Recalls Fall 30% in 2008

According to early accounts, automotive recalls fell 30% in 2008 compared to 2007. In 2008, 10.2 million vehicles were recalled, while 14.5 million were recalled in ’07. This drop comes despite the number of recall notices going up to 642, versus 588 the year before (meaning fewer vehicles were recalled with each notice on average). That’s the fewest vehicles recalled since 1994.

Ford, Chrysler and Nissan saw drops in the number of vehicles recalled, while GM, Toyota and Honda all saw increases. Each manufacturer had reasons why their numbers were up or down, but experts say the overall drop is due to more advanced systems catching problems early, before recalls are ever initiated. They also point to increased quality in manufacturing overall.

Ford’s recalls dropped from a whopping 5.5 million in 2007 to 1.6 million in 2008, which is still a significant number. Toyota’s numbers jumped to 833,000 from 640,000. That means Ford recalled nearly twice as many vehicles as Toyota, even though Toyota outsells Ford by large numbers.  We break down more recalls below and some of the reasons for the numbers.

Comments

So Chrysler (out of the companies listed) had the MOST recalls last year and the LEAST this year? That's great.

Ford had the most last year, but yes it was still a large improvement for Chrysler. Now they also debuted less new models this year as well which might impact the numbers some as well.

WSJ did an interesting piece recently on an internal Chrysler memo that stated no voluntary recalls will be issued unless the NHTSA mandates them. Unfortunately it's cheaper for Chrysler to pour resources into fighting recalls than it is to initiate them. This shouldn't be a surprise given the financial condition they are in. As the WSJ predicted the number of recalls would plummet.

This doesn't surprise me even a little. It's simple math. Sell fewer cars = build fewer cars = less recalls.

Troy hit the nail on the head.

Toyota sells more cars yet has 50% less recalls than General Motors and Ford? Maybe that explains why so many people are so loyal to Toyota.

Are these recalls in the U.S only? If so then Toyota does not sell more vehicles than GM or Ford and Toyota does not have more vehicles in operation in the U.S. or the world than GM or Ford. Last year GM sold more than a million more vehicles in the U.S. than Toyota.

Roar

GM has over 40 million vehicles in operation in the U.S. and Toyota and Honda have less than half that many in operation in the U.S.

The stats don't lie, GM has twice as many recalls as Toyota. Toyota sells more cars in the world than anyone else. Is GM still in business outside of supplying Avis and Enterprise?

The automotive world will be a much better place without GM. My Dad fought in two wars and prior to starting his own company was a member of three different unions. As he said on more than one occasion, "GM makes it impossible to stay loyal. If it weren't for their shoddy quality I would have never have purchased my first Honda." To date my family has purchased eleven Honda cars for our family. Thank you GM for introducing my family to high quality autos from Honda.

Hey Peter, Your dad might be dead and you may have never been born without the GM building military vehicles for World War II.

Roar,
I guess reading comprehension is not one of your strongest attributes as the poster's name is Parker, not Peter. And how on earth would you know if the poster was born before or after the war? You don't, you're just assuming because you're not very intelligent.

Mike5, You are correct, I missed the name, sorry. Your post indicates that you did not read Parker's post. Read it closely.

Looks GM will remain a leader at something in 2008

roar,
Just another typical illiterate GM supporter.
The name is not Peter but Parker.
Plus, if GM was not there in the war, there were others.