Fixed Ops Magazine - 2022 Vol19 04 - 33

are not required by law to disclose beyond NHTSA's
oversight. As vehicles add new technology, it has become
more difficult for NHTSA to keep up with the
volume and complexity of investigations.
VEHICLES ARE MORE LIKE COMPUTERS
THAN MACHINES
" Vehicles are more like computers than machines,
setting up an impending catastrophe as we deploy
self-driving platforms, driver-assisted technologies
and electric vehicles, " explains Scott Alan, President
and Managing Partner at Recall Masters. " No one envisioned
this vehicle technology in 1970 when NHTSA
was established and charged with safeguarding the
American public from manufacturing defects. What
has changed is the complexity and volume of notices
as adoption of technologies encompass the full spectrum
of vehicle operation. I can only speculate on how
it all plays out. But what I do know is that we can only
solve problems when we drag them out into the light
and work together. We have come a long way as an industry
toward winning back the trust of the American
public. I am optimistic. "
with at least one open recall. With an estimated 289.5
million registered vehicles in the country, the threat to
drivers and passengers may be greater than ever.
To date, the State of Recalls is the only annual report
to publish data about voluntary manufacturer notices.
While many incorrectly assume these notices do not
pose the same risk to drivers as formal NHTSA recall
campaigns, data suggests otherwise. In 2021, Recall
Masters was able to identify 498 manufacturer voluntary
recalls, of which only 137 indicated affected vehicle
counts (10.5 million). Deploying its risk-scoring
methodology, Recall Masters identified 209 voluntary
recalls deemed " high risk " to consumer safety. Only
75 of these notices disclosed the number of vehicles
affected, some 6.3 million vehicles. Many of these voluntary
campaigns will end up as formal NHTSA recalls.
However, with a gap in time between reporting a defect
and the investigations that follow, vehicle owners
are left vulnerable. Recall Masters tracks a vast number
of these notices, but not all of them, as manufacturers
JULY AUGUST 2022 || FIXED OPS MAGAZINE
A GROWING NUMBER OF VEHICLES WITH
DANGEROUS DEFECTS ARE BEING
BOUGHT AND SOLD
The nation is still on the front end of most of these
technologies, as the pandemic and disruptions to the
global supply chain reduce new vehicle inventory. Access
to off-brand recall data is more important as dealers
are selling a record number of pre-owned vehicles.
While NHTSA campaign information is public, voluntary
notices are only available to franchise dealers of
that brand. Consequently, a growing number of vehicles
with dangerous defects are being bought and sold
in the secondary market, unbeknownst to dealers and
consumers. To complicate matters, the used vehicle
market is hotter than ever. The lack of new vehicle inventory
means that older vehicles will remain in circulation
for a longer period of time. When new vehicles fall
out of warranty, owners typically defect to independent
repair shops. The majority of those do not check vehicles
for recalls because those repairs can only be done
at a franchise dealership authorized to repair the brand.
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