CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- An investigation by the Defenders revealed widespread safety issues with city vehicles.
NBC Charlotte found an alarming number of open recalls in Charlotte’s fleet. More than 600 recalled vehicles were still on the road. Some of the safety issues even turned deadly in other parts of the country.
The wide-ranging issues affected everything from seatbelts to airbags and more. The recalled vehicles were spread across several city departments including Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS), Charlotte Water, Charlotte Fire, and Charlotte Mecklenburg Police vehicles.
“The recalls of city vehicles that haven’t been fulfilled is obviously news to me right now,” said city council member Tariq Bokhari.
He said he will immediately look into what the Defenders found -- issues ranging from engine cooling fan fires to loss of power steering assist. Alarmingly, nine city vehicles have been recalled for Takata airbag inflators -- which can explode and hurl shrapnel. At least 20 people have been killed worldwide and more than 180 hurt.
“I want to understand where our process broke down; I’ll get a good answer on this one, and clearly it’s not something we want to be ignoring,” said Bokhari.
The city sent NBC Charlotte a written statement reading in part: “If the recall poses an immediate threat to the safety of employees or the community, the vehicle is pulled out of service and repaired”.
However, Chris Basso with CARFAX said every recall has safety implications.
“Even the smallest seeming recall could affect a major safety component of your vehicle such as your airbags or anti-lock brakes,” said Basso. “If those recalled parts fail while the car’s being driven, then any of us are at risk.”
The city’s statement went on to say: "The city of Charlotte adheres to a strict preventative maintenance schedule on its more than 3,500 city-owned vehicles”.
NBC Charlotte requested an on-camera interview with city officials multiple times, but they said no one would be available for the story.
“There’s a bit of a culture of defending even when maybe some of the things that have been done aren’t defensible, it’s okay to point at ourselves and say, ‘Okay, there’s an opportunity to get better here,’” said Bokhari.
CARFAX said more than half a million vehicles in the Charlotte area have unfixed recalls, and there’s no reason not to get your car fixed.