Some of the most common vehicle defects that cause car accidents and spur recalls involve:
- Tires: A tire blowout can be extremely dangerous. When a defective tire undergoes tread separation at freeway speeds, the vehicle may veer out of control or roll over. In such cases it may be very difficult even for an experienced driver to regain control of the vehicle.
- Seat belts: Whenever a passenger is ejected from a vehicle, it must be determined if he or she was wearing a seatbelt that failed to work properly.
- Car seats: When an infant or booster seat is defective, there is the potential for serious injuries to young children.
- Seat backs: A flimsy or defective seat-back may collapse and cause the vehicle occupant to get thrown around in the vehicle. This often results in catastrophic injuries.
- Brakes: It is extremely dangerous to operate a vehicle that does not have properly working brakes.
- Accelerator pedals: There have been a number of recalls lately involving accelerator pedals that stick and remain depressed, causing sudden acceleration or unintended acceleration.
- Airbags: A defective airbag can either fail to protect the driver during an accident or suddenly inflate and cause serious injuries to vehicle occupants.
- Vehicle rollovers: Defective vehicle design could increase the propensity of vehicle rollovers. For example, 15 passenger vans and older-model SUVs are particularly prone to rolling over because of their top-heavy design.
- Roof crush: Vehicles that rollover are meant to have strong roofs to resist the weight of the car so that the passengers inside are kept safe. When roofs fail it can result in major injuries or death.