The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is out with its list of the top 10 recalled vehicles in 2013 and Toyota has topped the list for the second year in a row. According to a news report in The New York Times, cars and trucks from Toyota and its Lexus brand were among the almost 22 million vehicles recalled last year in 632 actions. In 2012, 16.4 million vehicles were recalled in 581 actions. The recall numbers in 2013 are the highest since 2004, when recalled vehicles hit 30.8 million.
Top10 Carmakers Who Recalled Vehicles
Toyota’s recalls included about 1.6million vehicles involved in two recalls for airbags that could deploy suddenly. In one case electronic interference was blamed and in another, spiderwebs blocking drain holes. Second on the list was Chrysler with 4.7 million vehicles recalled in 36 actions.
The bulk of Chrysler’s recalls included about 1.6 million 1993-98 Jeep Grand Cherokee and 2002-2007 Jeep Liberty models. The vehicles were recalled for fire hazards in rear impact collisions. Honda and Acura came in third with 15 recalls and 2.8 million vehicles followed by Hyundai, Ford, Kia, Nissan, BMW, General Motors and Suzuki.
In addition to vehicles, in 2013,more than 36,000 child restraints, which included child safety seats, were recalled in two actions. Also, about 1.4 million tires were recalled in 11 actions in 2013 compared with 1.1 million in 2012 when there were 18 actions.The record for tire recalls was in 1978 when about 14.7 million were recalled.
Why Recalls are Crucial
Vehicle safety recalls are conducted because they involve defects in autos that pose a safety threat to consumers.This is precisely why it is important that automakers promptly report any type of consumer complaints they get with regard to safety issues or any type ofincident or crash that occurs as the result of a vehicle defect. When automakers fail to do so, we continue to have defective vehicles on the roadway, putting consumers at further risk of injury and harm.
We often see that automakers delay action or use stalling tactics when it comes to safety recalls because it is anexpensive proposition for them. Most recalls cost millions of dollars for automakers and of course, it costs them a lot more in terms of damage to brand and image. But, it is the duty and responsibility of automakers to ensure that defective vehicles and parts are recalled in a timely manner and that unsuspecting consumers are not put in harm’s way.
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