Cars are incredibly complicated things made up of thousands of parts that all rely on each other. It takes just one of those components to be poorly designed or manufactured and everything can be thrown out of kilter.

Yet somehow, most cars roll out of the factory and give years of use without the need for a manufacturer to intervene. That’s not always the case though, because when the process does go wrong, car makers sometimes have to recall their products to put right a design or manufacturing fault.

Occasionally these recalls make the headlines, as Toyota’s did back in 2009/2010 and more recently Volkswagen’s emissions scandal resulted in a high-profile campaign to fix its cars. In both cases neither fault led to in any casualties in the UK – or even any accidents. Despite this, huge numbers of cars were recalled to implement fixes.

Both of these examples illustrate a key feature of the recalls system; in most cases a car is recalled in case there’s a problem, not because there definitely is one. So if a manufacturer notices that several examples of one (or more) of its models are affected by the same potentially dangerous fault, it can recall them to fix things. One current high-profile case is Vauxhall, which has been forced to take action because its Zafiras have been found to have a habit of spontaneously combusting.

Should I worry?

In a word – no. A recall is a pre-emptive measure that involves checks on your car in case there’s a fault. Some recalls affect tens of thousands of cars, only a handful of which will have a problem. But once a potential issue has been identified a manufacturer has to act – although they can be slow to do this, which is why they end up with scandals on their hands.

Read the various recall notices though and in some cases you’ll get quite a different picture with talk of cars that “could catch fire’ or where “control may be lost”. These are worst-case scenarios because of fuel leaks, short circuits or perhaps a nut not being tightened up correctly. Theoretically it could lead to carnage, but the chances of this are minimal.

Some manufacturers prefer not to issue a full-scale recall as by law these have to be in the public domain. While a recall suggests that a car maker is taking your safety seriously, they’re more worried that you’ll think they’re rubbish at their job if you’re asked to take your car to a dealer for checks.

As a result a car maker can instead issue a Technical Service Bulletin, or TSB. These aren’t made public but they’re effectively the same thing; a notice to dealers to inspect cars when they come in and to fix faults if necessary. You won’t be billed for such work and you won’t even know it’s been done, but this system does require you to stick with the dealer network for maintenance.

How does the recalls system work?

When a car maker identifies a potential fault with one or more of its models, it issues a recall notice via the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA), which used to be VOSA. It then has to contact each owner individually through the post. This is done in conjunction with the DVLA which is why it’s essential that the correct address is on your car’s V5C.

The letter sent out will ask you to return your car to your nearest dealer for an inspection plus any work if it’s needed. This work is always done for free but you won’t get any compensation for the inconvenience.

With the TSB system though, there’s no requirement to contact owners as this is effectively an unofficial recall. As a result, if you have your car serviced outside the dealer network the chances are any remedial work required once the car is out of warranty will be overlooked. Any TSB work is also done for free but if the dealer never sees your car the work can’t be done…

Has my car been recalled?

Things have just got a lot easier for you if you want to know if your car is subject to any recalls, as HPI has just launched an online service  that answers the question instantly, for just £2.99. Scoot over there and you’ll see even more information about the recall system and how it works.

What you shouldn’t do is ignore a recall notice as it’s your safety that’s potentially at stake – along with the safety of other road users around you. Conversely there’s no need to drop everything and rush to the dealer immediately; for starters, if it’s a major recall they won’t have the capacity to do everyone at once.

Don’t assume that your car has suddenly become a liability on wheels or that its value will be slashed because of its terrible secret (that’s not really so secret). With more than one million cars recalled every year, across around 150 campaigns by the various manufacturers, being caught up in such a campaign is no big deal.

Some models of car have been subject to upwards of a dozen recalls, sometimes for surprisingly minor things. For example, Volvo once recalled some of its cars because it had forgotten to apply a warning sticker to the door jamb of one of its models. Nobody died as a result and most rival companies would probably have issued a TSB instead to keep things under the radar.

So when that letter lands on the doormat and you’re asked to take your car for an inspection, don’t feel let down, anxious or angry because its maker has failed to do its job properly. Just be amazed that the incredibly complex piece of machinery on your drive doesn’t need more than a few replacement parts every couple of years, despite everything that you put it through.

 
Richard Dredge
May 2016