NHTSA News

Detectives, Social Media Being Used to Alert Drivers of Auto Safety Defects

The 63,000 spectators crowded in late January inside Atlanta’s Georgia Dome for a battle of college marching bands didn’t know they’d also be schooled in auto safety. Between the Lincoln University Orange Crush Roaring Lions and the Bethune Cookman Marching Wildcats, …

Auto Safety Agency Head Says Total Takata Recall Won’t Make Cars Safer

The nation’s top auto safety regulator says an immediate recall of all Takata airbags wouldn’t provide significant safety benefits and could exceed the government’s legal authority. A recall of all Takata airbag inflators also would strain the network for replacement …

U.S. Lawmakers Allege Takata Manipulated Data to Hide Airbag Issues

U.S. lawmakers on Tuesday stepped up pressure on federal regulators and Takata Corp to accelerate the recall of millions of airbag inflators, citing evidence that the Japanese company manipulated data to cover up problems with its products. In another development …

Slow Pace to Automatic Braking System on All Cars Worries Safety Advocates

Federal regulators and the auto industry are taking a more lenient approach than safety advocates like when it comes to phasing in automatic braking systems for passenger cars, according to records of their private negotiations. The technology automatically applies brakes …

Chances of Total Takata Airbag Recall Rise With More Deaths

As the Takata airbag saga drags on, concerns are growing that tens of millions of U.S. drivers with cars that haven’t been recalled could be at risk of death or injury from the potentially defective devices. Federal safety regulators last …

Nearly 1 in 5 U.S. Vehicles on Roads Today Have Open Safety Recalls

Nearly one in five vehicles on U.S. roads is in need of repair of a safety issue serious enough to be involved in a federal government recall, according to used-car history provider Carfax. There are more than 47 million cars …

NHTSA Says Fiat Chrysler Electronic Gear Shifters Confuse Drivers

Electronic gear shifters on some newer Fiat Chrysler SUVs and cars are so confusing that drivers have exited the vehicles with the engines running and while they are still in gear, causing crashes and some serious injuries, U.S. safety investigators …

Government Links 10th Death to Exploding Takata Airbags

A Ford pickup driver killed last month in South Carolina is the 9th person to die in the U.S. and the 10th worldwide because of defective Takata airbag inflators that explode, firing off shrapnel-like shards, government safety officials said Friday, …

Automakers Recalled 51M U.S. Vehicles in 2015

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said on Thursday that automakers recalled 51.3 million vehicles in the United States last year, the second-highest ever, in 868 separate campaigns. NHTSA and automakers have come under harsh criticism on auto safety issues …

U.S. Auto Recalls in 2015 Break Record Set Year Before

Automobile recalls hit another record last year as stronger government enforcement and widening recalls of exploding airbags pushed the total above 51 million vehicles. The 2015 number barely beat the old record set in 2014, after that total was adjusted …