Bulletins, TSB’s, LSC, TJ, whatever they want to call them, have the same requirements as a normal warranty. We have seen so many different and creative technician comments when it comes to technical bulletins.

Here is an example:

Customer states- "Noise from left front of vehicle".

First of all, this really doesn’t give your tech any helpful information from the customer on how to duplicate the concern.  Go back to basics: to where, how often, what type of noise, and under what conditions.

Now the technician statement- "Found TSB to lube struts".

This particular TSB states to:

1. Use chassis ears or equivalent during a test drive at 40mph to isolate a rattle noise from strut mount.
2. If the rattle is present, apply lubricant to the length of the strut shaft that contacts the jounce bumper.
3. If the rattle is not present this bulletin does not apply.

What the manufacturer is looking for in comments is that you test drove with chassis ears and the rattle is present from the left and right strut.  Apply lube to strut shaft as per TSB 12345.  Also remember, if you test drove it you are going to need test drive miles and state that you did a post-repair test drive.

Here is another one we ran into this week:

The warranty administrator was running straight time for a repair for brakes because that is what the technician said he did. For those tech comments, there was no labor operation. She was paying him the .4 he had punched. We started digging around because the dealer was so high in straight time. What we found is that there was a bulletin for what he did but did not refer to it. There was a bulletin labor operation that paid .7. So he was actually shorting himself and getting the dealerships numbers high.

The tech, at this point, said that the warranty administrator should have known there was a TSB for this. Remember, administrators have to rely on techs to tell us about the vehicle, the repair, and available information. It is just like a medical transcriber, she doesn’t know how to do surgery. She can only rely on what the doctor tells her. She didn’t go to medical school, he did. Everyone needs to take responsibility for their part in the process so that everyone can win.

Here are the rules:

1. State that you verified the concern. What steps were taken to verify? What were the results? 
2. After initial diagnosis, use current resources to see if any bulletins or current repair procedures apply. State the bulletin or procedure number in your tech comments to assist your coder, administrator or booker. 
3. If there is a dividing option, such as if you get this, do that, then you need to state what you got and what you did. 
4. What did you replace or repair? Then note: "as per TSB_______."

If this kind of thing is a problem in your dealership you might be ready for some Tech, Advisor, Admin, and Management warranty training. Contact us so we can help you eliminate these mistakes and minimize your exposure.