Understanding Recalls
How do I find out about open safety recalls when I am shopping for a car at Cortland Used Cars?
If you are shopping on our website: www.cortlandusedcars.net, and need to check for any open safety recalls, please click on the link to the NHTSA's Recalls Lookup Tool. Upon clicking the link, you will be redirected to the NHTSA recall look-up website and the VIN# of the vehicle will pre-populate in the box. Simply complete the website verification step that follows and the recalls on the vehicle you've selected vehicle will be provided. Please note, the NHTSA websites are not controlled by Cortland Used Cars. We do not warrant the accuracy or completeness of their information.
How Recalls Work
A recall is issued when a manufacturer or the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration ("NHTSA") determines that a vehicle, piece of motor vehicle equipment, car seat, or tire creates an unreasonable safety risk or fails to meet minimum safety standards. If there's a safety recall, the manufacturer of your vehicle is required to notify you and fix the problem for free.
If you've been notified of a recall, the first step is to closely read the notification and follow the manufacturer's guidance. Every recall is serious, and the details of all recalls and their remedies vary. Do not wait; take your vehicle to a manufacturers' approved repair facility (typically a franchised dealer service department) immediately to receive your free fix.
If you're concerned that your vehicle or piece of motor vehicle equipment has a safety defect, or if you feel that your dealer or manufacturer isn't fulfilling its obligations to fix a problem, report the issue to NHTSA. NHTSA reads every complaint because it helps root out safety defects and make the roads safer.
Even if you don't believe your vehicle has a defect, we recommend that you use NHTSA's Recalls Lookup Tool at www.safercar.gov at least twice per year, to search for recalls by your Vehicle Identification Number (VIN), which is a unique number assigned to your car or truck. You are also encouraged to sign up for NHTSA's Recall Alerts that will notify you if your vehicle is included in a recall. We also encourage our customers to download the SaferCar mobile app for Apple and Android devices so you can receive mobile recall alerts and access other helpful safety tools.
What Do the Results of My VIN Lookup Mean?
There are three recall status types that might display after you look up a VIN for safety recalls:
- "Recall INCOMPLETE" - This means that an incomplete or "open" recall was found on the car and the owner should follow the remedy instructions.
- "Recall INCOMPLETE. Remedy Not Yet Available" - This means that an incomplete or "open" recall was found on the car, but the manufacturer is not yet ready to provide the needed remedy or fix.
- "Number of Open Recalls: 0" - This means that either you have no recalls associated with your car or your car has already been fixed.
For additional details, call the Vehicle Safety Hotline (Toll-Free: 888-327-4236 / Hearing Impaired (TTY): 800-424-9153).