Just over a year ago, I had the transmission on my Honda Accord fail during a trip to San Jose. At the dealership there, a very helpful person punched some keys on his computer and discovered that there was a service bulletin on this very problem. It was a known issue with certain models of Honda Accord transmissions failing in this way, and for that reason, the warranty on my Accord's transmission was extended to seven years. I got a new transmission for free.

Does anyone know if this type of information is accessible to Joe Internet User? Is there a central repository of automotive service bulletins and recalls that I can search and browse?

There is www.alldata.com but that's a pay service.

http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov only shows summaries, not the detailed text.

Any other suggestions?

J D Powers website?

It's funny, I just got done dropping my JD Power survey in the mail, just minutes ago.

JD Power is great for rating the reliability of cars, but I don't see anything on their web site that offers detailed lists of manufacturer's service bulletins.

The ".gov" site I listed above seems to be the closest thing available to what I'm looking for. I only wish it showed more details than just a summary of the service bulletin.

You can try these two links unless you have already tried them. Im not sure what all info you are looking for though?

This one only does 1998 to present with alot of info:
http://www.safetyalerts.com/rcls/category/auto.htm

This is Canada's recall info, might be better than US!:
http://www.tc.gc.ca/roadsafety/recalls/search2_e.asp

Thanks for those links. They are good links and are useful, but not exactly what I was looking for right at the moment. Those list recalls... I was specifically looking for service bulletins, which is a much less severe thing than a recall.

Hrm. Not sure about Hondas. I know Subaru provides them via techinfo.subaru.com. I think they even have an email service for it... not sure though. When i brought my WRX in for the 15k last week, turns out there was a service bulletin on the cruise control. They had to add a clip that would prevent it from getting locked on.

Wow, that's a nice service. I tried at Honda's web site. They have a section called "owner link" where you log in with a user name and password and feed it your VIN and everything. It's pretty nice, but they only give recall info there, not service bulletins. They should take a cue from Subaru.

$25 isn't too bad for what you get. The only alternative that I could think of was the CD version of the Bentley manual, as that would include TSBs and an online update. Unfortunately they run about $100 and aren't available for the Accord.

The only other suggestion that I have would be to ask this question on a Honda specific forum as someone there may have an obscure link that isn't widely known.

You are aware that if you request them from your dealer, they're required by law to make them available (in dead tree form, presumably)?

Interesting. Didn't know that. Not interested in dead trees of course.

You are aware that if you request them from your dealer, they're required by law to make them available (in dead tree form, presumably)?

That's assuming that they even know about them. My '86 Volvo 240 had a hard second gear upshift problem since it was new, and it's been to the dealer a few times about it. About six years since new, I found a service bullertin on how to fix it that came out when the car was new, so I printed it out and brought it to the dealer, whom had never seen it (so they claimed).

Chrysler and Chevy service reps both can look them up right at the counter. The problem is, it's like searching on the web. There's no finding anything, if you don't put the right terms in. I doubt there are many service reps who actually take the time to read every bulletin that appears. It would be nice if they did.