Of the 109 million vehicles that were subject to recalls from 2013-2015, roughly 45 million have not been fixed. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has embarked on a campaign across the south from Miami to Fort Worth, Texas, to encourage vehicle owners to respond to recalls and get vehicle defects fixed.
J.D. Power recently analyzed data to understand why 40 percent of recalled vehicles aren’t taken for repairs. The firm identified four primary factors:
- Age of the vehicle. Consumers are much less likely to heed recalls for older vehicles. Recall completion rates are only 44 percent for 2003-2007 model year vehicles while it is 73 percent for 2013-2017 model year vehicles.
- Type of vehicle. Large vans have the best recall completion rate at 86 percent. Mid-premium sports cars have a completion rate of only 33 percent.
- Size of recall. The smaller the recall, the more likely it is to be completed. For recalls affecting more than one million vehicles, less than half are completed, but for recalls affecting 10,000 vehicles or fewer, 67 percent are completed.
- Type of recall. Consumers trend toward fixing components such as powertrains, electrical systems, and brakes, which all have recall completion rates of more than 60 percent. However, airbags and suspension system recalls are completed less than half the time.
You can check whether your vehicle is under recall and should be taken to a dealer to fix the defect.
At Kline & Specter, PC, our product liability lawyers have litigated multi-million dollar cases and won major victories for our clients, including a $153 million verdict against Ford Motor Co. for a family whose child was crushed by a truck with a defective parking brake and a $30 million settlement for severe injuries caused by a rear seat lap belt.
Our attorneys fight for financial compensation for our clients and concessions from the industry to make our roadways safer. Our efforts have influenced numerous safety changes for the betterment of our society.
If you or your loved one has suffered severe injuries because of a defective vehicle or product, please call the injury attorneys of Kline & Specter at 800-243-1100 for a free case consultation. We represent clients in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and across the nation.
