Auto recalls may be the 鈥渘ew normal.鈥�
Which also means that vehicle owners need to be vigilant.
After a record-setting year in 2014 鈥� almost 64 million vehicles in 803 campaigns 鈥� automakers already had recalled more than 32.4 million through early August, according to a Detroit News analysis of government data and manufacturer reports.
鈥淪everal automakers are on pace for a record-setting number of recalls, and the total number of campaigns this year could come close to last year,鈥� the News reported.
Vehicle recalls include many for defective air bags.
So, then, how will you know if your vehicle has been recalled by the manufacturer?
Well, if you haven鈥檛 moved to a new address since buying your new vehicle, it鈥檚 easy, because new-vehicle owners typically are notified of a recall by mail.
(Just be sure you don鈥檛 throw it out with your junk mail before looking at it!)
Just to keep things interesting, though, let鈥檚 say that you have relocated since you purchased your vehicle 鈥� or didn鈥檛 notify the manufacturer after buying it used. Then it鈥檚 possible that you will not receive the aforementioned notification.
In this case, you鈥檒l need to obtain the 17-digit vehicle identification number (VIN) for your vehicle. You can find that on your purchase documents, insurance card, title/registration or the VIN plate of your vehicle (found most easily on the driver鈥檚 side of the vehicle鈥檚 dashboard, near the windshield).
Once you have your VIN, you have several choices:
Visit the website of your vehicle manufacturer, such as General Motors, Ford, FIAT Chrysler Automobiles, Toyota and Honda.
Visit the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) website, which provides a recall look-up by VIN for most light vehicle manufacturers.
Call NHTSA at 888-327-4236. You still will need your VIN.
Download the NHTSA Safercar mobile app for iPhone or Android, so you can check your VIN on the go. This could be particularly helpful if you鈥檙e shopping for a used vehicle and would like to check for outstanding recalls.
In any case, it鈥檚 important to not panic. Read the details of the notification so you鈥檙e familiar with any special instructions regarding the recall.
鈥淭here is a new normal,鈥� Sean Kane, president of Safety Research and Strategies, an auto safety advocacy group, told the newspaper.
鈥淢anufacturers are becoming much more diligent about fixing things that they would have been able to get away with doing customer satisfaction or dealer bulletins that [the government] would have accepted in the past.鈥�
Next week, we鈥檒l tell you what to do if your vehicle has been recalled.
鈥� Linda Steil contributed to this post.
