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SALT LAKE CITY — Right now, hundreds of thousands of Utahns are driving a car with an open safety recall, and that is a concern with the summer travel season just around the corner.
The deadly Takata airbag recall made news for years but recalls involving other dangerously defective parts happen all the time, said Emilie Voss of Carfax.
"There are a lot of other recalls out there, millions of other vehicles on the road for with completely different recalls," said Voss.
Last week, Ford recalled over 661,000 Explorers because of roof rail covers flying off during travel. Last month, Toyota recalled 279,000 Venzas for faulty wiring that stops airbags from deploying. Kia told nearly 380,000 owners: Do not park your Kia in the garage because it can catch fire!
"These are safety issues," said Voss. "So, they are things that need your attention."
Carfax shared its latest recall data with the KSL Investigators.
Related:
Hyundai recalls over 390K vehicles for possible engine fires
Hyundai is recalling more than 390,000 vehicles in the U.S. and Canada for two problems that can cause engine fires. In one recall, owners are being told to park their vehicles outdoors until repairs are made.Right now, 20.3% of recalled cars in Utah still needed to be repaired. In the Salt Lake area alone, there are more than 588,000 cars with unfixed recalls. Nationally, that number is 53.2 million — a 5% drop compared to this time last year. Carfax's data shows pickup trucks and minivans are the most likely cars to have unfixed safety recalls.
Before hitting the road this summer, Voss urged Utahns to check their car for an open safety recall.
You can check your car's VIN (vehicle identification number) for free on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administrations website or on Carfax's website.
Don't wait for the automaker's recall notice to show up in the mail: they can get lost as cars get sold, people move or they're mistakenly tossed out as junk mail.
"We put our loved ones, our family, our children in our vehicles. And so you want to make sure that there isn't something safety-wise that you're overlooking that could easily be repaired for free," said Voss.
Through their dealerships, automakers pay for repairs on all recalled cars up to 15 years old, even if you bought your car used.
