CALGARY – If your vehicle is recalled, you may expect the manufacturer to fix it right away. But believe it or not, there is no time limit for car makers to fix a defect.
It’s an issue Michele Williams worried about after her Jeep Cherokee was recalled for a faulty airbag.
The notice warned the airbag could go off unexpectedly while driving.
However, when she called Chrysler for a repair, she was told it could be several months before they’d be able to get her in.
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She is a mother of two children, and worried if it would be unsafe to drive her vehicle until it was fixed.
“If I’m on Deerfoot Trail and my airbag bursts and my children are three and four-years old, they’re sitting in the back, they could get seriously injured by a device that’s supposed to save our lives,” says Williams.
Auto safety advocate Phil Edmonston says owners have to be persistent with their auto maker.
“The company sends out a recall and letter and then that’s it,” says Edmonston. “Don’t accept that.”
“What you have to do is call the dealer and you also contact legal affairs,” he adds.
In Canada, manufacturers don’t have to pay for fixing a defect, but most do, and they decide on the time limit to do the work.
If you want to see if your vehicle has ever been recalled visit the Transport Canada Recall Database.
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