Set your clocks back, check for vehicle safety recalls

As we set our clocks back an hour this weekend, it’s a good time to check for any open safety recalls on your vehicle. Just as changing your smoke detector batteries protects you and your family, so does checking for and repairing safety recalls.

Recall repairs are FREE at your automaker’s local dealership. If you have an open recall, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration urges you to call your dealership immediately to schedule your free repair.

Despite recall notices and public warnings, some vehicle and vehicle equipment recalls are never repaired.

In 2019, there were 966 safety recalls af fecting more than 53 million vehicles and items of motor vehicle equipment in the United States. Several large, highprofile recalls of vehicles and equipment highlight the importance of repairing a recall immediately:

Tens of millions of Takata air bags, the largest recall in U.S. histor y,

More than 1.7 million Harbor Freight jack stands, which could collapse and injure people around or underneath a vehicle, and

More than 2.1 million Denso fuel pumps, which could fail and result in a stall that causes a crash.

While not all recalls are high profile, all recalls are important. Don’t risk your safety, that of your loved ones, or others on the road by failing to address any open vehicle or equipment recall. Protect yourself and your family.

How to Check for Recalls

• Use NHTSA’S Recalls Lookup Tool to check your Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) for any open recalls, including Takata recalls.

• Download our Safercar app and let it check automatically for you.

• If your vehicle does have a recall, call your automaker’s local dealer to schedule the free repair.

• Sign up at NHTSA.GOV/ Alerts to be notified by email if your vehicle is affected by a future recall.

If you think your vehicle may have a safety defect that isn’t part of a current recall, contact NHTSA. Contact NHTSA online or by calling the agency’s Vehicle Safety Hotline at 888-3274236, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET.

Keep yourself, your family, and your neighbors safe by checking for vehicle safety recalls and getting any open recalls fixed for free. For more information, visit Nhtsa.gov/recalls.