Consumer Groups Sue US Over Limited Auto Recalls

WASHINGTON, March 10, 2004; John Crawley writing for Reuters reported that leading consumer groups sued the U.S. government on Wednesday to stop regulators from limiting some auto safety recalls to selected states rather than forcing manufacturers to take nationwide action.

Public Citizen and the Center for Auto Safety sought a federal court order asserting that the Transportation Department's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has acted illegally and arbitrarily.

"Regional recalls make no sense, particularly in a mobile society where people often drive from one region to the next," said Joan Claybrook, president of Public Citizen and a former NHTSA administrator.

A spokesman for traffic safety agency had no comment on the agency's recall policy. "We're waiting to see the lawsuit and we'll review it and go from there," Tim Hurd said.

Selected recalls have affected millions of vehicles over the years and are a way for automakers to target specific problems and minimize customer inconvenience.

But consumer and safety groups say the targeting is just a cost-saving measure that can leave some motorists in the dark about safety defects and force them to pay for repairs themselves if they discover a problem.

There have been more than 40 regional recalls since 1990, according to federal safety data, with Ford Motor Co. responsible for nearly half of them.

A spokesman for Ford could not be reached for comment but a General Motors safety official disputed the contention that automakers are motivated to save money and minimize the public relations impact of big recalls.

"We do them rarely," GM spokesman Jim Schell said of his company. "The main advantage is that it doesn't inconvenience customers who will probably never experience the condition."

GM has done six regional recalls since 1990, federal statistics show, but Schell said the company has only carried out one since 2001. NHTSA tightened the criteria in the late 1990s for automakers to carry out a regional recall.

The practice is generally limited to states or an area of the country where a problem is most likely to occur. A common reason is the effect of wintry conditions or severe heat on vehicles.

For example, in 1999 Ford recalled certain minivans to correct a fuel tank defect linked to hot weather. Ford covered 11 states and certain counties in California and Nevada. But Public Citizen said consumers in some of the hottest parts of the country, including California's Death Valley and New Mexico, were left out.

In another recall case, an automaker targeted vehicles in Maryland and the District of Columbia for a corrosion problem, but not Virginia.

"If a vehicle has a defect that makes it unsafe, the defect needs to be fixed on all similar vehicles," Claybrook said.