Heed Manufacturers Recall Notices

As many, if not all of our regular blog readers know, we devote a significant amount of space here towards car and driving safety issues.  One such subject that we have not touched upon thus far are manufacturers recalls.  An increase in awareness to recalls comes on the heels of massive recalls by Toyota for 740,000 Toyota and Lexus models to repair a possible faulty brake cylinder.  Here are some scary numbers.  The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimated that 60 percent of the 14 million Ford Windstar Minivans from 1995-2003 that it had recalled were never repaired.  This particular recall addressed issues with the cruise control switches that could leak into the anti-lock braking system and cause a fire.  That means approximately 8.4 million of these vehicles were never repaired and may still be out on the road today, and may still have the possibility of starting a fire that may not only effect the owner of the car but fellow motorists that may be around at the time.  It is mind boggling as to why the owner would not have the recalled repairs made because the dealerships do the work for free and it usually only takes a short amount of time to do so.  This also factors into the resale value of a vehicle.  If a potential buyers sees that there is an outstanding recall repair on a vehicle history report, it could jeopardize the sale at worst and lower the value of the vehicle at best. 
The following are a few tips to make sure that if you do get a recall notice, you follow the proper procedures to have the items repaired in a timely manner and keep you and others safe on the road. First you want to make sure that you read the recall notice in full and understand what parts/items are affected by it.  They are usually only one page long and provide a pretty clear description of the problem and what it takes to address it. If you do not receive a recall notice, but think your vehicle may be affected, call your dealership with your car's VIN number handy, they will run the VIN through their computer and should be able to tell you on the spot if your car is part of the recall.  If you see on the news, or read online about a recall, that is addressing your cars year, make and model, it does not necessarily mean that your car is going to get recalled as well.  The dealership that you purchased the car from should be able to give you all the needed information.  Make sure to make an appointment with the dealership for the repair before just showing up, they may need to order a part before they can complete the repair.  It also may not hurt to check and see if your car is scheduled for any regular maintenance that you can have done such as an oil change or tire rotation, while you have to have your car in for the recall repair anyway.  Finally, bring the recall notice with you to the dealership.  In today's age of digital information and computers, it is probable not a necessity to do so because the dealer should be able to run your VIN number and see what needs to be done, but bringing the notice will not hurt and might speed up the process a little bit. 
Pumpkin Cars takes great pride in making sure that all of our vehicles are road safe and have had any recall issues addressed.  Safety is the number one feature on which we will not compromise.  Every Pumpkin Fine Car goes through our rigorous Pumpkin Certification Program and is test driven personally by Franck Freon.  Take a ride over to our unique indoor showroom located on Fire Rd in Egg Harbor Township, NJ to browse the inventory, take one or a few cars out for a test drive and see what a great experience buying a Pumpkin Car can be.  Pumpkin Cars can be reached over the phone at 609-646-7676 and via email at [email protected] .  You can find and "Like" Pumpkin Cars and Franck Freon on Facebook, follow our tweets on Twitter, view videos of our Pumpkin Cars on YouTube, and if you enjoy what you have just read, please subscribe to our blog.