Getting the word out about vehicle recalls

Automakers, government agencies want to see more repairs made

DETROIT – Vehicle recalls are regularly in the news, warning of inadvertent air bag deployments, faulty door latches, even risks of fire — not to mention the ongoing Takata air bag recall that dwarfs all others.

But the steady stream of recalls masks the fact that about 30 percent of recalled vehicles remain unrepaired on America’s roads, according to federal statistics.

Last year was a record for U.S. vehicle recalls — more than 53 million in 927 separate recalls — but those numbers are only the latest, with the total number of recalls increasing in each year back to 2011, when the number stood at 13.6 million, according to information from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

There are numerous reasons recalled vehicles go unrepaired even though getting them fixed does not cost the vehicle owner. These range from perceptions about the severity of the recall to a lack of available parts — some dealers also sell used cars with open recalls — but often vehicle owners might simply not know their vehicle is under recall.

“The greatest challenge is making contact with the current owner of the vehicle. Vehicles may change hands many times over their life cycle,” said Mark Chernoby, chief technical compliance officer for Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, which is involved in two different programs to notify vehicle owners about recalls.

FCA recently announced it is working with repair estimate company CCC Information Services to notify owners of FCA vehicles involved in the Takata recall when they bring the vehicles in to collision repair shops.

So far, 56,000 have been identified. CCC Information Services says it also is working with Honda on a similar program. The Takata recall involves 19 automakers and affects 42 million vehicles.

With notification being such a key roadblock in the recall process, a logical starting point for resolving the issue would seem to be the agency with the most information about what people drive, namely each state’s department of motor vehicles.

Only one state — Maryland — applied for a U.S. Department of Transportation grant to notify consumers of open recalls when they register their vehicles.

Starting in April, the Maryland Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Administration, with assistance from Cox Automotive, will launch its two-year pilot program, thanks to a $222,300 federal grant announced last month.

Alex Epstein, senior director of digital strategy and content for the nonprofit National Safety Council, said Kentucky and Florida are developing their own campaigns related to recall notification, although details have not been released.