If you troll
the web long enough you run across pieces of a larger puzzle that can be assembled
to glimpse at the larger picture. Over
the holidays, I took a look at the NHTSA Safety recall database online and my
curiosity got peaked. Who was the worst,
and more importantly who was the best? The results surprised me.
Every
time we turn around another recall is announced and due to the current trend of
corporate component sharing the numbers can be truly astounding. It seems
almost no one is immune to this scourge of the industry. Or are they? Some
manufacturers may simply do a better job engineering vehicles
that minimize the unexpected recall.
Sorting
through the NHTSA database at first glance the numbers are a bit vague. Such as a singular recall can span multiple
sister brands over multiple years. So
basically you can have a singular recall cover all Chevy and GMC full size
trucks from 2000 to 2006. Somewhat of a
logistical issue but nothing that simple data manipulation cannot overcome.
So basically
if you take all of the safety recalls those occurred in 2006 according to
NTHSA, and eliminate the duplicate campaign numbers across the board. Then sort
them by manufacturers, you gain an over all recall number for each manufacturer
for 2006. Due to the way NTHSA reports,
the manufacturer level is as tight as you can run the figures without making
guesses as to how many Chevrolets are affected vs. sister GMC models.
Taking
the total recall figure and applying it against current 2006 production totals
can give you an over all vehicle recall rate compare to new car production. An
interesting figure that I will leave up to you to interpret as you see
fit. This figure is actually a
combination of present and past safety issues that surfaced in 2006 for all
current and previous years. The ultimate
acid test if you will, with both current and previous defects reflected in the overall
figure.
|
Manufacturer
|
2006 Production
|
2006 Recalls
|
% Recalled vs. Produced
|
|
DaimlerChrysler
Corp.
|
2,390,658
|
2,267,812
|
94.86%
|
|
Ford
Motor Company
|
2,900,911
|
1,831,809
|
63.15%
|
|
American
Honda Motor Co. Inc.
|
1,509,358
|
1,670,173
|
110.65%
|
|
Nissan
North America Inc.
|
1,019,249
|
1,161,821
|
113.99%
|
|
General
Motors Corp.
|
4,065,341
|
1,157,900
|
28.48%
|
|
Volkswagen
of America Inc.
|
329,113
|
882,364
|
268.10%
|
|
Toyota
Motor Sales U.S.A. Inc.
|
2,542,524
|
719,541
|
28.30%
|
|
Isuzu
Motors America Inc.
|
8,614
|
407,286
|
4728.19%
|
|
Hyundai
Motor America
|
455,520
|
186,193
|
40.87%
|
|
BMW
of North America Inc.
|
313,963
|
186,131
|
59.28%
|
|
Mitsubishi
Motors N. A., Inc.
|
118,558
|
126,622
|
106.80%
|
|
Kia Motors America Inc.
|
294,301
|
50,070
|
17.01%
|
|
American
Suzuki Motor Corp.
|
100,990
|
42,752
|
42.33%
|
|
Mazda
Motor of America Inc.
|
268,786
|
35,500
|
13.21%
|
|
Porsche
Cars N.A. Inc.
|
34,227
|
5,094
|
14.88%
|
|
Ferrari
of N.A. Inc.
|
1,517
|
216
|
14.24%
|
|
Subaru
of America Inc.
|
200,699
|
0
|
0.00%
|
|
Maserati of N.A. Inc.
|
2,104
|
0
|
0.00%
|
So as you
can deduce Toyota
for example, maintains
an excellent reliability score in other surveys but in the
recalls issued fairs about the same as GM.
Subaru on the other hand excelled in 2006 with 0 recalls surfacing.
Anyway
you look at it a recall is an unscheduled visit to the dealership to address a
manufacturer defect. Something that
surveys such as JD Power fails to address, probably because the reliability
scores must be recalculated year after year as problems surface over time.