Report: 50 Million U.S. Cars Still Subject to Recalls

Matt Posky
by Matt Posky

The latest data from Carfax has indicated that roughly 50 million U.S. vehicles presumed to still be in operation still have outstanding recalls that have yet to be addressed. Though the good news is that this represents a 6 percent decline from 2021 and a meaningful 19 percent drop against 2017.

Still, the metrics may not be wholly down to better communication on the part of the manufacturer and people taking recall notices more seriously. Between 2013 and 2015, the average number of U.S. vehicles and equipment subjected to recalls per year went from 26.3 million to 83.6 million. While the annual averages have come back down since, recalls have remained substantially higher than in decades past.

This is often attributed to vehicles becoming more complicated and boasting additional features and new types of powertrains their predecessors lacked, raising the statistical likelihood that something might go wrong. There were also several truly massive global recalls that took place within the timeframe — most notably the Takata airbag scandal that resulted in over a dozen fatalities and hundreds of injuries. However, the surging figures similarly coincide with new regulatory efforts focusing on vehicle emissions. There’s hardly enough to account for the increase in its entirety, though more than enough to have helped influence the final figures.

Meanwhile, Carfax is preoccupied with how to get the word out and encourage customers to act on necessary vehicle repairs.

“The goal is to get the information out there. But why aren’t people coming in? That’s probably the hardest question to answer,” Faisal Hasan, general manager of data and public policy at Carfax, told Automotive News.

From AN:

Takata airbags and “do not drive” recalls are the most common open recalls today, Hasan said. About 67 million Takata airbag inflators have been under recall in the U.S. for several years because of a potentially lethal defect linked to at least 19 deaths and 400 injuries.

“There’s no question that the Takata airbag continues to be an issue. That continues to be really key, and folks need to pay attention to that, and they need to check their VINs,” Hasan said. “You also get a lot of ‘do not drives,’ and those are usually small sets of VINs. Those have been constant in the past couple of years.

Dealers are attempting several solutions to bring more people into the service department to get issues fixed, said Hasan.

“Consumers today are inundated with all types of emails and stuff coming to your house. We have a tendency to throw that stuff away, to delete an email,” he said.

That feels like a sound argument. If you’ve had an email account for any length of time, you’ve undoubtedly noticed it filling up with spam over the last few years. It’s getting harder to parse through the garbage to find something that may actually be relevant. Considering the increase in robocalls and text scams, the same is becoming true of phones.

One possible solution to this, according to Carfax, is to better integrate with government actors. Hasan suggested that people will be less likely to throw away mail if they “believe it is from a professional entity” (just watch me) and that the company has partnered with numerous state DMVs to help contact the affected parties.

“When you get a note, an email, anything from the DMV related to your car, your insurance company, maybe through financing the car from your bank, you’re probably going to immediately open that to see what’s going on,” Hasan said. “The more touch points we can create, good ones like those, that’s how we get people to come in and close their recalls.”

[Image: Alexander Kirch/Shutterstock]

Matt Posky
Matt Posky

A staunch consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulation. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied with the corporate world and resentful of having to wear suits everyday, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, that man has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed on the auto industry by national radio broadcasts, driven more rental cars than anyone ever should, participated in amateur rallying events, and received the requisite minimum training as sanctioned by the SCCA. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and managed to get a pizza delivery job before he was legally eligible. He later found himself driving box trucks through Manhattan, guaranteeing future sympathy for actual truckers. He continues to conduct research pertaining to the automotive sector as an independent contractor and has since moved back to his native Michigan, closer to where the cars are born. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer — stating that front and all-wheel drive vehicles cater best to his driving style.

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  • Eggsalad Eggsalad on Jun 15, 2022

    My ex's daughter had an Accord that was subject to the Takata recall. She never went, simply because she could not afford to take unpaid time off from her job. If they really want people to get these recalls, they need to do it with "concierge-level" service. They send someone to your location with a loaner, take your car and do the recall, and then bring your car back to your location. Otherwise, people can't be arsed to get it done.

    • See 3 previous
    • Art Vandelay Art Vandelay on Jun 15, 2022

      @Lorenzo When you buy $hit, don't be surprised when it stinks

  • RHD RHD on Aug 01, 2022

    AV is EBFlex under another name. We don't need that garbage here.

  • MaintenanceCosts People who don't use the parking brake when they walk away from the car deserve to have the car roll into a river.
  • 3-On-The-Tree I’m sure they are good vehicles but you can’t base that on who is buying them. Land Rovers, Bentley’ are bought by Robin Leaches’s “The Rich and Famous” but they have terrible reliability.
  • SCE to AUX The fix sounds like a bandaid. Kia's not going to address the defective shaft assemblies because it's hard and expensive - not cool.
  • Analoggrotto I am sick and tired of every little Hyundai Kia Genesis flaw being blown out of proportion. Why doesn't TTAC talk about the Tundra iForce Max problems, Toyota V35A engine problems or the Lexus 500H Hybrid problems? Here's why: education. Most of America is illiterate, as are the people who bash Hyundai Kia Genesis. Surveys conducted by credible sources have observed a high concentration of Hyundai Kia Genesis models at elite ivy league universities, you know those places where students earn degrees which earn more than $100K per year? Get with the program TTAC.
  • Analoggrotto NoooooooO!
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