Millions of vehicle recalls remain unchecked
Millions of vehicle recalls have never been checked by dealerships, according to data obtained by ADS, meaning potentially dangerous cars are still on the road.
A Freedom of Information request revealed that 3.2 million cars and vans recalled in the UK from 2018 to 2023 have never been checked.
However, ADS believes the actual number is significantly higher than that with many recalls not monitored by dealers.
In total, 14.8 million vehicles across 2,128 models were identified for safety recalls between 2018 and 2023, with figures from the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) revealing that about a quarter have not been fixed.
The breakdown by year is:
- 2018: 729,876 (of 4,117,940 total recalls)
- 2019: 422,729 (of 2,191,143 total recalls)
- 2020: 467,345 (of 2,130,692 total recalls)
- 2021: 498,381 (of 2,856,141 total recalls)
- 2022: 739,705 (of 2,211,061 total recalls)
- 2023: 394,660 (of 1,373,258 total recalls)
Missed revenues
Apart from obvious safety issues, ADS has said dealerships are also missing out hundreds of millions of pounds in potential revenue.
Jon Sheard, operations director at Auto Data Solutions (ADS), which offers a Recall Alert service, said: “With over three million outstanding recalls, the real number is almost certainly higher. Nearly a quarter of recalls never get resolved, and that should be a wake-up call for dealerships to take database management seriously.
“Motorists have a right to know if their vehicle has a safety issue. Dealers must step up and fix this problem before it spirals out of control.
“Fixing this issue isn’t rocket science. Dealers just need to track their customers properly. The benefits are huge – for drivers, manufacturers, and their own bottom line.”
