Updated May 2023:
Did you know that in 2014, there were almost 64 million vehicles recalled due to safety issues?! According to NHTSA, the amount of vehicles recalled in 2014 outnumbered the past three years combined. To add to this, in 2014 there were over 100 deaths nationally due to vehicle malfunctions.
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Recently, both General Motors (GM) and Honda had major vehicle recalls. GM recalled 1.6 million vehicles due to faulty engine switches. Honda, on the other hand, recalled 34 million vehicles in the U.S. and an additional 7 million worldwide due to faulty airbags.
In 2021, in Florida alone, 1,093 vehicle safety recalls affected 22.8 million vehicles. The highest number in a single year! Nationwide, in 2022, there were 932 vehicle safety recalls affecting more than 30.8 million vehicles in the United States.
The RECALL Act
The RECALL Act, also known as the Repairing Every Car to Avoid Lost Lives Act, was proposed by two United States Senators and works to ensure that State agencies:
- Are in compliance with safety recall requirements through whichever agency is responsible for motor vehicle registrations
- Will notify motor vehicle owners of all recalls by certain deadlines dependent on the varied vehicle registration cycles.
States that are not in compliance with safety recall requirements may have 5% of their federal highway funds withheld by the Secretary of Transportation if the bill passes.
The RECALL Act also requires that vehicle owners who have been informed by their state of residence that a recall for their vehicle is underway, have the necessary repairs made before the registration can be renewed. However, there are exceptions to this rule if:
- The owner of the vehicle did not receive proper notification from the state of the recall to allow them enough time to have the issue fixed before their registration expires.
- The manufacture of the motor vehicle has not provided the owner a fair opportunity to finish the recall repairs due to a shortage in parts or qualified technicians to complete the work required.
- The owner of the vehicle can successfully show the state that there is a valid reason as to why they didn’t have a reasonable opportunity to get all the recall repairs completed in which case they would be provided a temporary, 60 day tag.
What Should You Do if You Receive a Recall Notification?
If the RECALL Act passes and your vehicle has been recalled, you would receive a notification from your state’s DMV, RMV, tax collector, or other agency in charge of motor vehicle registrations. You would need to contact your local dealership right away to set up a time to get your vehicle repaired. It would also be essential that you follow any interim safety instructions provided by the vehicle’s manufacture. Under the RECALL Act, you would not be able to renew your motor vehicle registration if your recalled vehicle has not been properly repaired.
When you have the recalled area(s) of your vehicle repaired at the dealership, all parts and labor will be free. You would need to notify your vehicle’s manufacturer if your assigned dealership does not provide the repairs as instructed by the recall letter. If the dealership had not facilitated the repairs by the time you need to renew your registration, you would be allowed to renew your registration but you would still be driving a potentially unsafe car. Excellent reason to be a pain in the dealers a**!
Important Information for All Car Owners
If you need to file a complaint regarding safety issues with your vehicle, visit the NHTSA’s ODI division.
If you would like to check to see if your vehicle is currently on a recall list, you can visit SafeCar.gov’s look-up page. You will need to provide your Vehicle Identification Number (VIN). You can find your VIN on your vehicle’s windshield, your registration, and possibly your insurance card.
You can also visit the manufactures site directly to see if they have posted anything about recalls to vehicles in their production line:
| Acura | Lexus, Toyota, & Scion |
| Audi | Mazda |
| BMW | Mercedes-Benz |
| Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Jeep, Ram | Mini |
| Ford | Mitsubishi |
| GM(Includes Chevrolet, Buick, Cadillac, GMC, Hummer, Pontiac, Oldsmobile, Saturn & Saab) | Nissan |
| Honda | Porsche |
| Hyundai | Rolls Royce |
| Infiniti | Subaru |
| Isuzu | Suzuki |
| Jaguar | Tesla |
| Kia | Volkswagen |
| Land Rover | Volvo |
Although the RECALL Act may seem like an added inconvenience if you have to take extra steps to renew your registration, its purpose is to Repair Every Car to Avoid Lost Lives. The possible inconvenience is justified, don’t you think?
14 comments
My dealership will not fix the recall for free, they said in order to fix the recall they need to replace another part that not on the recall that cost $2,500. Am I exempt?
On its face, it would seem that the dealership’s requirement that you pay to fix another part might be unnecessary and potentially in violation of their duties to resolve any federally designated recalls. You will want to get the dealerships’ statements and requirements in writing. You may then want to consider seeking legal counsel and/or submitting a complaint with NHTSA.
Our tags expired in April 2022. That part is our fault for not realizing that we never received a vehicle registration notice. Our mail is frequently stolen Out truck has a recall on it, the dealership cannot get the part needed for three months. Is there a way to GRT a temporary registration? We are in California.
Hello! Thank you for your question. Recalls can be tricky as you may be unable to pass your smog inspection! In the meantime, you can place an order with eTags for registration renewal. We’ll post your fees to the DMV so you won’t accumulate any more late fees. Once you have the repair or replacement done regarding the recall, you can send us the certificate and we can complete your renewal!
How do I submit a request for a temporary registration in accordance with the last exception (unable to get vehicle repaired due to member being deployed overseas)?
eTags online can only issue temp reg if the title is being transferred from another state. The temp registration would be issued for purposes of getting the VIN inspection done. Otherwise, you would have to contact DMV directly or a tag agency that can do it.
The most recent death of the 17 year old girl in Texas would have been avoided- they owned the car for five years!!! I’m a car dealer who is experiencing the Takata debacle first hand- we can only get 52% of the open recalls to come in and we’re the highest in the Zone! The only manufacturer I know of asking states to make it mandatory at registration is Honda- the other nine probably are hoping that only 52% come in – think of the money they’ll save.WHY does it take so long? We can pass “bathroom” edicts – but can’t save lives?
Yeah, it is unfortunate how long people wait to take care of these recall requirements and even doing a registration hold may not be enough since the vehicle owner will only know of the hold at the time they have to renew which may be months after a recall is issued. However, this measure is a good step forward. Unfortunately, almost one year later, this bill still has not been sent to the committee.
I cannot get a live person on phone from Florida dmv I have left messages at tax collectors office in Hernando county and no response I have a leased vehicle I am turning in and want to know I should do with tags and a vehicle I’d and odometer report? This is pretty frustrating all offices are closed and cannot get a rep on phone
If you will not use the plate to transfer to another vehicle in which case you must keep the insurance active so that your license is not suspended, you would surrender your plate to your local tax collector. Hernando County, like most other counties, is either operating on limited staff and/or reduced hours, so it can take a while to get through or receive a response. You can find contact info for your county here: https://www.hernandocounty.us/departments/other-government-agencies/tax-collector. We recommend sending an email to your county’s tax collector about needing to surrender your plate so that they have that communication on record. Should any issues arise later on with your plate, you can reference your attempts to contact them. Best of luck and stay safe.
this is a powerfull help for truckers or people like my self have no free time
going back and foward to the DMV. Thanks to birng this out.
If this does come to pass as a requirement in renewing a vehicles registration, we hope the DMV and Tax Collector’s will do what they can to assure that it is a streamlined a process as possible.
Thank you
Glad you found this information helpful. If it passes, it’s likely still a few years out.