(Photo credit: OiMax/Creative Commons)
Last year was the year of auto recalls with a record number of more than eight million Canadian vehicles affected by almost 600 notices, according to the Canadian Press. Both the number of notices sent out and the number of vehicles affected was much higher than the previous year.
The previous record of recall notices in a year was set in 2010 with 468 notices, which affected 1.5 million vehicles, according to CP. The previous record for the most cars affected by recalls in a year was 2 million in 2013, when there were fewer notices sent out that year.
According to experts interviewed by CP, many automakers are taking a cautious approach after an investigation discovered that GM had waited approximately 11 years before initiating recalls.
Many of the recalls last year were related to older vehicles for issues such as faulty ignition switches in GM vehicles and faulty airbags. Automakers knew about these issues and their widespread distribution but failed to act upon this knowledge, President of the Automobile Protection Association George Iny told CP.
A wide range of automakers such as Nissan, BMW, Honda, Chrysler, Ford and Mazda have all announced recalls related to the vehicle’s airbags, which killed at least five people and injured others. Millions of vehicles have been affected worldwide by this recall, which can explode under changes from extreme heat to extreme cold and release metal fragments.
Takata, which produces a majority of the world’s airbags, was aware of this gas reaction within its airbags for a few decades, which was cited in the company’s patent applications, according to CNN Money.
In another vehicle recall case, Honda was fined the largest civil penalty of $70 million USD against an automaker by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) for its failure to report injuries and deaths related to its vehicles, which includes complaints and injuries caused by airbags produced by Takata.
The company was penalized $35 million for failing to report 1,729 death and injury claims that took place between 2003 and 2014. The company must also come up with policies and procedures to ensure that the NHTSA requirements are met.
Meanwhile, GM is currently facing multiple investigations and lawsuits related to its ignition switch recalls. In the spring of last year, two Canadian law firms were pursuing claims against the automaker. The ignition switch defect causes the driver to lose control of the vehicle and airbags fail to deploy. GM was also fined $35 million by the US Department of Transportation for its slow recall notice.
While it’s unlikely that there will be as many auto recalls this year, automakers will possibly remain more proactive with their notices, experts told CP.
Drivers have a right to feel safe in the vehicles they operate and they should feel confident all safety features are fully functional to handle a worst case scenario. The personal injury and accident lawyers at Neinstein Personal Injury Lawyers have been dealing with all product liability issues throughout Ontario for over 45 years. We know how to get you the compensation that you deserve and get your life back in order after being in a motor vehicle accident. Accident benefits are available to drivers, regardless of who caused the accident. Call us at 416-920-4242, set up a free consultation, and come speak with us.
Greg Neinstein
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