It’s still the first month of the year and it’s alarming to learn about so many car recalls. Some reports say that 2015 might be the year for car recalls. Now this is not something worth celebrating. In fact, this is serious news for car buyers who want no less than a vehicle dependable and safe enough to drive. Well, who doesn’t?
U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has sanctioned two of the most popular car manufacturers to date – Honda Motors and General Motors. The auto safety agency said it expects car recalls to reach up to 60 million car units.
Honda was fined a staggering $70 million for violating safety law after failing to report hundreds of fatal accidents for the past 11 years. The said accidents included the controversial Takata airbags, which reportedly explodes upon deployment and have been associated with five fatalities.
On the other hand, GM’s faulty ignition switches in millions of its small cars caused it to recall millions of units as the poor design hampered engine performance and proper deployment of airbags.
What’s alarming, however, are not the number of recalls, or the reasons why such units are recalled, or the amount of the imposed fine. Reports said that car buyers doesn’t seem to be stirred by these disturbing recalls and are seemingly taking them as some ordinary thing. This is evidenced by the increasing level of car sales despite news of scandals and recalls. In 2014, car sales reached record high of 16.4 million units based on reports from the National Automobile Dealers Association.
Analysts explained that the recalls are probably a result of the complexities in today’s car designs in that a simple error in technicality could cause a major disruption in the overall performance of the cars. They added that the rising demand for newer, better vehicles have pushed manufacturers to rush release of products without thorough design planning and inspection.
Regulators are stepping up their strategy in closely monitoring the quality and safety control protocols of manufacturers. However, there is no assurance that the cars out in the market are free from any defect. Agencies recommend car owners to contact their car’s manufacturer to check if the car they just bought are involved in any recall or controversy.
