One item we immediately noticed is most of the vehicles that made the list were either a truck or SUV. From the Dodge Ram’s anti-lock brakes to the Land Rover LR3’s leaking fuel tank, we’re wondering if there’s something fundamentally unsound in the design in such vehicles. That, or they’re subjected to more abuse than cars like the Honda Civic and Hyundai Sonata that, too, made the list.
The top ten vehicles (Civic counts as two) and their number of recalls include:
A list of why each vehicle was recalled can be found on each slide. Our take? What’s interesting is that many of the issues look more like human error than mechanical or even electronic problems. Examples include incorrect labels on the GMC tires to the rear glass on the Civic possibly coming loose. While there looks to be some design issues (e.g., latches), some of the more mechanical problems like automatic transmissions not shifting correctly could either be design errors or, more likely, third-party development. (Many automakers, from Audi to Toyota to Ford, “farm out” the development and manufacture of their car parts to other companies to reduce costs.)