Who to call: the number of defective cars has increased dramatically in Russia
According to the results of last year, 29 recall campaigns were conducted in Russia, which affected a total of almost half a million vehicles. Compared to the year before last, the number of cars recalled has increased dramatically. This is due both to a decrease in the quality of the cars themselves and their components, and to more careful monitoring of their compliance with the established requirements by the supervisory authorities, experts say. Details can be found in the Izvestia article.
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Last year, recall campaigns were announced in Russia for 486.6 thousand vehicles. This follows from the data published on the official website of the Federal Agency for Technical Regulation and Metrology, which was analyzed by Izvestia. Compared to 2024, during which just over 139 thousand cars were recalled, the number of cars with various factory defects increased 3.5 times.
The vast majority of recall campaigns (over 452,000 vehicles) relate to passenger cars. The service campaigns included 33,820 trucks and light commercial models, as well as nine semi-trailers. Approximately a quarter (121.5 thousand vehicles, including 118.9 thousand passenger cars and 2.6 thousand trucks) are related to the need to retrofit them with control units for the emergency call system (EES). For this reason, in particular, 2,626 Ural trucks, more than 100,000 Lada cars (Vesta, Xray, Largus and Niva models), as well as almost 18.6 thousand BAIC models were recalled.
However, there are other, more serious reasons why recall campaigns have been announced, and in some cases even Vehicle Type Approvals (OTTs) for certain models have been suspended. For example, last winter, such a measure was applied to 15,000 Shacman trucks, and in the summer, OTC operations were also suspended for some models of Dongfeng, Foton, FAW and Sitrak trucks (a total of about 17,000 vehicles). The reason for this was that the design did not meet the established requirements, posing a "significant threat to the health and life of drivers and pedestrians."
At the end of January last year, a recall was announced for more than 29,000 Kia Sportage crossovers, which may have a short circuit and a fire in the engine compartment due to potential problems in the ABS/ESC unit. Also last January, 364 Tank 500 SUVs were recalled due to a possible fuel leak. In the spring of 2025, more than 2.3 thousand Toyota Highlaner SUVs were recalled due to design flaws in the rear seats, which under certain conditions can lead to injuries to passengers in an accident. About 2 thousand more Toyota Land Cruiser SUVs required engine replacement due to defective crankshaft bearings.
In April, a recall was announced for almost 17,000 Chinese GAC GS8 crossovers, in which the fuel line nut had to be tightened to prevent the risk of fire. At about the same time, it became known that about 3.7 thousand Suzuki SX4 and Suzuki Vitara cars needed to replace the brake booster vacuum pump.
In May last year, it turned out that 468 Voyah Free crossovers needed a software update to operate the multimedia system in Russian. A large-scale recall (also in May last year) affecting more than 99,000 Hyundai vehicles (Grandeur, Genesis Coupe, Grand Santa Fe, Veloster, i40, Solaris, SantaFe models) was related to the need to replace the multi-fuse in one of the electronic units in order to avoid the risk of fire. More than 55 thousand . Kia Sorento, Soul, Cerato, as well as almost 80,000 Sportage crossovers were recalled in June, also due to a possible short circuit in electronic components.
In the middle of summer, a recall campaign was announced for 14.3 thousand Russian Sollers Atlant vans. On these vehicles, there was a possibility of water getting into the license plate light.
In the fall, more than 17.7 thousand Geely Emgrand vehicles were found to have a defect in the gas tank ventilation valve, which could lead to deformation of the fuel tank. In early December, it became clear that in an accident, "there is a possibility of abnormal disconnection of the plastic steering wheel cover from the front airbag housing" for almost 2.6 thousand Omoda C7 crossovers. Also, at the end of last year, about 33.5 thousand people fell under the recall campaign. Lada Granta — due to the need to diagnose "one of the functional components of the car in order to eliminate the risks of loosening its fastener."
Complex machines
One of the reasons for the noticeable increase in the number of cars affected by recall campaigns last year is due to the fact that cars are becoming more complex and more electronic, says Maxim Kadakov, editor-in-chief of Za Rulem magazine.
— If we discard the reviews related to retrofitting cars with an emergency call system for operational services, it becomes clear that a significant part of such campaigns are related to electronics. This is primarily a question of the quality of the components from which the machines are assembled," he said.
According to him, in order to reduce their own costs, many automakers are looking for new suppliers of certain parts, blocks, etc. However, not all of them can ensure stable quality of the supplied components, Maxim Kadakov notes. Because of this, automakers have to recall their cars for additional inspections and, if necessary, replacement of problematic parts. At the same time, all work within the framework of recall campaigns is carried out free of charge for car owners — at the expense of the manufacturers themselves, he recalled.
A similar point of view is shared by the vice-president of the National Automobile Union (NAS), Jan Heitser. In his opinion, it is the emergence of new electronic systems and devices that leads to an increase in the number of recall campaigns.
— It is important to note that reviews are announced not only for Russian and Chinese car brands, but also for brands that are no longer officially represented on our market. This ensures that the interests of the owners of such cars are protected," the NAS vice president told Izvestia.
Strict supervision
In addition, the increase in the number of reviews is also due to stricter control over compliance with established requirements by supervisory authorities, experts interviewed by Izvestia believe. That is why last year it was possible to identify cases when some car models were certified, but models with other characteristics were already entering the market, Maxim Kadakov notes.
The situation is also related to a change in the regulator's approach to safety control, says Alexey Ivanov, owner of the Alliance Truck commercial vehicle dealership network.
— A vivid example is the story of Shacman trucks: their vehicle type approval was revoked due to non—compliance with safety requirements, and about 20 thousand cars are still parked. Other brands also undergo similar checks. At the same time, the authorities plan to revive the national crash test system RuNCAP, which also indicates a systematic approach to road safety," he told Izvestia.
Alexey Ivanov noted that changing the structure of the car market required time to adapt regulatory mechanisms and build an effective system of supervision over new market participants. In his opinion, the current situation is a positive signal for car owners.
— Rosstandart not only fixes problems, but also obliges manufacturers to fix them. Moreover, all work on recall campaigns is free of charge and has no statute of limitations. This means that even if a car was recalled several years ago, its owner can still contact a dealer to fix problems," he stressed.
Rosstandart could not promptly respond to a request from Izvestia regarding the reasons for the increase in the number of cars subject to recall campaigns last year.
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