What constitutes a recall.....

[Duffyjr]

I was browsing around over on a Buick forum when I ran into a few threads of fuel relay and fuel pump issues and eventually seen a SB issued for the Lucerne (and DTS).

It appears this went on for a while before someone figured out the back seat bracket was hitting the fuel pump relay in the fuse box when someone would sit in the back seat which caused a bad connection which led to the relay over heating and ruining the fuel pump and melting the fusebox.

Apparently this is not bad enough for a recall?

Is this not a design issue or what would you call it?

http://revbase.com/BBBMotor/TSb/DownloadPdf?id=195503

 

[wdn]

That is not a recall it is a technical service bulletin for dealerships. A recall is the manufacturer issues new parts and must notify owners by US mail. What you are looking at involves dealer mechanics marking parts with a Sharpie paint marker and then cutting off metal with an angle grinder.

 

[doitmyself]

The link below describes the difference between 1) mandatory recall, 2) voluntary recall, and 3) technical service bulletin. Recalls are mostly safety related and somewhere, somebody determines if the issues might cause an accident that might harm or kill people. https://www.thoughtco.com/motor-vehicle-recalls-vs-technical-service-bulletin-4083749

Edmunds also used to describe what was called a secret warranty. It seemed like a dealer would/could do mfg. paid, out of warranty repairs IF the customer was aware of the hidden warranty and requested it. https://www.autosafety.org/secret-warranties/

 

[Pelican]

A manufacturer will institute a recall ONLY when a safety issue comes up. All other defects come under TSB heading

 

[StevieC]

Shouldn't this be a safety recall?

Eg: Turning left against traffic and the fuel pump stops pumping. BANG, accident because the car dies.

 

[Duffyjr]

Originally Posted by StevieC
Shouldn't this be a safety recall?

Eg: Turning left against traffic and the fuel pump stops pumping. BANG, accident because the car dies.


I would sure think so, driving at 70 on the interstate at rush hour and all of a sudden my fuel pump decides to stop delivering fuel to the engine.

doitmyself - thanks for the links.

 

[PimTac]

Originally Posted by StevieC
Shouldn't this be a safety recall?

Eg: Turning left against traffic and the fuel pump stops pumping. BANG, accident because the car dies.




The old slant sixes did the same thing decades ago. It was a feature of Chrysler.

 

[StevieC]

The slant sixes were bullet proof otherwise and went forever. My dad had an old Dodge van and he put a gazillion miles on it before the timing chain let go. He ran it on Propane.

 

[CharBaby]

Safety & Emissions

 

[Uphill_Both_Ways]

Originally Posted by StevieC
Shouldn't this be a safety recall?

Eg: Turning left against traffic and the fuel pump stops pumping. BANG, accident because the car dies.
My '64 Studebaker had a secret yearning to be a Spitfire.

It couldn't stall by flipping over end to end like a Merlin-engine Spitfire (come to think of it, I guess it would), but it did on quick-ish right turns. It was the carb, same as the Spitfire.

Eventually it was recalled — by the big disassembly line in the sky.

 

[bdcardinal]

I just had a customer question the marital status of my parents yesterday after I told him that recalls do in fact expire. He wanted me to hand him an intake manifold for his 2000 Town Car because at one time there was a recall to update them to the aluminum crossover. In fact it was a warranty extension that put coverage on the part out to 7 years from initial sale date. I was hosed on that one with my 98 Mustang GT, missed getting it covered by about a month before I worked here. We also get older vehicles in where the recall parts are obsolete from Ford so it cannot be performed.

 

[DweezilAZ]

Originally Posted by PimTac
Originally Posted by StevieC
Shouldn't this be a safety recall?

Eg: Turning left against traffic and the fuel pump stops pumping. BANG, accident because the car dies.




The old slant sixes did the same thing decades ago. It was a feature of Chrysler.

In the early 70s that was a common feature of many cars due to the primitive smog controls.