Difference between service bulletin & recall??

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08PathPounder
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Difference between service bulletin & recall??

Postby 08PathPounder » Tue Mar 03, 2015 4:02 pm

Well the title says it pretty well. I apologize for not knowing but this is my first car from a dealer. I paid for it out right also got 3 yr /36000 mile warranty. I'm wondering if they are responsible for fixing SB if somthing came up
Example: my Evap canister leak


skinny2
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Postby skinny2 » Tue Mar 03, 2015 5:20 pm

Bulletins are issued for tons of reasons and they're just a reference to the techs. I've seen them that issued about availability of parts, floor mat placement issues, or actual mechanical problems that are known or possible on certain VINS. They're sometimes a good indicator or common problems and if a customer complains about an issue while under warranty, then they would likely diagnose it and correct it per the TSB. But they're under no obligation to correct it outside of warranty more than any other problem. Sometimes you'll see more goodwill offered on those kinds of issues though.

Recalls are issued for safety related items and they're fixed for free regardless of the who/what/when/where.

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smj999smj
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Postby smj999smj » Tue Mar 03, 2015 8:10 pm

Well, I would just add that safety recalls, especially those forced by the NHTSA, would mean a repair is covered for free. There are also "voluntary recalls" that are sometimes issued by a manufacturer. These recalls are started by the manufacturer under their own doing and may or may not be safety related and may have limitations, especially as far as time. Some of Nissan's "voluntary recalls" include the 96-97 Pathfinder Quality Assurance Campaign and the Fuel Injection Campaign released for the Z31's/U11 Maximas/200SX-V6's.

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AZ_Path
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Re: Difference between service bulletin & recall??

Postby AZ_Path » Wed Mar 04, 2015 9:15 am

Regarding service bulletins, maybe you can help me out smj since you worked for a dealer. A while back someone on here told me that the dealer is likely not to appreciate it when you come in with a service bulletin in hand suspecting that it is the likely cause of an issue with your vehicle. I really couldn't understand why as to me it seemed like potentially helpful information that could resolve the issue and minimize the dealers time diagnosing the problem. What is your opinion about this?
08PathPounder wrote:I paid for it out right also got 3 yr /36000 mile warranty. I'm wondering if they are responsible for fixing SB if somthing came up
Example: my Evap canister leak
Is your warranty through the dealer or a 3rd party unrelated to the dealer?

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eieio
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Re: Difference between service bulletin & recall??

Postby eieio » Wed Mar 04, 2015 10:32 am

AZ_Path wrote:Regarding service bulletins, maybe you can help me out smj since you worked for a dealer. A while back someone on here told me that the dealer is likely not to appreciate it when you come in with a service bulletin in hand suspecting that it is the likely cause of an issue with your vehicle. I really couldn't understand why as to me it seemed like potentially helpful information that could resolve the issue and minimize the dealers time diagnosing the problem. What is your opinion about this?
08PathPounder wrote:I paid for it out right also got 3 yr /36000 mile warranty. I'm wondering if they are responsible for fixing SB if somthing came up
Example: my Evap canister leak
Is your warranty through the dealer or a 3rd party unrelated to the dealer?
too many people march into a dealership with a service bulletin in hand demanding a repair at no charge
this can be is irritating, because their lack of understanding of what a bulletin is for makes them think it is a recall campaign (EVERYTHING IS A RECALL CAMPAIGN :roll: :) )
some dealerships get very defensive about it (and sometimes the service departments are so clueless, or unaware of the bulletin, that they get defensive because the customer is better informed than they are)
sometimes it's kind of a "I know what I'm doing and I don't need your help or suggestions" (narrow minded macho thing)
i never minded when people brought in their research
as it gave me an opportunity to educate them on the actual meaning of those things (and it was often refreshing that they were involved enough to do the research and learn something about whatever the issue with the vehicle was)

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Postby skinny2 » Wed Mar 04, 2015 10:48 am

I can remember as a kid reading all the TSB's that came to my grandpas house. He owned dealerships and for some reason Dodge mailed copies of TSB's to his house. This was mid-late 80's so it wasn't like you could just jump on the google and find anything and everything. There was a lot of knowledge in those envelopes!

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AZ_Path
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Re: Difference between service bulletin & recall??

Postby AZ_Path » Wed Mar 04, 2015 11:21 am

eieio wrote:sometimes it's kind of a "I know what I'm doing and I don't need your help or suggestions" (narrow minded macho thing)
I think this has a lot to do with it because the conversation with the service adviser was very polite. I didn't make demands. I tried to describe the symptoms as best I could and suggested that the problem may be related to the TSB. One person even told me that he didn't know where I got the TSB from, but that it shouldn't be in my possession. :?

I figured they get a lot of customers who aren't able to explain their problem very well so I thought they might appreciate an educated customer. Unfortunately that was not the case.

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AZ_Path
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Postby AZ_Path » Wed Mar 04, 2015 11:23 am

skinny2 wrote:I can remember as a kid reading all the TSB's that came to my grandpas house. He owned dealerships and for some reason Dodge mailed copies of TSB's to his house. This was mid-late 80's so it wasn't like you could just jump on the google and find anything and everything. There was a lot of knowledge in those envelopes!
Did that scare you away from ever wanting to own a Dodge? :lol:

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Postby skinny2 » Wed Mar 04, 2015 11:33 am

AZ_Path wrote: Did that scare you away from ever wanting to own a Dodge? :lol:
Nope, I've owned quite a few actually. The GM cars of that era seemed to be far worse, at least listening to my grandpa complain about them.

Most of the TSB's seemed to be silly things. I recall one being about the availability of certain colors of floor mats! I saved some that had to do with Vipers but I'm not sure where they are these days.


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