Is a car recall free? Who pays, and when the free fix ends
Short answer: Yes, in most cases. US federal law requires the manufacturer to remedy a safety defect or noncompliance without charge when the vehicle is presented for remedy [1]. The rule does not apply to a vehicle the first purchaser bought more than 15 calendar years before the recall notice, or to a tire bought more than 5 calendar years before it [1].
What the free remedy can be
The manufacturer chooses how to remedy a vehicle: by repairing it, by replacing it with an identical or reasonably equivalent vehicle, or by refunding the purchase price less a reasonable allowance for depreciation [1].
If the repair is not done adequately within a reasonable time, the manufacturer must replace the vehicle or refund the price. Failing to repair it adequately within 60 days after it was presented is prima facie evidence of failing to repair it within a reasonable time [1].
Does a recall expire?
The limit in the law is the age of the vehicle, not the age of the notice: the free remedy does not apply if the first purchaser bought the vehicle more than 15 calendar years, or the tire more than 5 calendar years, before the notice was given [1].
Tires also have a deadline: a recalled tire must be presented for remedy within 180 days after the owner receives the notice, or after being told that a replacement is available [1].
Checking for open recalls on your car
This app is NOT affiliated with NHTSA. A recall covers a RANGE of vehicles, so treat a match as “check my VIN”, not as “my car is affected”. The recall notice says what the remedy is; the repair is arranged at a dealer, not in this app.
Car Recall Check & Alerts — Find out when a safety recall covers your car's model and year.
- A recall lookup by VIN or by model year, make and model: type the VIN, scan its barcode or read it from a photo on the phone; NHTSA's decoder gets only the first 11 characters, and the VIN is not saved
- The decoded VIN lists the engine, transmission, drive, trim, assembly plant and the factory safety equipment NHTSA's decoder records for it
- Tells you when a new recall campaign covers your vehicle, and when an open one is escalated to “do not drive” or “park outside”
- Every alert carries the recall information that matters, and each card shows NHTSA's own remedy note and whether the fix is ready; mark the ones done on your car, filter by status, date or part, and share the list or save it as a PDF — without the VIN
- Your last six checks stay on the phone with every card, readable offline and labelled with the time they were saved
- NHTSA 5-star crash-test ratings and NHTSA owner complaints for the same model — counts, parts, crashes and the newest reports — on tap
- Service reminders by date or mileage for oil, tires, filters, brakes and the state inspection, a damage map for dents and scratches, and notification switches for each kind of alert
- A manufacturer directory from NHTSA's register: company address, vehicle types and makes
- It does NOT book the repair or contact a dealer; the free repair is arranged at a franchised dealer.
- It does NOT sign in, never asks for vehicle registration or personal details, and never stores a VIN.
All details, permissions and version history of the app: Car Recall Check & Alerts · Privacy policy
Sources
- 49 U.S. Code § 30120 — Remedies for defects and noncompliance (Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School) — https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/49/30120 (accessed 2026-10-22)
Car Recall Check & Alerts is an independent app. It is not developed, endorsed or supported by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration or any manufacturer.