Get an alert if your vehicle is recalled with this free app
Maintaining a car is a lot of work. Not only do you have to keep an eye on your mileage and get routine service work done, but you also have to stay on the lookout for recalls of parts that can leave you stranded or in danger.
One of the best recent examples of a major recall is the Takata airbag fiasco. Millions of cars were filled with faulty airbags that could maim or kill drivers upon impact which led to widespread service appointments and replacements for a vast number of makes and models. Tap or click here to see if your call is included in the recall list.
If your car ever has a recall, it’s usually up to you to go check for it. You might receive a letter in the mail or an update from a third-party like Carfax, but there’s no guarantee that those methods will ever reach you. But now, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has released an app that automatically informs you when recalls are available.
Total recall
If you’re tired of driving without knowing that your car is 100% safe, the NHTSA’s new app can put your fears to rest. The nation’s premier road safety agency has developed a new app that can look up your car’s VIN and show you any outstanding recalls that may be available for your car.
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The app, dubbed SaferCar, is available to download today for both iOS and Android devices, and there is no charge to install or use it. To look up your car, all you need to do is take down your VIN, type it into the app and search the NHTSA’s database for recalls.
If one or more are found, your phone will be notified. This means that you’ll know exactly when you need to take your car in for service to prevent any issues. It’s a major step forward for an issue that’s common to so many cars.
But it’s not just cars that are affected by this app. You can also lookup child seats, tires or trailers to see if any recalls apply to their serial numbers. And just like with your car, you’ll be notified if anything is awry.
Best of all, you don’t have to worry about any data issues with this app, either. According to the NHTSA, your vehicle information is stored locally on your device rather than in the cloud. This prevents any information from being shared with the agency beyond your lookup.
How do I get the app on my device?
The SaferCar app is currently available to download on the iOS App Store and Google Play Store. Once again, it’s free to install and requires access to your VIN. This is the number you use for your auto registration and car insurance, but if you don’t have that handy, you can usually find it on or below your vehicle’s windshield.
Once you’ve installed the app on your device, follow the onscreen instructions and enter your VIN to reap the benefits. You never know, after all. You might have been driving dangerously all this time without realizing it.
Tags: Apple, car insurance, Google, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
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