With the huge loads of cases, the dealers work safety-related recall repairs quickly and precisely. But inevitably, problems happen. Let us classify these problems as the inability to have recall task completed or have it finished without charges.

Once you receive a notice from the manufacturer of your vehicle informing you that your car has been recalled, you must contact the service department of your car dealer to arrange for the recall repair. If you have encountered some problems in getting the appropriate free recall repair, contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration or NHTSA right away as it is defined below under the Step 3. But normally it is faster to try to resolve the problem with the Steps 1 and 2.

Step 1: Contact the dealer service manager

The initial step is to communicate with the dealer service manager and explain the situation to him/her, name the tasks needed as part of a safety recall. If you can present to the service dealer manager a notification letter from the manufacturer regarding the safety recall, it will make your explanation easier. This is one way of resolving the concern or problem but if you feel that the service manager is not answering your concerns fully, then you can contact the manufacturer, which is your second step.

Step 2: Contact the Manufacturer

Contact the manufacturer by calling the telephone number which is normally toll-free given in the notification letter sent to you regarding the recall. You will be able to find the telephone number for the local representative of the manufacturer or the toll-free customer service number which is located at the back of the vehicle owner’s manual. Again, you have to explain the problem that you have and be ready with the following information or data:

• The model, make, and model year of your vehicle and the identification number of the vehicle or VIN
• Describe concisely the recall and the problem you are having
• Name your dealer and the steps you have done with the dealer to solve the concern or problem

The manufacturer will be looking into your concern and would be resolving your concerns within several days.

If you feel that you were not able to complete the recall work free of charge or the safety defect has not been fixed, then you can go to the third step, which is contacting the NHTSA.

Step 3: Contact the NHTSA

There are three ways were you can contact NHTSA: write to NHTSA, call them through its toll-free number, or connect with NHTSA through internet. The address and the toll-free telephone number of NHTSA are found in your recall notification letter. You can write to NHTSA at: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 400 7th Street SW, Washington D.C. 20590. Its toll-free telephone number is 888-DASH-2-DOT (1-888-327-4236). You will be able to contact NHTSA through online by visiting their interactive official website: www.odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq and answer the questionnaire.