CarWhere Research · Study

The Recall Burden Index: A Decade of Vehicle Recalls, Ranked

We analyzed every NHTSA vehicle recall campaign filed since 2016 — 4,129 campaigns covering 352.7 million vehicles, more units than there are cars on American roads. Ford leads every brand with 648 recalls — more than Toyota, Honda, and Nissan combined — and the Ford F-150 is the most-recalled model (105 campaigns, roughly one every five weeks). The quiet revolution: the share of recalls fixed by software has climbed from 12.1% in 2016 to 31.8% in 2025.

By Sam Reynolds, Lead Researcher, CarWhere · Generated 2026-09-27 · Source: NHTSA recall campaign database (2016-01-01 through 2026-09) · methodology · Press & dataset requests: [email protected]

One in three recalls is now a software fix

As cars became computers, the recall changed with them. A recall that once meant a dealer visit and a parts order increasingly means a reflash — often delivered over the air while the car sits in the driveway. The software share of new recall campaigns has nearly tripled in a decade:

Filing year	Campaigns	Software-remedy share
2016	338	12.1%
2017	331	12.7%
2018	342	14%
2019	392	13%
2020	344	14.5%
2021	421	16.6%
2022	382	22.5%
2023	409	23.5%
2024	425	26.8%
2025	456	31.8%
2026 (partial)	289	30.4%

Recall campaigns by brand, 2016–2026

Brand	Campaigns	Units recalled*	Do-not-drive	Park-outside	Software share
Ford	648	40.7M	18	3	22.1%
Mercedes-Benz	470	9.3M	7	4	17.4%
BMW	275	8.7M	14	3	12.7%
Chevrolet	266	2.5M	2	9	18.8%
Toyota	198	15.8M	2	1	14.6%
Jeep	181	7.3M	3	4	27.6%
Lincoln	176	866k	4	3	24.4%
Honda	175	15.5M	—	—	11.4%
Hyundai	166	14.9M	—	20	19.3%
Volkswagen	165	5.4M	5	3	17.6%
Audi	159	5.6M	1	—	14.5%
RAM	159	13.8M	3	2	25.8%
GMC	156	925k	2	2	18.6%
Nissan	150	11.4M	1	3	15.3%
Kia	148	13.0M	2	14	21.6%
Volvo	133	2.8M	5	1	21.8%
Dodge	96	2.2M	4	1	19.8%
Porsche	96	1.2M	4	—	22.9%
Land Rover	94	1.2M	—	1	23.4%
Tesla	89	13.4M	—	—	37.1%
Subaru	88	8.9M	4	2	14.8%
Cadillac	87	607k	3	—	26.4%
Mazda	83	5.1M	18	—	20.5%
Chrysler	74	1.4M	4	5	24.3%
Lexus	61	347k	—	—	19.7%
Acura	60	642k	—	—	10%
Jaguar	59	152k	—	4	33.9%
Buick	48	113k	—	—	16.7%
Mitsubishi	43	2.8M	1	—	23.3%
Infiniti	42	153k	—	2	28.6%
Genesis	33	401k	—	3	24.2%
Alfa Romeo	31	251k	—	1	19.4%
Rivian	24	278k	—	—	25%
MINI	23	146k	—	—	8.7%
Lucid	22	102k	—	1	59.1%

*Units counted only for campaigns limited to a single brand; recalls shared across sibling brands (e.g. Ford/Lincoln, Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep/RAM) count toward each brand’s campaign total but not its unit total, so unit figures understate shared-platform brands. Raw counts also reflect model-line breadth and sales scale — a high count is not by itself a reliability verdict.

The 15 most-recalled models

Model	Recall campaigns since 2016
Ford F-150	105
Ford Explorer	90
Mercedes-Benz Sprinter	89
RAM 1500	80
BMW X5	67
Ford F-350 Super Duty	61
Ford Transit	60
Jeep Grand Cherokee	60
Ford F-250 Super Duty	60
Ford Escape	58
RAM 2500	55
Ford Ranger	55
BMW X3	54
Ford Mustang	53
Jeep Wrangler	53

A campaign counts toward a model if any model year of that nameplate is included. High-volume vehicles accumulate more campaigns partly because more are on the road — the F-150 is also America’s best-selling vehicle.

The fire lists: do-not-drive and park-outside advisories

Since 2016, 87 campaigns carried a do-not-drive advisory and 82 carried a park-outside (fire risk while parked) advisory. The park-outside list is dominated by Hyundai (20) and Kia (14) — mostly ABS-module and electrical fire risks — while Ford (18) and Mazda (18) lead do-not-drive advisories, Mazda’s driven largely by aging Takata airbag inflators. If you own or are buying any used car, these advisories attach to the VIN — check before you drive it home.

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Methodology & honest limits

• Source: NHTSA’s public recall campaign database (Part 573 reports), vehicle campaigns only, filed 2016-01-01 through 2026-09. Campaigns are deduplicated by NHTSA campaign number; a campaign spanning several models or brands counts once per brand/model it touches.
• “Software-remedy share” = campaigns whose corrective action describes a software, firmware, or over-the-air update (it may accompany a hardware fix). 2026 is a partial year.
• Consumer light-vehicle brands only (RV, trailer, and commercial-truck makers excluded); brands shown at 20+ campaigns. Potentially-affected unit counts are manufacturer estimates filed with NHTSA.
• A recall is a fix, not just a defect: manufacturers with proactive safety cultures sometimes recall smaller issues voluntarily. Read this alongside owner-complaint rates — see the Complaint Census — before judging a brand.
• Reuse: cite “CarWhere Recall Burden Index, 2026” with a link. Dataset available to journalists: [email protected].

Frequently asked questions

Which car brand has the most recalls?

Ford, with 648 NHTSA recall campaigns filed since 2016 — more than Toyota, Honda, and Nissan combined in this dataset. Raw campaign counts partly reflect scale and model-line breadth, and some manufacturers recall proactively for smaller defects, so pair this table with per-vehicle measures like our Complaint Census before judging a brand.

What percentage of car recalls are fixed with a software update?

20.1% of campaigns across the full decade — but the trend is the story: 12.1% of recalls filed in 2016 involved a software remedy versus 31.8% in 2025. Roughly one in three new recalls is now fixed by reflashing or updating software, many over the air with no dealer visit.

What is a do-not-drive or park-outside recall?

The most serious consumer advisories NHTSA attaches to a recall. A do-not-drive advisory means the defect is dangerous enough that owners should stop driving until repair (87 campaigns since 2016). A park-outside advisory means the vehicle can catch fire while parked, so it should be kept away from buildings (82 campaigns). Hyundai and Kia account for 34 of the park-outside advisories in this window.

Which vehicle model has the most recalls?

The Ford F-150: 105 separate recall campaigns since 2016 — roughly one every five weeks for a decade. It is also America's best-selling vehicle, and more units on the road means more defect reports, so volume is part of the explanation.

How do I check if a specific car has open recalls?

Recalls attach to the VIN, not the model. Run the VIN through a recall check — CarWhere's free recall lookup covers open NHTSA campaigns, and our full vehicle history report includes recall status alongside title and auction records.