Detroit News January 6, 2012 by David Shepardson
Honda Motor Co. led all manufacturers with 3.9 million vehicles recalled in 2011, even as overall car and truck recalls fell to the lowest level since 2008, the government said Friday.
Honda initially disputed the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's tally, but later said it agreed it had the largest overall number of recalls. Honda spokesman Chris Martin said the company recalled 3.8 million cars and trucks in 2011 ? and another 130,000 motorcycles. Even without including the motorcycles, Honda still had the largest number of vehicle recalls, he said.
In total, automakers called back 15.5 million vehicles ? down from the
20.1 million vehicles in 2010. The number of recall campaigns fell to 593 from 648 in 2010.Honda nearly doubled its 2010 recalls, calling back 2.4 million vehicles in 15 campaigns.
Toyota Motor Corp. recalled 3.5 million vehicles in 13 campaigns ? down from 7 million in 2010. The company recalled more than 10 million vehicles connected to sticky accelerator pedals and trapped floor mats over a two-year period.
Ford Motor Co. had the third highest number of vehicles recalled, with
13 recall campaigns involving 3.3 million vehicles ? up from 9 campaigns and 581,000 vehicles in 2010.General Motors Co. recalled just 500,000 vehicles in 2011 in 22 campaigns ? its lowest total in decades. In 2010, GM recalled 4 million vehicles in 21 campaigns. It ranked just seventh highest ? even though it's the best-selling automaker in the United States.