Urgent warning to millions of drivers over mistake that could invalidate your insurance even though it’s NOT your fault

MILLIONS of car owners across the UK risk invalidating their insurance – for something that isn’t even their fault.

According to recent figures, nearly three-quarters of cars in the UK that have been recalled for safety or mechanical issues have not been fixed.

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Millions of cars in the UK have potential defects that urgently need to be fixed – including faults involving airbags[/caption]

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Ignoring a recall, whether unknowingly or not, could even invalidate car insurance[/caption]

However, if a defective car’s owner causes a crash due to an unresolved issue, they could be held liable.

In a review of UK vehicle history reports dating between January 2023 and September 2024, experts at CarVertical discovered that only around 28% of recalled vehicles in the UK had their defects addressed.

Worryingly, many of those recalls involved critical safety components, such as airbags, brakes, and electrical systems.

Some of these issues can pose a significant threat – and in many cases, it’s considered inadvisable to drive the affected vehicle.

Indeed, if discovered, such defects could invalidate insurance claims if an accident occurs after the manufacturer has issued the recall.

The study suggests that many drivers may be unaware of their vehicle’s recall status or how important it is to address these issues – with UK drivers having one of the worst records across Europe for actioning recall notices.

This comes as the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA), which is responsible for overseeing car safety recalls in Britain, recently integrated outstanding recall notices into its digital MOT system.

These notices advise owners if their car needs to be repaired at the request of the manufacturer.

It is believed this measure has begun to increase the number of vehicles brought in for repairs.

However, a large number of vehicles in the UK still carry unresolved recalls – potentially as many as five million.

If discovered, these unresolved recalls could automatically trigger MOT failures in the future.

A RISE IN RECALLS

An investigation last year revealed that vehicle recalls have surged over the past 30 years.

To that end, almost 1.2 million vehicles were recalled by the DVSA in the first eight months of 2024.

Newer figures show that nearly 250 car recalls were issued by the end of the year – affecting up to 2.3 million vehicles in total.

In contrast, 30 years previously in 1994, just 27 passenger car recalls were issued.

Cars make up the vast majority of UK vehicle recalls, although other vehicles, such as vans, trucks, buses, motorcycles, motorhomes, trailers, and even individual parts like seats, are also included.

CarVertical’s Matas Buzelis said: “As cars become increasingly modern and incorporate more electrical components, recalls are becoming more common.

“Fortunately, these issues are usually resolved during regular vehicle maintenance, causing minimal inconvenience to drivers.”

CarVertical claims that 3.1% of cars on the road are recalled at least once in the UK – the lowest recall rate among the 26 European countries analysed.

The highest recall rates were seen in Portugal, Greece, and Spain.

One of the biggest issues surrounding recalls arises when a vehicle is sold on and the owner’s records are not updated.

Manufacturers always contact owners to inform them of a recall, but this becomes difficult when car firms cannot track down the vehicle’s current keeper.

In the eyes of the law, it is the legal responsibility of vehicle owners to ensure their cars are safe to drive and do not have outstanding safety recall notices.

As such, some cars with defects posing serious consequences are likely still being used on the road today.

Drivers in the UK can find out if a manufacturer has recalled any vehicle, part, or accessory due to a serious safety problem by using the GOV.UK website.

This comes as five major carmakers are set to recall thousands of motors over safety fears relating to various faults with air bags and other components.

Kia, BMW, Renault, Tesla and Jaguar Land Rover are to voluntarily recall more than 76,000 vehicles, according to Korea’s transport ministry.

It is unclear if these issues will affect the same cars in the UK, as there has been no official announcement regarding recalls of the models in question, or concerns over any of the components.