See all Motoring AdviceIf you've browsed our Used Buying Guides, then it's likely that you've come across mention of vehicle recalls when it comes to a car's reliability. But what are they? Here we explain everything.
A recall is a safety-related campaign that focuses on a specific make and model of car where there could be a potential risk of component failure that could lead to damage or an accident. These are released in the European Union by Safety Gate, a central resource that issues alerts on products ranging from cars to toys, jewellery, electrical appliances, motorcycles and much more.
Safety Gate is reliant on car manufacturers highlighting potential issues with their cars, which they themselves will come across through spot checks and regularly scheduled maintenance on cars bought by consumers. If a fault is found, then the manufacturer will issue a recall notice, which will be shared with Safety Gate to ensure that it is distributed to all regions.
What happens in a recall?
Manufacturers will issue the recall notice with information about the fault at hand and what is needed to rectify the issue. The recall will also give a time scale in terms of when affected cars were built, while vehicle identity numbers (VIN) will be used to ensure that all cars that are part of the recall are checked.
The manufacturer will use vehicle registration databases to send a letter to the registered keeper of a vehicle to inform them of recall work that may be needed, and how urgent the recall is. Most of the time, a Safety Recall is issued, and while this means that a car needs to be checked for defects, it's still fine to drive. While some recalls are more urgent than others, often if a car is subject to a Safety Recall, then the remedial work can be conducted when the car is serviced.
A higher level of warning is a Stop Drive Recall. This does exactly as it says and requires the vehicle owner to not use their car because of the potential hazard that may arise from the fault that has been found. However, these recalls are exceedingly rare.
Going back to the Safety Recall, it's estimated that there are around 30 recalls issued every month in Europe for cars to be inspected by dealers for potential safety issues. The good news is that these recalls are paid for by the manufacturer involved, because it's a safety related issue that needs to be fixed, so there is nothing for the consumer to pay to get a car checked and fixed under a recall.
What cars can be recalled?
The other key point is that vehicle recalls aren't limited in age or range, so cars that have been out of production for more than a decade can still be recalled, while manufacturers from Dacia to Ferrari can be impacted by recalls.
As an example, there has been a recall issued for millions of cars from a broad range of manufacturers that were fitted with faulty airbags sourced from one supplier. The resulting recalls cover cars built in the 2000s to the 2010s, and the scope of the recall has covered the EU, the Americas and Asia.
How do I know if a used car has been fixed in a recall?
The central Safety Gate EU database logs all recall notices, and manufacturers have an obligation to ensure that all cars affected, whether it's a years' worth of models, or even just two or three cars from one production run, are repaired.
If a used car is being sold via a dealer network, then it should have the recall work carried out before it's sold, but with private sales it will be trickier to find out if any such work has been done. However, if you approach a manufacturer with the car’s VIN, then they should be able to tell you if there is any outstanding recall work needed on a vehicle.
There are online resources that offer information on recalls, too. The website car-recalls.eu is a searchable resource that extracts vehicle information from the Safety Recall website, so it's filtered out from all the other recalls for non-motoring products. In addition, it sources recall information from the German Motor Transport Authority, various sources in the USA, and the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) in the UK (formerly known as VOSA).
What if my car has a recall notice?
While it should be acceptable to still drive a car even if a Safety Recall has been issued, we would advise to get it checked as soon as possible at a franchise dealer. There will be no cost to you to get the car inspected and checked over – because it's a safety related recall, the manufacturer will foot the bill.
Safety Recalls will often put a car manufacturer out of pocket in an effort to get an issue rectified, but the alternative to this is even more expensive legal fees and compensation payments if a safety issue is ignored and subsequently causes death or severe injury to the public.