Car recalls: what they are and how to check if your car is affected

What a recall campaign is#

When a manufacturer finds, after the cars have been sold, a risk that may affect safety or compliance with the rules, it calls in the cars that may be affected. There the part is checked and, if needed, replaced or adjusted. Dacia, for example, describes its campaigns this way: potentially affected vehicles are invited in for a check and correction, free of charge.

A campaign usually covers one model, a production period and a specific part, not every car of that model. That's why two cars that look identical can be one in, one out: the VIN decides.

• It's not a sign you chose a bad car: RAR's section links to the recall pages of dozens of brands.
• It can concern old cars too: some campaigns, such as those for airbags, span many years of production.
• The letter may never reach you if the manufacturer doesn't know about you: you bought the car second-hand, imported it or moved house.

Where recalls are announced#

Safety Gate is the EU's rapid alert system for dangerous non-food products. According to the European Commission's 2025 report, most follow-up action notifications concern motor vehicles, and a summary of the alerts is published on the Safety Gate portal, where anyone can search them. For one specific car, though, the reliable answer still comes from a VIN check.

How to check by VIN#

1. Find the VIN: it has 17 characters and is on the registration certificate (talon) and, on many cars, at the bottom of the windscreen.
2. Go to RAR's “Campanii de rechemare” page, pick the brand and follow the link to the manufacturer's page.
3. Enter the VIN and read the result: if the car is affected, you'll also see which part the campaign concerns.
4. If the brand has no online check, send the VIN to an authorised dealer workshop and ask whether there are open campaigns.
5. If it's affected, book the repair as soon as you can.

For some brands, RAR points out that the check page covers only certain campaigns, such as those for Takata airbags. For the others you need to ask a workshop in the manufacturer's authorised network.

The fix: free, at the authorised workshop#

Recall work is done in the brand's authorised network and is normally paid for by the manufacturer: Dacia, for example, says the check and correction are free at an authorised repairer. To keep it quick:

• When you call, give the VIN and the campaign's code or name, if you have it.
• Ask how long it takes and whether the part is in stock, so you're not without the car for nothing.
• Ask whether there are any other open campaigns for your VIN.
• Keep the document showing the work was done: you'll want it when you sell.

If you bought the car second-hand#

Check straight after you buy, even if the seller says “there was never anything”. They may not have known, or the letter went to the previous owner. The RAR Auto-Pass certificate, which the seller or the buyer requests by VIN, includes recall campaigns too. What else to check before you buy is in our guide to service history.

How CariX tells you about recalls#

In your free driver account, CariX matches announced recall campaigns against the make, model and year of your cars:

• An email when a recall appears for cars like yours, once per recall, if your email reminders are on.
• On the car's page you see “Service recall”, with the date it was announced and a link to the source.
• You check at the source: CariX can't tell by itself whether your VIN is included. It only knows the recall concerns cars like yours, so you check by VIN on the manufacturer's page or at the authorised workshop.
• “Done” or “Doesn't apply”: once you've checked, you mark the recall, so you know what's left to do.

For the matching to work, fill in the car's make, model and year. Without a year, you only get recalls that aren't tied to a production period.