Government's Recall Site Sparks Debate

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has a website where you can sign up to receive emails notifying you of automotive recalls. Sounds like a good idea, right? Give NHTSA your car information and receive notification by email, cell phone, PDA or RSS feed if your vehicle is affected by a recall.

Not quite, say consumer advocate groups like the Center for Auto Safety and the Consumer Federation of America. They complain that the program is not only a “sham,” but also counter-productive.

NHTSA issues roughly 600 recalls each year, and consumers — who are usually informed by letters from the manufacturers — take little notice. One in four owners ignores the notifications, according to the agency, even when the issue could be dangerous.

Electronic notifications from NHTSA were supposed to help cut that figure, but the problem is that recall notices wouldn’t go out to specific vehicles based on VIN number or even model, but rather just by the make and the year of the car. That means if a 2008 Toyota Tundra were recalled, you would be notified even if you just own a Camry.

Consumer groups argue that this makes car owners more likely to ignore warnings — imagine if you received six emails a month about NHTSA recalls along with all the other typical junk that turns up in your inbox. NHTSA says using the VIN number is out of the question because of privacy issues, but that it will review the current notification model to determine if changes are necessary.

Recall Notices Available by E-Mail (Wheels)

Comments

The matter I am about to detail concerns my 2008 ML350.

On Saturday, March 21st, 6:30 in the morning, I pulled into a gym parking lot with my car. As I attempted to break, the car continued to accelerate. I kept pumping on the break only to have the car make a grinding sound as it continued to accelerate (as if it were resisting my attempts to stop it). Eventually, and thankfully before it hit the building, the car stalled to a stop. The car actually ascended 3 wooden porch steps and hit into a wooden porch column before stopping. It was a very early Saturday morning. Had I pulled into this driveway midmorning, on this Saturday (a time when this gym is especially active), I could very well have killed somebody.

On the day of the incident, the car was towed to a Mercedes dealership. (I had just purchased another car from this dealership a few weeks earlier, so I thought it appropriate to have the car towed there). At the time, I was given a loaner car at no expense to me. On the day of the accident I also reached out to Mercedes Benz directly to report the incident, at which time I forwarded photos to the gentleman I spoke with. The MB representative assured me that MB takes these concerns very seriously and that a case had been opened to investigate the matter.

Well, after a week’s time, I reached out to this same Mercedes Benz “investigator” in an effort to establish if any progress had been made with his investigation. Much to my chagrin, I was met with complete evasiveness. I could not get a single direct answer from the representative. Clearly, this man was instructed not to commit his company to anything at this juncture. Totally frustrated with the lack of communication on the part of Mercedes Benz, as well as the dealership, I initiated a formal complaint regarding the incident with the National Highway Traffic Safety Board.

Three weeks after the incident, and numerous telephone calls later, I went on record with the dealership that I was not comfortable driving their loaner and needed their help to get this matter off center. More importantly, I did not want to be behind the wheel of the ML350 if it were to be repaired. This malfunction happened once; it could very well happen again. I wanted out of this lease immediately at which point I would entertain leasing another different vehicle from them. The principals of this dealership, the dealership’s salesman, and their service manager wanted no part of my dilemma. I was told that my issue was with Corporate and that it had nothing to do with them. Further, they demanded that their car be returned.

Another week went by. I was still driving the dealership’s car, and the latest word passed along to me from Corporate was that the nature of such cases were that of “ a process.” The car had been inspected 3 weeks prior, and a technical report had been submitted to Mercedes Benz legal counsel. They would get back to me whenever they had made a determination. So, at this point I was paying for a lease on a car that I didn’t have the use of, and I have been given no guidance as to when Corporate would get back to me with their findings.

Well, it has taken a month and a half, and two car payments later, but, just today, MB Corporate came back to me saying that the car did not malfunction. Unfortunately, at the same time they refused to provide me with the technical report results for my review. That was an internal document which meant that they had no obligation to share it with me. Equally unfortunate is the fact that I now felt powerless in the situation.

I have returned the loaner to the dealership and I am now in the process of repairing the damages to the car at my expense. I am doing so because I am at a loss as to what other recourse I have, if any, at this moment.

Any insights you or your associates can share with me would be greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,

At The Mercy Of A Corporate Giant

Stephanie L. Nastro

E-mail: steph.nastro@gmail.com