A new government program to help consumers find out if vehicles have been recalled will launch as scheduled on Aug. 20 despite a request for delay from two auto trade groups.
Safercar.gov will let car, truck and motorcycle owners as well as potential used car buyers search online using vehicle identification numbers to find out if vehicles have been recalled, the Detroit News reported. The program allows consumers to submit the VIN at a government website and at the sites of all major automakers.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has rejected a bid from the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers and the Association of Global Automakers to delay the new rules, which were announced last August, for several more months.
While automakers don't agree with all of the new rules, the trade groups say they still support the new resources for consumers.
"We've been supportive of this because we all want speedy repair of recalled vehicles, and greater consumer awareness can help increase recall completion rates," said Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers spokesman Wade Newton, as quoted by the News.
"Having NHTSA link to our websites is not only effective, it also saves duplication of efforts by government and manufacturers, since so many automakers already providing safety recall information on their own sites," Newton said.
Beginning Aug. 20, carmakers will be required to submit VIN information online and transmit the numbers to the NHTSA.
Federal regulators have actually relaxed the guidelines from their initial form, which called for daily updates on automakers' websites. Under the new rules, carmakers will be required to update their websites with the VIN information at least on a weekly basis.
The program will additionally require auto companies to send direct notice of recalls with "bolder" warnings to affected owners within 60 days of informing the NHTSA of a recall.
The safercar.gov announcement comes in a year of record recalls for the U.S. auto industry. Led by General Motors, automakers have recalled around 40 million vehicles in the country this year, far exceeding the previous 2004 record of 30.8 million.
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