More than 2.5 million vehicles that have been tagged with "do not drive" or "park outside" safety recalls remain unrepaired as of May 1, CARFAX data shows. Ten states have more than 70,000 of these vehicles driving on their roads, with California leading the way.
1. California: 245,000
2. Texas: 242,000
3. Florida: 237,000
4. New York: 118,000
5. Pennsylvania: 106,000
6. Ohio: 101,000
7. Georgia: 96,000
8. Illinois: 92,000
9. North Carolina: 85,000
10. Arizona: 71,000
"Despite efforts by state and federal governments---and the auto industry itself---too many consumers are driving in vehicles that have been deemed too dangerous to drive, or that shouldn't be parked in or near a home for fear of a fire," said Faisal Hasan, general manager for data at CARFAX. "Officials and communities need to break through consumer recall notice fatigue and drive home the message: We can save lives today by getting these recalls fixed."
"Do not drive" and "park outside" notifications are recalls issued by automakers and federal safety officials. A "do not drive" recall advises drivers not to operate their vehicles because a serious safety issue could lead to an accident or physical harm. A "park outside" recall is issued for vehicles with a high risk of causing a fire, and owners are advised to park these vehicles outside of garages and parking structures, and away from buildings. These recalls are rarely issued.
CARFAX already warns its 30 million Car Care members when there's an unfixed recall for their car. Soon, CARFAX will highlight these urgent recalls in Car Care and through email campaigns.
In addition, CARFAX is working with the Alliance for Automotive Innovation to involve more states with the Vehicle Recall Search Service (VRSS). The VRSS is used by Arizona, California, Connecticut, Maryland, New York State, Ohio and Texas to alert residents to open safety recalls and get them fixed. Texas, for example, provides a free recall check using VRSS for every vehicle that undergoes a state safety inspection and those results are provided to the vehicle's owner. Launched in 2018 as a completely free system, the VRSS has checked more than 3 billion vehicles since its launch five years ago. CARFAX data shows that, since 2018, 212 million recalls identified by the VRSS have been closed.
Vehicles Under Recall
There are about 200 separate models from various automakers, over multiple model years, for which "do not drive" or "park outside" safety recalls have been issued. See that list here.
Consumers can check---for free---to see if their car has any open recall at Carfax.com/recall.
Source: CARFAX
Abby Andrews