No, a recall is usually only issued when there’s risk for human harm. A free maintenance alert (IIRC that’s what it’s called) will just execute the repair at the company discretion, usually when the part has already failed and when the car is in for periodic inspection and maintenance.
Companies are usually reactive rather than proactive with recalls, which makes me wonder if they’re facing a wrongful death claim due to someone running over a kid because of the faulty cam.
When the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration determines that a vehicle or component contains a safety defect or fails to meet a federal motor vehicle safety standard, the manufacturer is legally required to notify owners and fix the problem at no charge.
This site states they can also be issued if the vehicle doesn’t meet a certain federal safety standard. There have also been recalls for vehicles that have been fixed OTA with a software update so a physical defect is not a requirement for a recall.
My Honda CR/V was recalled (twice) due to software bugs that would randomly prevent the battery from charging properly. The only risk I faced was being stuck in a parking lot somewhere and having to get the car jumpstarted to get it going again. Once the car was running it ran fine. There was absolutely no safety risk, but they were formal NHTSA recalls.
No, a recall is usually only issued when there’s risk for human harm. A free maintenance alert (IIRC that’s what it’s called) will just execute the repair at the company discretion, usually when the part has already failed and when the car is in for periodic inspection and maintenance.
Companies are usually reactive rather than proactive with recalls, which makes me wonder if they’re facing a wrongful death claim due to someone running over a kid because of the faulty cam.
Source: https://dmvct.org/recalls-safety/how-nhtsa-safety-recalls-work/
This site states they can also be issued if the vehicle doesn’t meet a certain federal safety standard. There have also been recalls for vehicles that have been fixed OTA with a software update so a physical defect is not a requirement for a recall.
My Honda CR/V was recalled (twice) due to software bugs that would randomly prevent the battery from charging properly. The only risk I faced was being stuck in a parking lot somewhere and having to get the car jumpstarted to get it going again. Once the car was running it ran fine. There was absolutely no safety risk, but they were formal NHTSA recalls.
I stand corrected.