Active Recall

What It Means

An active recall (sometimes called an "open recall") exists when a manufacturer has issued a recall campaign covering a vehicle but the specific VIN has not yet received the free remedy. Owners can verify open recalls at no charge by entering their 17-character VIN at nhtsa.gov or on any vehicle detail page on RecallCheck, which queries the same NHTSA data feed. Manufacturers are required to send notification letters by first-class mail within 60 days of filing a defect report with NHTSA, and dealers must perform the repair free of charge regardless of the vehicle's age or mileage when the defect is safety-related. Nationally, the recall completion rate averages about 75 percent within 18 months of notification, but tens of millions of vehicles carry unrepaired open recalls at any given time. The completion rate for older vehicles and for vehicles that have changed ownership multiple times is significantly lower, often below 50 percent, which is a core reason used-car buyers need to check VIN-level recall status before purchase. Certain recalls, such as the Takata airbag inflator recall, have "Do Not Drive" or "Park Outside" advisories attached when the risk of imminent harm is high. Under a 2015 FAST Act amendment, rental car companies and dealer loaners are prohibited from renting or loaning vehicles with open safety recalls until the remedy is performed. RecallCheck flags active recalls prominently on every vehicle page because unrepaired recalls directly affect crash, fire, and injury risk, and an open critical recall can reduce a vehicle's Safety Score by a full letter grade.

Active Recall is one of the NHTSA or vehicle-safety concepts that recurs across RecallIndex. The definition above is the technical answer; below is how the concept connects to the NHTSA data that drives every vehicle page on the site.

In the RecallIndex Safety Score, this concept feeds one of the four factor weights — recall severity (40 percent), complaint frequency (30 percent), crash and fire reports (20 percent), or trend direction (10 percent). The methodology page on the site walks through every input in detail.

Frequently Asked Questions