2014: Year of the Most Automobile Recalls Ever
Published at | Updated at
iStock/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — A Ford announcement on Tuesday recalling more than 200,000 of its vehicles for everything from gas leaks to stalling problems helped solidify 2014′s place as the year of the most-ever automobile recalls.
Automakers have issued recalls for more than 50 million vehicles, breaking the previous record — set in 2004 — of 30.8 million recalled automobiles.
Ed Hellwig of the auto website Edmunds.com attributed the record-breaking number to automakers issuing recalls at a higher rate to deal with even the smallest of issues.
“The cars, in terms of quality, are better than ever,” Hellwig said. “I think all manufacturers are being more diligent.”
General Motors has recalled a whopping 26 million cars this year — even though it has sold only 14 million in the last five years. And many cars are still carrying defects.
The GM ignition switch, which can cut off power to some moving cars, resulted in a recall of 2.3 million cars on the road. More than half now have a new switch, but that leaves more than one million cars still needing a repair. GM has said it has parts available.
The automaker also suggested that drivers take the extra keys off their keychain.
Air bag maker Takata Industries is also scrambling to make millions of replacement parts.
The defective inflator in its air bags can explode with too much force, shattering the metal into shards that, car safety advocates say, are believed to have killed four people and caused dozens of injuries.
Some customers have been forced to wait, driving vehicles that could have a dangerous air bag.
In GM’s case, it said it was reaching out to customers, trying to get them in to replace ignition switches.
The automaker had even offered $25 gift cards to drivers with affected cars.
Follow @ABCNewsRadio
Copyright 2014 ABC News Radio