The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has issued several probes in recent days in what appears to be a growing routine part of the business, but are vehicle probes and recalls really on the rise?
First things first: In just the past week, NHTSA has launched three major probes involving mass automakers, following concerns raised with vehicles from General Motors, Honda, and Ford, spanning engine to technology issues.
The GM probe – the largest of the three probes – involves 877,710 newer SUVs and full-size trucks from model years 2019 – 2024 equipped with the L87 V8 engine (across various GM brands), stemming from complaints of engine failures by owners.
NHTSA’s investigation into Honda pertains to about 295,125 Honda Passport and Insight vehicles from model years 2019 - 2022, due to reports of the antilock emergency braking systems triggering inadvertently, causing the vehicles to decelerate.
The Ford probe involves 129,222 Ford Mustang Mach E crossovers from 2021-2024 model years, stemming from “limitations in the detection of stationary vehicles in certain conditions” when using Ford’s hands-free driver system, BlueCruise.
NHTSA’s investigation into Ford was largely prompted by two crash fatalities last year involving Ford’s BlueCruise hands-free driver assist system. There have been no reported accidents resulting from issues tied to the probe of GM’s L87 V8 engine or Honda’s emergency braking system.
Between the lines: The NHTSA probes into GM, Ford, and Honda along with the routine number of recalls in the industry could lead one to think that the number of vehicles with a potentially faulty part or feature making their way to dealerships is on the rise, which is only part of the story.
According to an early 2024 ABC News report, the number of vehicle recalls each year surged 46% over a 10-year period ending in 2022, compared to the average over the preceding 10 years.
Over a consecutive five years ending in 2022, the US averaged more than 1,000 vehicle recalls each year, amounting to roughly 27 per data, as reported by ABC News.
In 2024, there were a total of 27.3 million vehicles recalled, down from 33.6 million in 2023 and 29 million in 2022.
Looking ahead: Expect software-related probes and recalls to increase as more technology is integrated into vehicles. But overall vehicle recalls will likely continue to decline, especially among mass-market car brands, given that many are now working more aggressively to address quality issues, which can have a significant impact on an automaker’s bottom line.
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