Recall vs TSB

To premise this thread I have seen many misguided, misunderstood, or misinformation posts and statements regarding a TSB and a Recall. My background is in the automotive industry so I have a little insight into the differences. I searched and could not find a thread about this on here so thought I would get the message out.

First lets start by defining these 2 terms

Recall- Issued by a manufacturer to a vehicle owner for a safety issue or other concern. These are fixed by the manufacturer at no cost to the customer.

TSB- or Technical Service Bulletin. These are just memos or Bulletins to say hey there is a common problem with whatever issue here are some things to check for and here is the common problem and common repair. This does not always mean that this will be the repair proper diagnosis still needs to be preformed.

Now some of the information I have seen is people saying that a manufacturer has to fix x,y,z because there is a TSB that is completely false. TSBs can be issued years after the car has been built. TSBs are used throughout the repair industry by dealerships and independent shops alike. An independent shop can fix your vehicle for a TSB. An independent shop may not fix your vehicle for a recall only a dealer and a dealer should not sell recall parts to an independent shop for a vehicle that has an open recall for said problem. Now can a dealer choose to fix your vehicle for free for a TSB if it is out of warranty sure they can. But that is the difference it's the dealer making that choice not the manufacturer. If you are a solid customer to the dealer usually they will help you out and work with you on TSB work especially if you bring them your vehicle for all the maint. have bought the vehicle from them or multiple vehicles. A lot of TSBs come from technicians raising awareness to the manufacturer and not from the manufacturer itself. If your vehicle is under warranty if there is a problem and it is listed in a TSB like anything else the dealer should handle the repair at no charge.

In 1966 is when the Recall laws came into affect to protect the consumers and force manufacturers to not try and scapegoat out of fixing the safety issue. Here is a link to the law if you care to read it. There are no federal mandates requiring TSBs.

http://uscode.house.gov/statutes/pl/89/563.pdf

 

There are also service campaigns that are somewhere between a TSB and a recall. Things like the 3.0 head gasket were handled as a campaign where if you took it to the dealer with the issue they would perform the repair at no cost.