Safety-related recalls

Why check?

Checking will help you avoid:

• the possibility of a death or injury occurring as a result of a defect not being remedied

• the cost and inconvenience to you if we require you to have the defect rectified before the vehicle is registered

• the cost and inconvenience to you if we order your vehicle off the road and/or revoke its warrant of fitness (WoF) or certificate of fitness (CoF) until the defect is remedied

• the cost and inconvenience to you of having to repair, or pay for the repair, of any vehicle defects. If you sell the vehicle in New Zealand, you may have an obligation to do this under the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993.

How to check

Ban flags

Sometimes vehicles entered on our system are tagged with a 'ban flag'. This means you must repair the recall fault before the vehicle can get a WoF or CoF. Contact us to check for ban flags.

Recall websites

Recalls are posted on websites in Japan, Australia, the USA and Europe. These websites:

• tell you whether your vehicle model is subject to a recall
• give you information on the type of defect
• usually provide a vehicle identification number (VIN) or chassis number range, indicating which vehicles are subject to the recall.

Check these websites:

• Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport(external link).
• Australia's Department of Transport and Regional Services(external link).
• the USA's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration(external link).
• the United Kingdom's Vehicle and Operator Services Agency(external link).

Manufacturers’ international website

Some manufacturers post recall information on their websites. Often you'll need to know the vehicle identification number (VIN) to check whether your vehicle is subject to a recall.

Information on New Zealand vehicles

For recalls issued by manufacturers' New Zealand representatives, check:

• our Vehicle safety recalls website(external link)
• the Motor Industry Association of New Zealand(external link) website.

How do you know if the defect has been repaired?

If your vehicle is listed for recall on one of these recall websites, you need to get written confirmation of the repair from the manufacturer directly, or a franchise dealer in the country of export.

You won't be able to get this information from a New Zealand franchise dealer or vehicle manufacturers' representatives.