How do you find out when your vehicle has a recall alert? Dealerships say manufacturers should be sending you a notice in the mail, but still some people have no idea.
Hyundai, Kia, GMC and Ford are the latest to have recall alerts concerning air bags and engine fires.
"I was headed, oddly enough, to get my oil changed, I believe it was. I was heading onto 65, and my car just wouldn't accelerate," said Gina Grayson, a Hyundai owner.
No brakes, no gas, just stuck on the side of the road.
What Grayson didn't realize: her engine had a recall alert.
Donnie Gamble says he has plenty of customers come in who have no idea.
"Often. Very few people know about recalls," said Gamble, manager at Gamble's Auto Parts & Services.
Gamble's relies on a computer software.
After typing in a Vehicle Identification Number (VIN), they're alerted to all of the customer's recall alerts, many of them concerning airbags.
Grayson's mechanic didn't see any issues with her car.
"I get my maintenance done regularly. I stay on top of oil changes and everything, so there was really no reason for my car to just randomly go out like that," she said.
She says she didn't receive any notice, but followed her gut, checked her manufacturer's website for recalls, and when she found she had 6, she set up an appointment with a local dealership.
"I'm just grateful because I just so happened to check and I didn't end up having to come out of pocket for a whole new engine because at that point I might as well have bought a whole new car," she said.
Gamble said if your mechanic doesn't tell you, and you don't get a notice, word of mouth is the best way to pass along a recall alert.
Here's another reason you may not have gotten it:
"A lot of times only the original purchaser of the car gets the notice sometimes. Sometimes it doesn't follow the car and sometimes it gets lost in that progress of selling the car," said Gamble.
He said it's especially important to stay on top of recalls if you have a newer car.
"I think there's a lot of cars getting pushed out so fast and in such a hurry nowadays because of the times, a few things aren't getting handled initially that sneak through the owner's hands and have to be drawn back in to be repaired," said Gamble.
Gamble also warns it may take some time when it comes to air bag recalls.
"They haven't had parts to repair them. There's been a shortage to repair the parts to repair the air bag problems. So, even if you got it there, they say you have to come back 6 months from now is when we get the parts, so parts have been a problem in all aspects of the automotive industry," he said.
If you'd like to check on recent recalls, or even recalls from up to 15 years ago, you can check the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration website, all you need to do is type in your car's 17 digit VIN.