Whether you’re watching a news channel, reading a newspaper, or scrolling through your Twitter feed, it won’t take long to find news about yet another vehicle recall. There are so many, in fact, that CBC estimates about one in six vehicles in Canada has an unresolved recall.
Many car owners don’t even realize that there has been a recall on their vehicle. While brands are supposed to contact owners to let them know about recalls, contact lists can get outdated quickly if the owner moves or buys the car used.
As an auto service advisor, you’ll play an important role advising customers on their vehicle’s repairs. During your career, you may encounter vehicles that are on a recall list—and among those recall lists, some brands will show up more often than others.
Read on to learn more about the top five most recalled car brands.
Auto Service Advisors May Know Volkswagen Has the Highest Recall Rate
According to the USA’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Volkswagen Group had the worst recall rate of any car brand between January 1985 and September 2016, with over 13 million vehicles recalled. In fact, for every 1,000 cars Volkswagen has on the road, a stunning 1,805 have been affected by a recall. While Canadian statistics for vehicle recalls are a little more difficult to find, just one recently issued recall over a suction pump issue affected as many as 33,894 vehicles in Canada, including some staple offerings like the Golf, GTI, and Audi A3.
Chrysler Has Issued Many Recalls that Auto Service Advisors Should Be Aware Of
While Volkswagen takes the number one spot, Chrysler is not far behind in terms of recall rate. The NHTSA states that Chrysler has recalled nearly 90 million vehicles, which is far more than Volkswagen’s 13 million. However, Chrysler sells a much higher volume of cars than Volkswagen, so its recall rate is still technically lower at 1,422 per 1,000 cars. In 2017 alone, recalls have affected over 5,800 Canadian Chrysler vehicles for power train, brake, and seat restraint problems.
Auto Service Advisors May Know Honda Has Recalled a lot of Vehicles Due to Airbag Troubles
If you want to become an auto service advisor, you likely already know that Honda cars are known for their longevity. However, a recent airbag fiasco has caused the brand’s recall rate to rise sharply. Airbags made by a company called Takata and included in Honda cars were found to explode on impact, sometimes sending shrapnel flying towards passengers in the process. The Takata Airbag recall began in 2008 and has to date affected millions of vehicles across several brands, many of them Hondas. According to the NHTSA, Honda has recalled over 46 million vehicles between 1985 and 2016, with a recall rate of 1,307 to every 1,000 vehicles.
Hyundai Has Recalled Many of its Own and Sister Brand’s Vehicle Models
On the NHTSA’s list of top recalled car brands, Hyundai takes the fourth spot, with about 13.6 million recalls, and a recall rate of 1,266 per 1,000 vehicles. Hyundai and its sister brand Kia have recently sent out a recall notice in the USA, Canada, and South Korea that affects 1.5 million cars, many of them the brands’ top-sellers such as the Hyundai Sonata and Santa Fe Sport, and the Kia Optima, Sportage, and Sorento. This current recall is due to an issue that causes the engine to fail unexpectedly.
Auto Service Advisors May Know BMW Has Had Many Recalls
BMW is known for the quality of its vehicles, which is why it might come as a surprise to professionals with an automotive service advisor career that it’s the fifth most recalled car brand according to the NHTSA. With a recall rate of 1,196 recalls for every 1,000 cars, BMW has recalled about 7.7 million vehicles between 1985 and 2016. Already this year BMW has issued several recalls in Canada for its 2017 models, which could affect over 700 vehicles, as well as one recall for the 2018 7 Series, which affects 32 cars.
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