Experience with TSB's

[drag racer]

Have only had my truck into the dealer once so far for the trailer hitch recall. Was wondering... concerning TSB's... is the dealer obligated to cover TSB's either under warranty, or out of warranty if the owner demands it?



I was reading another thread about the TSB for loose or missing exhaust manifold bolts, where they tap on two metal ties over the front and rear bolt heads to retain them. Was wondering if I could just get the parts from the dealer (for free, of course ). I hate to leave my truck at the dealer unless absolutely necessary.

 

[illflem]

A TSB is just a bulletin issued to dealers outlining known problems and their cure. The service will be covered under warranty but after that you're on your own. Recalls are the only free service after your warranty expires.

 

[HC]

The answer is: "Maybe sometimes, usually not. "

I beat my head against a brick wall on this one talking to Dodge, and found, among other things, that their process is very weak. You can't even demand and get a second opinion from a supervisor - whichever rep you get on the phone has final and absolute say to rule on whether or not they should help you with a problem. If you don't like the answer, your next step is basically to take them to court - which is a losing $$$ battle for almost every typical claim or concern. This is why having a good dealer is critical - and not enough of us have that.



On TSB's, the Dodge position is that IF you are under warranty, and IF the problem actually appears in your vehicle, and IF the problem is one covered by the warranty, THEN they will perform the TSB for free. They will NOT, I repeat NOT, perform TSB's to PREVENT a problem from showing up in your rig (unless you are willing to pay for the service). On the manifold bolt TSB, you must actually have bolts that loosened in service, or they won't add the retaining tabs. However, if you want to buy the tabs, they are relatively cheap, and it takes only about 1/2 hour of labor to PAY Dodge to perform this TSB, if you want to have it done to insure the problem never shows up. Same thing goes for any computer reflashes you read about; except that most of us stay away from those anyway unless the vehicle is obviously not running right.



I don't like the answer, but I've been through this before with Dodge and you asked!

 

[drag racer]

Thanks for sharing your experiences (yep, I asked )