Report: 'Hundreds' Of Recalled New Vehicles Sold Without Prior Repairs

Cameron Aubernon
by Cameron Aubernon

In an investigative segment on ABC’s “Good Morning America” Thursday, ABC News purchased a vehicle under recall from a dealer who had not repaired it.

Automotive News reports the vehicle, a 2014 Chevrolet Silverado, was purchased by an undercover producer from Hawthorne Chevrolet in Hawthorne, N.J. The truck was under recall for a potential risk of rolling away while the transmission was in neutral, as well as the possibility for the transfer case to switch to neutral while being driven, leading to loss of power and an increased crash risk.

The recall, issued in June 2014, affected 467,000 2014 and 2015 Chevrolet and GMC Silverados, Suburbans, Tahoes, Sierras, Yukons and Yukon XLs. Per General Motors, 86 percent of the trucks and SUVs — 402,000 units — have been repaired thus far. The Silverado purchased by ABC News was not among them, however, in violation of federal law that requires dealerships to repair vehicles with a safety defect, including those under recall, prior to delivery.

GM representative Alan Adler said his employer spoke with Hawthorne after the segment aired, stating that no disciplinary action is planned. Adler added that while the incident occurred at a Chevrolet dealership with a GM product, such incidents aren’t exclusive to the automaker. ABC confirmed this in its report, having found “hundreds” of new cars from various manufacturers in New York and New Jersey that were under recall, but were not repaired prior to sale.

Cameron Aubernon
Cameron Aubernon

Seattle-based writer, blogger, and photographer for many a publication. Born in Louisville. Raised in Kansas. Where I lay my head is home.

More by Cameron Aubernon

Comments
Join the conversation
6 of 14 comments
  • Ruggles Ruggles on Mar 20, 2015

    This is a dirty little secret. BUT how many vehicles are sold by private owners with unrepaired recalls? Some recalls are really minor. Some aren't. As an aside, one of the biggest drivers of recalls or new car dealers who raise holy hell with their OEM when they find a consistent pattern of defect on a particular vehicle. Ask yourself how that might play out with all of the sales points being factory stores.

  • Silverbird Silverbird on Mar 20, 2015

    Why wouldn't a dealer want to fix the recalls? Like when a customer brings in a car for recall repair, this is guaranteed work for the repair shop billable back to the OEM. Basically free money. Even get to schedule it at your own convenience (unless there is a second owner already lined up)

  • SCE to AUX SCE to AUX on Mar 20, 2015

    When my son and I bought his used 2011 Sonata in August 2013, near the end of signing the papers I casually asked whether the warranty work had been performed on the car (this was a Hyundai dealer). They promptly checked, and discovered that none of the FOUR recalls on the vehicle had been performed - at least two of them were safety-related, one was emissions. Since this dealer was inconveniently an hour away from home, we scheduled the work with our local Hyundai dealer, who cheerfully performed all the work in a day after they had the parts. This experience taught me to ask this question for ANY car purchase - even brand new. But it's not one the dealer/salesman wants to answer, especially if their prep involved nothing more than detailing and a 20% markup over trade-in.

  • Higheriq Higheriq on Mar 23, 2015

    And in other news, the sun came up this morning and the earth is still round.

Next