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Auto Recalls Hit A Four-Year Low Last Year, But Still Exceed Units Sold

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It seems that hardly a week went by during 2017 without a vehicular recall campaign being initiated for safety related issues. The first recalls – from Honda and Land Rover – were issued on January 3, while the final campaign of the year – of Alfa Romeo models – was announced on December 28.

And yet, the total number of automotive recalls fell to 30.7 million units last year, which is the fewest number of models taken back by their makers for needed inspections and repairs since 2013, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. By comparison, 17.6 million new vehicles were sold during 2017, which means the industry still recalled around 74% more cars and trucks than it delivered to consumers.

Still, that represents a considerable drop over 2016’s campaigns, which affected a record 53 million models, with a large number of them credited to the ongoing Takata airbag debacle.

And the ending has yet to be written to that story. With the Takata recall already said to eventually affect more than 65 million air bags in 42 million vehicles from 19 separate automakers, another 3.3 million frontal air-bag inflators installed in assorted 2009, 2010 and 2013 vehicle models were just added to the list, which easily makes it the biggest recall campaign in history.

Is your vehicle the subject of a recall? Be sure to log onto NHTSA’s website at SaferCar.gov to see if there’s any open recalls for your particular year, make, and model – searchable by VIN (vehicle identification number) and proceed accordingly. In the meantime, here’s a look back at some of the biggest non-Takata-related automotive recall campaigns of 2017:

  • Ford F-150 pickup trucks; around 1.1 million from 2015-2017 recalled for faulty door latch systems.
  • Honda Accord; over 1.1 million units from 2013-2016 on notice for possible battery short-circuit issues.
  • Ram 1500/2500 from 2013-2016 and Ram 3500 models from 2014-2016; over 1 million standard and heavy-duty pickup trucks affected for possible disengagement of rollover sensors that would prevent head curtain airbag and seatbelt pre-tensioner deployment.
  • Hyundai Sonata; nearly 1 million 2011-2014 units brought back for possibly faulty front seat-belt linkages.
  • BMW 3 Series; electrical wiring issues affecting nearly 673,000 sedans, coupes, wagons, and convertibles from the 2006-2011 model years.
  • Hyundai Santa Fe Sport and Sonata; 572,000 SUVs and sedans from 2013-2014 with possible lubrication problems.
  • Honda Odyssey; nearly 900,000 2011-2017 modes recalled for suspect second-row seat latches.

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