Auto Recalls Plunge in 2006

A positive trend regarding car recalls emerged in 2006 — there were a lot less of them. Car and truck recalls were down 38% in 2006, with GM and Ford doing the best job at improving quality. GM saw its recalls fall 73%, while Ford dipped 71%. This is positive news for both companies as they look to make the public more aware of their improving reliability, though each still recalled more than a million vehicles in 2006.

The news wasn’t rosy for all. The Chrysler Group — consisting of Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep — had the most recalls in the industry in 2006: 2.3 million cars and trucks. That’s three times the amount the company recalled in 2005.

Most other automakers also saw declines, but none as significant as Ford and GM. Others that saw recalls go up were Nissan and Volkswagen.

Toyota recalled 815,507 vehicles in 2006, but that was two-thirds less than in 2005.

The unquestioned leader in the recall game was Honda. It did issue a recall of 1.2 million vehicles, but that was because the company printed the wrong phone number in its owner’s manuals, not because of mechanical defects. How many other cars did Honda recall in 2006? Only 1,397.

[Auto Safety Recalls Down, Kansas City Star]