Annual research findings from Carfax reveals that open recalls have dropped for the last two years with a current count of about 52 million, down from 63 million in 2017 and 57 million last year.
While there is a significant drop from the past two years, 52 million still represents nearly one out of every five registered vehicles. Carfax’s research also shows that the states where this problem is prominent are in the South, including Alabama at 22.2 percent, Arkansas at 21.6 percent, Louisiana at 23.7 percent, New Mexico at 22.1 percent, Texas at 24.6 percent, and highest in Mississippi at 24.7 percent.
Carfax nevertheless said the decrease was good news for car owners, buyers, and sellers and attributed the decline in the number open recalls to two specific efforts. One was the increased use of free recall monitoring services such as myCarfax (13 million people are presently registered with myCarfax), and checks for open recalls during state vehicle inspections.
“Our research indicates that using Carfax to send and receive vehicle-specific recall information is one of the most effective ways of getting more recalls fixed,” said Dick Raines, president of Carfax. “We are encouraged by this year's results, but there's still a long way to go. Open recalls are a critical safety issue that can impact everyone on the road. It's imperative that car buyers, sellers and especially owners stay informed about recalls and take action on them to maintain the safety of their vehicles and our roads.”
Additional information shows that light trucks and minivans are the vehicles most likely to have unfixed recalls.
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