Recall Repair Rates by Automaker: Who Fixes Recalls

Most recalled cars are never fully repaired: across the recalls we analyzed, about one vehicle in three was still waiting for its fix. This guide ranks automakers by the share of recalled vehicles they report as repaired, using NHTSA’s recall file and the completion figures each manufacturer files with the US Department of Transportation. It covers recalls of cars, SUVs, pickups and vans filed from 2014 through 2023, so every recall in the ranking is at least about two years old.

How many recalled vehicles get repaired

The rate is weighted by the number of vehicles in each recall, so a 5-million-vehicle recall counts far more than a 500-vehicle one. It improves as recalls get older, but slowly. By year of filing, the weighted rate was 65% for 2014 recalls, 66% for 2016, 72% for 2018, 69% for 2020 and 77% for 2022, so even recalls that are eight or ten years old are still about a third unrepaired.

Automakers ranked by recall repair rate

These are the 20 automakers with the most recalls for passenger vehicles in the cohort, ranked from the highest to the lowest repair rate. “Open” is an estimate: each recall’s vehicles times (1 minus its repaired rate), added up.

Source: NHTSA recalls file and US DOT completion data, retrieved Oct 6, 2026; computed by PlainVIN. Includes only recalls that list cars, SUVs, pickups or vans; excludes trucks, buses, motorcycles, RVs and equipment. A vehicle in several recalls is counted in each. Parent-company names group their brands: General Motors includes Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac; Stellantis (FCA US) includes Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram; Volkswagen Group includes Audi.

Two patterns stand out. Tesla, whose recall remedies are mostly software updates, reports the highest rate; in our software recalls guide we found recalls whose remedy text offers an over-the-air update are repaired more often than the rest. And the three automakers with the most open vehicle-recalls (Ford, Stellantis and General Motors, each about 18 to 20 million) are also the three with the most recalls, so a middling rate on a huge base leaves a lot of unrepaired vehicles on the road. For recall counts and the biggest campaigns by brand see our recalls hub and car recall statistics guide.

Why big recalls are repaired less often

Within the same cohort, the repair rate falls steadily as a recall gets larger. We grouped recalls by the number of vehicles and weighted each group by vehicles:

Source: NHTSA recalls file and US DOT completion data, retrieved Oct 6, 2026; computed by PlainVIN. Only recalls with a reported repair rate are included.

One likely reason, which our data shows as a pattern but cannot prove as a cause, is that large recalls often cover older cars that have changed owners and may wait for parts. A small recall of a few thousand new cars reaches almost every owner, because the manufacturer has current contact details and the dealer network can fix them quickly. That is also why an automaker with many small, new-car recalls can look better than one with a few very large, old-car recalls, without being any better at the repair itself.

What the lowest repair rates look like

The lowest rates come from very old recalls and from recalls that need a part or a lengthy repair. Mazda’s 2015 recall of 1,368,500 MPV, 323, Protege, MX-3, 929, MX-6 and 626 models from 1989 to 1998 is reported 0.62% repaired. NHTSA’s record says the ignition switch contacts may overheat:

“If the ignition switch overheats there would be an increased risk of a fire.”NHTSA recall record 15V674, Mazda, nhtsa.gov

The cars in that recall were between 17 and 26 years old when it was filed, which makes completion unlikely. Closer to the present, GM’s largest 2014 ignition switch recall (14V400, 5,877,718 vehicles) is reported 37% repaired and Toyota’s 2023 battery tray recall (23V734, 1,853,568 vehicles) 41%. See our guides to ignition switch and key recalls and car battery recalls for each recall and what it covers.

How to read these numbers

• It is a repair rate, not a quality score. An automaker with fewer recalls can have a lower repair rate, and one with many recalls can have a higher one. A high number of recalls can also mean an automaker finds and reports problems early.
• The repair rate is the manufacturer’s figure. Manufacturers report completion to NHTSA, and NHTSA publishes its own annual list of completion rates by manufacturer (NHTSA, annual list of recall completion rates). Our numbers use a different cohort and method, so they will not match NHTSA’s list exactly.
• Brands are grouped by parent company. The table follows the manufacturer name in NHTSA’s recall file, so Stellantis, General Motors and Volkswagen Group each combine several brands.
• Overlap is counted. A vehicle in three recalls appears three times. The totals are vehicle-recalls, not distinct vehicles.
• Recent recalls are excluded on purpose. New recalls start near zero, so the cohort stops at the end of 2023.
• Gaps. 69 recalls reported no rate; they are left out of the rates but not hidden from the counts.

What owners and buyers can do

1. Check the VIN. Enter it at nhtsa.gov/recalls or use our VIN decoder, which links to your model year’s recalls. Repairs are free.
2. Treat “recall repaired” on a listing as a claim to verify. Run the VIN again, because a later recall can replace a repair that was done.
3. Buying used? Our used car inspection checklist and do-not-drive recall list show what to check first.
4. Report problems that a recall did not fix: see our guide to filing a complaint. The difference between a recall and a service bulletin is in our TSB versus recall guide.

How to cite this ranking: PlainVIN, “Recall Repair Rates by Automaker,” plainvin.com/guides/recall-repair-rates-by-automaker/, based on NHTSA recall data retrieved October 6, 2026. Journalists and researchers may quote the figures with a link to this page; questions and corrections go to the address on our contact page.

Recall figures are PlainVIN’s analysis of NHTSA’s files and update when we refresh the data. “Repaired” is the automaker’s reported figure. This guide is general information, not advice about a specific vehicle.