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Hi folks. I Maintain my own cars, a 1995 Saturn, and a 1988 Honda. I've found TSB's for these cars are quite helpful in troubleshooting / repairing my vehicles.

I found a really good free database here: TSB Database. But it's a commercial link that requires registration. I read the beginning of the external link policy, and this seems more like a reference thing. Anyway I'm super new to editing Wikipedia, but I'm happy to learn how things work.

Daavem (talk) 18:59, 16 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

I tacked three paragraphs to the end of the sole paragraph already in the main article. This made it look awkward, and these paragraph should be smoothly merged into the first paragraph and the entire article migrated to a separate automotive section.

Other notes:

The automotive TSB repair process was not always widely known by the layperson. Often California dealers would merely repair a TSB-related problem with the benefit of the TSB's company-wide guidance but still bill the owner at a normal repair rate, without disclosing the TSB. The very existence of a TSB could be construed by the owner as a sign that there was something inherently wrong in the design or manufacture of the car and maybe make him feel that the charges weren't justified or that he had a substandard vehicle. Many dealers would not mention the TSB but followed a practice of not charging or giving a discount to owners who broached it. Other companies and dealers actively notified owners of known maintenance issues.

With small repair garages, if it didn't know about the TSB, an owner with the TSB and its valid number would possibly even help the mechanic do a better repair, in addition to getting a discount. An owner's chances of getting such a break would be better if the work was done at the dealer, if the warranty was still good, if the dealer considered it beneficial to support this as a good will gesture, if the customer had a good working relationship with the dealer treated the dealership staff civilly.

A database of old TSBs by which consumers can look up maintenance data on a certain year, make, and model he's considering buying can help him assess an older car's value and quality. Somewhat like a consumer review, a TSB on a used car can be a great shopper's tool -- a formal, documented repair process for a known problem.

TSBs are more manufacturer-generated, while "recalls" are driven more by external forces like litigation and negotiated mandates from the NHTSA, theoretically based on a finite number of safety-related complaints they receive.

Technical Service Bulletins exist outside the auto industry, e.g., parachutes, heaters, etc..

DonL (talk) 09:19, 8 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]