Safety Recalls
Protecting and empowering consumers is a key tenet of both the Bureau of Automotive Repair (BAR) and Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA). Both BAR and DCA believe strongly that safety recall compliance is critical to saving lives. As many are aware, an unprecedented vehicle safety recall campaign of Takata air bags has been initiated by 19 different vehicle manufacturers. This safety recall campaign is because of a safety defect that may cause the air bag inflator to explode and cause serious injury and/or death.
In an effort to inform and protect consumers and increase vehicle safety recall compliance rates, BAR recently worked with the National Highway Traffic Safety Association (NHTSA) to help educate California consumers with high risk vehicles. Our efforts resulted in the identification of 852 “Alpha” group vehicles, which are considered the most dangerous, with an open Takata air bag recall. BAR successfully contacted the owners of over 500 “Alpha” group vehicles, notifying them of the recall and safety risks associated with continued operation of the vehicle with a defective airbag.
BAR is committed to continue to work with all stakeholders to find ways to protect consumers by increasing vehicle safety recall compliance. Additionally, we believe that the automotive repair industry is ideally positioned to support this objective and has a real opportunity to help save lives by informing and educating consumers. Several resources exist that can help consumers determine if their vehicle does in fact have an open safety recall. Consumers can enter their 17-digit Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) through the NHTSA Recall page at www.nhtsa.gov and quickly determine if their vehicle is subject to a safety recall. It is important to provide these resources to your customers and let them know that these repairs will be performed by the manufacturer at no cost. For more information, visit the Safety Recall page at www.bar.ca.gov.