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Motor1

Business

Christopher Smith

Tesla Recalled the Most Cars In 2024

Tesla Inc. Ford BMW Stellantis Honda Hyundai Kia Toyota General Motors Volkswagen

If it feels like 2024 was a busy year for automotive recalls—it was. The ten worst offenders recalled more than 25 million vehicles last year alone, some for seemingly minor reasons like incorrect information printed on labels. Others had more pressing problems like electrical glitches, fluid leaks, fire risks, or pickup truck tailgates unlatching unexpectedly.

We're ranking this list by the total number of cars affected by recalls from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). We also include the total number of recalls for each company, highlighting just how many faults each manufacturer made from the factory.

Case-in-point: Tesla recalled the most vehicles of any automaker in 2024 at 5,135,991. But the EV manufacturer only issued 16 total recalls, compared to the 72 recalls by fellow American automaker Stellantis and the 67 recalls by Ford. So with that in mind, here are the ten automakers with the most recalled cars in America for 2024.

Volkswagen Group

1,088,407 Cars
18 Recalls

Improving slightly from 2023, Volkswagen Group of America issued its largest recall of the year on June 20 for 271,330 vehicles. Front passenger airbags on 2021-2024 Atlas and 2020-2024 Atlas Cross Sport SUVs may not deploy.

Hyundai

1,109,978 Cars
25 Recalls

Hyundai wasn’t in the top ten last year, but while recalls are up overall, the total number of recalled cars is only half compared to 2023. And the biggest portion of that came on November 21, when 226,118 Elantras and Santa Fes were recalled for malfunctioning rearview cameras.

Toyota

1,221,666 Cars
16 Recalls

Toyota doesn't even crack the top 10 for the total number of recalls issued in 2024, with just 16. But, some of those recalls affected hundreds of thousands of cars. Over 100,000 Tundra and Lexus LX models were recalled to replace faulty engines, while over 661,000 other trucks and SUVs were recalled over potential axle failures and transmission issues. All told, Toyota recalled over 1 million cars this year.

Kia

1,234,611 Cars
20 Recalls

Kia also improved slightly from 2023 with 20 recalls affecting just over 1 million cars. Its largest recall—462,869 Telluride SUVs from 2020-2024—came on June 5. A knob for the front power seat motor could get stuck, possibly causing the motor to overheat and catch on fire.

BMW

1,832,968 Cars
36 Recalls

With recalls and affected vehicles up for 2024, BMW did not have a good year. On August 13, the German company recalled 720,796 cars and SUVs for a water pump that, ironically, could start a fire due to an electrical short. That recall alone—its largest of the year— was twice the total number of all vehicles BMW recalled in the US for 2023.

General Motors

1,872,567 Cars
34 Recalls

With Chevrolet, Buick, Cadillac, and GMC in its wheelhouse, GM is the largest US-based auto group in terms of sales. Recalls are up from 2023, but the total number of vehicles affected are about the same. The vast majority of those came from the same problem—tailgates on Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra trucks that could come unlatched. The first recall for this problem dropped on February 1, affecting 570,434 trucks. Another 131,231 trucks were added in a related recall on November 26.

Honda

3,794,113 Cars
18 Recalls

Last year, Honda led all automakers for the total number of recalled cars at 6.3 million. That number is way down for 2024, though the Japanese brand still had some large recalls. A steering problem affected 1.6 million Civics, Integras, CR-Vs, and HR-Vs, per a recall from October 20.

Ford

4,777,161 Cars
67 Recalls

Here comes the big jump. At 67 recalls, Ford has nearly double that of BMW, which ranked third in terms of number of recalls issued. That’s also 13 more for the Blue Oval compared to last year, but the news isn’t all bad. The total number of affected vehicles is down considerably, from 6.3 million to 4.7. Almost half of those came at the beginning of the year, thanks to 1.88 million recalled Explorers. Ford CEO Jim Farley pledged to improve the company’s quality, and while the numbers still aren’t good, the data suggests some progress is being made. At the very least, Ford is no longer the most-recalled automaker in America.

Stellantis

4,804,285 Cars
72 Recalls

The dubious title of recall king now belongs to Stellantis, which had an absolutely terrible year. Not only were recalls way up—72 compared to 45 in 2023—affected vehicles have nearly doubled. In Stellantis's defense, 17 recalls were for fewer than 100 vehicles each, including just one 2022 Ram 1500 Classic truck recalled for a bad rearview camera. But on the flip side, six recalls accounted for 3.3 million vehicles. The largest came on June 13 for failing rearview cameras in 1,033,433 Jeep Grand Cherokees, Wagoneers, Chrysler Pacifica minivans, Dodge Durango SUVs, and Ram pickup trucks.

Tesla

5,135,991
15 Recalls

Tesla is the top offender for recalled cars in 2024. Even though the American EV maker only had 15 total recalls issued by the NHTSA, those recalls affected more than 5 million cars—Model 3s, Model Xs, and Cybertrucks alike. The largest recall affected 2,193,869 cars for an incorrect font size on warning lights. The Cybertruck, meanwhile, was recalled seven times for issues ranging from the accelerator pedal sticking to a failing windshield wiper.