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Safety & recalls guides

Plain-English guides to VINs, recalls, owner complaints, crash tests and fuel costs. Every figure links to the NHTSA, EPA or other official record it comes from.

Burned-out silver convertible sports car parked on cobblestones beside a hedge, its paint scorched and windshield gone
Safety & recallsCar Fire Statistics: How Many, What Causes Them and Which CarsAbout 196,000 highway vehicles catch fire in the US each year. NFPA’s national figures plus NHTSA data: fire complaints by model, fire-risk recalls, EVs vs gas cars and what to do.7 min readUpdated

Latest guides

Hundreds of new cars and station wagons in red, yellow, white and black parked in tight rows at a port terminal
Safety & recallsCar Recall Statistics: Recalls per Year, by Automaker and Biggest EverHow many cars are recalled each year, which automakers recall the most, what gets recalled, the biggest recalls on record, how many get fixed…6 min readUpdated
Front compartment of a Lexus RZ 450e electric SUV, hood open, showing orange high-voltage cables and the drive unit
Safety & recallsEV Recalls: What Goes Wrong in Electric Vehicles, From NHTSA DataEvery recall that covers only electric models, from NHTSA’s file: how many there are, which automakers file the most, the most common problems, battery…7 min readUpdated
Two sedans, one blue and one silver, backed into side-by-side spaces in a bright underground parking garage
Safety & recallsBackup Camera Recalls: Why There Are So Many, and What to DoRearview camera recalls have surged since cameras became mandatory in 2018. Why, the biggest and newest campaigns from NHTSA’s file, which automakers lag on…4 min readUpdated
Dark blue Jeep Wrangler Rubicon four-door SUV with off-road tires parked on a suburban driveway
Safety & recallsSUV Rollover Risk: Which Vehicles Roll Over Most and LeastNHTSA’s rollover ratings for every tested vehicle: which SUVs, pickups and cars have the lowest and highest rollover risk, how the numbers have changed…5 min readUpdated
Interior of a large auto service center with hydraulic lifts, a red pickup in a service bay and air hose reels overhead
Safety & recallsTSB vs Recall: What a Technical Service Bulletin Means for YouA recall is a free, mandatory safety fix; a TSB is repair guidance for a known problem. Who pays, how to look up TSBs…6 min readUpdated
Firefighters in turnout gear spraying water on a burning car-shaped training prop at dusk during a fire-safety demonstration
Safety & recallsPark Outside Recalls: Every Vehicle With a Fire WarningPark Outside recalls mean a car can catch fire while parked and switched off. Every recent warning for cars and trucks, which ones are…5 min readUpdated
Deployed driver and passenger front air bags hanging from a dashboard display in a museum exhibit
Safety & recallsTakata Air Bag Recall: How to Check Your Car and What to DoAbout 67 million Takata air bags were recalled because they can explode. Which vehicles are affected, why your state mattered, how many are still…7 min readUpdated
Instrument cluster at night with an amber check-engine light glowing between the gauges and a gloved hand on the wheel
Safety & recallsHow to File a Complaint With NHTSA, and What Happens NextHow to report a vehicle safety problem to NHTSA online or by phone, what to include, what happens to your complaint, how long investigations…7 min readUpdated
Smartphone showing a notification on a car's center console beside the gear selector at sunset
Safety & recallsDo Not Drive Recalls: The Takata List and Every Other WarningThe vehicles NHTSA says not to drive until they’re repaired: the Takata air bag list by make and model, every other Do Not Drive…7 min readUpdated