Vehicle Recalls Fell in 2017 After Years of Record Highs

Far too many cars are sold to consumers with serious safety issues. The good news is, there are rules and regulations in place to ensure that dangerous cars are recalled and to protect car buyers who purchase new cars that turn out to be defective. California lemon law lawyers help car buyers to understand the protections in place and to pursue appropriate legal remedies.

Vehicle defects have, unfortunately, been especially common in recent years. However, in 2017, there was actually a drop in the total number of cars recalled in the United States. This was great news because it occurred after multiple years in which the number of recalled cars reached new records.

Vehicle Recalls Fall After Years of Reaching Record Highs

Insurance Journal reported on the good news that the total number of recalled vehicles was lower in 2017 than it was in 2016.  For the past three years, record high levels of recalls have been reached, so this decline is significant if it suggests the reversal of a dangerous trend.

However, the fact remains that far too many cars are still being recalled. There were a total of 30.7 million vehicles recalled in the United States in 2017, which is a huge number of cars that are sold to consumers despite having design flaws, dangerous parts, or other major problems.   However, it is a big drop from the record-setting 53 million vehicles that had to be recalled in 2016. The high number of recalls in 2016 was driven, in large part, by problems with Takata airbags which have been found to explode in accidents and send shrapnel flying through the vehicle.

This 30.7 million number is actually the lowest number of recalls for several years. It was 2013 the last time that the total number of recalls were this low.  Between 2014 to 2016, there were almost 50 million vehicles recalled annually each year, which were annual records and way higher than historic data on recalls.  Over the past 20 years before this 2014 to 2016 period, the total number of cars recalled over the course of the year ranged from 10.2 million to 30.8 million.

The big increase in vehicle recalls was largely driven by the fact so many car makers used the defective Takata airbags. However, Insurance Journal also indicates that the Obama administration was aggressive in enforcing safety laws and regulations for recall. The result was that automakers issued a total of 924 recall campaigns in 2016, which was an unprecedented recall and was seven percent higher than the prior record number of recall campaigns from 2015.

While the decline in the total number of recalls is a good thing, the hope is that this decline is because cars are actually safer and not because of political or other considerations.  Drivers deserve to have safe vehicles and should take action if they don't. California lemon law lawyers can provide help in understanding and pursuing legal remedies if your vehicle turns out to have major issues.