It’s been a record-setting year for automakers, but not in a good way. As of mid-October, a record 56 million vehicles had been the subject of a recall this year for everything from faulty ignition switches to issues with hood latches, according to the Detroit Free Press. Within the past few weeks, another 11 million were recalled for having airbags manufactured by Japanese supplier Takata, and the numbers could go even higher as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) investigates the full extent of the impact on auto makers.
On Tuesday, the NHTSA said it would expand the recall that had originally included only two states and two territories frequently associated with high humidity. While an updated list has yet to be finalized, the recalls are expected to include vehicles made by Ford, Honda, Chrysler, Mazda and BMW. According to the New York Times, since 2008 more than 14 million vehicles have been recalled worldwide because of issues with the Takata airbags.
To put this into perspective, 15.6 million vehicles were sold in 2013. That means three-and-a-half times as many cars were recalled this year as were sold in the previous one. According to the NHTSA, the last time this many cars were recalled in a single year was in 1999, when 55.6 million were recalled.
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