Why automakers don’t fix safety problems in older vehicles
A Detroit Free Press investigation found that automakers are making little progress in fixing their oldest models with safety problems, exposing a growing and vulnerable group of drivers to unnecessary risks.
The Detroit Free Press has spent months studying one of the auto industry’s most vexing problems: the inability to get recalled cars and trucks – especially older vehicles – off the road and repaired in the United States.
Here’s what we found out:
- Because there is no government requirement for automakers to repair all potentially dangerous used cars, the annual repair rate rarely exceeds 65%—and is even lower for older vehicles.
- Even when customers have been informed about their defective vehicles, spare parts to repair problems are not always available. Sometimes no one knows immediately how to fix the problem.
- When it comes to vehicle recalls, there are no minimum requirements or deadlines for manufacturers to fix all potentially defective cars and trucks, and strict government oversight is rare.
- Despite recommendations from federal officials, industry insiders and security advocates, proposed reforms have stalled.
- Used car dealers in many places still sell potentially defective cars and trucks with open recalls, while new car dealers are prohibited by law from doing so.
- States across the country are declaring vehicles roadworthy despite unaddressed safety defects, but most of them have not participated in a federal recall awareness initiative, even though their motor vehicle authorities do not.
Some federal officials and security officials believe they have solutions to increase the repair rate. These include:
- Prohibit dealers from selling used cars with open recalls.
- Modernize recall notification beyond the U.S. Mail by mandating the use of email and SMS.
- Require that new cars and trucks come with built-in recall notification systems.
- Encourage or even require car manufacturers to use not only the dealership but also outside repair facilities for repairing recalled vehicles, such as mobile repairs, using independent repair shops, providing over-the-air software updates and setting up temporary repair facilities.
- Increase the availability of spare parts.
- Develop a national vehicle database to track whether recall issues have been resolved.
- Support federal efforts to encourage states to match vehicle identification numbers with state registration data.
- Require states to inform vehicle owners of recall status during driver’s license renewals, emissions tests, and state safety inspections. In a worst-case scenario, states could even withhold registration of vehicles with open recalls, citing a safety risk.
This report was supported by the Abrams Nieman Fellowships for local investigative journalism.M.
Do you have a question about vehicle recalls or want to share a story? Contact Matthew Dolan: 313-223-4743 or [email protected]. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @matthewsdolan
