An insider's guide: How to do your own detective work if your car has a defect

February 4, 5:17 PMNews You Can Use ExaminerMary Schwager

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You are fuming mad ! Your heart is pounding ! The tire just rolled right off your car while you and your kids were driving on the highway. Luckily, you were able to safely pull over to the side, other cars swerving to avoid the tire as it bounced across lanes of traffic. 

How in the universe did it happen? The guy who rotated your tires says it wasn't his fault. The dealer is puzzled and mentioned he heard one other person complain about the same thing. Meantime, you are still telling everyone it's a miracle you survived.

If something happens with your car that shakes you to your soul, something weird, odd and definitely a safety related problem,

The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) should be your first stop. Report the situation ASAP. 

Click here to read more about the importance of reporting concerns to NHTSA.

SEARCH CAR COMPLAINTS:

Once you report it, start doing some detective work!  You can get instant gratification if you think there's a systemic problem with your vehicle. NHTSA has an online search tool to check out other car complaints people have reported to the government agency. 

*NEW* SEARCH LAWSUITS AND CLAIMS FILED AGAINST AUTOMAKERS:

After the massive Firestone tire recall Congress, in a stunning move, required automakers submit information to NHTSA about lawsuits and claims filed against manufacturers alleging safety defects. Federal investigators have been collecting this data for years in what's called an "Early Warning Reporting System" (EWR). I applaud NHTSA for recently (September 2008) putting this information online. Now, you can search the database by clicking here. In fact, I'm going to look up my car just for the heck of it.

SEARCH GOVERNMENT INVESTIGATIONS:

If the feds start hearing the same scary story via consumer complaints and lawsuit data, it may take a closer look at what's going on. This is headed by the Office of Defect Investigation (ODI).  In fact, since the lawsuit data started coming in NHTSA opened more than 80 new investigations so far. In another wonderful display of open records all ODI investigations and the results are online in a searchable database. You can see if government experts already pondered why in the world the tire fell off your car.  If officials think an issue is serious enough they can order a safety recall.

CAR RECALLS AND NOTIFICATION

A car recall, either ordered by NHTSA or initiated by the automaker, is the beginning of the end for a safety defect.  That means the tire flying off your car wasn't the fault of the guy who rotated them, it was a dangerous defect discovered after the cars were sold. (Well, let's hope that's how it happened...)  Recalls cost manufacturers millions because they have to fix thousands of cars on their dime. If a safety recall was issued for your vehicle, just make an appointment at your dealer, the repair should cost you nothing. Click here to see if your car has been the subject of a recall.

Some of the people who contacted me had no idea their car had an open recall. They emailed me back saying, "Why didn't I know?"  Automakers are only required to send a notice to the car's current title holder via first class mail. Manufacturers usually get owner names and addresses from state DMV's and dealer records. So if you moved, just bought your vehicle or something funky happened with the mail, you may not get it.  NHTSA monitors the number of recalled vehicles that get fixed, and sometimes orders manufacturers to send out a second notice. To be sure you don't miss out on getting what could be a life saving letter in the mail, click here to sign up for the feds new automatic notification system.

For important information about tire recalls, click here.  Don't miss life saving information about child safety seat recalls, click here.

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