Some car safety recalls make headlines, but others slip under the radar, which means there’s a good chance some drivers will miss or ignore it. A recent study from CarFax found that about 18% of cars on the road are operating with an open safety recall. Check to see if yours is one of them.
In a recent press release, CarFax says they estimate about 47 million registered vehicles (out of 258.5 million) are being “driven, sold, or purchased” with open recalls, which suggests drivers are either unaware about their car’s safety issue or they’re just not doing anything about it.
CarFax reports:
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If you own an SUV or minivan, or live in Texas, Mississippi, Alaska, Utah or West Virginia, then you’re most likely to have an unfixed recall.”Our data shows there’s still much hard work to be done in addressing recalls,” said Larry Gamache, communications director at Carfax. “Many people still are unnecessarily risking their lives by not staying informed or taking action when their vehicle is under a recall. It’s one of the many reasons family-oriented vehicles, including one in four minivans, are the most-highly impacted.
Their press release says they maintain “a database comprising over 15 billion vehicle history records from more than 92,000 sources worldwide.” Other than that, they don’t offer much additional detail on their methodology for this study. However, their findings are similar to a recent report from the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) that estimated 25 percent of vehicle recalls go unrepaired.
Like CarFax, the NHTSA also has an online tool that allows you to check if your vehicle has been issued a recall (you might even uncover a “secret warranty”). You just need your VIN. Check it out at the link below.
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http://twocents.lifehacker.com/secret-warrant…
Recalls Look-up by VIN | Safercar.gov
Photo by RL GNZLZ.
Contact the author at kristin.wong@lifehacker.com.
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