During the last two days this week, we’ve been talking about recalls and technical bulletins as things that all drivers need to know when bringing their car to a shop, and a means to reduce repair expenses. Recalls and TSBs, however, are two different things.
RECALL:
This is issued by a manufacturer either voluntarily or due to a demand from the NHTSA. The latter is usually issued when the problem is deemed to affect the safety of the car occupants while the former is issued as determined by the manufacturer. When a recall is made, you would have to bring your car to the dealer to have it repaired.
TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN:
TSBs are similar to recalls for the reason that they are also issued by manufacturers and they also concern problems reported by consumers. Only, this bulletin is drawn primarily as a guide to dealerships and auto mechanics in performing common repairs—contrary to recalls, whose main aim is to ask owners to bring their car to the dealership for a fix to the problem. TSBs only serve as guides to make diagnosis of problems easy, especially problems that are a headache to diagnose.
COST DIFFERENCE:
The biggest difference (and the most relevant) between the two is in terms of cost. Whereas a recall automatically means the repair to be done is free of charge (or reimbursable), this is not always the case with a TSB. If your car is still under warranty, then the repair cost is free. But, in case it’s already out of warranty, then you’d have to pay for the repair. The only benefit you’ll get here (aside from avoiding more serious problems and accidents because you’re informed), is that you won’t have to deal with too long a diagnosis because you and the mechanic will know what to do at once.
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