Is Your Vehicle Under Recall? Probably

In July of 2016, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced a recall of over 34 million vehicles due to a defective airbag mechanism. This faulty mechanism can cause the front passenger airbag to literally explode when deployed in a crash; basically, all passengers will be at risk for shrapnel wounds if this happens, and the only way to ensure the airbag won’t deploy is to not put a passenger in the front seat.

This particular recall affects dozens of vehicle manufacturers. Some have been repairing the faulty airbags since the recall was announced but others, such as Ford, are still waiting on replacement parts – parts that won’t be ready until Spring 2018 at the earliest.

This is just one of millions of active recalls available to search on the NHTSA.gov website. Simply go to the recall page, type in your VIN (which is on your registration card), and hit enter. If there are active safety recalls you will be able to view them all on that page. You can then find a dealer who is prepared to deal with the recall and make an appointment to have your vehicle serviced.

This is the actual recall information for one of my vehicles. Lovely, right?

By law your vehicle manufacturer must alert you by mail if your vehicle is affected by a safety recall. However, if you bought your car used from someone on craigslist, for example, chances are the manufacturer will not have your address. So it’s important to periodically check this site for information.

Did you know that you can also report vehicle issues on NHTSA’s website? And did you know that they follow up on every single report given to them? Yes, for real. There is a team whose sole job is to talk to people who’ve reported vehicle issues and attempt to replicate said issues. This goes for car seats as well! A real human being looks at every report generated, and chances are if you are having a significant issue with your vehicle – or car seat – someone else is, too.

Dana( CPST Expert )

Dana is the lucky mother to two incredible kids (aged 10 & 6) and the happy wife of Nate. She stumbled around in her adult life for a while before finally realizing that she could get paid to pursue her passion: keeping kids safe. In 2013 she started working at Modern Natural Baby in Ferndale where she eventually became a Child Passenger Safety Technician with additional Special Needs training. Dana also runs the child passenger safety-focused Facebook page Buckle Up Detroit and works with the amazing lady bosses at Metro Detroit Doula Services offering car seat classes, consultations, and more!