Car Repair for the Female Consumer- Part 5: Continuing to Document the Unrepaired Defect

Step 5: Continuing to Document the Unrepaired Defect

If the defect is not fixed, call the dealer right back and make another appointment. In the meantime, continue to document the defect in your defect diary, and in photographs or videos.

You may also want to go online to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration ("NHTSA") website to search for any service bulletins, safety recalls, defect investigations, or consumer complaints that are similar to the defect or defects which you are experiencing.


A service bulletin is a manufacturer’s repair for a known defect in a vehicle line which is issued to the manufacturer’s authorized dealers. 

A safety recall is a notice issued to a consumer by a manufacturer for repair of a safety defect in a particular line of vehicles. Consumer complaints can be initiated by other consumers to NHTSA regarding a defect or problem that the consumer is having with their vehicle. 

A defect investigation is initiated by NHTSA when it receives repeated consumer complaints regarding the same defect or problem which is considered a safety risk.

Once you are on the NHTSA website, you can search by year, make, and model of vehicle, or make a consumer complaint.

Beth Wells

www.BurdgeLaw.com

Helping Consumers Get Rid of Lemons, 9 Years Running