Ignored vehicle safety recalls pose risk on the road
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Your car or truck could be one of millions of vehicles with safety recall problems that have not been fixed. Ignored vehicle recalls can even be found on local car lots, because thousands of manufacturer safety recalls are falling through the cracks.
"Over a third of all recalled cars aren't being fixed," said Chris Basso of CARFAX. "And many of these cars are being resold."
It's called an "open recall," where for any number of reasons, the safety recall has been ignored. People move and don't get the recall notices. The notices are mistaken for junk mail and tossed. Vehicle's change hands. CARFAX says more than one in three vehicles on the road has a recalled part that has not been fixed - and an alarming number of cars with open recalls, are being advertised for sale.
"There are no laws that say that a recall needs to be fixed or disclosed to you, by the seller." Basso explained.
To get an idea of how pervasive the problem might be. I went online and searched Craigslist for 2010 Subaru Legacy models for sale in the greater Puget Sound area. I took down the vehicle identification numbers then logged on the government recall website, SaferCars.gov. This site tells you every recall ever issued by every manufacturer.
Next step was the CARFAX open recall website. Type the VIN, and the results will show whether there are unaddressed recalls still showing for that vehicle. Some of the cars I checked had no open recalls. But with other cars, the problem parts had never been touched.
One 2010 Subaru Legacy being offered by a used car dealership had 4 open recalls; an engine cooling system problem, a recall for a steering problem, a problem with the power train manual transmission, and a visibility problem caused by a defect in the windshield wiper and washer motor. A Subaru at another used car dealer showed open recalls, even though the online ad indicated a CARFAX report had been done on the car! The dealer didn't check for open recalls.
It's a serious issue for used car buyers. According to the latest CARFAX stats for Washington state alone, there were 30,000 used cars for sale with open recalls in 2010. In 2011 the numbers jumped to 45,000. Nationwide, CARFAX estimates the number of cars being sold online with an open recall surpasses 2.7 million.
The numbers are expected be even higher this year because many people selling used cars don't bother to check the recall history.
Before buying any used car, pay for an independent inspection (yes, independently researched, selected and paid for by you) and check the VIN for open recalls. Manufacturers recalls are repaired at no cost to the consumer, provided the work is done by an authorized dealership for that make of vehicle.
And be sure to check for open recalls on your current vehicle. If you find a recall that has not been addressed, print out the information, contact an authorized dealer, and try to get it fixed as soon as possible.
