Vehicle recalls in Ireland are a relatively common occurrence and motorists would do well to pay attention to recall information as research from the US shows that as much as 40% of motorists do not take action on recalls, which could affect the safety or roadworthiness of the affected vehicle.

And while recalls can often be of a precautionary nature they are issued by car manufacturers for a reason and ignoring them could lead to a loss in the resale of the vehicle or in the worst case, an accident or mishap on the road.

There is no formal expiry on vehicle recalls but for cars of a certain age or mileage there may be issues with the dealer having the necessary parts available or making the repairs for free so it pays to not let too much time lapse between the date of the recall and visiting the dealership.

The most recent global vehicle recall notice relates to South Korean automotive manufactuer Hyundai, and their decision to recall Kona electric vehicles (EVs) built between 2018 and 2020 (and some Ioniq EVs also). This is due to concerns about the battery system and a potential fire risk associated with it, so again something that drivers of these vehicles should be paying urgent attention to. Indeed the Hyundai recall is the first global vehicle recall for electric vehicles but in Ireland alone there have been some significant vehicle recalls in the second half of 2020 alone.

Toyota, Nissan and Volvo all issued vehicle recalls in Ireland in 2020 for specific safety issues relating to models in their fleet (faulty brakes, child safety lock and seatbelt issues respectively). And while the risk of the issue identified by the recall occurring may be low the manufacturer makes the decision to recall based on the potential severe consequences.

Cartell’s free personal account offers vehicle recall information among a range of other services so feel free to sign up for that today. You can see the vehicle recalls dashboard area that is accessible in the personal account below. You can also visit https://www.gov.uk/check-vehicle-recall to check for any safety recalls which may be outstanding on your vehicle.

The two key takeways are to keep up to date with vehicle recall information for the brand and model that you drive, and most importantly to take action on the recall after it has been issues. If those two guidelines are followed then you will be mitigating against the risk of any pre-identified manufacturer safety issues endangering you and your vehicle.