Any way you slice it, 2014 was a record year for recalls. It took less than half the year for the industry to crack the full-year record en route to more than 62 million recalls for the year, by The New York Times' estimate.
Related: More Recall News
What were the largest recalls in 2014? Assessing totals is murky science at best, given the numbers are often amended later and recalls are sometimes expanded. We searched the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's records for every recall issued in 2014, with the caveat that some numbers could change. Not surprisingly, the two biggest recall headlines — ignitions and airbags — accounted for plenty of the top 10.
1. GM's Ignition Recall for Midsize/Full-size CarsHow many: 5.88 million cars
Date: July 3
What happened: Though often associated with 2.2 million small cars (namely the Chevrolet Cobalt) that GM recalled for faulty ignitions, the General's largest campaign in 2014 was for a swath of midsize and full-size cars from the late 1990s and 2000s. Like the Cobalt fiasco, these larger cars could inadvertently allow the key to rotate out of the "On" position while driving over a bump or other road disruption, particularly if a heavy keychain was pulling the key in a counterclockwise direction. But unlike in the small-car recall, GM said its larger cars needed only a retrofitted key ring hole to prevent the attachment of such keychains.
2. Honda's Takata Airbag Recall
How many: 5.39 million cars
Date: June 20, though the ramp-up didn't get a spotlight until October
What happened: Honda has the dubious distinction of having the largest single recall among 10 automakers who used supplier Takata Corp.'s faulty airbag inflators, which could rupture and send metal fragments into vehicle occupants. Honda's massive total came from scores of popular nameplates, including 2000s-era generations of household names like the Accord, Civic and CR-V.
3. GM's Ignition Recall for Large Cars
How many: 3.14 million cars
Date: June 23
What happened: Similar to GM's July 3 recall, the June 23 recall involved keys that could rotate out of the "On" position. This one involved a crop of large sedans plus one coupe, the Chevrolet Monte Carlo, from the 2000s. Like in the July 3 recall, GM said it would issue new keys with slots that discouraged the attachment of a bulky keychain.
4. FCA's Takata Airbag Recall
How many: 2.91 million cars
Date: Dec. 24
What happened: Like Honda, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles had a slew of cars with faulty Takata airbag inflators. In this case, it was 2000s-era pickup trucks, SUVs and full-size cars.
5. GM's Electrical System Recall
How many: 2.44 million cars
Date: May 14
What happened: One of the largest of GM's 84 recall campaigns in 2014 had nothing to do with ignition switches. Issued in May for GM's popular midsize cars — two generations of the Chevrolet Malibu, plus the related Malibu Maxx, Pontiac G6 and Saturn Aura — the recall involved malfunctioning electronics that could cause faulty brake-light illumination, interference with electronic stability control and cruise control, or the ability to shift out of Park without depressing the brakes.
6. GM's Small-Car Ignition Recall
How many: 2.19 million cars
Date: Feb. 10-April 10
What happened: Of all of GM's recalls in 2014, the automaker's small-car ignition recall garnered the most attention. Affecting the Chevrolet Cobalt, Saturn Ion, Pontiac G5 and several other small cars, the recall metastasized from separate ignition-switch campaigns in February and March to a recall on extensive ignition hardware in April. Like subsequent GM recalls, it involved the key rotating out of "On" position if a bump or other disruption jarred it. But this one — linked to dozens of deaths and a massive compensation fund — prompted the replacement of the ignition switch and cylinder, not just a retrofitted key.
7. Toyota's (Shrapnel-Free) Airbag Recall
How many: 1.49 million cars
Date: April 9
What happened: The third-largest airbag recall in 2014 did not include exploding Takata inflators. Rather, on a rash of Toyota models including the Matrix hatchback and GM's related Pontiac Vibe, an electrical connection to the driver's airbag could become damaged when you turned the wheel. That could deactivate the airbag.
8. GM Power Steering Recall
How many: 1.37 million cars
Date: March 31
What happened: GM recalled scores of small and midsize cars from the 2004 to 2010 model years for a faulty electric power steering system that could lose power assist while the car was running. Though you could still steer, it would be a great deal more difficult.
9. GM Seatbelt Recall
How many: 1.34 million cars
Date: May 20
What happened: GM recalled its three-row crossovers for fraying front seat belts that could separate from their anchors near the front seats, posing a greater risk of injury in an accident.
10. GM Side Airbag Recall
How many: 1.18 million cars
Date: March 17
What happened: GM's seat-belt recall for its three-row crossovers came months after a recall on the same cars, this time for side airbags. Faulty wiring harnesses in the seat-mounted side airbags could cause both the airbag and the seat-belt pretensioner to fail to deploy during a crash.
Why the Totals Vary
You may note that our original reporting on the date of the recall and the total vehicle count don't always match NHTSA's year-end numbers. We analyzed the agency's recall records in January 2015 using the report receipt date — that is, the date NHTSA received information and began processing the recall. But automakers often announce recalls (or the media gets wind of them) on dates before or after NHTSA processing begins. And it can take weeks or months before recall notices reach owners.
The vehicle totals reflect cars in the U.S., not global vehicles or vehicles the automaker has identified as still in circulation. And the numbers are often adjusted upward or downward for a litany or reasons, like regional expansions or amended double counting.
"Getting a total number of recalls at any time, unless the number is really small, is very tough," explained Sam Fiorani, vice president of global vehicle forecasting at AutoForecast Solutions LLC. "There's an easy potential for double counting as the same car or truck could be recalled for two or three different items, especially in a year like 2014 when there were so many different recalls."
Case in point: GM's July 3 recall was originally for 6.81 million vehicles, not 5.88 million. The automaker later revised the figure downward "because double counting was done of about 1 million vehicles," spokesman Alan Adler told us.
Honda's Takata airbag recall in June began with a comparatively small 1.02 million U.S. cars. Investigations originally centered on the passenger-side airbag, and Takata insisted the condition was most prevalent in areas with high humidity. But pressure from NHTSA, Congress and consumer groups spread the scrutiny to the driver's side airbag and pushed many automakers, including Honda, to expand their recalls nationwide. That, in turn, resulted in Honda expanding the recall to its current 5.39 million cars.
The same expansion affected FCA, which originally limited its Takata airbag campaign to some 370,000 cars in especially humid regions. But pressure from regulators eventually pushed the automaker to expand that, and in late December, FCA said it would call back millions more.
In total, the Takata airbag recall has mushroomed to a reported 14.6-million-plus recalls between 2013 and now. And it's likely those figures, like so many others, will change. There is no "master list" of final recall totals, AutoPacific analyst David Sullivan said.
You could look at "registration records, but when you have all the states using different means of collecting data, it makes it very tedious," Sullivan told us. "When they issue the recall, they issue a very broad recall, and they say, 'This is how many vehicles we built, and we're going to recall all of them.' "
But if automakers determine when the fix was made at the assembly plant, they can modify the recall to include cars only built during a certain period, he added.
Suffice it to say, with any recall totals you read, the numbers are subject to change.
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