Car Recall Center
What is a recall?
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) oversees safety recalls of motor vehicles as well as tires, child safety seats, and other items of motor vehicle equipment. When one of these products experiences a safety-related defect or is not compliant with a Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS), NHTSA is charged with ensuring public safety.
Although almost all recalls are undertaken voluntarily by manufacturers, they may be strongly encouraged by NHTSA as part of an ongoing safety defect investigation, or advocated for by individuals or consumer groups who can petition NHTSA to open an investigation into a particular defect. Rarely, NHTSA will order an automaker or other supplier to conduct a recall. For a weekly update of the newest recalls, follow our #RecallRoundup via Twitter or Facebook.
Does my car have a recall?
Select your vehicle and see what safety issues it has.
Latest Auto Recall News
Volkswagen Emissions Defeat Devices Violate EPA Emissions Rules
VW is a recidivist emission control violator using defeat devices to turn off emission controls used only in emission testing. Under former Administrator Bill Ruckelshaus, EPA warned VW in 1972 about defeat devices and then sued it in 1973 when VW failed to heed the warning. VW paid a $120,000 fine and promised to comply with the Clean Air Act in the future. So much for promises to obey the law. The only way to change auto company behavior is to put the responsible executives in jail.
AutoNation grounds vehicles under recall
9/6/15
AutoNation Inc. will no longer sell any vehicle, used or new, with an open safety recall.
The new policy will be costly, AutoNation CEO Mike Jackson says, but it’s the right thing to do for customers. Jackson declined to estimate the expense but noted that 5 to 10 percent of AutoNation’s inventory would be deemed unsellable at any given time under the new policy.
CAS Statement on NHTSA $105 Million Fine of Fiat Chrysler for Violations of Federal Recall Laws
July 27, 2015
Fiat Chrysler Record Fine is Poster Child of Inadequate Enforcement Authority
NHTSA Policy Memo on Responding to Defect Petitions Within 120 Days
Click here to view: NHTSA Policy Memo on Responding to Defect Petitions Within 120 Days – 5/15/78
NHTSA blocks former chief from Toyota testimony
Washington — The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration blocked the agency’s former chief from testifying as a witness for Toyota Motor Corp. in a California civil suit, saying it could put the agency at risk.
In a July 1 letter obtained by The Detroit News, a NHTSA lawyer told former Administrator David Strickland that he could not testify in a class-action lawsuit against Toyota. The case involves Toyota’s Smart Key push-button ignition system, and whether it violates a federal regulation designed to prevent theft and roll-away risk.