SANTA MONICA, Calif. -

With companies such as Carfax recently touting the importance of fixing recalled vehicles, analysts from Edmunds.com believe the entire recall process could use a tune-up.

Edmunds conducted its own investigation and found what the site contends are issues in the vehicle recall process:

—There are no laws that require a vehicle’s owner to notify a potential buyer that the unit being sold is the subject of a recall.

—While automakers send multiple letters to owners of affected models to impress on them the seriousness of a car recall, the letters don’t always reach new owners when a vehicle is sold. According to Edmunds.com’s research, almost 8 percent of letters from two General Motors recalls in 2008 and 2009 have not been delivered for various reasons.

—An analysis of the two General Motors recalls examined by Edmunds.com showed a “completion rate” of just 52.5 percent as of December. The site indicated that GM stated its recalls generally reach a completion rate of about 70 percent. No other automaker provided Edmunds.com with a composite completion rate for their recalls.

—The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is developing a system that would enable consumers to use the government’s Safercar.gov web site to track outstanding recalls through a vehicle identification number. But an agency spokesman could not tell Edmunds.com when such a system would be available for consumer use.

Edmunds.com launched a recall investigation after its online forum managers noted a wave of users complaining about engine fires in older-model vehicles made by GM.

Edmunds.com’s investigation found that the fires could be attributed to faulty 3.8-liter V6 engines, which had been under recall since 2009, but many of which had not been repaired.

According to reports filed to NHTSA, there have been at least 250 additional engine fires in vehicles involved in the recall since it was announced three years ago. In many cases, the owners of the burned-up cars said that they were not aware that there had been a recall.

“The current system does not make it easy for car owners — especially used-car owners — to know if their vehicles are up-to-date on recall services,” said Edmunds.com senior editor John O’Dell.

“And since there’s only so much the manufacturers can do to reach out to car owners, the responsibility for ensuring that a car has been checked for recalls ultimately rests with individual owners,” O’Dell continued. “At the very least, used-car buyers should register their vehicles with the automakers to make sure they’re in the loop on any existing or future recalls.”

Earlier this week, Carfax designated Tuesday as Carfax Open Recall Day in a continued effort to push the importance of both dealers and consumers fixing vehicles included in recalls.

The campaign follows last month’s release of a Carfax study that found more than 2.7 million used vehicles for sale online in 2011 with safety recalls that were never fixed. The vehicle history report company also determined the states with the most vehicles with open recalls for sale.

Auto Remarketing published complete details of the study here.

In declaring Tuesday’s special emphasis on recalls, Carfax communications director Larry Gamache said, “We’re making a lot of progress, but there are still too many open recalls out there.

“Many of these cars change hands without the buyer ever knowing a recall exists, increasing the safety risks both to passengers in the car and others on the road,” Gamache continued.

“We all need to do our part to make sure these cars are identified and fixed — buyers, sellers and owners alike. A simple online check for open recalls is all it takes to help make our roads safer," he concluded.

Edmunds.com’s full investigation into unrepaired vehicle recalls can be found here.