Nissan Takes Recall Notification to the Next Level

By Mike Rozembajgier

Too often, we hear about companies waiting too long to alert customers about potential safety problems or facing criticism of their recall management practices from the public or the media. But a recent announcement by Nissan North America shows what responsible companies can do to tackle recall management, and specifically recall notification, in order to keep consumers safe.

As car owners are well aware, automakers often reach out directly to the original owner of a vehicle when they announce a recall. But it is a lot harder to reach the second or third owner of a previously owned vehicle that is being recalled. But a new approach by Nissan and others offers a way to communicate with this otherwise hard-to-reach audience of used car owners.

Nissan North America announced this week that it will provide weekly recall information updates to Carfax for all Nissan and Infiniti models. With this agreement, Carfax, which is known for publishing “Carfax Vehicle History Reports” for millions of used cars each year, will now be able to more effectively pass recall information along to consumers.

As part of this program Nissan will share with Carfax vehicle identification numbers (VINs) for all vehicles with open recalls. Consumers shopping for a used car will be able to quickly track whether a specific vehicle has been affected by a recall. By sharing this information, Nissan is doing what it can to ensure that customers in the market for a used car will always have access to the latest safety information to reassure them that the vehicles they buy are safe.

The weekly updates will make certain that recall information is kept up-to-date and relevant. In addition to noting which cars were recalled, the reports will detail whether necessary repairs were completed or if additional work is needed.

Nissan’s Carfax program comes at a time of “recall fatigue.” Fewer consumers are paying close attention to recall announcements. With this in mind, smart companies like Nissan realize they cannot rely only on traditional recall notification methods to inform consumers of potential safety problems. Nissan is tackling this problem by partnering with third-party organizations, like Carfax, that consumers rely on when making critical purchase decisions.

And the problem is by no means confined to used cars. Used products have always been a concern for manufacturers because it is so hard to reach second-hand owners who are unlikely to receive recall-related communication directly from recalling firms. We commend Nissan for its vigilance in ensuring that safety issues are resolved. The company’s efforts will help keep the roads safer since consumers selling their vehicles will have more incentive to fix recall-related problems and potential new owners will be more aware of what they need to repair.

Whether you make cars, baby products or sporting goods, all manufacturers can learn something from Nissan’s proactive approach to recall notification. A commitment to consumer safety must be paired with consumer-focused recall communication. Are you doing everything you can to communicate with your consumers?

Stericycle ExpertRECALL™ is the industry leader in recall logistics and regulatory compliance for consumer product, pharmaceutical, medical device, juvenile product, and food and beverage recalls. ExpertRECALL’s professionals are experts in recall management who can help you streamline the entire product recall process.

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