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While it’s never fun, recalls are a way of life. Throughout the year, automakers and the National Highway Transit Safety Administration (NHTSA) work hard to locate problems that arise with cars out on the road and flush out issues before they ruin a customer’s day. Some automakers put out a voluntary recall, and at other times the NHTSA orders an automaker to put out a recall based on many factors, but the entire system is in place to ensure that you and your occupants are as safe as possible.

While most problems usually only affect a few vehicles before a recall is put in place, occasionally problems slip through the cracks long enough to affect hundreds of thousands or even millions of vehicles. Mass recalls happen all the time, but they’re bad news for automakers, and we wanted to take a look at the 10 largest recalls of 2024, which were ordered to fix everything from font size to back-up cameras.

10 Tesla: 694,304

• Issue: TPMS light may not remain illuminated
• Vehicles Affected: 2024 Cybertruck, 2017-2025 Model 3, and 2020-2025 Model Y
• Fix: Software Update

Tesla and recalls go together like peanut butter and jelly. Starting a new car company is difficult, but the build quality on Tesla models is infamous for being all over the place. Some people buy a Model S, and they never have any issues well past 100,000 miles, but others buy a Cybertruck and can’t even believe the amount of problems it has before it’s even properly broken in.

This latest recall was instituted to fix a glitch in the car’s warning system that would fail to properly illuminate the tire-pressure monitoring system warning light in between driving sessions. This means a driver would not know if the pressure in a tire is low and continue to drive on it anyway. The fix was a simple over-the-air (OTA) update, but it’s a reminder that you should occasionally conduct a walk around of your car to ensure there aren’t any problems, instead of simply relying on sensors.

9 BMW: 720,796

• Issue: Water pump connector may short circuit
• Vehicles Affected: Nearly the entire lineup
• Fix: Replace the water pump and plug connector

BMW has a mixed reputation for reliability. Some swear by certain models, like any with the venerable B58 inline-six, while other models, like the E60 7 Series, were probably better left at the factory. Overall, however, the car has done a good job of upping its reliability all across the board in recent years, but things always slip between the cracks.

This recall affected nearly three quarters of a million vehicles of all shapes and sizes, ranging from the 2014-2016 228i to the 2016 to 2018 X5. The issue was an improperly sealed electrical connection on the water pump that could be exposed to water through blowby-liquid from the positive crankcase ventilation system. The fix meant taking it to the dealer and getting it inspected to see if the water pump and connector need to be replaced.

8 Honda: 720,810

• Issue: High-pressure fuel pump may leak
• Vehicles Affected: Accord and Accord Hybrid 2023-2024, Civic and Civic Hybrid 2025, CR-V Hybrid 2023-2025
• Fix: Inspect and replace fuel pump as necessary

Beating out BMW by a mere 20 units for the eighth spot is Honda, which may come as a surprise to some. Building cars is hard, and building cars with new technology you don’t have extensive experience with is even harder. This recall appears to affect many of the brand’s hybrid vehicles, and has to deal with a high-pressure fuel pump that can leak, leading to a fire.

No one wants to see their Civic stuck on the side of the road, especially not engulfed in flames, so the fix was simple inspection and replacement of the fuel pump. If you haven’t gotten this one fixed yet, we highly recommend you pencil it in ASAP.

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7 Honda: 750,114

• Issue: Airbag may deploy accidentally during a crash
• Vehicles Affected: Most Honda and Acura models
• Fix: Seat weight sensors will be replaced

Another Honda recall, and this one could have unfortunate consequences. While airbags have been one of the most important life-saving devices ever invented for vehicles, there’s no denying that having a bag explode and inflate in milliseconds right into your body can still cause some damage, especially if the occupant is smaller in stature or a child.

This is why airbags are only meant to inflate in specific scenarios, and in Honda’s case, the passenger side weight sensors could fail, telling the airbag to deploy when it isn’t supposed to. The remedy was simply to replace them free of charge, and do it soon or risk Honda hounding you until the end of time.

6 Stellantis: 1,025,432

• Issue: ABS may fail and disable ESC
• Vehicles Affected: Ram 1500 2019, 2021-2024
• Fix: Update the ABS control module software

Let’s be honest, it’s not surprising to see a Stellantis vehicle on this list. While Stellantis is relatively new, the brands under it obviously aren’t, and they have a long history of less than stellar reliability. As Ram is one of the largest truck manufacturers in the country, reliability is rather important, and this recall on Ram 1500 models was meant to fix a problem that could have serious consequences.

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According to Ram, the “anti-lock brake system (ABS) control module may disable the electronic stability control system”. This means the vehicles fail to meet federal safety standards, but disabling the electronic stability control system can also lead to many problems on the road. The fix is simply updating the ABS software, but it means a trip to the dealer.

5 Stellantis: 1,033,433

• Issue: Backup camera may not display correctly.
• Vehicles Affected: Most Jeep, Ram, Chrysler, and Dodge models from 2022-2023
• Fix: Update the software free of charge

Coming in just above the Ram ESC recall is another Stellantis recall that affects a much larger swath of vehicles. This time, nearly every vehicle sold under the Chrysler, Jeep, Ram, and Dodge brands from 2022 to 2023 were affected by the problem, but the Jeep Wrangler came out unscathed.

The issue was the “radio software” may prevent the rearview mirror from displaying correctly on your screen, leading to accidents and failing to comply with federal safety standards. The fix was a simple OTA update or dealer installed update depending on your vehicle.

4 Honda: 1,693,199

• Issue: Steering difficulty thanks to steering gearbox failure
• Vehicles Affected: Many Honda and Acura vehicles from 2022-2025
• Fix: “Dealers will replace the worm gear spring and redistribute or add grease as necessary”

As you can probably tell by now, Honda has not been having a great year for reliability. The biggest concern about the production problems it’s been having is that they’ve been affecting a large swath of the brand’s vehicles, so Honda really needs to ensure it starts ironing out these issues at the factory.

The problem that led to this recall is steering, precisely that the steering gearbox assembly can fail. This means there will be excessive friction in the steering, making it much harder to control while driving down the road. If you’ve ever lost power steering in your car, it’s probably something similar, so best to get it fixed quickly.

3 Tesla: 1,849,638

• Issue: Software may not detect unlatched hood
• Vehicles Affected: 2021-2024 Model 3, Model S, Model X, and 2020-2024 Model Y vehicles
• Fix: OTA software update

Another Tesla recall, and this time it’s a little more serious despite it still being about a warning indicator. On a bunch of Teslas from 2020 to 2024, once you open the hood, a light is supposed to illuminate on the dashboard telling you it’s open. Unfortunately, a glitch can cause this to fail to illuminate, thus not informing you that your hood is still open.

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A hood latch issue means using your Tesla on the freeway could be risky if your software is not up to date.

While this isn’t that big of a deal while driving around town, if you’re on the highway and your hood flies up obstructing your view this can lead to a serious accident. Fortunately, all the fix took was a little OTA update, another of the great advantages of our modern society.

2 Ford: 1,889,110

• Issue: Exterior A-Pillar trim may detach
• Vehicles Affected: Explorer 2011-2019
• Fix: Dealer will inspect and install A-pillar trim

It’s a bit surprising to see Ford with only one recall on this list given the quality control problems the brand has had over the past few years, but perhaps it’s a sign the brand is starting to get things under control. Still, it is second on this list, but it’s for something so innocuous, we’re surprised it was recalled at all.

This recall has to deal with trim on the A-pillars that can become detached in certain years of Explorer. This is on the outside, not the inside, and while Ford was made aware of this years ago, it didn’t deem it an issue, but the NHTSA did, since it could affect other vehicles on the road. This led to a recall, where Ford agreed to replace the trim at dealers free of charge.

1 Tesla: 2,193,869

• Issue: Incorrect font size on warning lights
• Vehicles Affected: All Tesla models from nearly all years
• Fix: OTA update

The automaker in 2024 with the largest recall is none other than Tesla, and it may be the most surprising recall in ages. Like we said, Tesla has had a ton of recalls over the years, but this one is particularly interesting because it went unnoticed for so long on some models going all the way back to 2012.

The issue was that the font size for brake, park, and ABS warning lights were too small. That’s it, and, unfortunately for Tesla, this specific thing is mandated by federal law. While we think this kind of thing would have gotten by us too, it’s good that it was such an easy fix, seeing as though it affected more than 2 million cars.

Sources:

NHTSA