people to make
their own repairs and thus, save money, Murray said. After obtaining the full
TSB, owners can visit one of the forums to get advice from one of the mechanics
about how to proceed with the repair.
Bat Auto is slowly expanding a trouble
code diagnosis section - they currently have information for 15 manufacturers.
"We try to take a person step-by-step through trouble code diagnosis," Murray
said, "When the 'check engine' light comes on [in a vehicle], the computer stores
the trouble code(s). We tried to make it the easiest we could to pull the codes
and go down our list to find the description."
While such a procedure may seem unnecessarily arduous to the owner planning to
let someone else repair the vehicle, Murray maintains that retrieving the trouble
codes strengthens one's position with the mechanic or service advisor.
"This information helps [owners] learn about their vehicles.... they will know
what the problem is before going to the mechanic. This [knowledge] gives them
ammunition. They can say to the mechanic: 'Here is what my car is doing, and here
are the codes.' ... The dealership is not out to protect [unknowledgeable] consumers,
it is out to make money. If you have information, you can cover your butt. I see
a lot of people go in there without any information other than 'the "check engine"
light is on, and it is running crummy.'" Such a customer, he said, is usually
surprised to be handed a $1,500 bill - since she hadn't imagined that much
could be wrong with her car.
And for those who don't have funds for the repair, much less, money to spend at
the dealership, Murray advised: "... So do it yourself. If you're inclined, we
can walk you through it."
Of course, owners may find other ways of obtaining technical service bulletins
and other repair information - we're sure that we haven't assembled an exhaustive
list of Web sites. One thing to keep in mind, particularly if you're the owner
of a rare vehicle, is that you may be able to find enthusiast sites that attempt
to provide all relevant TSBs.
A little help from a manufacturer
If you happen to own a Hyundai, you have one further option when you need repair
information - you can visit the service Web
site run by the manufacturer. The site is accessible to the public (no login
required), and all information is free.
The Hyundai site focuses on shop manuals with troubleshooting guides and diagnostic
procedures. From the homepage, users select "Service Information" and then, "Web
Tech, " which is the database for consumers ("Web Tech Pro" is for dealership
service technicians and requires a login name and password). You cannot search
for specific TSBs, but you can search by the year, model and the area of concern
(steering, suspension, etc.) - and yes, the Web site has shop manuals for every
Hyundai ever sold in the U.S. For instance, we ran a shop manual search for a
2000 Hyundai Elantra. We selected the "Steering System" section, and then, "General,"
and then, selected the "Troubleshooting" heading. We were rewarded with
a clean, easy-to-read table with a list of problems, probable causes and remedies.
It does take a bit of work to find the information you're seeking, but we think
owners will find this site useful.
Hyundai has targeted this Web site toward all of its owners, whether they visit
the service department, use an independent mechanic or do the work themselves.
"We [expanded] our definition of a Hyundai customer to include anyone who has
an interest in driving or servicing a Hyundai product," Pete Egus, manager of
service technology, Hyundai Motor America, said. "We wanted to assist [our customers]
in diagnosing and repairing Hyundai products, whether they're doing it themselves
or [taking it to the dealership]. We wanted to knock down some the obstacles and
hurdles of being a smaller franchise."
Although the availability of this information would seem to increase the likelihood
that owners might attempt to make their own repairs, Egus said that Hyundai hopes
the Web site will strengthen owners' relations with service departments. "Whenever
you educate the customer ... the intelligent owner will realize how sophisticated
and complicated cars have become [and decide] that they need to go to a repair
station."
Hyundai has tried to ensure that its service information will be as current as
possible: "The nature of the NHTSA site is such that it takes longer to get the
information," he said. "We do nightly uploads."
Future improvements for the site include an icon-based rating system for repair
complexity (i.e., if a certain repair has five wrenches next to the description,
the customer will know immediately that this is among the most complex repairs),
and a series of brief video tutorials for do-it-yourselfers (these will explain
the parts required for a particular repair and then walk viewers through the process).
The site requires Adobe
Acrobat Reader.
Perhaps this guide won't alleviate the ongoing irritation that comes with a stubbornly
unreliable vehicle, but at least you might be able to find the full text of a
TSB that will guide you and/or your service advisor to a solution for a persistent
problem.
Related article: "The
Secret Warranty: (AKA) After Warranty Assistance (AWA)," by Neil Chirico
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