Six Vehicles Most Affected By 2012 Recalls
It's become a rite of passage for car ownership: At some time, you're likely to get a notification letter in the mail, calling you back to the dealership for a fix on a safety-related issue, seemingly large or small. While that part should come as no surprise, it might be counter-intuitive to learn that your chances this past year of getting one of those letters were much higher with two of the mass-market brands with the most pristine reputation for dependability—Honda and Toyota.
Beyond their standing as evergreen reliability champs in Consumer Reports metrics, Toyota and Honda are at the top of the latest 2013 J.D. Power Vehicle Dependability Study, released toward the end of February. And Harris Interactive recently found Toyota, Ford, and Honda to be this year's top-rated auto companies in terms of reputation.
Yet those happen to be among the automakers with some of this past year's largest, highest-profile safety-recall efforts—especially those affecting used cars. Toyota and Honda topped the industry in number of vehicles recalled during 2012, with Toyota issuing recalls for 5,330,643 vehicles and Honda at 3,363,343 vehicles. GM was third in terms of vehicles recalled (1,476,319), and most visible, perhaps, because of its multiple recalls on the Chevrolet Cruze. Ford made waves with by far the highest number of individual recalls (24)—including several on its all-new 2013 Escape, which hit the market last spring—but it recalled a total of 1,398,837 vehicles in 2012.
Even industry-wide there were more vehicles recalled in 2012 than new vehicles sold. From 586 new recalls issued, that's about 16.2 million vehicles recalled—slightly more than the 15.5 million of 2011, but less than 2009 and 2010, when total recall numbers were affected by the massive Toyota and Lexus recalls. And it's a far cry from 2004's total of 30.8 million.
2013 Ford Escape
Why it's on this list: Four recalls announced in 2012
Manufacturer's hotline: 888-327-4236
2011-2012 Chevrolet Cruze
Why it's on this list: Three recalls announced in 2012 (two of them adding onto model-year 2011 recalls)
Manufacturer's hotline: 866-694-6546
2006-2011 Toyota RAV4
Why it's on the list: Two major recall announcements cover hundreds of thousands of vehicles.
Manufacturer's hotline: 800-331-4331
2003-2004 Honda Pilot
Why it's on the list: Because two separate recalls cover a lot of vehicles, going back many model years
Manufacturer's hotline: 800-999-1009
2001-2003 Ford Escape
Why it's on the list: Several significant mechanical recalls affecting a large number of vehicles
Manufacturer's hotline: 888-327-4236
2004-2009 Toyota Prius
Why it's on the list: Because every Prius from 2004 through 2009 is affected by at least one of these recalls
Manufacturer's hotline: 800-331-4331