NADA Statement on New NHTSA Search Tool for Vehicle Recalls

McLEAN, Va., Aug. 20, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In response to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's new Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) look-up tool for vehicle recall information, Forrest McConnell, chairman of the National Automobile Dealers Association and a Honda/Acura dealer in Montgomery, Ala., issued the following statement:

"The new online look-up tool will help new-car dealerships identify whether a used car or light truck has an unremedied safety recall prior to making a purchase or taking in a trade. It will also help dealerships to determine whether used vehicles in inventory are under recall and to provide used-car shoppers with useful safety recall information.

"To improve vehicle safety, NADA urges every car owner who receives a recall notice from a manufacturer to visit his or her local new-car dealership to have the vehicle inspected, and if necessary, fixed at no charge. Historically, less than 70 percent of all recalled vehicles get fixed. Our goal is to see 100 percent of those vehicles remedied."

Dealers and consumers can access the new tool from NHTSA at www.safercar.gov.

BACKGROUND: In 2012, Congress passed legislation – supported by NADA – which instructed NHTSA to create a new, VIN-searchable database for consumers and dealers to determine whether a vehicle is under open recall.

About NADA
NADA represents 16,000 new-car and -truck dealerships with about 32,000 domestic and international franchises. For more information, visit www.nada.org.

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SOURCE National Automobile Dealers Association