Why Do Car Manufacturers Recall Their Cars? | An Insight

What is a Vehicle Recall?

A vehicle recall is a precautionary measure taken by a car manufacturer to recall or issue a request for return when and if the manufacturer discovers a defect or flaw in a component (airbags, fuel pump, electronics etc) that might pose a threat or endanger the occupant while in operation in any way.

Why do companies issue a Vehicle Recall?

Vehicle recalls numbers have seen a sharp increase in the past few years. Just this year in January 2018, Honda recalled 22,834 cars for faulty Takata airbags, which affected an estimated 3.13 lakh units of the Jazz, City and Accord.
Later in June 2018, passenger vehicle giant Maruti Suzuki recalled 1,279 units of the Swift due to faulty airbag controllers.
Even premium cars are not untouched by this. Back in August 2018, German automaker; BMW recalled a massive number of 323,700 cars across Europe.
A report by Society of Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) suggest that; In just the first three months of 2018, automakers have recalled 1.12 lakh vehicles, which is higher than the number of vehicles recalled in entire 2017.
So, what does this mean? Why do car companies issue a vehicle recall?
With increasing awareness amongst car owners, a detectable fault in a car can be a grave issue. For global car manufacturers, a vehicle recall also serves as an effort to curb negative public attention, saving them a ton of money in legal proceedings and lawsuits. With vehicular norms getting stringent day by day, car manufacturers cannot risk ignoring hazardous defects in their cars.

Why are their so many vehicle recalls in the past few years?

SIAM reports, Indian automakers recalled 2.24 million vehicles citing safety concerns between July 2012 and May 2016
With automakers introducing a new car model every year, the parts and ancillaries chain often share a common source. This is done to save manufacturing costs and increase profitability. In other words, car manufacturers use generic parts which can also find use in 10 other car models of different line-ups. So, when a fault is detected in a component, the complete car line-up gets affected and recalled.

How to check if my car is being recalled?

A vehicle recall involves the car manufacturer discovering a flaw or defect in a batch of the car. After which the automaker informs the concerned authority with their decision to issue a recall. The recall information is heavily advertised and service bulletins are issued to the respective service centres.
You can check www.siam.in for more information on recent car recalls. The consumer is then asked to bring their vehicle to their nearest service centre. A refund, replacement or suitable compensation is offered as per the mandate. You can also get in touch with your dealer for any news on recent vehicle recalls.

What to do when your car gets recalled?

Firstly, It is very important to understand that the affected consumer of the recalled vehicle always has the right to resolution. The car owner is not liable to bear any repair or replacement costs. The manufacturer is obliged to repair or issue a refund for your car. In most cases, the user will receive a call from the car manufacturers service network to bring in their car for the fix. Safety-related defects can be fatal in the future if ignored.