What makes a service bulletin different than a recall?

[phiferpharm]

I've replaced headlights in my Ram 3 times in the past two months (same one twice) and finally figured out that it was a wiring issue when I got hacked off and smacked the headlight and it came back on. The mechanic who happened to hear me complaining about that and a few other items, said that there was a service bulletin out that the headlight pigtails needed to be replaced on the year/model of truck I have.

Long story short, the dealership said that will be $400.00 thank you very much and unlike the problem they fixed with my airbag, that was not covered like a recall. Sine I really don't want to find myself driving through the forest with no headlights and I'm not real thrilled at the prospect of trading my truck in yet, I have no choice than paying the Piper.

I'm wondering if I'm out of line thinking that
A. Why has it taken three headlights (which I'm sure were not needed), to let me know about the service bulletin, and;

B.if it's a design flaw, why am I responsible to pay for it.

As a quick note, another guy was got the same thing repaired (burned out headlight) last time he was at the dealership, and only learned about the issue when he overheard my conversation.

 

[davesl708]

I had a similar problem with an 03 Trailblazer EXT. The light sockets kept melting. The dealer wanted $300 to fix it after warranty ran out. I cut the connectors off and installed gold plated terminals in place of the. Problem solved. Ten years later they are still fine and no more getting pulled over for a headlight out. Total cost was $12.

 

[KennyG]

I assume your truck was off warranty. The warranty covers what it says it covers. There is no warranty for design errors unless they are determined to be life safety issues, in which case there is a recall. The service bulletins are just intended to make life easier for the mechanics. If there was a warranty for design errors, the lawyers would have every auto maker in bankruptcy within a year.

 

[phiferpharm]

I assume your truck was off warranty. The warranty covers what it says it covers. There is no warranty for design errors unless they are determined to be life safety issues, in which case there is a recall. The service bulletins are just intended to make life easier for the mechanics. If there was a warranty for design errors, the lawyers would have every auto maker in bankruptcy within a year.

Yup, out of warranty, although heading down the country road out to my property from town and having the lights go out sure feels like a life safety issue to me . I guess it is better for me that they at least know that stuffing a new headlight in again isn't the answer.


davesl708 also has reminded me to check with the local mechanic from now on, instead of dragging the truck into town. I'm no longer under warranty, so why get hosed at the dealership. I just don't want to have to tackle taking all the stuff off the corners to get to the headlights. Used to be they were pretty exposed, but on this truck, there is seemingly all sorts of junk vovering up the headlight area. I'm gonna take another look at it after the sun is up.

 

[Capricious]

"..What makes a service bulletin different than a recall?..."


Who pays for it.

As you already discovered.

Can you get a copy of the service bulletin? With the info as to the problem, you may be able to repair it by running some new wires yourself.

 

[LD1]

Yep, TSB's are just basically memos to dealers to help diagnostics when there have been lots of issues of the same thing.

Covered if in warranty and under warranty.

The thing that really gets under my skin is the information isnt readily available. You may be struggling with something, and find tons of people with the same issue online and lots of the "its a common problem" comments, and even references to TSB's, yet the dealer claims they have never heard of this. :banghead:

 

[PILOON]

Then (out of warranty) the quickly replace the common part that does not resolve your specific problem and refuse to re install your good part unless you pay again.
I call that shotgun mechanics.

My case was a suspension knock or tapping noise and they changed a torsion bar link that was perfectly tight. They then wanted to do all the links and bushings in a 'shot gun' approach.
The car was 1 week out of warranty!
THat dealer is on my 'black list'.

Onto recalls and service bulletins , they said that they don't contact you but that the dealer will advise you during regular service visits.

(I found one that quit the dealership out of frustration with their policies)

 

[Coyote machine]

Off road LED light bar on roof?!:thumbsup:
That would solve the problem, provide better light, and you could give the single finger salute to the dealer....
Just thinkin' out loud.:laughing:
It sux that they want to STEAL $400 for something that should be fixed free for the manufacturer using crap quality electrical parts, AND creating a definite safety issue. You could contact the HTSA Highway Transportation Safety Admin, and report the problem to them- enough complaints and they will do something like a recall. It is definitely a safety issue, INHO.

 

[3930dave]

Fairly common problem up here, with road-salt in Winter. Some OEM's choice of connectors are better than others.

BWD (Borg Warner) is one aftermarket supplier of pigtail replacement connectors. The ones I've seen are decent quality, but can be still be spendy even from BWD.

New or used connectors, it's a good idea to use dielectric grease on all of them - slows down or prevents corrosion.

Rgds, D.

 

[Capricious]

Here is a service bulletin which affected my (former) truck:

http://ww2.justanswer.com/uploads/bobover/2010-07-21_235010_cam_syncro_tsb.pdf

What isn't really mentioned in the service bulletin is that if this problem isn't caught soon enough, the
result can be an engine running without oil pressure (not running for long, that is).

Ford pay?

No way !

But at least they could better publicise the issue, since not fixing the problem destroys the engine. I caught mine just barely in time.