Technical Service Bulletins are recommendations issued by vehicle manufacturers to the mechanics who work on them. They indicate the common causes of problems that might be reported for certain vehicles. It’s easy for consumers to become confused between Technical Service Bulletins (TSBs) and Recalls, as both involve written communication about vehicle repair issues, but recalls are specific to vehicle problems associated with safety, as determined by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Vehicle recalls are repaired at no cost to the vehicle owner under lemon law statutes, while owners are usually required to pay for repairs that are described by a Technical Service Bulletin unless its covered under warranty.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) posts information about service bulletins, safety recalls, and defect investigations on their website, www.nhtsa.gov, including a way to search for bulletins or recalls by make and model. The site also reports crash and rollover ratings, child car seat rating and recalls, current legislation under consideration, and studies related to vehicle and driver safety.

“It’s good for consumers to develop awareness about the service issues relating to their specific vehicles, and to be proactive in learning about safety recalls for their make and model,” says Pennsylvania Lemon Law attorney David Gorberg. “Awareness and prevention on the part of the consumer can mean the difference between identifying a potentially disruptive or even dangerous issue with your vehicle before it becomes a problem and finding out after an accident or loss of vehicle use.”