Five major carmakers recall over 76,000 motors due to safety fears including faulty airbags, steering wheels & batteries
FIVE major carmakers are set to recall thousands of motors over safety fears relating to various faults with air bags and other components.
Kia, BMW, Renault, Tesla and Jaguar Land Rover are to voluntarily recall more than 76,000 vehicles, according to Korea’s transport ministry.
Yonhap news agency claims the issues are related to 37 different models.
Problems prompting the mass recall include a faulty airbag system in Kia’s Niro EV, problems in the cooling pump wire connector of BMW’s 528i, and transformer software problems in Renault Korea’s Arkana SUV.
It is unclear if these issues will affect the same cars in the UK, as there has been no official announcement regarding recalls of the models in question, or concerns over any of the components.
Drivers in the UK can find out if a manufacturer has recalled any vehicle, part, or accessory due to a serious safety problem using the GOV.uk website.
Although usually, if a vehicle has a serious safety defect, the manufacturer will write to you to tell you what to do.
Generally, if a car needs to be fixed or replaced by a manufacturer, the car’s owner rarely, if ever, needs to pay for repairs or parts.
Car recalls must be taken seriously, and drivers are urged not to drive their vehicle when it’s been flagged for a fault.
However, according to recent findings by vehicle history checking service CarVertical, almost three-quarters of cars in the UK recalled for safety or mechanical issues remain on the roads with unresolved problems.
Their study reviewed vehicle history reports from January 2023 to September 2024 and found that only 28% of recalled vehicles in the UK had their defects addressed.
Concerningly, many of these recalls involve critical safety components, such as airbags, brakes, and electrical systems.
While many factory faults are minor, some can pose safety risks.
The study suggests that many UK drivers may be unaware of their vehicle’s recall status or how important it is to address these issues.
Some defects, such as the Takata airbag scandal in 2013, have had serious consequences in the past.
But despite extensive recalls by manufacturers such as BMW, Ford, Honda, and Toyota, vehicles with these dangerous airbags still appear on the used car market today.
Despite that, the UK had the lowest recall rate among the 26 countries studied, with just 3.1% of cars recalled at least once.
The highest recall rates were seen in Portugal, Greece and Spain.
Matas Buzelis, an expert at CarVertical, said: “As cars become increasingly modern and incorporate more electrical components, recalls are becoming more common.
“Fortunately, these issues are usually resolved during regular vehicle maintenance, causing minimal inconvenience to drivers.”