A recall notice in the mail can feel alarming, but you are not stuck. So, how do car recalls work? The maker reports a defect to NHTSA within five business days, writes to you within 60 days, and the fix is generally free.
This explainer sits inside our wider coverage of the automotive industry, and it focuses on the United States rules.
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Part 573 report deadline | 5 business days after the manufacturer determines a defect or noncompliance exists |
| Draft owner letter sent to NHTSA | 5 days before it goes to owners |
| Owner notification letter | Within 60 days of filing the Part 573 report |
| Free remedy window, vehicles | Vehicles bought no more than 10 calendar years before notice |
| Free remedy window, tires | Tires bought no more than 5 years before notice |
| Reimbursement window ends, vehicles | 10 days after the last owner notice is mailed |
These figures come from a law firm’s June 2025 summary of the rules (Honigman alert) and NHTSA’s August 2004 Federal Register notice (Federal Register). Rules and figures can change, so check the source before you rely on them.
What starts a safety recall
A recall starts when a manufacturer decides that a safety-related defect or a noncompliance exists in its vehicles or equipment. The rules for what happens next sit in 49 CFR Part 573, which sets out the responsibilities of manufacturers of motor vehicles and motor vehicle equipment toward the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), as the eCFR text of Part 573 shows.
The two triggers are different things:
- Defect: a safety-related problem in a vehicle or an item of equipment. A June 2025 law firm alert notes that defects by definition involve a risk to motor vehicle safety.
- Noncompliance: a vehicle or item of equipment that fails to meet a Federal motor vehicle safety standard.
Determinations can come from more than one direction. A manufacturer can conclude on its own that a problem exists, and NHTSA can investigate safety issues too, as the Honigman alert describes. In defect cases, NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation can open an investigation known as an engineering analysis, according to NHTSA’s August 2004 notice.
For noncompliances, the trigger can be a test failure. The same notice treats the date of an observed test failure, by either the manufacturer or NHTSA, as a key date for those recalls.
What the manufacturer must file with NHTSA
The first formal step is a Part 573 report, which may also be called a Form 573. As of the June 2025 Honigman alert, it must be filed within five business days of when the manufacturer determines that the defect or noncompliance exists.
At the time of the initial filing, the report must include:
- The name of the manufacturer.
- A description of the vehicles or items of equipment potentially containing the defect or noncompliance.
- A description of the defect or noncompliance.
- The safety risk the problem poses.
Anything not known at filing must be added in an update. According to the same alert, that update covers:
- The number of vehicles or items of equipment that potentially contain the defect.
- The percentage of the total population estimated to contain the defect or noncompliance.
- A chronology of the principal events that led to the determination.
- A description of the manufacturer’s plan for remedying the problem.
- The estimated dates on which notifications to affected consumers will begin.
The agency does not make manufacturers wait until every detail is settled. NHTSA’s regulations do not require the full scope of affected vehicles to be reported when the recall is filed, and it is NHTSA’s position that a manufacturer should file regardless of whether the full scope or root cause is known, according to the Honigman alert.
A manufacturer that believes a problem does not matter for safety can ask for relief through a petition for inconsequentiality. Filing one stays the duties to notify owners or remedy vehicles until NHTSA decides the petition. NHTSA is most likely to view minor noncompliances with marking or labeling requirements that way, and petitions arguing that a defect is inconsequential are rare.
The paperwork continues after the filing. Part 573 requires manufacturers to keep lists of the owners, purchasers, dealers and distributors they notified, and to give NHTSA quarterly reports on notification campaigns, as the govinfo copy of Part 573 sets out. The stated aim is to give NHTSA information on the adequacy of notification campaigns, on corrective action and on owner response.
Who files when suppliers and importers are involved
Many parts are built by suppliers and fitted to vehicles from several brands, so Part 573 says who has to report. When original equipment is installed in the vehicles of more than one manufacturer, the equipment maker reports on the item and each vehicle maker reports on the vehicles in which it was installed, per the govinfo copy of Part 573.
The supplier trigger is specific. In the June 2025 Honigman alert, once two manufacturers have filed Part 573 reports on the same component, the supplier must file one too. NHTSA does not require the supplier to make its own defect determination, and the supplier’s report often says it is filed because of the manufacturers’ determinations.
Other roles are handled like this, according to the govinfo copy of Part 573:
- For imported vehicles and equipment, a filing by either the fabricating manufacturer or the importer counts for both.
- For replacement equipment other than tires, compliance by the brand name or trademark owner counts as compliance by the manufacturer.
- Tire brand name owners are treated as manufacturers and have the same reporting requirements.
For background on the planning that comes before parts and platforms ever reach a recall, see our explainer on how long does it take to develop a new car.
How owners are notified and what the fix costs
After filing, the manufacturer has to tell owners. Within 60 days of filing a Part 573 report, it must send a letter to owners of affected vehicles, or to purchasers if equipment is involved, saying it has determined in good faith that the vehicle or equipment has a defect or noncompliance, per the June 2025 Honigman alert.
The purpose of the letter is to explain the safety risk and tell you how to get the vehicle or equipment repaired or replaced. NHTSA’s regulations set detailed requirements for what the letter says and the order it says it in. The usual sequence looks like this:
- The manufacturer files its Part 573 report.
- It submits a draft of the owner letter to NHTSA for review five days before sending it.
- The letter goes to owners or purchasers within 60 days of the filing.
- If the remedy is not ready within 60 days, the manufacturer sends an interim notice saying so, then a second notification when the remedy is available.
The free remedy rule matters most to your wallet. As NHTSA described the Safety Act in its August 2004 notice, a recalled vehicle or item of equipment must be remedied without charge unless a first purchaser bought it more than 10 calendar years (5 years for a tire) before notice. That period runs from the first purchase, not from the date of any repair you may have paid for.
Part 573 also covers the showroom. The govinfo copy of Part 573 lists a prohibition on the sale or lease of new defective and noncompliant motor vehicles and items of replacement equipment, and says that provision applies to dealers. It also includes a section on public availability of motor vehicle recall information.
Can you get reimbursed for a repair you already paid for?
Possibly. Under the rule NHTSA described in its August 2004 notice, a manufacturer’s remedy program must include a reimbursement plan for owners who paid for the remedy within specified times before and shortly after the notification. The rule implements the Transportation Recall Enhancement, Accountability, and Documentation (TREAD) Act, and NHTSA published the final rule on October 17, 2002.
The minimum window depends on the type of recall, as the same notice explains:
- Defect recalls: the window starts on the date NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opens an engineering analysis, or one year before the manufacturer submits its notice to NHTSA, whichever is earlier.
- Noncompliance recalls: the window starts on the date a test failure is observed by the manufacturer or NHTSA.
- Vehicles: the window ends 10 days after the manufacturer mailed the last of its notices to owners.
Those are minimums. The notice says manufacturers may, and generally do, provide reimbursement for a longer period than the rule requires, so check your own recall letter for the actual terms.
The design reflects an earlier problem. The notice recalls that some owners delayed replacing Firestone tires, which were under investigation and determined to be defective shortly afterward, because they would have to pay for the replacements. The rule aims to avoid rewarding that kind of wait.
Recalls are only one rule set that affects carmakers. If you want to see another, read what are automotive tariffs.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to pay for a recall repair?
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Generally no. As NHTSA described the Safety Act in its August 2004 notice, the remedy must be free unless the first purchaser bought the vehicle more than 10 calendar years (5 years for a tire) before notice.
How quickly will the manufacturer contact me?
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Per the June 2025 Honigman alert, the Part 573 report is due within five business days of the determination, and the owner letter within 60 days of that filing. If the remedy is not ready, an interim notice comes first and a second notification follows when it is.
Can a manufacturer argue a defect does not matter?
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It can petition NHTSA for relief on the ground that the problem is inconsequential to safety, and filing the petition stays the duty to notify owners or remedy vehicles until NHTSA decides. The Honigman alert says such petitions are rare for defects, because defects by definition involve a risk to motor vehicle safety.
Does the first recall filing list every affected vehicle?
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Not necessarily. NHTSA’s regulations do not require the complete scope of the affected population to be reported at filing, and the manufacturer must update the report with details such as the number of vehicles and its remedy plan, according to the Honigman alert.
