The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) gathers information on problems with cars and trucks so it can identify defects based upon the trends that it identifies in the data. If the problems or defects are significant, NHTSA can require the automobile manufacturer to issue a safety recall; however, NHTSA cannot investigate defects that it does not know about. Therefore, if you know of a potential safety problem with your vehicle it is important that you report it to NHTSA as soon as possible. If your vehicle has exhibited a safety problem, you can report it to NHTSA using their online reporting system found here. The online form takes approximately 5 minutes to complete. You must supply information concerning the model year, make, model affected, component part involved and the VIN number of the vehicle. The NHTSA site also contains valuable information regarding existing recalls, current and past defects. It also has a section on early warnings on potential problems, and other safety tips.
