CarMax said on Thursday that it has reached a settlement with the attorneys general of 36 states to resolve a 2014 inquiry surrounding its advertising and sales practices related to vehicle recalls.
According to a news release from New York attorney general Letitia James, the multistate coalition secured $1 million from CarMax for failing to disclose open safety recalls on used vehicles before delivery. The attorneys general said CarMax did not provide consumers with information about safety recalls on critical vehicle parts such as brakes and fuel pumps.
CarMax responded in its news release that since 2014 the retailer has been disclosing vehicle specific recall information in our sales process and online advertising. The company added that the settlement terms are consistent with CarMax’s longstanding practices.
“CarMax led the industry in recall transparency by sharing vehicle specific recall information in-store and online to ensure our customers know about open recalls prior to purchase,” CarMax chief operating officer Joe Wilson said. “In fact, as soon as NHTSA made available vehicle specific recall information in 2014, we began providing the information to customers nationwide and we continue to do so today.
“As CarMax is not authorized by manufacturers to complete recall repairs and close out recalls, we work hard to ensure our customers have the information they need to take action and have recalls repaired at a manufacturer-authorized facility,” Wilson added.
Along with New York, the other states involved in the settlement included:
—Alabama
—Arizona
—Arkansas
—Colorado
—Connecticut
—Delaware
—Florida
—Georgia
—Hawaii
—Illinois
—Iowa
—Kansas
—Kentucky
—Louisiana
—Massachusetts
—Michigan
—Minnesota
—Mississippi
—Nebraska
—Nevada
—New Jersey
—New Mexico
—North Carolina
—Oklahoma
—Oregon
—Pennsylvania
—Rhode Island
—South Carolina
—Tennessee
—Texas
—Utah
—Virginia
—Washington
—West Virginia
—Wisconsin
“Families need to know that their cars are safe,” North Carolina attorney general Josh Stein said in a statement. “I’m pleased that as a result of this settlement, CarMax will be upfront about potential vehicle safety and recall issues when North Carolinians are considering buying a used car from them. This information will help people to make the decision about the car that’s right for them.”
While the overall number of vehicles in operation with an open recall is down almost 6% from 2021, new CARFAX data shows more than 50 million vehicles on U.S. roads today are being driven with a known issue that should be repaired.
According to a news release distributed on Tuesday, CARFAX data also indicated that in 2022, sedans and SUVs are the vehicles most likely to have unfixed recalls.
CARFAX said Southern states continue to have the highest open-recall percentages including Mississippi at 24%, and Texas and Louisiana (both at 23%).
Here are the top 10 states with the most vehicles with open recalls based on CARFAX data:
1. California: 5.6 million
2. Texas: 5.1 million
3. Florida: 3.1 million
4. New York: 1.9 million
5. Pennsylvania: 1.8 million
6. Ohio: 1.8 million
7. Georgia: 1.7 million
8. North Carolina: 1.6 million
9. Illinois: 1.6 million
10. Michigan: 1.4 million
“We are heading in the right direction when it comes to the number of open recalls on the road, but the numbers remain incredibly high,” said Faisal Hasan, General Manager of Data at CARFAX. “We still have a long way to go but free recall monitoring services, such as CARFAX Car Care, are making a difference.”
In California, for example, CARFAX mentioned there was a dramatic double-digit percent drop — 12% — in the number of open recalls.
The company pointed out that California drivers also have the highest number of registered vehicles in the CARFAX Car Care app with nearly 4 million vehicle identification numbers (VINs) registered.
Every Car Care user is notified when a new recall has been issued for any of their registered vehicles.
Nationwide, drivers have registered more than 37 million VINs in CARFAX Car Care.
CARFAX said this free service continuously monitors vehicles for open recalls.
“Because recalls are issued regularly — even for older models — it’s crucial that owners be aware of new federal actions,” CARFAX said.
CARFAX highlighted the experience of Car Care user Jessica Matulavage in the news release, too.
“I recently downloaded CARFAX Car Care, and it makes everything so easy to keep track of,” Matulavage said. “I love how it automatically updates me on any recalls, so I can make sure my vehicle is safe. I didn’t know my car had a recall when I bought it, but thankfully I downloaded the app soon after and was able to get the repairs I needed without any issues. I love this app — I give it 10 out of 10 stars!”
In another Auto Remarketing Podcast episode recorded in person during Used Car Week, DRN | MVTRAC president Jeremiah Wheeler returned to share insights about what the newest company data is showing.
Wheeler touched on how transient people still are as well as how license-plate recognition data is continuing to help find vehicles that need repairs connected with automaker recalls.
To listen to the conversation, click on the link available below, or visit the Auto Remarketing Podcast page.
Download and subscribe to the Auto Remarketing Podcast on iTunes or on Google Play.
CARFAX announced that its Vehcle Recall Search Service research tool has been used for more than 1 billion vehicles checks.
The VRSS is a joint effort between CARFAX and the Alliance for Automoitve Innovation, and was designed in an effort to help state governments improve vehicle road satefy. CARFAX said in a news release that this marks a "major milestone" in the ongoing effort to keep car owners and shoppers safe.
"This great milestone underscores our growing partnership with the Alliance for Automotive Innovation toward our shared goal of increasing public safety," CARFAX chief executive officer Dick Raines said in a news release. "For more than two decades, CARFAX has never wavered in our commitment to alerting people about open recalls. Combined with the additional recall resources we provide to consumers and CARFAX Advantage dealers, our data indicates more recalled cars are getting fixed."
And now more than 1 billion vehicle checks for unfixed safety recalls have been processed through the VRSS. An increasing number of state governents and businesses have been using VRSS since its March 2018 launch to identify open recalls on thousands of vehicles at one time, CARFAX reported. .
The tool is designed to allow users to inform consumers when their vehicle has an open recall that needs to be addressed, and they can then get the covered repair fixed free of charge. Approved users of VRSS include commercial and government entities such as state departments of motor vehicles, auto insurers, ride sharing firms, rental car companies, automotive dealers, vehicle fleets and finance companies.
"The industry strongly supports efforts to increase recall completion rates. That's why we were pleased to join CARFAX in working together to advance recall awareness," said John Bozzella, president and CEO of the Alliance for Automotive Innovation. "As automakers, we understand the importance of recall notification. And we encourage all eligible entities to use our free batch VIN database. The VRSS is a key component in the extensive efforts individual automakers already make to help inform the public of open recalls."
"Repairing a recalled vehicle could save someone's life," said Steven Cliff, acting administrator for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. "But you have to know about a recall before you can fix it. This tool allows fleet vehicle owners and other entities to make safety a priority."
Five states have registered to use VRSS for directly notifying consumers of open recalls. California, New York and Texas utilize VRSS duirng routine vehicle inspections, while Ohio and Maryland use it during vehicle registration.
Combined, there have been 11.1 million open recalls identified by the latter two.
"As we strive for zero fatalities on our roadways in Maryland, resolving vehicle safety recalls remains a priority," said Chrissy Nizer, administrator of the Maryland Department of Transportation's Motor Vehicle Administration. "Here in Maryland, we are proud to be doing our part to notify drivers of open recalls on their vehicles as part of the vehicle registration process."
Charlie Norman, registrar for the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV), said: "The safety of Ohioans is our top priority. The BMV's public-private partnership with the Alliance for Automotive Innovation and Carfax is an innovative way to proactively alert motorists to potential vehicle safety issues, which will ultimately keep Ohio's roadways safer."
Along with the update he shared during a recent episode of the Auto Remarketing Podcast, Jerry Cox also found crucial new information to help auctions and dealerships see if vehicles on their lots are equipped with potentially dangerous Takata airbags.
The chairman and chief executive officer with Potomac Strategy Associates discovered and shared the latest details from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) as the regulator investigates another 30 million vehicles; some as recent as the 2019 model year.
“Dealers and their customers have been able to run VIN checks to see whether a particular car is under recall, but they’ve had no way to tell whether there’s an unrecalled Takata airbag in the steering wheel,” Cox wrote in a message to Auto Remarketing on Monday.
“You know from our conversations that NHTSA left 30 million cars on American roads with ‘desiccated’ Takata airbags. Those cars were exempted from safety recalls, but the agency is now investigating Takata’s claim that such airbags are not defective,” Cox continued.
“NHTSA lists the make, model and year of 25 million cars that were originally outfitted with ‘desiccated’ Takata airbags and another 5 million cars in which Takata inflators were ‘repaired’ by replacing them with newer Takata airbags,” he went on to say.
Those lists and more information are available via this website.
And if you missed that recent podcast with Cox, it’s available through the below window.
The Takata airbag recall continues to become more complex with more vehicles being investigated, including another 30 million units from as recent as the 2019 model year.
To get a comprehensive update about what’s happening, Jerry Cox, who is chairman and chief executive officer with Potomac Strategy Associates, returned for another episode of the Auto Remarketing Podcast.
Cox also reiterated what it might take for the used-vehicle industry to put the Takata matter in the rearview mirror for good.
To listen to the episode, click on the link available below, or visit the Auto Remarketing Podcast page.
Download and subscribe to the Auto Remarketing Podcast on iTunes or on Google Play.
Used-car managers now have another tool to check if that vehicle they’re about to take as a trade-in has an open recall.
On Thursday, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) unveiled a new cloud-based recall dashboard designed to make searching for auto safety recall data easy and efficient.
NHTSA highlighted the dashboard offers user-friendly and transparent ways to sort, filter, visualize and export recall data.
The agency said the dashboard will be updated daily.
According to a news release, the new dashboard allows users to sort and filter data, search by keyword, and export data in CSV, TSV for Excel, XML, and other formats. It also presents data in easy-to-read charts and graphs.
Previously, NHTSA made its recall data available through a bulk download, requiring users to download large data files and import them into a database like Microsoft Access. This has long been available to the public, but NHTSA acting administrator Steven Cliff said this new dashboard makes that information easier to access and analyze.
“This new dashboard provides unprecedented transparency into the recall process,” Cliff said in the news release. “More than 50 years of recall data are now easily available to the media, researchers, safety advocates, and anyone interested in learning more about vehicle safety.
“This initiative is part of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s commitment to safety on our roadways, and it provides increased transparency and accountability to the American people,” he went on to say.
The dashboard can be accessed here.
The pandemic certainly reinforced the importance vehicles are to their owners, as Ally Financial highlighted in a consumer survey last fall.
But while acknowledging the numbers are declining, CARFAX pointed out this week that millions of those vehicles are in operation with an open recall.
CARFAX said its data shows the number of vehicles on the road with open safety recalls is down 5% from 2020, but analysts noted that means there are still more than 53 million recalled vehicles on the road today that haven’t been repaired.
CARFAX also noted that pickup trucks and minivans are the vehicles currently in operation that are most likely to have unfixed recalls.
CARFAX went on to mention Southern states continue to top the list with the highest open-recall percentages including Mississippi at 26%, Texas (24%) and Louisiana (24%).
CARFAX data indicated these are the top 10 states with the highest number of recalled vehicles:
— California: 6.3 million
— Texas: 5.3 million
— Florida: 3.3 million
— New York: 2.1 million
— Pennsylvania: 1.9 million
— Ohio: 1.9 million
— Georgia: 1.8 million
— Illinois: 1.7 million
— North Carolina: 1.7 million
— Michigan: 1.5 million
“The number of vehicles on the road with open recalls peaked at 63 million in 2017, so we’re heading in the right direction but there’s still a long way to go,” CARFAX general manager of data Faisal Hasan said in a news release.
“We’re teaming up with the vehicle manufacturers to try to help raise awareness around recalls. The goal is to make the information readily available for owners to boost the closure rates for open recalls,” Hasan continued.
Hasan also noted that the decrease in open recalls in recent years can be attributed to increased use of free recall-monitoring services such as CARFAX Car Care. There are currently more than 24 million Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) registered in CARFAX Car Care.
The company highlighted this free service continuously monitors vehicles for open recalls after owners enter their license plate or VIN. The service notifies owners if a recall has been issued for a vehicle they have registered.
“Because recalls are issued regularly even for older models, it’s crucial that owners be aware of new federal actions,” CARFAX said.
Car Care user Paul Lambert described his experience using the service in that CARFAX news release.
“What really stood out to me about CARFAX Car Care was the recall notifications,” Lambert said. “I received a recall notice which was on the books with Toyota but hadn’t been widely known as Toyota did not yet have a fix for it. It’s extremely useful to have another set of eyes on my vehicle and it’s needs, plus I’m not being charged for it. Sometimes there is a free lunch.”
CARFAX also mentioned there has also been a growing effort from departments of motor vehicles around the country to provide free supplemental recall notifications to consumers, including during the registration, renewal and inspection processes.
“Taking any vehicle off the road to be fixed can be an inconvenience. However, recall repairs are often completed in only an hour or two, and most take less than a day. And federal law requires that all recall work be completed at no charge to owners,” CARFAX said.
Owners can check whether their vehicle has an open recall for free at CARFAX or view a state map by visiting www.carfax.com/recall/.
Software-enabled driver assistance services company Agero has introduced a suite of integrated end-to-end vehicle recall management services, which it says helps auto manufacturers stand up and scale streamlined recall experiences for their teams, dealers and vehicle owners.
Agero said that process is complex to manage, and it is typically delayed by inaccurate information and coordination obstacles, according to the company.
Those are reasons why recent reports show that more than one in five vehicles have an open recall, Agero said.
Agero’s new product is called Recall Solutions, and it addresses failure points common in traditional recall campaigns to drive recall completion at all stages. Those stages are recall owner validation, proactive engagement, scheduling, vehicle and customer logistics and real-time reporting.
“When these unexpected campaigns arise, manufacturers need a partner that can quickly cover all that their recall requires, from finding and contacting customers to coordinating and supporting repair scheduling — all while putting brand messages and customer experience first,” Jason Peters, vice president, consumer affairs and connected vehicles at Agero, said in a news release.
The company said that the industry continues facing frequent recall campaigns as vehicles and their systems get more complex and share components across models and brands.
Locating and reaching current owners can be a challenge.
“Effectively cordinating across dealer and repair networks often becomes a logistical nightmare,” Agero said.
Consumers state various reasons for not responding and completing repairs. For years, Agero has helped major automotive brands navigate and complete more than 50 recall campaigns.
Those include targeted stop-drive safety campaigns and large-scale, multiphase nationwide recalls.
In 2019, the company launched a new dedicated consumer affairs division to handle recalls, inquiry and complaint management, and technical and connected vehicle support. Recall Solutions now augments previous capabilities, the company said.
Recall Solutions can bring expanded services through an integrated, configurable program that can be deployed in less than 24 hours. The company said that can ensure visibility, results and peace of mind through end-to-end campaign management.
Expanding on the earlier-mentioned failure points common in traditional recall campaigns to drive recall completion at all stages, those failure points include:
— Recall owner validation: The company said finding the correct owner of a vehicle is the first step toward successfully completing a recall campaign. However, problems can occur as the vehicle changes ownership throughout its lifecycle. Agero said it can validate current vehicle owners and augment and enhance owner records by using existing proprietary and partner data sources that provide access to more than 170 million unique records. That can increase the chance of reaching and notifying the correct vehicle owner the first time.
— Proactive engagement: Regulations require customer notification by paper mail. But that approach does not do much to address downstream coordination and follow-up. Recall Solutions uses an omnichannel experience that boosts inbound and outbound communications. It also reaches owners through email, phone or text. With those additional touchpoints, typical mail-only response rates of 66% can jump to about a 90% completion rate, Agero said.
— Scheduling: Forty percent of owners needing a recall repair struggle with scheduling, Agero said. That is because of lack of integrated systems or trouble finding an appropriate time. Agero said Recall Solutions can reduce friction by working directly with dealer scheduling systems.
— Vehicle and customer logistics: Important nuances exist in handling movement and repair of a two-ton vehicle. That is especially the case if the recall creates an immediate safety concern. Agero works directly with OEMs, dealers, repair facilities, tow providers and motorists, incorporating that experience into Recall Solutions. That can ensure necessary vehicle logistics across 100% of zip codes nationwide. Agero can also manage the process of helping customers hand off and reunite with their vehicles by scheduling a loaner or rental or coordinating rideshare services.
— Real-time reporting: Recall Solutions incorporates services such as digital and mobile touchpoints, real-time campaign analytics and reporting, NPS and CSI feedback to ensure branded visibility into campaign success and sentiment.
“We’ve been supporting the automotive ecosystem — from manufacturers to dealers to fleet managers to repair shops and their customers — for decades and have seen just about everything, giving us the systems, infrastructure, partnerships and expertise needed to quickly drive results,” Peters said.
Peters went on to say that recalls are unfortunate and increasingly common.
“Manufacturers need a holistic solution that can quickly ramp the campaign, positively engage customers and provide the insight needed on completion so that the whole process is as painless and problem-free as possible,” Peters said. “We’ve used our years of automotive experience to build that with our Recall Solutions.”
AutoAp has launched an online service to help auto dealers assess their current safety recall management capabilities.
A recalls-as-a-service (RaaS) company, AutoAp said the new online service is called Safety Recall Performance (SRPsm) Assessment. Free to dealers until March 31, it also provides recommendations on how to improve recall repair management.
AutoAp, which said its research shows that more than 20% of all vehicles on the road have at least one open safety recall, also said the tool will cost $495 beginning April 1.
More than 100 of the nearly 1,000 recalls published each year show an average delay of 16 days between an auto manufacturer’s announcements and when the National Highway Transportation Administration publishes the recalls, AutoAp said.
And many of those are delayed for months.
A 2014 AutoAp review of the NHTSA data found an error rate of nearly 30%, and the company said that even today, those errors persist.
“Many dealers are unaware of the liability and risks they face due to errors and timing delays between manufacturers and recall information providers such as SaferCar, NHTSA and vehicle history reports,” AutoAp chief executive officer Mark Paul said in a news release.
Dealers, without knowing it, as a result often buy or sell vehicles with open safety recalls, Paul said.
“We created the Safety Recall Performance Assessment to give dealers an objective view of their safety recall repair operations, and provide actionable recommendations that can boost profits and decrease liability,” Paul said.
AutoAp launched its Dynamic Recall Management, or DRMsm, service in 2015. The company currently supports almost 1,500 U.S. dealerships, rental car companies and corporations, helping them manage open recalls by providing timely recall information.
Dealers can take a three-minute survey about their current recall repair management methods to receive a report with customized and actionable recommendations to increase profitability. The report will also provide recommendations to decrease liability, reduce customer risk and improve compliance.
Paul said the Safety Recall Performance Assessment tool helps give dealers insight into what he said is an important industry challenge.
“Taking just a few minutes to complete, this tool can help put dealers on a path to better understand their current risks, and perhaps even more importantly, drive hundreds of thousands of dollars in additional profits by making a few simple operational changes,” Paul said.
Chris Cleveland, Compliance officer at Galpin Motors in Southern California, said AutoAp is a cost-effective tool for managing safety recalls across his company’s dealerships.
Cleveland said, “Their software is backed by a great support team who is dedicated to reducing your safety recall liability.”
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