When there is an inherent defect in your vehicle, manufacturers and their dealers sometimes issue a recall as the defect may compromise the driver’s safety. Here’s what you ought to know, just in case you receive a car safety recall notification!

As a car owner, the last thing you’d want to hear is that your vehicle has faulty or defective bits that need to be fixed or replaced. What do we do in those situations?

In Singapore, all vehicle importers and dealers are required by law to attend to all safety recalls. They are responsible for sending out notifications to affected customers, which is likely to include a description of the problem and the risk it poses.

Receiving a recall notification

When you receive a recall notification, do not panic. It may be a minor but necessary fix, such as a software upgrade or bug fix. Sometimes, it could be serious, as in the case of the Takata airbag fiasco some years ago, where the recalls and rectifications could save lives. In any case, take every notification seriously and get your car fixed as soon as possible.

Just last September, Borneo Motors (BN) Singapore recalled over 4,000 Toyota Prius cars here due to the risk of fire resulting from a potential electrical short circuit. Although there weren’t any related injuries or incidents, Toyota decided to play it safe and fix the issue before things got serious. In this case, BN even assisted affected C-HR HV models brought in by parallel importers.

Costs involved

It usually will not cost you anything to fix the issues, as the automakers are obliged to foot the bill. This is expected of authorised car dealers. However, there have been cases where authorised dealers refused to fix cars bought from parallel importers, so do check your parallel importer sales agreement regarding car recalls.

The recall notification will also instruct you on the steps to take. Take note of specified time periods, especially in the case of recalls for tyres. If you only have 60 days to get them fixed, do so without delay!

Stay up to date

If you know that a recall has been issued for your car model but have yet to receive a notification, check for updates on the onemotoring website. LTA is usually notified when it comes to recalls, so you may log in to the Electronic Vehicle Recall System (EVRS) to check the details of the recall. You can also check if your vehicle is affected and follow up on the rectification work status for your recalled vehicle.