When second time’s the charm
The last thing you’d expect while driving a new car is for it to accelerate without warning or for the brakes to fail, but that’s exactly what happens every year to thousands of drivers that directly experience a safety-related defect. Despite advanced electronic systems and precision engineering (or maybe as a result of it), cars routinely suffer from defects that flew under the radar of testing engineers and safety inspectors.

Car recalls are either voluntarily initiated by the manufacturer or mandated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) as a result of consumer complaints regarding a defect that poses a safety hazard. Defects such as a malfunctioning air conditioning or a cheap radio that, while annoying, do not pose a safety risk are addressed through consumer groups, directly with the manufacturer or dealer, or through the Federal Trade Commission.

If the ODI confirms a defect and determines that it poses a safety risk to the driver or public, the manufacturer may issue a voluntary recall or the agency will order the manufacturer to recall the car or car part. When a car or car part is recalled, the manufacturer must repair, refund, or replace the defect at no cost to the consumer.

Manufacturers acquire owner contact information through State motor vehicle offices to and notify them of the recall via first class mail. However, the NHTSA allows manufacturers to restrict their contact efforts to states or regions where the defect is most likely to pose a safety risk. For example, the NHTSA allows manufacturers to target states with certain weather characteristics, such as hot or cold climates that may exacerbate a defect in a car. This means that if you purchased your car in Washington, a state that is often excluded from manufacturer recalls, and move to New Jersey, a state that is noted for cold winters and uses salt on its roads, you would not receive a recall notice if a rust-related defect is found.

While the process for finding car owners is fairly straightforward, manufacturers of car equipment such as tires, windshield wipers, and carseats have a more difficult time reaching their customers. Remember that product registration card that came with the carseat that you threw away? That registration form isn’t used just to send you unsolicited junk mail; it’s also how manufacturers get in touch with customers when there is a safety recall for an item. But if somehow you accidentally recycled the registration form before you had a chance to fill it out, there are other ways to learn of car product recalls. In a recall equipment manufacturers are required to advertise their recalls with in-store displays or media campaigns in an attempt to notify their consumers, and you can also search the recall database at http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/.

Recall notices contain information on the safety defect, details potential safety hazards, and instructs the owner on the process to repair the defect at no cost to them. Safety recalls apply to vehicles less than 10 years old from the time of its first purchase. If you have already fixed a defect before the manufacturer recall, you may be eligible for reimbursement if the defect was repaired within a certain timeframe from the date the NHTSA started their Engineering Analysis of a defect and the date the manufacturer sends the last of the owner defect notice.

If you would like to file a complaint or you believe that your car is affected by a recall but you haven’t received a notice, contact the HSTSA at 1-888-327-4236 or look at the recall database online at
http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/.