These 10 Car Brands Have The Most Recalls, According To The NHTSA

Even when you find the perfect car, there's always a risk of something going wrong with it. Whether you go for the most reliable car brands or you buy only used cars with the most spotless histories, the possibility of a fatal flaw is never zero. No matter how much care you put into your ride, some of the worst problems happen on the companies' side due to errors in the manufacturing process or inherent design weaknesses. In a worst-case scenario, you might not even know your new car has these problems until it's too late to resolve them.

In the U.S., the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration — or NHTSA — has recorded many of these issues, providing an easy way for car owners to see major recalls. This information also shows just how many issues have affected the biggest brands out there. These issues are all separate, and the total number of recalls doesn't always reflect on how many individual vehicles are affected by them. But it can still be worthwhile for particularly wary car enthusiasts to see which car brands have the most NHTSA-recorded recalls.

Recall numbers are accurate as of November 2024.

While many are wondering if Nissan is going out of business, this Japanese automaker's number of recalls is fairly tame compared to other brands on this list. Only 425 total issues have been reported in its manufacturing process, which — while not ideal — is far from a staggering number, especially considering the oldest recall is from 1967. Of course, they're still recalls, which means the issues at hand are often life-threatening. This is especially relevant for older models, as they were hit by these problems far more than others.

Nissan suffered its biggest recall back in 2016, when an issue with air bags not deploying affected potentially more than 3 million vehicles, all ranging from the 2013 to 2017 model years. Another recall affected 2013-2018 model year Nissan cars, and although it was a problem for nearly 2 million of them, it was only reported in 2020. This is an unfortunate consequence of how these issues might go unnoticed for years, and it's a consequence that affects far more brands than just Nissan.

Honda ends up suffering from just a few more recalls than Nissan, reaching a total of 438, but these issues are far more present in recent Honda cars, with millions of vehicles potentially having immense problems. In October 2024, it was discovered that around 1.6 million vehicles from the 2023-2025 model years could suffer from steering problems. Even if you're buying a brand-new Honda today, it could end up having this issue without you realizing it.

We've previously covered used Honda models you should avoid at all costs, with many from 2001 to 2008 suffering from serious problems of their own. Models from this period could possibly suffer from an air bag rupturing during a crash, which was something only discovered in 2015 despite affecting over 6 million vehicles. This is among the highest number of vehicles recalled from brands on this list, once again showing the disparity between the amount of each manufacturer's separate issues and how many vehicles were affected by them.

While Mercedes-Benz has a fairly high number of recalls at 470, it managed to keep these issues from affecting as many vehicles. In the company's history, the only recall that affected more than 1 million cars happened in 2021. The 1.29 million Mercedes-Benz vehicles were recalled for a communications software issue, which is a far cry from more immediate life-threatening issues like air bag failure or engine fires. It's far from an ideal problem to have, especially if you relied on that software during a crash, but it at least wouldn't cause an accident on its own.

That's not to say Mercedes-Benz was completely devoid of more serious issues. A problem with the attachment of glass panels affected nearly 750,000 cars in 2019, and a similar issue was found to affect around 30,000 more vehicles in November of this year. Even so, Mercedes-Benz is notable for avoiding that higher number of recalls, even if it doesn't quite manage to avoid appearing on this list.

While it might not be a familiar name to the average consumer, Daimler Truck is best known for its commercial vehicle manufacturing. This primarily includes buses and trucks, with some being adorned with the logos of other companies like Mercedes-Benz. As a result, although it has a total of 517 recalls, not a lot of vehicles are affected by them. At most, over 400,000 vehicles from the company were recalled in 2017 due to brake light issues, with few other issues affecting more than a couple hundred thousand.

The numbers are impressive at first glance, though comparisons begin to even out when you look at how many sales the company had. Daimler Truck received around 500,000 vehicles out to buyers in 2023. In comparison, Mercedes-Benz alone was able to reach over 2,000,000 sales, so it's no wonder why there's such disparity between it and other brands. These issues are sometimes exceptionally minor, though, such as an emergency label having text that's too small, so there's still something to be said about Daimler Truck keeping itself so low on this list.

BMW has found itself with 553 recalls from the NHTSA across its lifetime. And while it has so far managed to avoid a single recall affecting more than a million vehicles, it suffered from a great number of issues in 2024. 700,000 vehicles were noted to have a risk of water pump failure leading to an electrical fire, and nearly 400,000 were found to suffer from air bag explosions. These issues affect vehicles from a wide range of years, going as far back as 2006, which could call into question just how reliable new models will be in comparison.

It should be noted that even these recalls are subject to change over time. In 2023, BMW issued a "Do Not Drive" warning on 90,000 cars that were already affected by a recall back in 2015, due to the parts on older vehicles deteriorating over time. These issues apply to cars released in 2002, so trying to stick with used BMWs isn't likely to lead to great results. Considering how long it took for these problems to receive official notice, only time will tell if newer models end up with wider life-threatening issues of their own.

Volkswagen just barely fares worse than BMW in total number of recalls, only having 5 more in total. Interestingly, while a wider range of vehicles ended up being affected by them, the most prominent issues occurred much earlier in VW's lifespan. An issue affecting nearly 4 million vehicles caused the windshield wiper to perform poorly or stop working, but this issue occurred back in 1972. The most recent problem affecting over 1 million models was noted in 2007 and concerned brake light issues, with no individual recalls affecting more than 300,000 vehicles after 2019.

Interestingly, despite the relatively low numbers and not-as-dangerous issues, Volkswagen has a history of suffering from notoriously high recall rates. The NHTSA only covers problems affecting vehicles in the U.S., so the VW's actual total number of recalls is closer to 1,400. The company was also forced to recall all 3.0-liter diesel cars and SUVs in California due to utilizing illegal software, which kept its cars from meeting emission guidelines. You might not be facing these issues in models from the past couple of years, but it's something to be aware of if you're getting used cars.

Although Forest River is higher on this list than other brands at 572 recalls, very few of these have affected more than a handful of its rides. Only three recalls throughout its lifetime affected more than 100,000 vehicles, with 300,000 receiving one in 2017 simply due to faulty fire extinguishers. Forest River is in a similar situation with Daimler Truck, where it makes vehicles for a smaller segment of the market — hence its number of problematic vehicles being so low. 

Forest River produces recreational vehicles alongside commercial ones, so its recalls cover a wider range of issues than usual. Between solar panel issues and water tank detachment, the issues you might face with this company's vehicles –while infrequent — are certainly unique. Not everyone might be equipped to handle them, so it's important to keep in mind what the recalls are for rather than just how many there are. But this problem really only applies to Forest River's special circumstance, and you're unlikely to care about how "unique" these problems are when looking at bigger car manufacturers.

As this list reaches the top three, the number of recalls for each car manufacturer absolutely skyrockets. Chrysler currently sits with a total of 1,427, many of which come from this year alone. Over 1,000,000 Chrysler vehicles were reported to have an issue with its electronic stability systems in September, with all of the problematic vehicles coming from the past few model years. And this is an unfortunate trend throughout pretty much all of Chrysler's history, not just recent years.

32 separate NHTSA recalls from throughout Chrysler's lifespan ended up with over 1,000,000 affected vehicles. Two of these recalls applied to more than 4 million vehicles each, with both occurring in 2015 and 2016 to resolve air bag explosion issues. A separate issue in 2018 had 4.8 million Chryslers recalled after cruise control refused to turn off, so there's been plenty of risk in the company's history up to this point. If you're willing to go for older models, though, more recent widespread problems have only really applied to newer model years, so you might not find as many undisclosed problems from used purchases.

As one of the biggest car manufacturers in the U.S., it only makes sense that Ford would be subject to a very high number of recalls. It ends up in the number two spot on this list with a total of 1,515, with over 37 of those recalls affecting more than 1 million vehicles. It was at its worst back in 1981, where Ford suffered from a whopping 21 million vehicles being inflicted with improper parking. This issue wasn't even resolved mechanically, with the solution only being to provide a sticker to owners that told them to be aware of sudden movements from their ride.

Even before the NHTSA's records, Ford found itself in some very hot water. A recall involving Ford Pinto gas tanks from the 1960s ended up being one of the deadliest car recalls in history, with over 500 drivers losing their lives to flames. It was even reported that Ford ignored the issue early on entirely for financial reasons. While the company has made numerous strides since then, it still suffers from older models only getting proper recalls recently, making it hard to ignore the blemishes on its record.

Topping off this list at 1,668 total recalls is General Motors, which stands alongside Ford and Toyota as one of the biggest car brands in the U.S. Of these recalls, 46 have affected over 1 million vehicles, with over 2 million being labelled in 2021 as having further air bag explosion issues. Beyond that, the company's number of affected vehicles ends up varying quite a lot in recent years. Only three recalls in 2024 affected over 400,000 models, whereas the rest hardly even had more than 10,000 on average.

Recalls happen for many reasons, with some not nearly as serious or widespread as others. One recall from this brand in October only affected around 25 vehicles concerning their air bag deployment, while another recall that affected nearly 2,000 vehicles only concerned their turn signals. The size of General Motors — and its high spot on this list — only highlights how spotty certain issues can be in different models. While it's always good to be cautious when buying both new and used models, there's always the chance that even the riskiest car brands might last for longer than you'd ever expect.