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Technical Service Bulletin question

While surfing edmunds.com web page, I got to a point where they have Technical Service Bulltin. I copied a couple of cases below for my questions.

  1. What are exactly these tehnical service bulletin? I presume these are issues by manufacturer based on consumer report and/or their -manufacturer's- own findings. But, are these mandatory service applicable to all cars indicated, or only something mechanics should keep on eye on?
  2. Are NHTSA number and Bulletin Bumber something I can use to follow on, like, if I want to find out how widespread is the problem? If so, where can I go to do so?

Thanks.

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Component Description:

  1. POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION NHTSA Number: 350687 Bulletin Number: 010730030 Bulletin Date: OCT 2001 Vehicle: 2002 Chevrolet Prizm

Summary: INFORMATION REGARDING DIAGNOSTIC INFORMATION ON HARSH 1-2 UPSHIFT.

2001-2002 PASSENGER CARS AND LIGHT DUTY TRUCKS. *YH

Component Description:

  1. POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION NHTSA Number: 350024 Bulletin Number: 151001 Bulletin Date: OCT 2001 Vehicle: 2002 Chevrolet Prizm Summary: INFORMATION ON CAR AND LIGHT DUTY TRUCKS EQUIPPED WITH 4L60E AND 4L65E AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSIONS EXHIBITING DIAGNOSTIC TROUBLE CODE P0756 FOR
2-3 SHIFT VALVE PERFORMANCE THAT IS SET WHEN THE PCM DETECTS A 4-3, 3-4 SHIFT PATTERN. *TT
Reply to
grunt100
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None of the above. They are service procedures for the dealership mechanics to use if a car comes in exhibiting the specific symptoms described in the bulletin. Consider them addendums to the factory service manual.

They are not recalls. They are not free. As the owner of the car, if there is an applicable TSB that describes your problem, you should take it as an indication that they might recognize the problem and know how to fix it.

Reply to
E. Meyer

TSBs actually can be a lot of different things. They can be based on a manufacturer's own findings, dealer reports and consumer problems. Often they alert dealerships to potential problems and outline repair methods. Sometimes they are information-only - an update on a repair procedure, for example. Some may do nothing more than remind technicians to use a torque wrench when tightening lugnuts, for example.

TSBs are not the same as safety recalls. Though this may have been the case in the past, TSBs do not indicate a warranty extension to cover a specific problem. However, if your warranty is expired and you have a TSB pointing to a specific problem, you might be able to persuade the manufacturer to give you "goodwill" money to pay for all or part of the required repair.

You can find summaries of TSBs on the NHTSA web site. But I don't know of any way to determine the extent of a problem covered by a TSB.

Reply to
Anthony Giorgianni

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