Auto Safety: NHTSA Has Options to Improve the Safety Defect Recall Process

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) oversees the process of recalling vehicles that have safety defects. Under this process, consumers are notified that their vehicle has a safety defect and of the manufacturer's plan to remedy it. In 2011, we reported that NHTSA is responsible for reviewing auto manufacturers' planning and implementation of safety defect recalls to ensure compliance with legal requirements. To this end, the agency is responsible for reviewing, among other things, the manufacturer's notification letters it plans to send to owners of affected vehicles. Auto industry stakeholders are generally satisfied with the recall process, but NHTSA faces challenges that may affect recall completion rates. For example, focus group participants reported, among other things, they preferred notification letters with certain elements and may be more likely to comply if the letters included the vehicle identification number (VIN) number, clarified the severity of the defect and used the word "urgent" to indicate the seriousness of the defect. Therefore, we recommended that NHTSA modify the recall notification letters they send to consumers by adding the word "URGENT" in large type as well as the (VIN), so that consumers knew the their vehicle was involved in a recall. In 2015, we confirmed that NHTSA required that the recall notification letters include the words, "IMPORTANT SAFETY RECALL" and the VIN. As a result, consumers should have clearer information that indicates they need to bring in their vehicles for safety repairs.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) oversees the process of recalling vehicles that have safety defects. Under this process, consumers are notified that their vehicle has a safety defect and of the manufacturer's plan to remedy it. In 2011, we reported that NHTSA provides information and guidance to the public on recalls, primarily through its Web site. The information NHTSA provides on its Web site could be more useful. In particular, a centralized database (developed by NHTSA or another party) that allows consumers to search for recall information by vehicle identification number (VIN) would allow vehicle owners to determine if their specific vehicle is affected by a recall. For example, we found that used car dealerships may be willing to notify potential buyers of outstanding recalls but the lack of a public, VIN database made such notifications difficult. Therefore, we recommended that NHTSA create a VIN search function on its website and publicize the site to vehicle owners and the public. In September 2014, NHTSA staff reported that, in response to this recommendation, they had launched such a search function on their website and we verified this was the case. As a result, consumers will have access to additional information about recalls, which should increase the number of consumers who bring in their recalled vehicles for service.

NHTSA is responsible for monitoring the effectiveness of auto manufacturers' recall campaigns, based in large part on the data manufacturers are required to submit on recall completion rates (the number of defective vehicles that are fixed). In 2011, GAO reported that industry stakeholders were generally satisfied with the recall process for safety defects, but certain challenges may affect the completion rate of recalls. One such challenge was that NHTSA did not consistently using the data it collects from manufacturers to improve the completion rates of recall campaigns, which may help the agency determine some of the factors that are associated with higher or lower rates of compliance. NHTSA officials told GAO they evaluate the effectiveness of a recall campaign by comparing a specific recall campaign's progress to similar campaigns based on factors such as the age of vehicles recalled and the number of vehicles recalled. However, the agency was not currently using the data it collects to conduct a higher-level analysis across all campaigns to systematically look for potential factors related to higher or lower recall completion rates that might be helpful in identifying successful recall campaigns because conducting such analyses was resource intensive. Based on GAO's analysis of NHTSA data, without conducting a broader aggregate-level analysis to look for outliers, patterns, or trends, the agency may be missing an opportunity to identify underlying factors that affect recall campaign completion rates. As a result, GAO recommended that NHTSA use the data it collects on recall campaigns to analyze particular patterns or trends that may characterize successful recalls and determine whether these represent best practices that could be used in other recall campaigns. In 2020, GAO confirmed that, NHTSA completed an analysis of annual recall completion rates by manufacturer, model year, and vehicle component to determine factors that affect recall rates. Additionally, NHTSA held a Retooling Recalls Workshop that brought together stakeholders to address tactics for increasing vehicle recall completion rates. Taking these steps have helped NHTSA to identify risk factors associated with lower recall completion rates and better position the agency to target new recall campaigns that include such factors.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) oversees the process of recalling vehicles that have safety defects. Under this process, consumers are notified that their vehicle has a safety defect and of the manufacturer's plan to remedy it. In 2011, we reported that auto industry stakeholders were generally satisfied with the recall process for safety defects, but NHTSA faces certain challenges that may affect the completion rate of recalls. One such challenge is that NHTSA lacks the authority to require manufacturers to notify used-car dealerships of recalls and to require used-car dealerships to notify potential buyers of the existing defect. With over 35 million used cars sold by used and franchised dealerships in the United States in 2009 alone, this could pose a significant risk to the safety of millions of vehicle drivers and may have a negative impact on recall completion rates. Therefore, we recommended that NHTSA seek legislative authority to ensure that potential buyers of used cars and are notified of any outstanding recalls prior to sale. In 2015 we confirmed, that NHTSSTA supported and were monitoring HR 2198, the Raechel and Jacqueline Houck Safe Rental Car Act, which would close a loophole in the motor vehicle statute by prohibiting rental companies from renting or leasing motor vehicles under a safety recall. Also, the Department of Transportation had included a provision for such authority in the Grow America Act, which it had sent to Congress in 2015. With this authority, NHSTA NHTSA will have the ability to prevent consumers from putting their lives at risk driving defective rental cars.