Ford has been considered the leader in the number of recalled cars in the US for the past three years, but in 2024, it took only third place. According to Carscoops, Tesla produced the largest number of vehicles that required after-sales repairs this year. The Indy Auto Man used car dealership investigates recent recalls to help consumers select the most reliable models when buying a used car in Indiana.
Tesla recall campaign
At the end of 2024, Tesla announced another large-scale recall of its electric vehicles. This recall will affect 694,304 Model Y, Model 3, and Cybertruck units, in which the tire pressure monitoring system may not work correctly. For the pickup, this service campaign is the seventh in a year.
The light that warns the driver about insufficient tire pressure may not work in some cases, which contradicts US federal safety standards, as it increases the risk of an accident. Tesla discovered this problem in November 2024 at scheduled testing. During the investigation, it turned out that the cause was a software update. Due to an error, the sensor signal was inadvertently reset when starting the electric vehicle or exiting sleep mode. To the date of publication, the automaker has no information about accidents caused by this malfunction.
From the whole Tesla lineup the recall will concern 2017-2025 Model 3 sedans, 2020-2025 Model Y crossovers, and the 2024 Cybertruck. There is no need to go to the service center to fix the defect: Tesla will remotely make the necessary corrections to the software.
Tesla announced 15 large recall campaigns in 2024. For example, the latest one, which started in mid-December, involves almost 700,000 cars. As a result, the total number of vehicles recalled by the manufacturer amounted to more than 5.1 million. At November 2024 “Tesla sold over 6.75 million vehicles in total.
Other brands
The Stellantis concern is ahead of the electric car manufacturer in the number of recall campaigns – the total number for all brands included in the concern is 67. They cover 4.7 million cars. Ford’s results are 62 campaigns and almost 4.4 million cars, although, in 2023, the company announced 54 recalls for 5.7 million cars.
The top ten leaders in this indicator also include Honda, GM, BMW, Toyota (including Lexus), Kia, Hyundai and Volkswagen.
This rating is preliminary since there are still a few days left until the end of the calendar year. If any of the leaders of the list announces another mass service campaign in the remaining time, this may change the ranking.
In the case of BMW, one of the mass service campaigns led to a revision of the forecast for 2024. Expectations for profit and sales volumes were adjusted due to the need to repair 1.5 million cars – a faulty component was found in their brake systems.
How to check a car for recall campaigns
A car recall is a legal procedure carried out by an automaker. However, few people want to suddenly find out that a recently purchased car is being recalled before the problems are fixed.
To check if the car is subject to a recall campaign, it is enough to:
- Go to the official web page of the manufacturer, and in the appropriate section, check the vehicle by VIN;
- Visit gov/recalls.
Usually, all cars from the risk group are recalled, even those with which everything is fine so far. This is how the manufacturer maintains the brand’s reputation. Diagnostics and defect elimination are carried out at the manufacturer’s expense, but these procedures take time. So before buying a used car, it is always worth checking a model for recalls.
