Jan 3, 2026 3 min read

About 12 million vehicles were recalled from 2015-24 for safety defects that could result in air bags not deploying.

The recalls were well-publicized. In fact, many vehicle owners, upon learning about a recall, were unhappy about the fact that a trip to the service department outside of routine maintenance would be necessary.

Still, most owners were satisfied that service department visit could someday prevent a catastrophic situation for them and also for passengers, if their vehicles were involved in a crash. It made sense to schedule the service as soon as possible.

But now it has been made known by the Wall Street Journal how many vehicle owners did not have the repairs completed, as well as the tragic consequences from some of the lapses in good, responsible judgment.

Don’t end up like Brayan Garcia, a driver about whom the Journal began a report in its Dec. 9 edition. Garcia failed to respond to recall notices and died at the scene when his car slammed into the back of a pickup truck that was stopping at an intersection in West Texas.

Despite hitting the truck directly, his car’s air bags never went off. The subsequent investigation revealed that his car had a dangerous defect that could stop its air bags from deploying.

Garcia had ignored a recall notice, but so have millions of other vehicle owners, the Journal learned, during its investigation regarding recall compliance.

Here’s are two paragraphs from the Journal’s report:

“From 2015 to 2024, about 12 million vehicles were recalled for safety defects that could result in air bags not deploying. These recalls ­- 37 in total — included models made by General Motors and Ford as well as luxury brands such as Mercedes-Benz and Audi.

“About 2.6 million, or around 22%, of affected vehicles remain unfixed, according to an analysis of the latest National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data by the Wall Street Journal.”

The Journal found 12 people, including Garcia, who died after crashes involving vehicles where the air bag was under recall, had not been repaired and did not deploy.

Meanwhile, according to the Journal, the NHTSA data revealed that roughly one in three cars recalled for all reasons goes unfixed.

Federal regulators have the authority to force companies to issue recalls. However, they say they cannot force vehicle owners to follow up on recall notices and, dangerously, many do not.

If there is a recall notice that you’ve shoved aside, it’s time to pull it out, schedule an appointment and let a mechanic make the fix.

Not doing so could have deadly consequences.