Thousands of cars have been recalled in recent years due to potentially life threatening faults. As such it is important to ensure your vehicle is safe via the Vehicle & Operator Services Agency Recall Database (VOSA). This relates to cars, motorbikes, tyres, wheels, etc. Simply visit www.vosa.gov.uk, select “vehicle recalls”, and choose a period to search such as March 2005 to January 2007. Remember to include the months before your car was registered as its build date is the key factor. Then select the manufacturer and model and click “search”. The database then presents its results which could be minimal or exhaustive. This typically includes a table that among other things reveals the: recall reference numbers, the concerns, and the relevant vehicle identification numbers (VINs). Selecting a recall number reveals more information and recommends a course of action such as “tighten x”. Manufacturers should rectify faults without charge. They should also take reasonable steps to inform consumers that they have a problem. The DVLA maintains a database of registered keepers of vehicles, but it is the supplier of the car who ‘should take all reasonable action to contact affected owners.’ Owners receive a letter from the supplier explaining the reasons for a recall and what they should do about it. However, it is easy to miss out if you move house or the letter gets lost in the post. It is therefore important to refer to VOSA.
Vehicle Recall Examples
Virtually every car manufacturer has to issue a recall at some point. They come irrespective of price, prestige, class, and how their vehicles are treated. Recent problems included: unscheduled deployment of air-bags, engine hesitation, brake callipers that detached, suspension weaknesses, disconnected prop shafts, tyre tread failures, and fuel leaks. There have also been less serious concerns relating to rear window wipers and stalling engines. Considering what vehicles cost it is reasonable to suggest that this is unacceptable. In certain cases that is true – but it is also inevitable. Why? Because new cars are staggeringly complicated. As such they contain thousands of components that are thrashed over tens of thousands of miles. Consider, for example, the pistons that pump furiously thousands of times a minute and the suspension that constantly charges over rough surfaces. Then there is the weather. The metals, plastics, rubbers, and electronics survive freezing temperatures one day then burning heat the next. Plus thousands of people worldwide are involved with designing/building every new model. Imagine the potential for errors and unforeseen wear on that scale. Cars must also be affordable so there is a limit to how far they can be tested. It is a miracle they work at all.
Vehicle safety recalls
Vehicle recalls for March 2013 are included in the list below. For further information on any of these recalls visit, https://www.gov.uk/check-vehicle-recall
