Over the past two years, 113 million vehicles have been recalled by manufacturers. According to consumerreports.org, that’s approximately one of every four cars on the road being recalled. This does not mean cars are any less safe than in the past; in fact, industry experts feel that cars are safer than ever before. It’s just that detection systems are now extremely advanced and defects are picked up much more quickly and easily.
This should all be great news for the consumer, except … not all drivers are taking the recalls seriously. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) as many as 25 percent of car owners do not respond to a recall. You, the consumer must do your part by participating fully in recalls, which are always free safety fixes.
“If you receive a letter from your manufacturer, we strongly encourage you to respond immediately and schedule your repair promptly,” said Sharon MacEachern, AVP, Operations Manager for Greylock Insurance.
MacEachern said that regardless if your car seems to be running fine or the repair seems minor, ignoring the recall could put you and your passengers in harm’s way.
It’s also tremendously important to understand from the manufacturer whether or not your vehicle is safe to drive until the repair is completed. In some cases, the risk of injury will be far too great and you will need to bring the car in immediately. This is exactly the case with one of the most widespread recalls to date: Takata Airbags.
As early as November 2014, the New York Times published a report claiming Takata was aware of dangerous defects with its airbags years before the company filed paperwork with federal regulators. Shortly thereafter recalls of vehicles with these airbags expanded to a national level. Since then, almost 30 million airbags have been recalled and it’s estimated that another 35 million to 40 million Takata airbag inflators will be recalled and replaced through 2019.
Click below to read the full article:
iBerkshires.com