It’s tough enough when your vehicle is suffering from a recurring problem. When you find out later that the manufacturer knew about it, while you were taking your car in for several unsuccessful fixes, that can be even more frustrating. Fortunately, a lemon law attorney can make sense of this for you. When you take advantage of a lemon law lawyer’s free consultation, you can present your evidence of your vehicle’s defect. The attorney can review this, and compare it to known issues the manufacturer has communicated to dealers (more on that, in a moment).
We’re going to look at some of the complexities involved with Technical Service Bulletins (TSBs), and how they can potentially help prove that your vehicle is a lemon. While not the same as recalls, nor complete proof that your car is a lemon in and of themselves, TSBs can be an important part of the evidence in a lemon law case.
The attorney follows a process when working with clients on lemon law cases, and we’ll see how TSBs can play a part in supporting your claim.
First: Determining if Your Vehicle is a Lemon
What needs to happen first is determining if your vehicle is a lemon. When you consult with a lemon law attorney, they will ask you to describe the vehicle’s problem, and to provide evidence to support your claim. Your vehicle maintenance and repair records will establish the care you gave the vehicle, and the times you’ve taken it in for repairs (if any, yet).
The attorney will determine, per state law, if your vehicle can qualify as a lemon. After reviewing your evidence, one of the next things the lawyer will do will be to find out if the manufacturer has already communicated to its dealers about such a defect. This is where checking TSBs comes into play.
What is a Technical Service Bulletin (TSB)?
Usually, TSBs are not issued for major safety problems, but for performance-related or reliability issues. What happens is the manufacturer becomes aware of an issue that some of its vehicles have exhibited. The manufacturer communicates with its dealers, directing them about the preferred fix to provide for this vehicle problem.
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The manufacturer usually doesn’t widely announce to consumers that the issue is a problem because it isn’t supposedly a safety hazard. In other words, the manufacturer decides that the issue in question will be dealt with within the dealer network, on a case-by-case basis, and not broadcast to the public at large. This saves the manufacturer money, keeps publicity down, and overall is a way to deal with the problem only when some consumers bring it up.
How are TSBs Used by Attorneys?
With everything we just discussed in mind, let’s imagine a client who is meeting with their lemon law attorney. The client’s vehicle is exhibiting a problem. It may qualify the vehicle (per state law) as a lemon. The attorney reviews the client’s evidence (particularly repair records). Then, the lawyer decides to check various sources (the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration website; vehicle manufacturer and dealer websites, among other resources) for TSBs that can support the client’s claim.
TSBs Can Point to Previous Manufacturer Knowledge of a Problem
If the attorney finds a TSB that fits with the client’s claim (say the client has a recurring, substantial transmission problem, such as delayed and rough shifting), then this TSB will point to the fact that the manufacturer already knew that the issue existed. The client wasn’t notified; the client’s vehicle kept having problems, and the client took it into the dealer (for the sake of our example, we’ll say 3 times) and the dealer couldn’t fix it. So, now we have a substantial, persistent defect. In addition to that, we have a TSB showing that the manufacturer issued a communication to dealers about this very problem. Therefore, the TSB shows that the issue is a known problem, admitted to by the manufacturers themselves.
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In light of these points, the attorney now has a stronger case to potentially gain compensation for the client through a settlement, arbitration or taking the manufacturer to court.
The lemon law lawyer can use the TSB as leverage, because if the manufacturer knew about this problem, and the fix that dealers were told to apply didn’t work, then this establishes evidence that the vehicle problem is not fixable.
Please be advised: Even with a TSB as part of the evidence to support a client’s lemon law claim, the presence of a TSB doesn’t automatically qualify a vehicle as a lemon. It also doesn’t automatically mean the client’s lemon law case will succeed vs. the manufacturer. A TSB is one piece of evidence. The attorney needs to prove multiple points, including: that the vehicle defect is substantial, persistent, and unfixable.
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How Else Can TSBs Help Consumers Win Cases vs. Manufacturers?
Consumers are often unaware of these TSBs, as they are mostly disclosed from the manufacturer to dealers. This can lead to what’s called a “secret warranty,” where a dealer will repair a problem related to a TSB, should a consumer find out about it, but the manufacturer won’t necessarily advertise that the vehicle issue exists. In some cases, an attorney can help enforce a repair even after the manufacturer’s warranty expires, by using the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, to hold the manufacturer responsible for fixing a known defect.
How a Lemon Law Attorney’s Expertise Benefits You
The Role of the TSB
As we’ve seen, the lemon law attorney’s expertise is key in building the case to prove that the vehicle’s substantial defect may qualify the car or truck as a lemon. Then, the attorney continues to gather and review supporting evidence to support the client’s claim. One way this is done is through checking TSBs to see if the manufacturer was already aware of the problem. If the manufacturer did indeed send a TSB to its dealers and the dealers tried applying the recommended fix to the client’s car, and the defect persisted, this is further evidence to back up the client’s lemon law claim.
Lemon laws are confusing. Read our guide to the lemon law complaint process.
Proving the Claim Requires Multiple Types of Evidence
The cumulative effect of repair records, photos, videos, emails, phone call records and more evidence, combined with expert testimony, TSBs and other data, can potentially prove that a vehicle is exhibiting a substantial, unfixable defect. A lemon law attorney’s thoroughness will allow them to dig deep and bring all the evidence to bear, to provide the client with the best opportunity to gain compensation for their defective vehicle.
Allen Stewart, P.C. Provides the Expert Lemon Law Representation You Need
Wondering about what to do next with your malfunctioning vehicle? Take advantage of Allen Stewart, P.C.’s free case review. Consult our attorneys and find out if your car or truck’s defect can qualify the vehicle as a lemon. Discover how our experienced lemon law lawyers can represent you so you have the best chance to win your case. We have won lemon law compensation for clients across the US, and are well-known attorneys in California, New York, and Texas.
Did you know that it costs nothing out of pocket to hire our lemon law attorneys? State and federal law provide that the manufacturer is responsible for your legal fees when you win your lemon law case. Since there is no cost to you, and our initial consultation is also free, we encourage you to schedule your appointment today by calling Allen Stewart, P.C. at 866-440-2460 or contact us online.