Safety Recalls for Vehicles

May 08, 2022, 04:26 PM

quote:
Originally posted by V-Tail:
quote:
Originally posted by NavyGuy:

What if the vehicle has been sold several times? I'm guessing there is some central place owners can be tracked via the VIN but does that department have the resources to track down every single car and contract the correct current owner. Seems like a monumental task. I think the best bet is to log into the Dept of transportation web site now and again and see if your car is affected
In this case, the car was purchased new. My wife is the original (and only) owner. No change of address, we have lived in the same house since it was built in July 1986.

Log in to DOT website to see if the car is included in the recall? How would she know to do that? She had absolutely no knowledge that a recall existed. That's what I'm bitching about. Wife took the car in for routine scheduled preventive maintenance and the service writer told her that there was a recall for a dangerous situation. That was her first clue.

I believe that Toyota should have notified her, but that never happened.

I agree. Something's wrong, somehow they should alert owners. Maybe it depends on the severity of the issue. If it's the TMS might need calibration is one thing, if the brakes might fail is another. I'm not defending the car manufactures but I've never had a problem since I use the dealership service every 6 months and they alert to outstanding issues and Carfax notifies me of issues since I signed up with them to track and record service and recalls.