http://www.forbes.com/sites/jimgorzelan ... all-rates/
This is a good article. It does several things:
- Calculates a "recall rate" which is in terms of # of recalled vehicles since 1985 vs # of vehicles sold since 1980 (giving 5 years lead to capture any initial recalls)
- Calculates percentage of recalls that take place within 3 years of the vehicle's sale, which implies how aggressive the manufacturer is about pursuing things.
GM was #3 for recall rate, only beaten by Mazda and Mercedes Benz. Side note: look at the number of GM vehicles sold since 1980. So, the absolute number of recall vehicles is high, but as a percentage, they're doing pretty good. This is important. Ford sold 46% fewer vehicles but recalled nearly as many as GM.
Chrysler was 1 for 1 (1 vehicle recalled for 1 vehicle sold), and a few had MORE recalls than vehicles sold: Mitsubishi, Volkswagen and Volvo, brands for which I do have some quality doubts.
For recall timeliness, BMW scored best, and Toyota scored worst.