Is it an air bag recall notice....or a rip-off?
That's what one woman wants to know, after receiving an urgent notice about her car in the mail.
Waiting For Recall Notice
Linda Pieper says her Toyota RAV4 is a great car.
But she is waiting to hear from Toyota about an air bag replacement. So she perked up when a notice arrived in the mail the other day.
"We received this Technical Service Bulletin, and it identified this 2011 Toyota, which we have, and it said it needed service immediately," she said. It sounded urgent.
"There is a Technical Service Bulletin associated with this vehicle. Please deliver to registered owner," the card said.
She figured it meant that her RAV4 was now among the 33 million vehicles with potentially dangerous Takata airbags.
"I knew there was an air bag recall, and not knowing if that was associated with that at all I looked into it a little bit," she said.
What it Really Wants
But rather than calling the toll free number, she called her dealer.
"I don't know if this is real or not," she told the service manager.
Good thing she called.
The service manager told her the card had nothing to do with her car's air bag, but rather was an offer to buy an extended warranty, most likely at a cost of over $1,000.
It's not a scam: The company is a legitimate warranty company, and has a "B" rating from the Better Business Bureau..
But Pieper wonders how many people are calling the toll free number, thinking it is recall related.
"I thought I'd better warn other people, at least give them a chance to look into it."
Linda wants others to know you won't have to pay anything to have your air bag replaced. It may be months before you receive a notice, but there won't be a charge.
Click hereto learn more about how to find out if your car is on the recall list.
As always, don't waste your money.
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