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Consumer Advocates Challenge Regional Auto Recalls

By Joe Benton
ConsumerAffairs.com

December 13, 2005

Regional Recalls • Federal Court Upholds Regional Auto Recalls • GM Regional Truck Recall Stops Short • Consumer Advocates Challenge Regional Auto Recalls • Consumer Groups Challenge Regional Motor Vehicle Recalls --- • GM Expands Recall to Fix Truck, SUV Brakes • GM Finally Recalls Trucks, SUVs for ABS Problem • GM Truck Owners' Complaints

Public Citizen has asked a federal appeals court to throw out a policy that allows the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to limit some vehicle recalls by region.

Public Citizen and the Center for Auto Safety are questioning the NHTSA policy that allows automakers to conduct recalls involving defects related to regional conditions such as snow or heat.

The policy was outlined by NHTSA in a letter to automakers in 1998. The two consumer groups claim that the letter clarifying NHTSA policies should be considered a rule change requiring public comment.

The groups also charge that the policy violates a federal law requiring that all owners be notified of vehicle recalls regardless of where they live or where the vehicle is registered.

In the most recent example of a NHTSA regional recall, General Motors Corp. in August recalled 804,000 full-size pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles in 14 northern states.

GM said that corrosion in the braking system causing a problem with the ABS system that was responsible for more than 200 low-speed crashes. The problem would activate the ABS at speeds much lower than normal, requiring a longer stopping distance.

ConsumerAffairs.com received hundreds complaints about the problems with the system on full size GM pickups brakes since 2002 and continues to receive complaints from all over the country, not just northern states that are impacted by the regional recall.

Lawyers for the Bush administration insist the regional recalls, such as the August GM truck recall, involve only about 1 percent of all NHTSA recalls and regional recalls have been used since the mid-1980s. The government contends that NHTSA uses its technical expertise, experience and judgment in each particular case.

The government also contends that the NHTSA letter does not provide any real binding criteria forcing manufacturers to follow the recommendations

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit questioned the significance of the letter and the role of its author, the agency's associate administrator. The judges tried to learn if the letter represented a final policy rule or if it offered automakers general guidance.

In September 2004, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia dismissed the group's lawsuit, leading to this appeal. At the time, the lower court said the letter was not a rule change but simply gave guidelines for regional recalls.

The court also said that regional recalls do not violate the Motor Vehicle Safety Act because the act does not say that recalls must be nationwide.

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