Vehicle Recall

Recalls filed in 2021

Manufacturers filed 1,094 US vehicle safety recalls in 2021, covering 35,259,175 vehicles. That is more than any other year on record. Mercedes-Benz filed the most that year, with 58.

Campaigns
1,094
Vehicles covered
35,259,175
Largest recall
2,641,272
Rank by volume
#1 of 60

Makes that filed most in 2021

  1. Mercedes-Benz1,928,864 vehicles58 recalls
  2. Ford2,936,222 vehicles53 recalls
  3. Chevrolet6,944,185 vehicles31 recalls
  4. Freightliner547,975 vehicles24 recalls
  5. BMW192,343 vehicles21 recalls
  6. Forest River3,996 vehicles21 recalls
  7. Nissan1,425,886 vehicles20 recalls
  8. Thomas Built Buses8,991 vehicles20 recalls
  9. Ram1,152,759 vehicles18 recalls
  10. Volkswagen106,605 vehicles18 recalls
  11. Hyundai1,276,539 vehicles17 recalls
  12. Porsche74,714 vehicles17 recalls

Counted by the make named on each filing, so a manufacturer that sells several brands appears once per brand.

Parts recalled most in 2021

  1. Fuel System, Diesel: Fuel Rail47 recalls
  2. Equipment36 recalls
  3. Equipment: Labels31 recalls
  4. Equipment: Recreational Vehicle/Trailer31 recalls
  5. Equipment: Oven/Stove/Cooktop28 recalls
  6. Engine27 recalls
  7. Electrical System: Instrument Cluster/Panel22 recalls
  8. Exterior Lighting22 recalls
  9. Electrical System: Wiring19 recalls
  10. Electrical System18 recalls

Largest recalls of 2021

  1. Chevrolet — Air Bags: Inflator Module21V0500005 February 20212,641,272
  2. Lincoln — Air Bags: Inflator Module21V15800010 March 20212,602,668
  3. Chevrolet — Air Bags: Inflator Module21V0540005 February 20211,778,128
  4. Mando — Service Brakes, Hydraulic: Control Unit/Module21E03800030 April 20211,639,930
  5. Mercedes-Benz — Communication: Auto Crash Notification21V0580005 February 20211,292,258
  6. Mando — Service Brakes, Hydraulic: Control Unit/Module21E03900030 April 20211,254,941
  7. Nissan — Exterior Lighting: Switch21V1350003 March 2021807,376
  8. Honda — Latches/Locks/Linkages: Latch21V93200029 November 2021724,826
  9. Chevrolet — Air Bags: Inflator Module21V0530005 February 2021692,526
  10. Ford — Suspension: Rear21V53700015 July 2021631,176
  11. Honda — Fuel System, Gasoline: Fuel Pump21V21500025 March 2021624,552
  12. Key Safety Systems — Air Bags: Inflator21E08000025 August 2021622,392
  13. Ford — Structure: Body21V3160005 May 2021616,967
  14. Chevrolet — Air Bags: Inflator Module21V0520005 February 2021557,023
  15. Hyundai — Electrical System: Software21V74900024 September 2021469,377
  16. Subaru — Electrical System: Ignition21V26400015 April 2021466,205
  17. Ford — Suspension: Rear20V67500012 March 2021454,941
  18. Ram — Wheels: Lugs/Nuts/Bolts/Studs21V39800027 May 2021447,985
  19. Kia — Service Brakes, Hydraulic: Control Unit/Module21V33100010 May 2021440,370
  20. Cooper — Tires21T00200019 February 2021430,298
  21. Chevrolet — Air Bags: Inflator21V5040001 July 2021410,019
  22. WIC — Equipment: LPG Systems21E08100025 August 2021409,000
  23. Subaru — Suspension: Rear21V26300015 April 2021408,271
  24. Cadillac — Suspension: Rear21V47300024 June 2021380,498
  25. Kia — Service Brakes, Hydraulic: Control Unit/Module21V1370004 March 2021379,931

The 25 largest of 1,094 filed in 2021. See every recall or the largest on record.

Urgent advisories in 2021

17 of the 2021 recalls tell owners to stop driving the vehicle. 11 warn of a fire risk while parked.

Have they been repaired?

Manufacturers report progress quarterly on 1,056 of the 2021 campaigns. Across those, 57.2% of the 30,822,363 vehicles involved have been repaired, leaving 11,543,327 outstanding.

The remaining 2021 campaigns are not in the quarterly file at all, so this is a rate across those that report, not across everything filed that year. See repair completion in full.

← 2020 (881)2022 (1,051) →

Every year on record, with the long-run trend.

About this figure

2021 here is the year the recall was filed with NHTSA, not the model year of the vehicles. A 2021 filing routinely covers vehicles built years earlier, and a car of model year 2021 appears in filings for years afterwards.

“Vehicles covered” sums the manufacturer’s own estimate for each campaign. A vehicle recalled twice in 2021 is counted twice, so the figure is not a count of distinct vehicles.

Compiled from NHTSA’s published recall files, which are US government open data and rebuilt daily. Figures on this page reflect the record as of 18 September 2026. Read the methodology, or check a specific vehicle at nhtsa.gov.