Recent visits to the website of ALLDATA have turned up a surprising notice when trying to access TSB (Technical Service Bulletin) information on Honda and Acura automobiles. The text of the notice reads as follows:
"American Honda Motor Company has requested ALLDATA to deny access to Acura and Honda repair information. Effective immediately you will not be able to register for access to Acura or Honda vehicle repair information, technical service bulletins or recalls.
ALLDATA is currently negotiating with the manufacturer to resume providing this information. At this time we cannot estimate when this will occur. Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience this may have caused you."
While we have not been able to get an official response from Honda yet, VTEC.net did contact ALLDATA and spoke with a representative. This representative indicated that Honda/Acura has indicated to ALLDATA that they no longer wish to have their TSB's made available to the public or to independent service facilities through ALLDATA. ALLDATA currently contracts with auto manufacturers to provide this data for a fee.
When asked to elaborate on the situation, the ALLDATA rep explained that this is an increasingly common practice in the auto industry, with such notables and Mercedes Benz and Audi restricting access to this information. According to the representative, Audi does not provide any TSB access except over their intranet and only when a car is hooked up for diagnostics. However, VTEC.net sources identified the Audi/Volkswagen site, http://tech.vw.com as providing service bulletins going back several years. Whether there is additional information that is not provided is unknown.
The ALLDATA rep also referenced a television interview given by Ms. Katrina Rapton, of Rapton Honda in Sacramento approximately 6 months ago. While VTEC.net was not able to obtain a copy or transcript of this interview, the rep indicated that Ms. Rapton attempted to explain why TSB information should be restricted, but in his opinion did a poor job (as one would expect). If anyone knows which television station or program aired this interview, please contact shawn@vtec.net immediately.
California law may have something to say about this issue as well, since it prohibits manufacturers from requiring car owners to have emissions related service done only at the dealer.
While we still await an official explanation from American Honda/Acura, we at VTEC.net, based upon the information received to date, must caution auto manufacturers to avoid depriving consumers and independent service providers of TSB information. For those of us who choose to work on our cars, and pay close attention to their conditions, knowing the specifics of TSB's allows us to be educated customers when visiting the dealer for service issues. Those who choose to have their vehicles serviced at independent Honda shops may be forced to visit a dealer, with potentially higher service prices, to get certain work done under warranty or TSB if the information isn't available to independents.
In the end, denying consumers and independent repair shops access to TSBs can do only harm to the consumer. VTEC.net sincerely hopes that, if ALLDATA will not be allowed to publish the information, Honda will provide TSB information free of charge in a public forum.
We at VTEC.net invite commentary from Honda, ALLDATA or other interested parties, which we will publish in unedited form. ALLDATA has listed the following contact information for those wishing to express their opinions directly to Honda:
American Honda Motor Co., Inc.
P. O. Box 2206
700 Van Ness Ave.
Torrance, CA 90501
Honda: 800-999-1009
Acura: 800-382-2238
We encourage everyone to contact Honda and politely and rationally explain why you like having TSBs available to you. Discussions of this issue can also be found on the VTEC.net general discussion forum.