NHTSA Makes it Easier for Vehicle Owners to Receive Recall Alerts

As the federal government agency responsible for "reducing deaths, injuries and economic losses resulting from motor vehicle crashes," the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) plays a key role in investigating vehicle defects and ensuring consumers are informed of potential problems.

There are now several ways vehicle owners can stay informed of recall notices and safety alerts that may pertain to their vehicles and vehicle parts:

• Download the free SaferCar mobile app and register your vehicle. NHTSA will notify you if a safety issue arises that may affect your registered vehicle. You can also use the app to submit complaints to NHTSA regarding potential vehicle defects.
• Follow NHTSA on Facebook and Twitter to get up-to-date information on recalls by vehicle and car seat manufacturers.
• Sign up for email notifications. You can sign up online to receive email notifications from NHTSA, for up to five vehicles. You can also sign up for notifications affecting tires and car seats.

With motor vehicle defects, early detection is absolutely crucial. If you do everything you can to be informed of recalls that do occur, you can get your vehicle or part fixed or replaced. This may help you avoid serious injury. Unfortunately, some recalls are not announced until thousands, tens of thousands or even millions of potentially defective vehicles are manufactured and being used by consumers.

Many recalls only occur after consumer complaints are filed with NHTSA. While some complaints are minor and primarily inconvenient in nature, some are extremely dangerous and can claim lives. Take the 2009 and 2010 recall of nearly 8 million Toyota vehicles for unintentional acceleration. Toyota ended up paying $48.8 million in civil penalties due to timeliness issues with the recalls and now faces hundreds of wrongful death and personal injury lawsuits pertaining to sudden, unintended acceleration by Toyota vehicles. An estimated 89 deaths and 57 injuries were reported to NHTSA from 2000 to May 2010.

At The McClellan Law Firm, we are committed to the representation of injured vehicle owners and others who have been harmed by vehicle defects. We have brought lawsuits against such automotive giants as General Motors, Toyota, Chrysler and Porsche, seeking justice those injured by poorly designed or defective vehicles and vehicle parts. These are highly technical cases that also require considerable resources to build compelling arguments against large auto manufacturers and their teams of attorneys.

For more information about vehicle defects and your rights as a consumer, call a San Diego personal injury attorney at our firm. We can offer guidance whether or not a recall has been issued, and can address any concerns you may have to help you get started in the right direction.