What is Vehicle/Auto Recall?
An auto recall is a firm's removal or correction of a marketed product where the manufacturer releases an official notice to vehicle owners found to be defective. If a manufacturer is deeming responsible for a serious defect, the NHTSA will announce the auto recall. The defects that result in an auto recall can range from a minor mechanical defect to major defects. If you find that your vehicle is not right, check to see if an auto recall has been issued. Usually only a portion of the vehicles produced for the specific year, make and model will be affected by the defect and recall.

When is a recall necessary?
When the vehicle or Motor vehicle equipment does not comply with a Federal Motor Vehicle safety standard and when there is a safety related defect in the vehicle or equipment this recall would be necessary. Federal Motor Vehicle Safety standards set these minimum performance requirements for those parts of vehicles that most affect its safe operation that protect drivers and passengers from death or serious injury in the event of crash. These standards are applicable to all vehicles and vehicle related equipment manufactured.

How to follow-up the process of Recall?
If your vehicle has been into recall
1. Contact the vehicle manufacturer or importer by certified mail, if there is a substantial defect that recurs or occurs after the third repair attempt.
2. Check if the inspection/repair has been done, if he fails to correct any substantial defect or condition following your written notification, the manufacturer must either refund or replace the vehicle.
3. If not, the manufacturer will release an auto recall by notifying the vehicle owners which are found to be defective.

What consumers should do to be ready for a recall?
If you feel your vehicle is affected in a recall, your vehicle dealer will send you a recall notice to rectify the defect or you can visit our services online on vehicle recalls to find out if your vehicle is affected by any recall campaign by checking the recall status of your vehicle online. If you have not received a notification from the motor dealer, then you are advised to contact through the telephone from the online enquiry as soon as possible to check whether your vehicle is affected. Your motor dealer may not be able to contact you if your address has been changed or t he latest ownership of your vehicle is not updated in their records.

What are the responsibilities of manufacturer in the process of recall?
The manufacturers should have a product recall plan that will enable them to identify potential recall situations early and to deal with them quickly and effectively in difficult circumstances. Legal advisers and risk managers should be consulted when developing the procedures and plans.

Firstly they should gather all relevant information needed to inform the company's decision on whether to initiate a recall and should identify the extent of any necessary recall. Secondly they should contact the relevant persons by inviting consumers to contact the company for replacement of parts by notifying owners and finally they should ask the service agents to repair the goods without actually inviting consumers to return the goods.

How ever the notification letter must contain the following information.
• Must describe the defect
• The risk or hazard posed by the problem, including any warning of the problem.
• Brief description of the free remedy, including when the remedy will be available and how long the repair will take.
• Description of what the owner can do if the owner is unable to have the problem corrected within the reasonable time and without charge.

What are the Legal statutes that come under Vehicle Recall?
The Lemon Law is a statute that provides a remedy to consumers for automobiles that repeatedly fail to meet certain standards of quality and performance. The Lemon Law is designed to protect consumers. The vehicle recall, complaints and class actions of certain cases come under consumer protection law, to protect the consumers who purchase vehicles of new, used and leased vehicles. Each state has different standards and procedures, but all have similar coverage.

What are the parts of an automobile that are generally considered for Recalls?
A vehicle is recalled when one of its parts could pose a serious threat to passengers and those around them. Automotive defects that have triggered past and current recalls include:
• tires that may "blow out" or separate on the road
• faulty braking systems
• airbags that won't deploy in an accident
• improperly attached seat belts
• rupture-prone gas tanks
• defective steering wheels
• accelerators that may "stick"

When to submit your dispute to lemon law even after having a recall?
The vehicle recall is the result of a safety or emissions defect where manufactures initiate some recalls voluntarily and NHSTA (National Highway Traffic safety Administration) orders others and identifies the defective vehicles by notifying the owners how to fix the issues.

Where as if the manufacturers fails to correct any substantial defect and unwilling to provide refund or replacement, you must submit your dispute to a state certified dispute settlement program, and contact the consumer protection for further assistance. This consumer protection law is designed by the lemon law that provides a remedy to consumers for automobiles that repeatedly fail to meet the standards of quality and performance.

Do Lemon laws apply to other types of vehicles?
Based on state, Lemon laws apply to sport utility vehicle, Recreational vehicles, Vans, trucks, Motorcycles and variety of consumer goods that include a manufacture's warranty.

What are the other laws that protect Consumers?
Many states provide consumer protection laws covering manufacturers misrepresentations or breach of warranty claims. In addition to these state laws, federal laws like Magnusson-Moss act and Uniform commercial code may grant protection.

The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act-It is a federal law that protects the buyer of any product that costs more than $25 and comes with a written warranty which prevents the manufacturers from unfair warranties which also makes it economically viable to bring warranty suits by providing the award of attorney's fees.

The Uniform Commercial Code -The UCC applies to all 50 states and covers contracts dealing with the sale of products which gives the consumer the right to a refund or replacement of a lemon. It does not define a Lemon, so it's up to a court to decide if an auto company must give you a refund or a new car. The Magnuson-Moss act and many state lemon laws also provide for attorney fees under the UCC.

Whom to consult if you had a lemon?
It is best to consult with an experienced lemon law attorney to see how state and federal laws interact and if they apply to the facts of a particular situation.

How to get the free legal representation?
There are some legal services that provide free consumer advocacy, bearing all costs of litigation and preparation. Where your participation is minimal and only in the most contested matter you will be required to present yourself beyond a vehicle inspection.