Survey Finds 27 Percent of Vehicles Sold By CarMax Are Subject to Safety Recalls

A survey by auto safety groups is showing that more than one in every four vehicles being sold by used car giant CarMax is under recall for safety defects including some with potentially deadly defects. According to a report on Fairwarning.org, the safety groups are waging a court battle to revamp used car sales practices and say the survey underscores the need for such reforms. Fairwarning.org reported that there is no federal law that prohibits the sale of used cars that are subject to recalls as long as the customer is informed about the recall.

Dangerous Vehicles Being Sold

In a recent report, the Center for Auto Safety and two other groups said 27 percent of the nearly 1,700 vehicles identified recently at eight CarMax locations in California, Connecticut and Massachusetts had unrepaired defects targets by recalls. That was more than double the percentage found in a 2015 analysis by the safety advocates.

At least 45 of the vehicle in the survey had defective Takata airbags that are under recall. Some of these airbags have been linked to lethal crashes in which the airbag inflators exploded and expelled shrapnel into the passenger compartments. Other vehicles at CarMax were found to have recalled General Motors ignition switches.

Such switches have been linked to fatal crashes involving engines that could suddenly shut off. CarMax has issued a statement saying that it has “led the industry in recall transparency” and that their experience shows “customers are in the best position to act on recall information directly with a manufacturer-authorized dealer.”

Need for Better Safety Practices

The used car industry entered into a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in March agreeing that used cars could be marketed as safe or certified even if they were defective. The dealers, however, were required to disclose that the vehicle might be subject to a pending safety recall. Auto safety advocates say that this might not be enough especially if customers are non-English speakers.

As auto product liability attorneys, we absolutely agree that there must be more safeguards for consumers in the used car market, especially with more than 25 million vehicles equipped with defective Takata airbags out on our roadways and used car lots. If you or a loved one has been injured due to a vehicle defect, contact an auto defect lawyer to obtain more information about pursuing your legal rights.