What happens if you miss a recall? - The Cooper Firm (2024)

FAQs

What happens if you miss a recall? - The Cooper Firm? ›

There is no time limit on getting a recall fixed, and most dealers should honor the recall and fix your car free of charge. The only exception is if your vehicle is older than ten years at the time of the recall, the dealer may not fix the vehicle for free.

Ignoring a recall on your vehicle can cost you more than one way. Some examples are legal ramifications, injuries, higher insurance rates and claim denials.

If you've ignored a recall, the car manufacturer may try to argue that you should not be compensated because you are either contributorily negligent or comparatively negligent. Contributory and comparative negligence asserts that you also acted negligently and caused part of your injury.

How long can a dealership keep my car for repairs? Manufacturers or dealerships can take 30 days to fix recalled vehicles. The 30 days do not have to be consecutive. You may need to take your car in for repairs several times.

Sometimes, a recall may escalate into a lemon law claim if the manufacturer fails to remedy the problem within a reasonable number of repair attempts. If you've already taken your car in for repairs related to a recall, and the issue persists after multiple attempts, you may have grounds for a lemon law claim.

By law, the manufacturer must pay for the repairs if the recall is announced 10 years or less after the date of the car's original purchase date.

Civil penalties of $100 per employee may be imposed on the employer for each employee whose rights are violated and the employee can be awarded compensatory liquidated damages of $500 for each day until the violation is cured.

Automotive safety recalls do not expire. According to Edmunds, “vehicle recalls do not have an expiration date.” However, it can be challenging to schedule a repair if the manufacturer goes out of business or discontinues the part.

Every vehicle recall is serious and affects your safety.

Replacement: If the problem cannot be fixed, the manufacturer can provide you with another identical vehicle or a similar model. Refund: The manufacturer can choose to refund the purchase price of the vehicle, minus a reasonable amount for depreciation.

What are the consequences of recalls? ›

Between direct costs, missed opportunities, potential share price drops, damage to consumer and investor confidence, and loss of market share and innovation edge, recalls can cause catastrophic consequences, especially for smaller companies who might not be able to ever recover from a significant recall event.

While it can feel like an inconvenience to have to take time out from your busy day to bring in your specific vehicle for repair, the good news is that you won't have to pay anything out of pocket when it comes to getting the work done. The issue will be fixed by the manufacturer at no cost if there's a recall issue.

Safety, Compliance, and Emissions Recalls do not expire. Affected vehicles remain eligible until the repair is completed. Other types of vehicle programs, called Customer Satisfaction Programs, typically have expiration dates and/or mileage limitations.

Car insurance rates are determined in part by the relative safety of a vehicle. If a recall has a long-term effect on the safety of your car, your rates could rise. But this usually isn't the case, so don't worry unless your car has seen multiple recalls or needs other repairs due to the issue.

You could potentially make the legal argument that recalls decreasing the value of the vehicle. Per California lemon law, the vehicle must have a substantial defect that impairs its “safety, value, or functionality.” You only have to prove impairment to one of the three. A recall affecting the value would qualify.

Almost all recalls are conducted on a voluntary basis by the manufacturer.