What is TSB?

[Icepuck72]

First of all, after driving my '04 Runner around for a while, I've been smelling a sulfur smell. So, I did the right thing and searched this forum for a half an hour and am deciding that I'll have to live with it....

I keep seeing this TSB thing, and can't find anything on it....What is it??

Sorry for the newb question.

 

[GMZ]

A TSB is a Technical Service Bulletin. THey put one out when there is a known but not widespread issue. Usually when they dont want to do a recall on it. It is covered under your warranty.

 

[sketch1]

TSB stands for Technical Service Bulletin (I believe) and basically it is just a memo from Toyota to the dealers that says this problem has arisen, this is how you fix it, be aware, etc. Your dealer should know about this TSB and if they don't they might just be playing dumb.

You can find information on the TSB here http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/problems/tsb/tsbsearch.cfm

 

[toto]

It's important to note that TSB's are not recalls, so your dealer isn't obligated to perform work for all applicable TSB's for your car unless the car is exhibiting the problem/symptoms the TSB specifically addresses.

Work done for TSB's is covered by either the 3/36 bumper-to-bumper warranty, or in rare cases, the 5/50 powertrain warranty. If your warranty has expired, you would have to pay to have the work done.

Here's another good link for TSB's:
http://www.alldata.com/tsb/index.html
Rather than a list of titles, it's a collection of full TSB documents. But they only keep the last 6 months' worth online, so you need to keep an eye on it.

Frankly, I don't know why dealers like to "play stupid" and act like they've never heard of the issues covered by TSB's. If the work is covered by the warranty, Toyota will pay them full book rate to get the job done. It's actually the best kind of work - free to the customer and fully paid by the manufacturer!

 

[Icepuck72]

Duh....thanks everyone....:bash:

Well, should I go to my dealer and let them know about the sulfur smell?? Or should I just leave it alone? I wasn't sure if this TSB would work if enough people would complain about it then they would be forced to do a recall....

 

[qballjr13]

Duh....thanks everyone....:bash:

Well, should I go to my dealer and let them know about the sulfur smell?? Or should I just leave it alone? I wasn't sure if this TSB would work if enough people would complain about it then they would be forced to do a recall....

I had to complain twice but they fixed it for me, replaced the cat...no more stink!

 

[toto]

They still haven't done any sort of recall for the driveshaft "clunk"... I'm sure the sulfur smell would be a lot farther down the list. But certainly feel free to take it up with your dealer on an individual basis - several members have gotten rid of the smell.

 

[Koz]

TSB = :bs:

Koz