What is a car recall or recall?

One of the frequent actions that exist in the automotive industry are recalls carried out by brands. Also called “reminder”, (from the English withdraw or claim), it is defined on the Sernac site as “an early voluntary preventive action by the responsible company which, in its studies and evaluation and development bodies, determines the possible probability or risk of a security incident, not always initiated by the actual occurrence of one or more of them”.

As the entity clarifies, the purpose of a recall is to correct an error that was detected after the products were released for sale in order to avoid the risks or accidents that arise from this failure requiring correction.

In the automotive industry it is relatively common to hear about the famous “recalls” and they cross all manufacturers, from the smallest to the most exclusive. Without going any further, we learned some time ago of a recall made by Bugatti of the Chriron, which required the adjustment of a screw. No kidding, the exclusive brand approached the owner to do the fix and push hard on the chassis.

The last one that was made public in Chile by ANAC was made by Suzuki. The Japanese brand has warned of possible damage in the sector of the vacuum pump of the braking system of certain models marketed between 2016 and 2022, which could eventually increase in size with the alcohol of the absorbed fuel, blocking the passage pressure and creating a refusal in the brake booster so that the driver may need more force to press the brake pedal due to braking performance. That is why it is necessary to review them and correct the problem if it exists.

“Owners of models from years affected by this campaign should report to Derco Center Technical Services nationwide, to perform the preventative examination and correct said condition, if necessary. The above is free to owners of these models. “, they specify with Suzuki.

“It should be noted that so far there have been no problems with the units sold in Chile, so our appeal is preventive and in favor of the safety of our customers and users,” they add.

The recall protocol in Chile is simple and aims to reach the maximum number of users through Sernac and the same car brand pages.

When this situation occurs, says Sernac, “the company calls on consumers to come to its stores so that they can change the defective part, change the whole product or return it and get a refund. This will depend on the level of failure or potential safety issue of the product. Generally, consumers are suggested to stop using the product with an alert or “reminder”, but this will depend on the communication of each alert. It is recommended to follow the instructions indicated on a case-by-case basis”.

In this regard, Esteban Yaconi, Gildemesiter’s Service and Training Manager, reaffirms that “recalls are frequent in the automotive industry to ensure the safety and optimal performance of the vehicle. It is important for users to know that this is a preventative measure. We strongly encourage our customers to have their vehicles repaired as soon as they are notified of a recall and our after-sales team is available to answer any questions or concerns.”

This call can be made by different means. “To ensure the good coverage and success of these campaigns, brands use different communication channels to make calls to reminderbeing emails, phone calls, press releases, sending certified letters and using the respective web pages of the most common companies,” explains the National Automobile Association of Chile (Anac) .

The union entity adds that “it is working on a system that allows the National Register of Motor Vehicles (RNVM), within the framework of the law that regulates it, to contact the owners of the vehicles that must carry out these campaigns”.

“At the same time, ANAC has promoted the initiative, on several occasions, that owners of vehicles subject to reminder they must certify that they have answered the call of the mark to obtain the technical examination”, he specifies.

Almost a decade ago, a problem with the airbags that the Takata company supplied to more than a dozen manufacturers became public knowledge.

The problem was due to a design flaw, which triggered the airbag with more force, which even led to the death of 11 people and a hundred injuries.

Honda was the brand that started with the recalls, but later companies such as BMW, Chrysler, Dodge, Ford, General Motors, Acura, Lexus, Volkswagen, Mazda, Infiniti, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Subaru and Toyota joined:

The problem was so severe that more than 90 million vehicles were recalled, making the airbag recall the largest in history.

In our country, this year, various calls for review have been published. In addition to the Suzuki affair, a campaign which will begin on April 24, the following appeals can be found on the Sernac page:

Fiat Uno and Fiorino, years 2017-2019

Ford F150, year 2021

Subaru, various models, years 2015-2019

RAM 1500 and 2500, years 2019-2022

Geely Azkarra, years 2022-2023

Mercedes Benz GLE/ML-Class, years 2011-2019

Mercedes Benz GLE-Class Coupé, years 2015-2020

It should be noted that for the recalls to be effective, users must drop off their vehicle at the brand’s official workshops, where any faults will be corrected and repaired at no cost to the vehicle owner.