- NHTSA recorded 987 vehicle recalls in 2021, the most of any year in this 21-year record, surpassing the previous high of 919 in 2016.
- Vehicles affected by recalls peaked at 50.2 million in 2016, part of a three-year stretch (2014–2016) that each exceeded 49 million, coinciding with the industry-wide Takata airbag inflator recall, widely reported as the largest automotive safety recall in U.S. history.
- On average, only about 60% of recalled vehicles ever get the recall repair completed, ranging from a low of 52.4% (2015) to a high of 68.5% (2018).
- Vehicle recalls make up 88.0% of all NHTSA recalls issued from 2001-2021; equipment recalls account for 9.8%, tire recalls for 1.5%, and child seat recalls for 0.7%.
01 Introduction
The number of vehicles recalled in the U.S. more than doubled between the early 2000s and 2021, and the rate at which those recalls actually get fixed has stayed stubbornly under two-thirds. This article presents the complete annual history of NHTSA vehicle recalls from 2001 through 2021, the most recent year covered by NHTSA's published Recalls Annual Report, including recall counts, affected vehicle populations, completion rates, and a breakdown by recall type.
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 2021 Recalls Annual Report (published January 26, 2022)NHTSA tracks recalls across several categories: vehicles, equipment (such as child car seats sold separately from a vehicle, tires, and other automotive equipment), and further breaks equipment recalls out into tire-only and child-seat-only totals. This article focuses primarily on vehicle recalls, since those are what most directly affect car owners, with a separate section comparing all four categories.
02 Vehicle Recalls by Year
The table below lists the total number of U.S. vehicle recalls and the number of vehicles affected for every year from 2001 through 2021, combining NHTSA's "uninfluenced" (NHTSA-initiated) and "influenced" (manufacturer-initiated) recall categories.
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 2021 Recalls Annual Report, Vehicle Recall Summary by Year, Total column (Defect + Compliance, vehicle-only recall type)| Year | Recalls | Vehicles Affected |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 453 | 13,626,263 |
| 2002 | 434 | 18,435,673 |
| 2003 | 527 | 19,062,913 |
| 2004 | 600 | 30,806,580 |
| 2005 | 562 | 18,962,510 |
| 2006 | 490 | 11,203,534 |
| 2007 | 587 | 14,816,417 |
| 2008 | 683 | 10,207,696 |
| 2009 | 491 | 16,125,894 |
| 2010 | 647 | 19,691,419 |
| 2011 | 597 | 13,612,039 |
| 2012 | 582 | 16,486,229 |
| 2013 | 628 | 20,260,042 |
| 2014 | 771 | 50,032,376 |
| 2015 | 862 | 49,856,957 |
| 2016 | 919 | 50,196,684 |
| 2017 | 810 | 30,727,783 |
| 2018 | 912 | 29,455,608 |
| 2019 | 880 | 38,597,723 |
| 2020 | 786 | 31,625,729 |
| 2021 | 987 | 28,868,636 |
03 Key Trends
2021: the most recalls on record. NHTSA recorded 987 vehicle recalls in 2021, more than in any other year in this 21-year series, ahead of the prior record of 919 set in 2016 and 912 in 2018.
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 2021 Recalls Annual Report, Vehicle Recall Summary by Year2014-2016: the largest affected populations. Every year from 2014 through 2016 saw more than 49 million vehicles affected by recalls, roughly triple the typical annual total from the 2000s. This stretch coincides with the industry-wide Takata airbag inflator recall, widely reported as the largest automotive safety recall in U.S. history, which was phased in across numerous manufacturers over these years. NHTSA's own recall counts do not break this total out by root cause, so this context is offered as widely known background, not a NHTSA-published attribution.
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 2021 Recalls Annual Report, Vehicle Recall Summary by YearEstimate your vehicle's driving cost using official EPA fuel economy data.
Use the Calculator04 Recall Completion Rates
Not every recalled vehicle actually gets repaired. NHTSA tracks the share of "mature" recalls (those with at least five quarters of completion reporting) that reach completion each year.
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 2021 Recalls Annual Report, Vehicle Recall Completion Rate by Year| Year | Completion Rate |
|---|---|
| 2011 | 60.4% |
| 2012 | 59.7% |
| 2013 | 59.8% |
| 2014 | 58.6% |
| 2015 | 52.4% |
| 2016 | 60.0% |
| 2017 | 57.8% |
| 2018 | 68.5% |
| 2019 | 59.7% |
| 2020 | 58.8% |
05 Recalls by Type
NHTSA recalls fall into four categories. From 2001 through 2021, vehicle recalls made up the large majority, with equipment, tire, and child-seat recalls making up the rest.
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 2021 Recalls Annual Report, all-type summary tables, 2001-2021 totals| Recall Type | Total Recalls | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Vehicle | 14,208 | 88.0% |
| Equipment | 1,574 | 9.8% |
| Tire | 248 | 1.5% |
| Child Seat | 113 | 0.7% |
| All Types | 16,143 | 100% |
06 Data Sources
- National Highway Traffic Safety Administration: 2021 Recalls Annual Report (published January 26, 2022), covering recall data from 2001 through 2021. nhtsa.dot.gov