Australia’s most recalled car brands revealed

Whether it’s cars, button batteries or baked goods, product safety recalls are simply a part of life. 

In the case of automotive recalls, they warn us about potential vehicle faults, which can be as trivial as a typo in an owner’s manual or an ill-manufactured number plate bracket.

Or they can be as important as global Takata airbag debacle which involved at least 33 fatalities and 350 injuries worldwide, and to a $12.5 million fine for Mercedes-Benz in Australia for understating the urgency of the recall.

Some auto models are recalled more than others, with the previous-generation WK Jeep Grand Cherokee setting a record by notching up at least 24 recalls.

And some auto brands issue more recalls than others, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the more recalls a car-maker issues, the worse its products are.

In many cases where problems are not deemed safety-related, which can be a grey area, ‘service campaigns’ are conducted via a car-maker’s dealer network but are not subject to an official product safety recall via the ACCC’s recall watchdog, Product Safety Australia.

And in some cases safety recalls can signal that a manufacturer is monitoring the performance of its products in the market more proactively than others.

Here, we’re looking at vehicle safety recalls issued in 2022.

Mercedes-Benz – 48

Mercedes-Benz issued a whopping 48 product safety recalls in 2022 – more than double any other auto brand in Australia.  

The German luxury car maker issued a recall for almost all of the 30-plus model lines in its range, from its small A-Class passenger car to the commercial Sprinter van and the (now-discontinued) X-Class ute.

One of the largest was a recall raising concerns about the braking performance of 17,687 examples of the ML, GL and R-Class (2005-2013) vehciles.

Mercedes-Benz also recalled 15,323 examples of its GLE, GLS, and EQ C later in the year, due to a compliance issue with the vehicle’s jack.

Hyundai – 12

Hyundai issued the second biggest number of recalls, with a total of 12 in the same 12-month period.

A manufacturing defect with the circuit board in the anti-lock braking system module of more than 40,000 vehicles, including earlier examples of the Santa Fe and (discontinued) ix35 SUVs, was perhaps most concerning, with the South Korean car-maker warning that affected vehicles could catch fire even when switched off.  

In another concerning recall affecting more than 15,000 examples of the its Venue light SUV, Hyundai said a potentially faulty seat belt pre-tensioner inflator could fracture in the event of an accident – as per the Takata recall – propelling lethal metal fragments at high speed towards vehicle occupants.

Kia – 10

Hyundai sister brand Kia started 2022 with a huge recall for three model lines – Cerato, Carnival, and Soul – due to concerns the airbags in more than 40,000 of its vehicles could be faulty. 

The South Korean brand’s popular Sorento family SUV was also hit with several recall notices throughout the year, ranging from potential faults with the SUV’s low-pressure fuel line to the heater core, both of which Kia warned could result in a vehicle fire.

Volkswagen, BMW, Lexus – 8

A trio of auto manufacturers placed fourth with, with Volkswagen, BMW and Lexus all publishing eight safety recalls.

But while Volkswagen’s largest single recall involved a fairly minor door latch issue affecting 2295 examples of its T6.1 Transporter van range, Lexus called back more than 14,000 luxury cars across its IS, GS, GS F, RC and RC F model lines due to a fire risk.

And while all three brands experienced potential faults across a wide variety of models, it was Bavarian premium brand BMW that had just one model account for half of all its safety recall notices.

BMW called its new iX electric SUV back to the dealership four times, with problems ranging from the EV’s software to its high-voltage battery.

Tesla – 7

US electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla had its fair share of safety concerns in 2022, issuing a total of seven recalls.

Its most affordable (and top-selling) model, the Model 3 sedan, accounted for five of the brand’s safety recalls, while 1922 examples of Tesla’s first EV, the Model S sedan, were also recalled due to bonnet latch concerns.

Tesla was able to rectify four of the seven recalls with a software (over-the-air) update, no doubt making life significantly easier for affected owners.

Toyota, Audi – 5

Toyota and Audi each issued five recall notices throughout 2022, but of course it was the Japanese car-making giant that had the highest number of affected vehicles.

More than 54,000 Toyota vehicles were called back to the workshop last year, more than half of them as part of a single recall affecting 30,341 examples of the brand’s C-HR compact SUV, due to a comically minor issue.

The towbar fitted to affected Toyota C-HR vehicles was deemed non-compliant, due to a European ECE label not being affixed at factory. The same issue affected certain Lexus models.

The Toyotas C-HR, Yaris and Yaris Cross were also recalled over concerns surrounding the pre-collision safety assist feature in more than 18,000 vehicles.

Meantime, Audi’s largest safety notice for 2022 was published early in the year and saw the German manufacturer call back 18,186 examples of its Q5 mid-size SUV (2016-2021 model years). 

Ford, Porsche, RAM – 4

Three auto brands racked up a total of four recalls in 2022, including Ford, Porsche, and RAM.

Ford’s recalls were the result of potential vehicle fires and detaching sunroofs, but its largest recall affected 2303 examples of the 2018-2020 Mustang, which was called back due to a manufacturing issue relating to reversing lights and cameras.

While the Blue Oval brand’s Fiesta, Focus and Escape also struck trouble, RAM’s range of full-size pick-ups was also being monitored for potential faults.

As a result, 644 examples of the RAM 2500 and 3500 (built in 2019-2022) were recalled over a software fault affecting the anti-lock brake (ABS) and electronic stability control (ESC) systems, while a handful of smaller RAM 1500s was recalled separately.

In 2022, Porsche issued recalls for its Cayenne SUV, 911 sports car and Taycan EV. Click the link below for more.

Land Rover – 3

Jaguar Land Rover issued a total of three safety recalls in 2022, affecting hundreds of vehicles across the British car-maker’s Range Rover, Defender, and Discovery model lines.

Its largest recall included 350 examples of the Defender, Discovery, Discovery Sport, Range Rover Sport and Range Rover Velar, all of which were fitted with a potentially faulty seatbelt pretensioner.

Older examples of the brand’s off-road-ready Defender were also called back in 2022, due to a manufacturing issue that Land Rover says could cause the wheel hub assembly and/or suspension to collapse or detach completely.

Join the conversation at 

our Facebook page

Or email us at 

editor@carsales.com.au