From Reuters.com
Factbox: Where to find auto service bulletins
DETROIT (Reuters) – Automakers provide notice of recalls involving cars, SUVs or pickup trucks to their owners, but drivers may not know whether their vehicles are covered by one of the thousands of “technical service bulletins” filed each year with U.S. safety regulators or where to find them.
Following are some facts about technical service bulletins, or TSBs, and where vehicle owners might find them.
* A technical service bulletin is a repair notice aimed at dealers and mechanics directing repairs for a range of issues not deemed safety risks. Safety risks require a vehicle recall under the formal system administered by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
* Manufacturers are required to submit all TSBs and related correspondence to U.S. safety regulators. NHTSA posts summaries on the www.safercar.gov website. Several car companies and consumer advocates provide access to bulletins on websites.
Factbox: Toyota’s U.S. recalls rose with fast growth
DETROIT (Reuters) – Toyota Motor Corp’s displaced Ford Motor Co as No. 2 in the U.S. market in 2007, and the following year it unseated General Motors Co as the world’s largest automaker.
But barely a year after overtaking GM, Toyota was launching the first of its damaging recalls that would involve more than 5 million vehicles in the United States — almost three times the number of U.S. vehicles that Toyota sold in 2009.
Tragedy tops most popular list
Tragedy, folk dancing and one mammoth-sized dog were among the story lines that grabbed your attention in a week that also saw high drama in Congress — or maybe that was low drama. In either case, here are five of the most popular picks for the week.
1. Orca kills SeaWorld trainer
Dawn Brancheau, a trainer with 16 years experience at SeaWorld in Florida, was killed when a killer whale grabbed her by the waist, thrashed her about and took her underwater. Brancheau, 40, was patting the Orca’s head at the time. A follow-up story provided more clues to the tragic tale. Astonishingly, the same whale had reportedly been involved in deadly incidents in the past.
