Car manufacturers produce millions of new vehicles a year, and even the highest quality components and materials can suffer a failure or reveal a design weakness in use that falls short of the original expectations. In some cases, these failures may relate to safety or legal requirements, and the brand will issue a vehicle recall to rectify the car free of charge.
Not all recalls are safety related, and not all components that don’t meet the manufacturer’s original requirements will be subject to a recall. However, if a manufacturer has issued a recall that affects your car, it is important that you get it carried out as soon as possible.
Recalls are usually performed by main dealers and official franchises, and the work is carried out at no cost to you and regardless of vehicle age and mileage. When buying a used car it’s sensible to check that any recalls have been carried out – you’ll usually be able to get it done even if it has no history, high miles and lots of former keepers.
However, if a car is too old for parts to still be available or is in such poor condition that the modification can’t be carried out by a dealer, you may need to do some work yourself before you can drive it.
Can a vehicle recall make my car illegal?
Yes, though there’s only one recall type that makes this abundantly clear. If the manufacturer and DVSA (Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency) agree that a ‘Stop Drive’ safety recall is necessary, you should not drive an affected vehicle until it has been inspected. Manufacturers take such recalls seriously, and might send technicians to your home or work to ensure the car is safe.
Example: on a brake booster corrosion recall in 2022 that affected several models of Mercedes worldwide, dealers would send a technician to the home address to check the vehicle.
However, all Safety Recalls have the potential to make it illegal to keep driving your car unrepaired. Driving a car that is known to have a fault that makes it dangerous could invalidate its insurance cover, but many recalls start from a position of needing to inspect a component first.
Stop Drive recalls are issued as a last resort when the potential failure is considered to be too dangerous to risk even a slim chance of it happening when driving to a dealer, and should be taken seriously – though many may only need an inspection to be carried out to verify that the vehicle is still in roadworthy condition, and are issued to cover components that are not inspected as part of the MOT test.
If you have an accident with an outstanding recall and the component turned out to be faulty, it’s possible your insurance cover may be invalidated even if the DVSA did not issue a Stop Drive recall. As an example, if you ignored a recall for faulty door locks and a passenger was injured due to emergency services being unable to open the door, you could be considered liable for the claim as the insurer expects you to keep the car in roadworthy condition, and the manufacturer has taken action that you haven’t followed up.
How do I know if my car is subject to a recall?
Officially-agreed recalls issued by the DVSA (Safety Recall) are notified in writing to the registered keeper of the car. These are targeted to the specific models affected, so if a recall affects 1,000 out of 15,000 identical vehicles produced, only 1,000 owners will be notified. Recall campaigns are also available on the government’s Check Vehicle Recall website, including checking for part and accessory recalls that apply to replacement parts, towbars, child seats and similar non-registered items.
If safety recall work is outstanding it will also be notified through the MOT test system, and an alert will pop up when viewing the vehicle’s MOT history online. The MOT certificate also carries details of recall work carried out, starting from around July 2023.
Serious recall campaigns may also have media coverage to boost awareness, such as the Takata airbag recall that affected many manufacturers globally. In that case, a standard airbag component supplied to many brands was found to be potentially defective, leading to almost all brands needing to check and rectify over 100 million cars worldwide.
It’s not unusual to have a recall campaign covering the same issue on unrelated brands due to shared parts. A lot of the components used in modern cars are developed by specialist firms, such as Bosch for braking and traction, or ZF for gearboxes.
Who decides if a vehicle or accessory should be recalled?
Recalls are agreed between the DVSA and manufacturers, based on data from garages, suppliers, end users and insurance companies as well as the manufacturer’s own quality control and monitoring. If a particular car or component is reported to have frequent failures by end users, the DVSA will contact the manufacturer to find an appropriate response – the guidelines for which are governed by the DVSA Recall code of practice.
Often a recall will be instigated by a manufacturer after discovering a batch of components from a third-party supplier that does not meet its own specifications. If the DVSA discovers safety related failures it requires manufacturers to issue a recall within 10 days – before taking action itself.
Are vehicle recalls common?
Since 1992 the DVSA has issued almost 8,000 recall notices, affecting 43 million products. However, this number includes towing accessories, trailers, motorcycles, commercial vehicles and even satellite navigation units – narrow it down to car manufacturers, and there have been roughly 5,000 notices affecting 39 million vehicles over 30 years.
Recalls rarely affect a large number of cars sold – for example, Audi has issued 259 notices between 1992 and 2023 – taking a popular model at random, out of 63,000 Audi A3s registered in 2008/9, 1,035 were subject to a recall.
The vehicle with the largest number recalled is the Vauxhall Astra F made between 1991 and 1999. Almost 640,000 cars were covered by a campaign to deal with potentially contaminated brake fluid under notice R/1999/098. However, this was an inspection-only programme, with discounted brake fluid change and a check that water was not reaching the master cylinder.
Can I sell a used car with an outstanding recall?
Why would you? Recall work is carried out free of charge and it’s in everyone’s best interests to have the problem rectified as soon as possible.
Private sellers should be okay if they were unaware of a recall when they sold the car. Buyers may not be keen on buying a car after seeing the alert pop up when checking the MOT history online, though – particularly if it’s been outstanding for a while.
Trading standards requires dealers to check for outstanding recalls and have the work carried out, so if you buy a car from a dealer that turns out to have outstanding recall work you should question how well they have met their other obligations. If the car is otherwise in good condition and satisfactory it’s probably quicker to get the work done yourself, than to complain. This is one of the advantages of an approved-used scheme – cars will be checked for recalls and rectified at the supplying dealer as part of the vehicle history checks.
Who is liable for a recall on an imported car?
Imported cars may not be included in UK campaigns issued through the DVSA, but they may be subject to a recall in their country of origin. Who is responsible depends on how the vehicle has been imported.
For official grey importers, such as Mitsubishi’s Ralliart division or American car dealers such as Clive Sutton, the importing agency is responsible for working with the DVSA on ensuring vehicle recalls are carried out correctly. If they are no longer in business, the DVSA may work with the manufacturer or official UK distributor to cover imported vehicles.
Personal imports are also subject to recalls, potentially, but it is unlikely that they will fall under the scope of DVSA requirements as it is also necessary for the importer to notify DVSA of problems before agreeing action.
However, if you own a car that you know has been affected by a safety recall in its original country of registration, you may be able to get that work carried out through UK dealers. There is no outright obligation for them to do this though – as the personal importer of the car, you’re responsible for ensuring it meets legal requirements in the UK.
What kinds of vehicle recall apply in the UK
In the strictest sense of a recall – an action where the vehicle has to be returned to a representative of the manufacturer to be repaired or modified – the Safety Recall and Safety Recall (Stop Drive) are the only ones that count.
This isn’t the only action that the DVSA and manufacturers can agree on as a solution. Other types of recall can include service campaigns, amendments to service schedules, and even a non-safety recall where the DVSA notifies owners, but the problem does not relate to safety or make the car unroadworthy.
There is one exception to the safety-related nature of mandatory recalls – Type Approval and emissions compliance. If a car is found to be non-compliant with the legal definition of its original Type Approval, a recall will be issued under the same terms as a safety recall. This does not make the car illegal or dangerous to drive, but manufacturers will be keen to rectify non-compliant cars.
Most non-compliance recalls apply to vehicle emissions, such as greater CO2 levels produced than the allowed levels, and some could even be fixed with an over-the-air software update on recent cars. Theoretically, though, they could apply to many aspects of the car including the type of tyres fitted, the lighting, or how much of a wheel is shielded by bodywork.
The dealer is asking me to pay for recall related work
If you are getting a Safety Recall carried out, the dealer should not charge you anything. All relevant work, including replacement fluids and consumables, is included in the agreed action – so, for example, in cases of the 1.2-litre PureTech engine, a failed cambelt could potentially damage the braking system. Because the problem starts with the cambelt breaking up due to oil contamination, the engine should also get an oil (and filter, ideally) change if the repair work is needed.
It’s reported that some dealers may ask for a service to be carried out, or try charging for the repair work – if a dealer tries to directly charge you for work related to a recall, report them to the manufacturer and to trading standards.
A responsible technician or mechanic may make recommendations about work unrelated to the recall, so if your car has been recalled for airbags and they noticed your front brakes are worn to the metal and the tyres are bald – they’re not pulling a fast one, and might be pointing our a defect that if fixed, could save hassle or money further down the line.
What if the recall work can’t be carried out on my car
If the car has been modified, then as long as the replacement components meet the necessary standards then the dealer should be able to notify the manufacturer that the work is not required on your vehicle.
If the vehicle condition has deteriorated to the point that the recall work can’t be carried out due to corroded bodywork, the manufacturer could potentially make an offer towards scrapping the vehicle. In rare cases of substantial structural issues, a manufacturer may even issue a ‘buy-back’ campaign.
Can a dealer or manufacturer offer incentives for recall work?
In the case of a large-scale campaign for recall work you may find dealers offer an incentive to get owners to bring the vehicle in. The DVSA does allow some incentives to compensate for the inconvenience, and is very clear that recalls cannot be used as a marketing tool.
Acceptable gifts or compensations can include:
- Petrol Voucher
- High street or store voucher
- Free valet of the vehicle
- Flowers
- Food types (such as chocolates)
- Free entry to a competition
- Free item (sat nav, sunshade, boot tidy etc)
- Pamper / Activity voucher
- Meal Voucher
It is unacceptable for a dealer to offer incentives around selling you products or services:
- Money off service, repair, checks
- Money off an MOT test
- Money off a new product (such as vehicles)
- Discount off a service plan or any other plan
- Money off tyres, parts and accessory parts
For obvious reasons, they also can’t offer alcohol as a gift.
Do recalls affect aftermarket parts and accessories?
In some circumstances a replacement part, or accessory, could be affected by a recall. If you purchased through an online retailer such as Amazon they may send out a message to notify you of a product recall for devices such as battery booster packs, sat nav and phone chargers – you’ll usually be offered a replacement part or a refund.
Replacement components from third-party manufacturers can be directly related to safety and could suffer failures with no way of notifying the end user. It’s important to keep receipts and make a note of batch numbers or production dates – and while it does cost more in many cases, this is why buying replacement and repair parts for safety related items such as suspension and brakes from the manufacturer or a known OEM is a good idea.
Do outstanding recalls affect trade-in value?
No, but it’s a good idea to get them fixed before selling or part-exchanging a vehicle as independent dealers may be reluctant to take on a vehicle that they know they need to spend some extra time on. As the registered keeper and owner of the car, you’re in the best position to get the recall work carried out. And who knows – you might even get your car cleaned at the same time.
