How vehicle safety recalls work

A safety recall is required when a vehicle or equipment has a safety-related defect or does not comply with a Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard. NHTSA's authority comes from the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966.

What counts as a safety defect

NHTSA describes a safety defect as a problem that poses an unreasonable risk to motor vehicle safety and may exist in a group of vehicles of the same design or manufacture. Its examples include steering parts that break suddenly, fuel leaks, wiring that can cause fires or loss of lighting, air bags that deploy when they should not, and software faults that disable the backup camera. Ordinary wear (brake pads, batteries, shock absorbers), cosmetic problems and excessive oil consumption are generally not treated as safety defects.

Who starts a recall

Most recalls are started by manufacturers after their own testing or field information. Others follow NHTSA investigations or, rarely, an NHTSA order. The recall records on this site show who initiated each campaign: the manufacturer, NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation, or its Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance.

The Part 573 report

A manufacturer that determines a defect or noncompliance must notify NHTSA within five business days by filing a defect and noncompliance report under 49 CFR Part 573, followed by quarterly status reports. NHTSA assigns a campaign number — the code such as 24V123000 you will see on every record. The “report received” date on this site is when NHTSA received that report.

Investigations

Complaints from owners feed NHTSA's screening. NHTSA's booklet describes five stages — data collection, data review, issue review, investigation and recall management — and says investigations are generally resolved within 18 months. There is no fixed number of complaints that triggers an investigation.

Owner notification

Manufacturers must mail owner notification letters no later than 60 days after filing the Part 573 report, to registered owners, the most recent known purchaser when the owner cannot be identified, and lessees. When parts are not yet available, an interim notice comes first and a second letter follows once the remedy is ready.

The remedy

For a vehicle, federal law lets the manufacturer repair it, replace it with an identical or reasonably equivalent vehicle, or refund the price less a reasonable allowance for depreciation — without charge, with an age limit explained in are recall repairs free?.

In the data

NHTSA's recall file currently holds 3,620 campaigns for the 368 popular models covered here (model years 2015–2027). See the newest ones.