Recall repairs are free — here's exactly what you're owed in the U.S. and Canada

Roughly one in five vehicles on the road has an open safety recall its owner hasn't acted on. Some of that is not knowing (fixable in ten seconds). But a surprising amount is a wrong assumption: "it's an old car, they'll charge me," or "I'm the third owner, it doesn't apply to me."

Both wrong. Here's what you're actually owed, on each side of the border.

United States: it's the law

Under U.S. federal law, once a safety recall is issued, the manufacturer must remedy the defect free of charge — through repair, replacement, or refund — regardless of whether you're the first owner or the fourth, and regardless of where you bought the car.

The main boundary: the free-remedy obligation applies if the vehicle's first sale was within 15 calendar years of the recall determination (5 years for tires). Beyond that, federal law no longer compels it — though in practice many manufacturers honour safety campaigns on older vehicles anyway, as policy rather than obligation.

Canada: notification is the law, free repair is the norm

Canada's Motor Vehicle Safety Act obliges manufacturers to notify owners of safety defects, and 2018 amendments gave the federal government power to order manufacturers to repair recalled vehicles at no cost. In day-to-day practice, manufacturers repair Canadian recall campaigns free of charge just as they do in the U.S. — but the legal framing differs, which occasionally matters for very old vehicles or imports. If a dealer balks, Transport Canada's Defect Investigations division is the escalation path.

The situations that trip people up

"Parts aren't available yet." Common with large campaigns — manufacturers file the recall before the fix exists at scale. You're still in the queue; get your name in early (the ARC situation shows why early matters). If the defect is serious enough to make the vehicle unsafe to drive, ask the dealer directly about interim measures — some campaigns provide loaners or specific do-not-drive guidance.

"I already paid to fix this myself." If you repaired the defect before the recall was announced, you may be entitled to reimbursement — U.S. recalls include a reimbursement plan for qualifying pre-recall repairs. Keep receipts; file with the manufacturer.

"I bought it used and never got the letter." Notification letters chase registered addresses and previous owners. This is exactly why the letter system fails second owners — and why checking by VIN beats waiting for mail. Our decoder shows campaigns from both Transport Canada and the U.S. NHTSA, which matters doubly for imported vehicles: the same defect is often filed separately in each country, on different dates, with different campaign numbers.

"The dealer wants to charge a diagnostic fee." For the recalled defect itself, the remedy is free — diagnosis included. Dealers can charge for unrelated work they find while the car is in; you can decline it.

The two-minute habit

1. Decode your VIN — see every open campaign, both countries.
2. If something's open, call any authorized dealer for that brand (not just the selling dealer) and book it.
3. Re-check a couple of times a year — campaigns are filed continuously, and some even invalidate previous repairs.

Free is only free if you claim it.