Automakers issued a record number of recalls in 2022, exceeding 1,000 total, and one of America’s most decorated manufacturers earned the unfortunate distinction of being the most recalled by a wide margin. File Photo by Will Oliver/EPA-EFE
Dec. 28 (UPI) — Automakers issued a record number of recalls in 2022, exceeding 1,000 total, and one of America’s most decorated manufacturers earned the unfortunate distinction of being the most recalled by a wide margin.
Ford Motor Company doled out 67 recalls this year, affecting more than 8.6 million vehicles. Its chief domestic competitor General Motors had less than half as many recalls impacting less than half as many vehicles.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration published its recall data Wednesday, outlining where each of the major manufacturers stood in addressing faults largely related to the vehicles themselves. Data also included recalls on items like child seats, tires and other equipment.
Twelve of Ford’s recalls were for powertrain issues, eight were related to back over prevention systems and seven were electrical system issues.
Volkswagen was behind Ford with 45 recalls, followed by Daimler Trucks with 42 and Chrysler with 38. Tesla accounted for just 5% of vehicle recalls but had the second-most vehicles affected with nearly 3.8 million. For GM, 3.3 million vehicles were recalled and Chrysler had more than 3 million vehicles recalled.
Among all manufacturers, the broad category of “equipment” was the cause of 208 recalls. Equipment included car batteries, cooling systems, center consoles, dashboards, axels and power steering among many other components. More than 4 million vehicles were recalled to repair faulty electrical systems.
There were relatively few recalls on tires this year.
Continental Tire’s three recalls was the most by a manufacturer. Its ContiScoot and some of its TKC80, ContiGo!, K62, and LB Continental Motorcycle tires were recalled due to cracks in their tread causing the tread to separate, increasing the possibility of a crash.
The company recalled several of its Contact series tires because the material was overcured, leading to sidewall breaks.