Millions of vehicles on roads have urgent safety recalls, experts stress getting repairs
TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — New data shows millions of vehicles on the roads have urgent safety recalls, and have been deemed too dangerous to drive.
“It could be as many as 17 million,” Brian Moody, Senior Editor for Kelley Blue Book said. “The bottom line is there’s a lot of vehicles on the road today that still have this issue.”
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Moody said a majority are related to the Takata airbag recall.
“It’s the biggest automotive recall in U.S. history,” said Moody.
Data from Carfax shows 2.5 million cars in the nation have urgent safety recalls of “Do Not Drive” or “Park Outside.” Of those, 237,000 are from Florida and 58,000 of those are in the Tampa Bay area.
Regardless if your vehicle is listed under a recall, experts recommend checking your vehicle identification number (VIN) on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) website.
“Don’t think, well, I don’t have a Honda, so therefore I don’t have to worry, these parts are shared across many vehicle lines and also some manufacturers,” said Moody. “You may have to schedule it, it might not get done tomorrow, but you don’t have to pay anything to get this fixed.”
The latest recall was announced this week, and it involves some older Toyota and General Motors vehicles.
The automakers issued a “Do Not Drive” advisory to the owners of about 61,000 older Corolla, Matrix, RAV4 and Pontiac Vibe models, telling people to stop driving them and get immediate repairs since the Takata Airbag inflators could explode and hurl shrapnel.
“If you have one of these cars absolutely do not drive it, it’s better to walk than to drive this car and potentially be harmed or injured very severely for something that is supposed to protect you.”
Drivers can go to nhtsa.gov/recalls and enter their 17-digit VIN to see if their cars are affected.
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