CARFAX: ONE IN FIVE U.S. VEHICLES STILL HAS AN UNFIXED SAFETY ISSUE

News provided by

Jun 07, 2022, 07:53 ET

More Than 50 Million Vehicles Need Urgent Repairs

CENTREVILLE, Va., June 7, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Even after years of heightened warnings about car safety recalls, new CARFAX data shows more than 50 million vehicles on U.S. roads today are being driven with a known issue that should be repaired. While the overall number of vehicles with an open recall is down almost 6% from 2021, tens of millions of drivers remain still at risk, even though repairs will be made at no charge to the owners.

CARFAX data shows in 2022, sedans and SUVs are the vehicles most likely to have unfixed recalls. Southern states continue to have the highest open-recall percentages including Mississippi at 24%, and Texas and Louisiana (both at 23%).

Here are the Top 10 states with the most vehicles with open recalls:

California: 5.6 million
Texas: 5.1 million
Florida: 3.1 million
New York: 1.9 million
Pennsylvania: 1.8 million
Ohio: 1.8 million
Georgia: 1.7 million
North Carolina: 1.6 million
Illinois: 1.6 million
Michigan: 1.4 million

"We are heading in the right direction when it comes to the number of open recalls on the road, but the numbers remain incredibly high" said Faisal Hasan, General Manager of Data at CARFAX. "We still have a long way to go but free recall monitoring services, such as CARFAX Car Care, are making a difference." In California, for example, there was a dramatic double-digit percent drop – 12% - in the number of open recalls. California drivers also have the highest number of registered vehicles in the CARFAX Car Care app with nearly 4 million Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) registered. Every Car Care user is notified when a new recall has been issued for any of their registered vehicles.

Nationwide, drivers have registered more than 37 million VINs in CARFAX Car Care. This free service continuously monitors vehicles for open recalls. Because recalls are issued regularly - even for older models - it's crucial that owners be aware of new federal actions.

"I recently downloaded CARFAX Car Care, and it makes everything so easy to keep track of," said Car Care user Jessica Matulavage. "I love how it automatically updates me on any recalls, so I can make sure my vehicle is safe. I didn't know my car had a recall when I bought it, but thankfully I downloaded the app soon after and was able to get the repairs I needed without any issues. I love this app – I give it 10 out of 10 stars!"

There has also been a growing effort from Departments of Motor Vehicles around the country, partnering with CARFAX and the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, to provide free supplemental recall notifications to consumers, including during a consumer's registration, renewal, or inspection processes.

Recall repairs can often be completed in only an hour or two, and most repairs take far less than a day. Federal law requires that all recall work be completed at no charge to owners. Owners can check whether their vehicle has an open recall for free at: www.carfax.com/recall/

About CARFAX

CARFAX, part of S&P Global Mobility, helps millions of people every day confidently shop, buy, service and sell used cars with innovative solutions powered by CARFAX vehicle history information. The expert in vehicle history since 1984, CARFAX provides exclusive services like CARFAX Used Car Listings, CARFAX Car Care, CARFAX History-Based Value and the flagship CARFAX® Vehicle History Report™ to consumers and the automotive industry. CARFAX owns the world's largest vehicle history database and is nationally recognized as a top workplace by The Washington Post and Glassdoor.com. Shop, Buy, Service, Sell – Show me the CARFAX™.

S&P Global Mobility is a division of S&P Global (NYSE: SPGI). S&P Global is the world's foremost provider of credit ratings, benchmarks, analytics and workflow solutions in the global capital, commodity and automotive markets.

SOURCE CARFAX