California Code of Regulations › Title 16 - Professional and Vocational Regulations › Division 33 - Bureau of Automotive Repair › Chapter 1 - Automotive Repair Dealers and Official Stations and Adjusters › Article 8 - Accepted Trade Standards › Section 3361.1 - Automatic Transmissions

Current through Register 2024 Notice Reg. No. 28, July 12, 2024
The following minimum requirements specifying accepted
					 trade standards for good and workmanlike rebuilding of automatic transmissions
					 are intended to define terms that have caused confusion to the public and
					 unfair competition within the automotive repair industry. The term "automatic
					 transmission" shall also apply to the automatic transmission portion of
					 transaxles for the purposes of this regulation, unless both the automatic
					 transmission portion and the differential portion of the transaxle share a
					 common oil supply, in which case the term "automatic transmission" shall apply
					 to both portions of the transaxle. These minimum requirements shall not be used
					 to promote the sale of "rebuilt" automatic transmissions when a less extensive
					 and/or less costly repair is desired by the customer. Any automotive repair
					 dealer who represents to customers that the following sections require the
					 rebuilding of automatic transmissions is subject to the sanctions prescribed by
					 the Automotive Repair Act. All automotive repair dealers engaged in the repair,
					 sale, or installation of automatic transmissions in vehicles covered under the
					 Act shall be subject to the following minimum requirements:
(a) Before an automatic transmission is
				  removed from a motor vehicle for purposes of repair or rebuilding, it shall be
				  inspected. Such inspection shall determine whether or not the replacement or
				  adjustment of any external part or parts will correct the specific malfunction
				  of the automatic transmission. In the case of an electronically controlled
				  automatic transmission, this inspection shall include a diagnostic check,
				  including the retrieval of any diagnostic trouble codes, of the electronic
				  control module that controls the operation of the transmission. If minor
				  service and/or replacement or adjustment of any external part or parts and/or
				  of companion units can reasonably be expected to correct the specific
				  malfunction of the automatic transmission, then prior to removal of the
				  automatic transmission from the vehicle, the customer shall be informed of that
				  fact as required by Section
				  3353 of these regulations. Before
				  removing an automatic transmission from a motor vehicle, the dealer shall also
				  comply with the provisions of section
				  3353(c), and
				  disclose any applicable guarantee or warranty as provided in sections
				  3375,
				  3376 and
				  3377 of these regulations. If a
				  diagnostic check of an electronic control module cannot be completed due to the
				  condition of the transmission, the customer shall be informed of that fact and
				  a notation shall be made on the estimate, in accordance with Section
				  3353 of these
				  regulations.
(b) When the word
				  "exchanged" is used to describe an automatic transmission, it shall mean that
				  the automatic transmission is not the customer's unit that was removed from the
				  customer's vehicle. Whenever the word "exchanged" is used to describe an
				  automatic transmission, it shall be accompanied by a word or descriptive term
				  such as "new," "used," rebuilt," "remanufactured," "reconditioned," or
				  "overhauled," or by an expression of like meaning.
(c) Any automotive repair dealer that
				  advertises or performs, directly or through a sublet contractor, automatic
				  transmission work and uses the words "exchanged," "rebuilt," "remanufactured,"
				  "reconditioned," or "overhauled," or any expression of like meaning, to
				  describe an automatic transmission in any form of advertising or on a written
				  estimate or invoice shall only do so when all of the following work has been
				  done since the transmission was last used:
(1)
				  All internal and external parts, including case and housing, have been
				  thoroughly cleaned and inspected.
(2) The valve body has been disassembled and
				  thoroughly cleaned and inspected unless otherwise specified by the
				  manufacturer.
(3) All bands have
				  been replaced with new or relined bands.
(4) All the following parts have been
				  replaced with new parts:
(A) Lined friction
				  plates
(B) Internal and external
				  seals including seals that are bonded to metal parts
(C) All sealing rings
(D) Gaskets
(E) Organic media disposable type filters (if
				  the transmission is so equipped)
(5) All impaired, defective, or substantially
				  worn parts not mentioned above have been restored to a sound condition or
				  replaced with new, rebuilt, or unimpaired parts. All measuring and adjusting of
				  such parts has been performed as necessary.
(6) The transmission's electronic components,
				  if so equipped, have been inspected and found to be functioning properly or
				  have been replaced with new, rebuilt, or unimpaired components that function
				  properly.
(7) The torque converter
				  has been inspected and serviced in accordance with subsection (d) of this
				  regulation.