SAN ANTONIO – You may have heard about the largest auto recall in history: the defective Takata airbag affecting 37 million vehicles in the U.S.
But there are actually hundreds of recalls issued each year, potentially placing you and others on the road at risk.
Consumer Reports now offers an online tool to make it easy to check on vehicle recalls.
"It’s staggering when you think that there are millions of car owners out there who may not even realize their vehicles need repair," said Consumer Reports’ Auto Editor Jon Linkov.
Four months ago, Ram recalled 1.5 million trucks due to a faulty gear shifter linked to several injuries. The recall affected models as far back as 2009.
BMW recently recalled nearly 700,000 cars, some built in 2006, for faulty wiring which could potentially result in a fire.
Toyota recalled more than 300,000 minivans for a problem with the shifting lever, increasing the risk of a crash.
These are just a few examples.
To help protect you and your family Consumer Reports has created a car recall tracker.
Go to this page on their website and enter your vehicle’s year, make and model. You’ll get a list of recalls and information on how to get your car fixed.
Safety-related repair work should be done free of charge by an authorized dealer.