Study Ranks 10 Cars with the Most Recalls — and 10 with the Fewest
According to a new study, the Mercedes-Benz C-Class had a higher average recall rate than any other vehicle from 2013 to 2017
While recalls don’t always involve dangerous problems, fixing them with a trip to the dealership is a hassle for car owners — and it becomes even more of an annoyance when the vehicle faces repeated recalls.
According to a new study by research firm iSeeCars.com, those high recall rates often go together with low reliability scores.
As part of the study, iSeeCars.com put together a list of the 10 cars with the highest recall rates from 2013 to 2017, along with an accompanying list of the 10 least-recalled cars.
The most recalled vehicle was the Mercedes-Benz C-Class, with an average of 5.77 recall campaigns a year per 100,000 units sold. The GMC Sierra was next with a 3.25 average recall rate.
The least recalled vehicle was the Hyundai Accent, with an average rate of 0.10, followed by the Chevy Equinox with an 0.11 rate.
To assemble the lists, the company used recall data from the NHTSA to determine an average recall rate for each 2013-2017 vehicle model. Then, it compared each model’s recall rate to its average Consumer Reports reliability rating.
The finding? Vehicles with high recall rates usually have lower reliability ratings, and vice versa. Of the 10 most recalled cars, only two have an average reliability score above 3.0. Meanwhile, all of the 10 least recalled cars have an average reliability score of at least 4.2.
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The Hyundai Accent was the least recalled vehicle from 2013 to 2017
The study’s authors caution that high recall rates don’t always indicate lower reliability. For example, the Toyota 4Runner had a high recall rate of 1.98, but also a high 5.0 reliability rating. Even though the 4Runner faced multiple recalls, most of them were for minor issues that didn’t affect reliability.
Here are the 10 most recalled vehicles:
1. Mercedes-Benz C-Class
2. GMC Sierra
3. BMW 3 / 4 Series
4. Dodge Durango
5. Nissan Pathfinder
6. Ram Pickup
7. Toyota 4Runner
8. Dodge Charger
9. Chrysler 300
10. Chevrolet Tahoe
Here are the 10 least recalled vehicles:
1. Hyundai Accent
2. Chevrolet Equinox
3. Toyota Corolla
4. Honda Civic
5. Honda CR-V
6. Honda Accord
7. Subaru Crosstrek
8. Toyota Camry
9. Hyundai Elantra
10. GMC Terrain
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News Source: iSeeCars.com
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