Consent Order

What It Means

A consent order is a legally binding settlement between NHTSA and a manufacturer that resolves alleged violations of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act, typically imposing civil penalties and requiring specific corrective actions such as extended recall monitoring, improved defect-reporting procedures, or mandated safety audits by independent third parties. Consent orders are public documents posted at nhtsa.gov and usually follow a NHTSA determination that the manufacturer failed to report a defect within the statutorily required five business days, submitted inaccurate Early Warning Reporting (EWR) data, inadequately notified owners, or produced vehicles that failed to meet FMVSS requirements. The TREAD Act of 2000 raised maximum civil penalties per related violation series to a current inflation-adjusted cap of roughly $135.8 million as of 2025. Significant consent orders in the modern era include: General Motors (2014), $35 million plus a three-year oversight agreement for delayed reporting of the ignition switch defect, later followed by a $900 million deferred prosecution agreement with the Department of Justice; Toyota (2010-2014), a total of $66 million across four consent orders plus the $1.2 billion criminal fine tied to unintended acceleration; Fiat Chrysler/Stellantis (2015), a $105 million consent order (largest NHTSA civil penalty at the time) plus required vehicle buybacks for dealing improperly with 23 separate recall campaigns; Hyundai and Kia (2020), a combined $210 million for delayed engine-fire recalls; and Takata (2015), a $200 million civil penalty plus the 2017 $1 billion criminal plea. Consent orders often include non-monetary requirements that reshape manufacturer recall practices for years after signing. RecallCheck does not display consent orders per vehicle but they explain the institutional backdrop for why certain recalls (particularly the Takata rolling recall and the Hyundai/Kia extended engine recall) have been so expansive.

Frequently Asked Questions