The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration released a new search tool Wednesday that helps car owners find out if their vehicles are affected by a recall.
The large number of vehicle recalls from different car makers makes it hard for car owners to know if their vehicle is affected by any defect. Making the task simpler, the U.S. Department of Transportation launched a new search tool, Wednesday, which scans through NHTSA's data base for any open or unrepaired recalls and tries matching the unique Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) to the listed defects.
The new VIN search tool makes it a lot simpler for car owners to look for possible safety recalls affecting a specific make and model. The VIN search replaces the traditional search using vehicle's make, model and year. The former search method is not as efficient as the new VIN look-up tool because the number of vehicles shown in the search result required further sifting to locate the right one. Comparatively, the 17-digit VIN that can be found on the dashboard on the driver's side displays precise results, Reuters noted.
"Just as every single automaker should never hesitate to recall a defective vehicle, consumers should never hesitate to get their recalled vehicle fixed," NHTSA Deputy Administrator David Friedman said in a press statement. "By making individual VIN searches readily available, we're providing another service to consumers - the peace of mind knowing that the vehicle they own, or that they are thinking of buying or renting, is free of safety defects."
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration highlighted the fact that only 75 percent of the recalled vehicles actually make it to the dealerships for repair every year. Lack of proper communication can be one of the major reasons for the inefficiency. The safety agency hopes to change that with the new VIN search tool.
Owners of cars and those who are purchasing a used-car can check for unrepaired vehicles at any time.
In addition to the new tool, the NHTSA also requires major light vehicle manufacturers to support VIN search capability for uncompleted recalls on their official sites. Car makers are obligated to update the data at least once every week so consumers get the required information regularly.
