J.D. Power Study Reveals Dismal Recall Completion Rates
CARS.COM — As the lottery slogan goes, “You can’t win if you don’t play.” Likewise, when it comes to automotive recalls, you can’t be safe if you don’t get the problem fixed. According to a new study by J.D. Power, tens of millions of motorists are taking a dangerous gamble by neglecting their recall notices.
Related: My Car Is Recalled, But There’s No Fix Yet: What Do I Do?
J.D. Power reports that more than 45 million vehicles recalled between 2013 and 2015 remain unfixed. That’s especially alarming when you consider that it nearly matches the number of recalls for all of last year, 51 million, which was the most of any previous year. During the past two decades, annual recall tallies in the U.S. have averaged nearly 22 million for a grand total of 437 million — and as those numbers grow, so does the frequency of inaction among owners.
Renee Stephens, vice president of U.S. automotive for J.D. Power, said the recall-compliance study is intended to establish a context to help federal safety officials and automakers respond to this disturbing development.
“By understanding the behavioral trends of vehicle owners, as well as recall completion rates among different vehicle and recall types, as an industry we can better tailor communications to improve those completion rates,” Stephens said in a statement.
Among the report’s various findings, the notion that size matters is the least surprising: The bigger the recall, the more complicated it is to notify individual owners and procure the needed parts. As a result, J.D. Power found recalls affecting less than 10,000 vehicles have a 67-percent completion rate compared with recalls affecting more than a million vehicles, which have a completion rate of less than half.
“It is sometimes difficult to obtain parts to launch large campaigns,” J.D. Power stated. “In addition, customers can more easily receive a targeted communication method, such as a phone call, with a smaller population of vehicles.”
Other major factors influencing recall completion rates include vehicle age, vehicle type and the nature of the safety issue being repaired. Recalls for model-year 2013-17 vehicles are completed at a rate of 73 percent compared with just 44 percent for 2003-07 models. Meanwhile, the highest completion rates are for recalls involving powertrain, brake issues and electrical issues — 71, 66 and 62 percent, respectively — compared with less than 50 percent for both airbag and suspension problems. Moreover, owners of large work vans and compact premium SUVs have their vehicles remedied at a rate of 85 percent or better, while only about a third of large-SUV and sports car owners comply.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration urges motorists to get any recalled vehicles repaired immediately. Click here to use NHTSA’S vehicle identification number tool to see if your car has been recalled.
