More than one million cars are affected by a recall EVERY YEAR, which is why HPI is urging motorists to use its instant safety recall check.
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) is the government agency responsible for the UK Automotive Safety Recall Scheme, with manufacturers and distributors cooperating to protect motorists from unsafe vehicles and products.
A safety recall is a proactive action taken by a manufacturer when a critical safety defect is identified that affects a range of vehicles. Manufacturers will only issue a safety recall for defects that have the potential to cause serious injury.
The manufacturer in question must make every effort to contact the registered keeper of the vehicle, normally by letter, with repairs usually carried out free of charge.
Motorists can use the vehicle’s registration number to check if it has been recalled by using the government website. The online service is free and motorists can see safety recalls that have not been checked or fixed.
It’s also possible to check a car without knowing its registration number, along with viewing recalls for motorcycles, buses, coaches, minibuses, lorries, caravans and horseboxes.
Total recalls
According to HPI, which offers its own online safety recall check, there have been 41 Mercedes-Benz recalls since 2014. Peugeot and Citroen have issued 26 recalls in the same period, while Toyota and Vauxhall have issued 24 and 23 notices respectively.
In February 2014, Honda issued a recall notice for 141,321 cars fitted with potentially dangerous Takata airbags. The recall affects Accord, Jazz, Insight and CR-V models built from February 2010 to May 2015.
Fernando Garcia, consumer director at HPI, said: “Vehicle recall is a problem that is a cause for concern for many motorists. Missing a recall can impact on the reliability and safety of the vehicle. The HPI recall checker is designed to make monitoring your vehicle as easy as possible.”