2010 Recall

The Government Investigates Complaints regarding New and used Cars for Safety Violations that occur because the manufacturing process resulted in a defective vehicle being sold to the public..

Many don't realize that the vehicle does not have to be a brand new car to have a manufacturing defect that may not be known because it has not yet come to the attention of the government !..

Obviously if you have a used car that has a part that is just worn out such as worn brakes,a worn out power steering rack or other parts that are merely non functional due to age or lack of maintainence..that is not a manufacturing defect that the government will investigate.

However you may have a Lemon Law Complaint under your states Law..It can be hard to tell the difference between a manufacturing defect and a wear related problem.

One way is to ask your independent mechanic if he is fixing a large number of cars of your year and make with the same problem as yours.

If you take your car to the Franchise dealer for service the mechanic there may not disclose this information ,not wanting to "tarnish" the brand.So that won't be much help..

If you have friends in your Church,job,or other group that own a certain Brand and year like yours...Ask them if they have had the same problem with their car as you did.

.Check for Service Bulletins HERE on your model.Why?.Because very often this is the first sign or a precursor to a formal recall.This is because these Bulletins are sent to the Dealers service department to give them special instructions for certain repairs that are coming up a lot on a certain model.

What the Manufacturers hope is if these service procedures are followed the company may be able to "nip the problem in the bud" and not have to go through the expense of a recall..

Another thing that People may not be aware of is the recall does not have to be safety related .

Some of the most costly recalls have involved appearance or rust related problems that affect the Resale Value more than a imminent threat of injury.

For example Ford payed out 100s of millions of dollars in a "silent recall" [ see below ] involving defective paint on the popular F series pickup during the 90's.

People that did not complain did not get any payment however since there never was a formal recall.And Ford never volunteered the expensive repainting .

Toyota replaced 100's of thousands of head gaskets on the 4 Runner SUV during the same era.As well as replacing flimsy frames on these vehicles and the 4x4 pickup;that rusted.

Naturally Toyota was not eager to do a "frame off" restoration on these older used vehicles .

This bring up a issue...Fairness !.

If the government does not issue a formal recall which results in all registered owners of a certain vehicle getting a letter informing them of the remedy available..some owners will not hear that there is anything that can be done for them and lose out.

The manufacturer ,who may have been fixing them under a "silent: recall" may put a terminal date for any repairs they do free, which is also arbitrary,since there never was a formal recall.This brings up two conclusions

1] Consumers should put compaints on the record Report a Safety Problem ...here .and

2] If you discover there is or may be a so called :silent recall" on your vehicle and the service manager refuses your request for a free or discounted repair contact a Lawyer That can apply some pressure on the dealer.As you can see from the above examples,if you do not stand up for your rights you will be ignored and not get anything.