Car Recalls – What they are and why not ignore it

CAR RECALLS – UK RULES

“DVSA(Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency) is the competent authority for automotive safety issues in the UK, and it has a specific team, the Vehicle Safety Branch (VSB), responsible for this work. This is the main contact for all safety defect and recalls matters.

Safety Recall – The action taken when a defect is identified which meets the definition of a safety defect – as described below – that could result in a risk of serious injury

Safety Defect – A safety-related defect is a failure due to design and/or construction, which is likely to affect the safe operation of the product without prior warning to the user and may pose a significant risk to the driver, occupants and others. This defect will be common to a number of products that have been sold for use in the United Kingdom. If such a defect occurred, it could cause significant risk of serious injury or death and cannot normally be identified by routine maintenance or obvious changes to the normal handling or performance of the vehicle that the driver continues to ignore. It is a sudden and catastrophic failure of a component that occurs with little or no warning to the driver to enable preventative action to be taken.” – extracted from the Manufacturers’ Guide to Recalls in the UK Automotive Sector.

 WHY A CAR RECALL?

As part of the vehicle safety recall programme, around one million vehicles are recalled yearly to fix various problems, ranging from minor defects such as defective headlights and windscreen wipers to more serious problems such as safety checks or repairs. Most recall concerns brakes and fuel, airbags, steering and fire hazards.

Although car manufacturers are responsible for informing owners of recalls, there is a potential communication gap when a vehicle has been sold to a new owner. The next owner may not receive the recall notification. Therefore, it is crucial that car owners check for themselves whether their vehicle is subject to a recall.

Car recalls are an important step for vehicle safety, and it is essential to make sure you are aware of any recalls that may be issued for your vehicle. Safety should always be the top priority; ignoring a car recall could put you and your passengers at risk of an accident and might also invalidate your insurance.

WARNING:

The government website specifies: “

You’re legally responsible for making sure that your vehicle is:

• kept in a safe condition
• safe to drive whenever you drive it

If you do not get your vehicle inspected and fixed, you could:

• affect any insurance claim you make
• put yourself and others at serious risk

You can be fined up to £2,500, be banned from driving and get 3 penalty points for driving a vehicle in a dangerous condition.”

Vehicle recall check UK

Typically, car manufacturers send letters in the event of one or more safety recalls for a particular car model. These letters provide information on the types of recalls and what you must do, and how to do it.

“Any work carried out under the recall will be free of charge.”(Manufacturers’ Guide to Recalls in the UK Automotive Sector)

Dealers may sell a car with an unresolved recall as long as they consider it to be ‘used’. However, if you buy a new car, the dealer cannot sell it if it has an open recall.

If you have never received a safety recall letter or purchased a used vehicle, you can easily verify if any recalls have been issued for your car. Doing so can ensure that your car is up-to-date with the latest safety standards and that any potential issues have been addressed.

You can check for recalls in several ways:

• on the car manufacturer’s website using the vehicle identification number (VIN);

• on this government website page, using the registration number, you can view:

  1. safety recalls that have not been checked or fixed;
  2. the car’s MOT history.
  
  
• or, on this government website page, you can check for safety recalls for a specific car make and model without needing the registration number.

CAR RECALL STATISTICS UK

In the past two decades, Vauxhall, BMW, and Toyota have emerged as the leading car manufacturers regarding the frequency of car recalls. An examination of data from gov.uk conducted by Hippo Leasing reveals that the Vauxhall Astra holds the worst record for the highest number of recalls among car models, with 636,066 models recalled.

Conclusion

Despite the frustration they can cause, car recalls play a crucial role in ensuring safety. Even if it seems to you that everything is OK with your car, if it has a recall, you absolutely must take it to the main dealer for the necessary repairs.

These repairs are totally free of charge, and there is no point in not doing them. Leaving aside the potential penalties of fines and licence points, if you ignore a recall, you put yourself, your passengers and other vehicles on the road in serious danger.

Is it worth it? Definitely not!