Canadian auto recalls hit an all-time high in 2014 and staying on top of all the call backs can be complicated but a free app is now available to help drivers navigate through the information.
Last year more than eight million motorists received a recall notice for their vehicles and many are still out on the roads without the fixes in place because the owners are likely unaware or just haven’t gotten around to taking their vehicles in.
Two recent call backs highlight the dangers of unfixed recalls.
Takata's airbags, which can shoot shrapnel into driver’s faces, were installed in millions of vehicles by several different manufacturers and GMs faulty ignition switches, which spontaneously turn off power and safety systems, also went into millions of cars.
CARFAX, an online auto information company, says about 20 percent of vehicles on Calgary roads have unfixed recalls and that could be putting the owners and other drivers at risk.
CTV Calgary Consumer Specialist, Lea Williams-Doherty talked to Chris Basso from CARFAX about the company’s app that helps drivers stay on top of all these recalls.
The app lists all the open recalls on vehicles when users type in the licence plate or VIN number and is more geared toward Americans but can be accessed by Canadians as well.
“The great thing here is you plug in your licence plate once and the CARFAX app will tell you if you have recalls now and it will send you a notice if a new recall is issued in the future,” said Basso.
The free CARFAX app will be available on Wednesday in the iTunes store or on Google Play and the company’s Canadian website will also be launched the same day.
For more information, click HERE.
(With files from Lea Williams-Doherty)
