How do I find out if a car I bought at CarMax has an unrepaired safety recall?
Manufacturers use state vehicle registration data to issue safety recall notices. If you don't maintain your state registration information, you might not receive future safety recall notices. Make sure to update your address every time you move.
CarMax also recommends that you register your car with the manufacturer as soon as you make a purchase. Registration varies by manufacturer, but you'll typically need your address, date of purchase, VIN, and the year, make, and model of your car. By registering, you'll receive information on unrepaired safety recalls and other important information about your car, directly from the manufacturer. You'll also be listed with the manufacturer as the current owner if a new safety recall is issued in the future. As with https://www.nhtsa.gov/recalls, most manufacturers have VIN-specific safety recall look-up tools on their websites.
Register your car with the manufacturer:
Visit your car manufacturer's safety recall VIN look-up website:
You can also subscribe for email safety recall notifications from NHTSA for up to five vehicles at https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/subscriptions/index.cfm. These notifications are not specific to your VIN, but are based on your car's year and make. By subscribing to this service, you'll receive an email whenever there is a safety recall issued relating to your enrolled vehicles.
You can also use the NHTSA VIN-specific Recall Look-Up link to check for unrepaired safety recalls at https://www.nhtsa.gov/recalls.
