How to Check If Your Car Has Open Recalls

The Bottom Line

You can check for open recalls on any vehicle for free at NHTSA.gov/recalls using your VIN. If your car was in an accident and a recalled component -- airbag, brakes, steering, seatbelt -- contributed to the crash or worsened your injuries, the manufacturer may be liable under NC product liability law. Millions of vehicles on NC roads have unrepaired recalls. Check yours today, and if you were already in an accident involving a recalled part, preserve the defective component and consult a product liability attorney immediately.

How to Check Your Vehicle for Recalls

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) maintains a free recall lookup tool at NHTSA.gov/recalls. The process takes about 30 seconds.

Step 1: Find your VIN. Your 17-digit vehicle identification number is located on a metal plate on the driver's side dashboard, visible through the windshield from outside the car. It is also printed on a sticker inside the driver's door jamb, and on your vehicle registration and insurance documents.

Step 2: Enter the VIN. Go to NHTSA.gov/recalls and type or paste your VIN into the search field.

Step 3: Review results. The tool will display every open recall on your vehicle, including a description of the defect, the safety risk, and the recommended remedy. It also shows whether the recall has been completed on your specific vehicle.

If your vehicle has an open recall, contact your dealership to schedule the repair. Safety recall repairs are always free -- the manufacturer is legally required to cover the full cost of parts and labor.

Why Recalls Matter After an Accident

If you were in an accident and a recalled component contributed to the crash or your injuries, the recall itself becomes powerful evidence in a product liability claim.

The recall proves the manufacturer knew about the defect. When a manufacturer issues a recall, they are acknowledging that a safety defect exists. This eliminates one of the hardest hurdles in a product liability case -- proving the manufacturer was aware of the problem.

The defect may have caused the accident. If your brakes failed, your steering locked up, your accelerator stuck, or your tire tread separated -- and that component was subject to a recall -- the recalled defect may have directly caused your crash. The manufacturer is liable for accidents caused by known defective components.

The defect may have worsened your injuries. Even if the recall did not cause the crash, a recalled safety component that failed to protect you -- like a defective airbag that did not deploy or a seatbelt that did not restrain properly -- means the manufacturer is liable for the enhanced injuries you suffered because the safety system did not work.

The Takata Airbag Recall: NC Is Especially at Risk

The Takata airbag recall is the largest automotive recall in history, affecting approximately 67 million vehicles in the United States across nearly every major manufacturer -- Honda, Toyota, Ford, BMW, Chrysler, GM, Nissan, Mazda, Subaru, and many others.

The defect is in the airbag inflator. Takata inflators use ammonium nitrate propellant that degrades over time, particularly in hot and humid climates. When a degraded inflator deploys, the metal canister can rupture and send shrapnel into the vehicle cabin at high velocity. This defect has caused deaths and catastrophic injuries worldwide.

Despite years of recall notices, millions of affected vehicles remain unrepaired. Many owners never received the notice, moved and missed it, or simply did not act on it. Every one of those vehicles is driving around with a potential fragmentation device in the steering wheel or dashboard.

What to Do If Your Recalled Car Was in an Accident

If you were in an accident and suspect a recalled component played a role, take these steps immediately.

Preserve the defective component. This is the single most important step. Do not let the repair shop, insurance company, or salvage yard replace, discard, or destroy the part. If your airbag deployed, the airbag module must be preserved. If a tire blew out, keep the tire. If the brakes failed, the brake assembly must be kept intact for expert inspection.

Send a spoliation letter. Have your attorney send written notice to the manufacturer, insurer, tow yard, and any repair shop that the vehicle and all components must be preserved as evidence. This creates a legal obligation to maintain the evidence and consequences if they destroy it.

Document everything. Photograph the vehicle from every angle -- exterior damage, interior damage, the defective component, dashboard warning lights, and the odometer. Photograph the VIN plate. Save all recall notices you have received.

Check the NHTSA complaints database. In addition to the recall lookup, NHTSA maintains a database of consumer complaints at NHTSA.gov/complaints. Search for your vehicle's year, make, and model to see if other owners have reported similar failures. A pattern of complaints strengthens your claim.

Consult a product liability attorney. Cases against vehicle manufacturers are complex, expensive, and require expert testimony. This is not a claim you can handle on your own. A product liability attorney will know how to preserve evidence, retain the right experts, and build a case against the manufacturer.

Open Recall Statistics: The Scope of the Problem

The numbers are staggering. At any given time, tens of millions of vehicles on American roads have unrepaired safety recalls. NHTSA data consistently shows that recall completion rates -- the percentage of affected vehicles that actually get repaired -- often hover around 70 to 75 percent for major recalls. That means 25 to 30 percent of recalled vehicles never get fixed.

In North Carolina, with approximately 8 million registered vehicles, the math suggests hundreds of thousands of vehicles on NC roads have at least one open safety recall right now.

The reasons vary. Some owners never received the recall notice. Others received it but ignored it. Used car buyers may not know about recalls on their vehicle. And some recalls involve parts that are in short supply, leaving owners waiting months or years for the repair to become available.

NC Lemon Law vs. Recalls: Different Legal Frameworks

People sometimes confuse recalls with lemon law claims, but these are completely different legal mechanisms.

Recalls are manufacturer-initiated safety campaigns. The manufacturer identifies a defect that poses a safety risk and notifies owners to bring the vehicle in for a free repair. Recalls do not expire and apply regardless of the vehicle's warranty status.

NC's lemon law (N.C. Gen. Stat. 20-351) protects buyers of new vehicles that have substantial defects the dealer cannot repair within a reasonable number of attempts during the warranty period. The lemon law provides for a replacement vehicle or refund -- it is a warranty-related consumer protection, not a safety recall mechanism.

A vehicle can have a recall without being a lemon, and a lemon may not have any recalls. If your vehicle has a defect that caused an accident, the relevant legal theory is product liability -- not the lemon law.

Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I check if my car has an open recall?▾

Go to NHTSA.gov/recalls and enter your 17-digit vehicle identification number (VIN). The tool is free and will show every open recall on your vehicle, including a description of the defect and the recommended remedy. Your VIN is located on a metal plate on the driver's side dashboard (visible through the windshield) and on a sticker inside the driver's door jamb.

Can I sue the manufacturer if a recalled part caused my accident in NC?▾

Yes. If a recalled component -- such as a defective airbag, faulty brakes, or a steering defect -- caused or contributed to your accident, the manufacturer may be liable under NC product liability law. The existence of the recall itself is strong evidence that the manufacturer knew about the defect. You must preserve the defective component as evidence and consult a product liability attorney.

Is it illegal to drive a car with an open recall in NC?▾

No. There is no NC law that prohibits you from driving a vehicle with an open recall. However, it is strongly inadvisable, especially for safety-related recalls like Takata airbags, brake defects, or steering failures. If you are in an accident and the recalled component contributed to it, the open recall status becomes a critical factor in your claim.

Are NC dealers allowed to sell cars with open recalls?▾

NC dealers cannot sell new vehicles with open safety recalls -- they must complete the recall repair first. For used vehicles, federal law specifically prohibits dealers from selling used cars with open Takata airbag recalls. For other recalls on used vehicles, the rules are less clear, but reputable dealers should disclose open recalls and offer to complete the repair before sale.